Our family of five has been blessed with both the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids (PIAK) Scholarship and the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program for our oldest son Jaleel, who is autistic. He spent six months in two different NICUs undergoing and overcoming more than 20 procedures, including dialysis and a kidney transplant, and fighting cancer. All that to say, Jaleel had very severe developmental delays within the first four years of his life.

So when it came time to think about school, we sought a private school serving special needs students for Jaleel's safety, as he has a feeding tube, is immune compromised, and is mostly nonverbal. We found that school in Conway’s Compass Academy, where the director recommended the EFA and PIAK scholarships to cover tuition costs of about $10,000 per year. These scholarships helped us tremendously. As just one example, we were more easily able to cover transportation costs, as we then lived in White Hall and Compass, the school best able to serve Jaleel, was more than an hour away. He spent two years with Compass, including kindergarten and first grade.

As we were renewing his developmental evaluation for Medicaid Waiver last year, I could really see so much progress, with Jaleel able to recognize objects, letters, and numbers, all thanks to his time in school. It warmed my heart that his school activities were shaping his learning to overcome autistic challenges of language.

Having the scholarships for Jaleel provided some respite for me as a caregiver, allowing me to continue attending other duties caring for my other two children. It also contributed to nurturing my own mental health after six stressful years in and out of the hospital. I will forever be grateful for both of these incredible programs. However, last year also posed new respiratory challenges for Jaleel, and we felt it best to transition to homeschool during this school year.

For the fall we will continue with homeschool for Jaleel’s safety, and I’m grateful we can continue with the EFA program. This will allow opportunities for me to purchase a specialized curriculum, sensory learning field trips, safe play equipment at home, and also build stronger relationships with other autism parents through the library. I appreciate the program’s flexibility supporting our choice of education, no matter if it is private, homeschooling, or microschooling in the future. Like all parents, we want whatever will best serve our child.

Thank you to the EFA program and to The Reform Alliance for the PIAK Scholarship, without which Jaleel would not be where he is today.

Tanisha Burke-Wormley
Beebe