Choosing the right school
It started when my daughter Emily was two. She wasn’t speaking and she avoided eye contact, but she was smart, and we could tell she was decoding words. Soon, Emily was diagnosed with autism Danielle spectrum disorder, and Brun our early intervention
journey began.
This National School Choice Week (Jan. 26-Feb. 1), I think about how our years of searching for the classrooms where my daughter could be herself and be prepared for the future gave me intimate knowledge of how educational choice changes lives.
When it came time for kindergarten for Emily, she still couldn’t speak or sit still. Yet, her school planned to place her in a classroom with all the other students, without accommodation for her autism. Knowing my child needed more, I hired a special education lawyer, met with the school board, and together they designed an Individualized Educational Plan for Emily.
That first battle to ensure her learning needs were met seemed to play on repeat over the years. Time and again, we navigated schools that downplayed Emily’s abilities or were hesitant to provide her the accommodations she needed to learn.
Moms want the best for their kids; I researched, tried a variety of public schools, and watched which classrooms worked best for Emily. Through my Google searches, I discovered Florida’s John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program, which offers scholarships for eligible Florida students to attend public or private schools of their choice.
Eventually, we were able to use the McKay Scholarship to send Emily to a private school that helped her develop practical skills — like balancing a checkbook and paying bills — and gave her internships at a library, daycare, and pizza shop. For the first time, teachers had sufficient time and ability to cater to her needs and Emily was able to focus fully on learning.
Often, when people hear or see “school choice” in the media, they assume it is about parents wanting to take their child
HOME DELIVERY RATES out of public school and place them into private school. But that’s not what choice means to me. Wanting school choice means wanting to give your child access to a school — regardless of the type — that can prepare her for the future.
While Emily was doing well in the private school she attended, there came a time when we realized some of her needs were not being met. Once again, McKay gave us the choice to look at other options for Emily, which is how we found the Arbor School of Central Florida. There, Emily was able to grow academically and socially, especially through the school’s music program. For a girl who didn’t start speaking until she was seven or eight, and then only in short phrases, learning to write and perform music tremendously impacted her ability to present in public.
While some schools doubted Emily’s ability to finish high school, school choice allowed us to find classrooms that believed in her and helped her earn her diploma with more than five internships on her resume. Today, my daughter is a sophomore at Valencia College, studying sign language; that’s thanks in large part to the McKay Scholarship.
This National School Choice Week, families around Florida and around the country are celebrating all different types of K-12 education. Yes, this means celebrating how traditional public, public charter, magnet, private, virtual schools, and homeschooling each offer something unique for Florida families. But school choice also includes other programs allowing families to access schools of their choice. The McKay Scholarship is one of two voucher programs in Florida, and we also have two tax credit scholarships and an education savings account option.
We are incredibly lucky to have these options and should never take them for granted. Emily’s world was changed by a McKay scholarship, and with that, so was mine. Thousands of McKay Scholarship recipients have stories like ours, and thousands of children around our nation are still waiting for more school choice opportunities. Let’s use this week to share our stories and encourage all parents: Finding the school where your child thrives may be a long journey, but it is always worth it.