Wesley Cooper, of Star City, is a small business owner and a father in a family that has spent most of the last two decades homeschooling their four children. And while the oldest thrived and is now succeeding in college, the spring of 2025 saw something of a slump, and questions about the future for the younger three.
“We were at a place where, after homeschooling for 17 years, we were thinking hard about how to get our youngest three to the finish line successfully,” he said. “We’d sent our son to the closest private school to us, and it was good for him, but it’s over an hour away each way, and the cost was very high.”
Then came some welcome news: a public school teacher the family knew in the community was planning to launch a new microschool, a small, private institution located in Star City, where options were limited to either the public school system, a distant private school, or homeschool.
“I feel truly blessed to have had three children enrolled in Star City Christian Academy in its first year in our small, rural community,” he said. “Sure, there’s always a little bit of trepidation when you’re going into something new, and you’re not really sure how it’s going to hash out, but microschooling has absolutely been better than we could have imagined.”
The oldest of the three remaining children was entering her senior year and would go on to graduate in the school’s first commencement in Spring 2026.
“She just flourished emotionally, and things that had been hidden, the many gifts and abilities she has, were really nourished and nurtured. It was a blessing to see,” Cooper said.
And she wasn’t alone. All three children excelled academically, joining Beta Club. They also explored different creative outlets like joining the drama club and participating in skits and performances.
“They all three have different temperaments and different levels of self-motivation,” Cooper explained. “But this school has been able to cater to each one’s specific needs, and I don’t feel like they’ve fallen through the cracks in any way.”
Cooper said he’s grateful to the leaders and lawmakers in Arkansas who created the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program, which provides public funding and allows families to choose how to spend it on their children’s education, including microschool. That support really made it possible to have all three children at SCCA.
“We’ve been small business owners with a bakery here for nearly 30 years. Money doesn’t grow on trees when you own a small business. So to have this awesome environment only minutes from my house, to be able to use tax dollars we’ve paid for decades and put that toward the education of our children into productive, respectful citizens, I couldn’t be more thankful. It’s really been a blessing,” he said.
And, perhaps most importantly, the kids are happy.
“If you ask the kids, ‘Hey, are you excited and looking forward to going to school every day?’ they might look at you like, ‘Are you kidding?’ But I definitely think there is a sense of appreciation for everything they’re learning, as well as for the friends they’ve met here.”
Coming from homeschool, the transition into a smaller environment, with fewer than 75 students enrolled in grades K-12, was easier than it might have been for a larger private school or the local public district. And at SCCA, the children continued to receive an education based on a Biblical worldview, which was important to the family. Also, Cooper said he appreciated the environment filled with positive reinforcement.
“Our school is big on encouragement and rewarding good behavior. They name student of the month honors – and my kids received that quite a bit – and reward good behavior without always focusing on negative behavior. Our school is excellent about that. I just couldn’t be more pleased,” he said.
With another daughter now across the finish line, Cooper said he believes he’s found a permanent educational home for his son and youngest daughter.
“For my part, I can’t foresee any reason why the two still in school, now going into seventh and tenth grade, would ever need to go anywhere else,” he said. “As long as this school is flourishing like it is, I don’t want to go anywhere else. This is so close to home, with an awesome leadership team, teachers and everything, and it's truly been a blessing. I don’t foresee any need to change.”
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