News and Updates | May 2021
Succeed Scholarship Application window opens May 10
The Succeed Scholarship Program will be accepting new student applications for the 2021-22 school year beginning at 10 a.m. May 10, 2021. Applications will be accepted until May 17, 2021.

Scholarships are awarded on a first-come-first-served basis until all scholarships have been awarded. Remaining applications will be kept on file should additional scholarships become available during the school year but will not be kept beyond the current school year if a scholarship is not awarded.
Your feedback matters!
If you are a current recipient of the Succeed Scholarship, it is vital that you and your family share your stories and successes. We survey families every year to ensure the program is meeting your children's educational needs. Click the button below to complete the survey!

Virtual Town Hall - May 12
The Reform Alliance is hosting a virtual town hall about the Succeed Scholarship, the new Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas kids program, and other important updates about education in Arkansas at 7 p.m. May 12.
A tax credit scholarship program for K-12 students is coming to Arkansas!
In April, the Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation to create a tax credit scholarship program for K-12 students to attend private schools, and Gov. Asa Hutchinson has signed it into law (Act Act 904).

Arkansas is the 20th state to create a tax credit scholarship program, where taxpayers can direct what they would normally pay in income taxes toward funding scholarships. In Arkansas, the program is capped at $2 million, which means about 250 students now have more education opportunity! Click the button below to read more highlights from this session!
This map from EdChoice shows the states that had tax credit scholarships prior to the 2021 legislative session. Click the map to access the complete ABCs of School Choice that show other programs.
Celebrating teachers on #TeacherAppreciationDay
To mark the occasion, we partnered with the Arkansas State Teachers Association and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette / ArkansasOnline.com to award a $500 classroom makeover to one outstanding teacher.

The winner is ... Paula Wallace, who teaches first and second grades at Compass Academy. Congratulations, Ms. Wallace, and thank you for your dedication to Arkansas students!!

Thank you to all Arkansas's awesome teachers!

Pictured here are Michele Ballentine-Linch, executive director of ASTA; Courtney Williams, director of Compass Academy; Paula Wallace, winning teacher, and Emmy Henley, managing director of TRA. Click the button below to read the full press release.
Saying thanks in May — Military Appreciation Month
May is Military Appreciation Month, and we are showing our support for the military all month long!

During this legislation session, HB1446 was passed and signed into law. Rep. David Ray and Sen. Jane English sponsored the legislation, which expanded eligibility for the Succeed Scholarship to children of active duty military and National Guard members, as well as children of those killed in the line of duty.

Here at TRA, we honor the courage and sacrifice of the members of the uniformed services, and we are glad that we can show our support by alleviating the stress of having to worry about their children's educational needs not being met.
Parent Action Networks implement local solutions to local challenges
If you are interested in working to organize parents in your community to better your schools, start programs for children with specific needs or just start a conversation about becoming more student-focused to improve outcomes, let us know. We work with groups all over the state that are looking to grow.
Click to the image above to learn more about us!
Congratulations, Class of 2021!
CHARLIE COLBURN
Mount St. Mary Academy
HAYDEN ANDOE
Union Christian Academy
SILAS KIRCHNER
Compass Academy
ROSS PRICE
Avilla Christian Academy
OMAR LOPEZ
Easterseals Academy at Riverdale
graduation_cap.jpg
VIRGINIA JACKSON
Mount St. Mary's Academy
Click the button below to read messages for the graduates!
Education News and Headlines
U.S. aid available to Arkansas private schools
Forty-seven parochial and private schools in Arkansas are eligible for federally funded services or assistance to offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their campuses.
Image Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Lockdowns give boost to school choice
As Democrats took control of the federal government in January, teachers unions upped their antichoice rhetoric while calculating the best way to spend billions of new federal education dollars.
Share your story via Storyvine!
The Reform Alliance has partnered with Storyvine to capture the stories of our community.

We invite you to help spread the message about the importance of education options by creating a video using the Storyvine app.

The sample video to the side is from Virginia Walden Ford, a Little Rock native who inspired the movie "Miss Virginia."
We hope you will take the opportunity to share your story as well! The app is fun and easy to use, but if you need a little boost of confidence to get you started, click here to contact us to enroll in a training! If you are ready to roll on your own, click the button below.
Faces of Freedom
These are the voices of Arkansas families who have benefited from Arkansas’s Succeed Scholarship Program:

"We are so grateful that our daughter receives the Succeed Scholarship!  Parenting a special needs child is so hard. Our daughter Christina was born with a rare genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome. She is nonverbal and has some mental disability and is prone to seizures. She uses an app on her Ipad to communicate. 

We are so thankful that due to the Succeed Scholarship, she can attend the Easter Seals at Academy at Riverdale School. She is so happy and thrives there!

We love the small classes that she would not get at a public school. The therapists and teachers are excellent. She loves to go to school there. We are thankful for the Succeed Scholarship and our school choice. Please continue to fund this program for our kids. It really does make a difference!" - Duong and Angela, Succeed Scholarship parents
The Reform Alliance is proud to manage the Succeed Scholarship at no cost to the State of Arkansas. Even small expenses like the cost of mailing checks to schools are paid for by a private foundation grant. 
We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring every K-12 student in Arkansas has equal access to a world class education. Our mission is to create a network of parent and community leaders so every policy decision and every conversation about education starts and ends with how it impacts our kids.