Our son Arya was adopted from India four years ago. At the time, he was 11 years old and could barely speak, walk or complete kindergarten-level work. He has several disabilities that make learning a challenge for him in several ways; however, we saw that Arya was capable of growing and learning if he had the right environment and the understanding of the right community around him.

Our family was able to find a wonderful private school that would not only work with him, but develop a perfect ISP for him, as well as tutoring and providing speech therapy resources Arya. Arya has attended school there now four years and is able to do most required fifth grade level work.

The Succeed Scholarship enables our family to give Arya that school environment that he needs, with a small class size, one-on-one tutoring, safe classrooms where he has never been bullied. He is part of an amazing school culture that cares about him, gives him space to belong as he is and supports him in every way possible. The financial strain of Arya’s occupational therapy, physical therapy, medical bills, and counseling for him made it so that we were extremely worried about not being able to afford private school going into Arya’s fourth grade year.

Because of Succeed, we are able to keep him enrolled, watch him thrive, make friends, read, write and smile! He even placed second in the 100 meter dash of his first ever regional track meet his school competed in. The difference of four years in the right environment has made him unrecognizable from his first days here. This chance at his school has renewed our hope for his future, as a citizen of his community and country, to become a person who gives back all that he has received. He has dreams now he shares with us and is hungry for knowledge about the world. Every day makes a difference for him!

– Alicia, parent