LEARNS credited for school’s growth

EL DORADO — West Side Christian School has been growing for years, but this year’s enrollment got a 15% bump, largely due to private school vouchers provided for by the LEARNS Act, one school official said.

The LEARNS Act was signed into law by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in March, and since then has undergone numerous legal challenges and a failed bid to put the new law to a vote in a statewide referendum.

The law went into effect Aug. 1, and its provisions include everything from raising public school teachers’ salaries to a minimum of $50,000 annually to creating Educational Freedom Accounts, a voucher program that allows public school funds to be directed to private, parochial or home schooling.

West Side Christian School is one of many private schools in Arkansas that’s benefiting from the vouchers, Principal of Education and guidance counselor Katy Willett said.

“We have seen an increase in enrollment,” Willett said. “I would say we’ve seen about a 15% increase from last year to this year.”

Willett said the West Side School Board agreed to accept the vouchers in lieu of tuition.

According to West Side’s website, tuition there costs approximately $14 per day, not including books or various fees; it’s unclear whether the calculation refers to a 365day year, which would make the cost $5,110 annually, or a 178-day school year, which translates to a cost of $2,492 annually.

The LEARNS vouchers provide up to 90% of what public schools get per student in state funding from the previous school year, so voucher-eligible students can receive $6,671.70 for non-public schooling.

Willett said that while West Side isn’t subject to other provisions of the LEARNS Act, like new student success standards or the teacher pay, the school does have high expectations for its students and a rigorous curriculum.

Abeka, a “comprehensive, Biblically-based curriculum,” according to the company’s website, is used by the younger students at West Side, Willett said. Bob Jones, or BJU Press, also provides some instructional material teaching “Biblical worldview foundations” and lessons that “encourage critical thinking skills,” according to the company. Saxon Math, a home-school curriculum, is how West Side students learn about mathematics.