I am so grateful for the educational resources and culture I have encountered in Arkansas. We are an international, multilingual family (French-British-American). Not being originally from here, it has been a surprise to me to encounter such a large homeschooling population and so many high quality public, private and microschooling options.

We applied for and received the Education Freedom Account (EFA) when our daughter Fleur began kindergarten (our younger children have yet to start school). We had already decided to homeschool to prioritize time as a family, infuse our Christian faith into her education, give her a balanced childhood with plenty of time outdoors and in nature. We wanted her to be able to learn and study at her own pace in a more intimate, individually-tailored environment, and it was very important to us that she learn French as well as English.

I grew up in a single-parent household in which we struggled financially for most of my childhood. Despite that, my mother made sure we had stability living in an area with good schools and encouraged me to thrive academically. But that is not always possible.

Education freedom accounts can do wonders for families in these types of circumstances, where they may be able to send their children to fee-paying schools that previously may have been out of their reach. Likewise, this type of account can help homeschooling families significantly with the costs they incur and the sacrifice that the parents make by having at least one of the parents often working fewer hours, or not at all, in order to prioritize their children’s home education.

We feel deeply grateful and privileged to be recipients of the EFA program. Individualized education is a huge priority for us. We believe children have many different learning styles and many benefit from going at their own pace. We love and respect the existence of a public school system and private schools. These are essential educational options in a functioning democratic society and can do wonders for many children. But we are grateful that we have the opportunity to school our children at home in a way that feels important to us personally, where we can focus on each child’s individual needs and interests.

Rhiannon DuCoeur
Springdale