Get a glimpse at learning in a microschool,

News and Updates | March 2021

"Look at each child and see where their needs are. Not everybody has the same needs."

- Noupien Khamsisavang, educator and microschool learning guide

Student Focused Teacher Led workshop

In this session, Dr. Steven Brock and Dr. Melissa Holland will share their insights and experience to equip educators with self-care and time management strategies to ensure they can continue these heroic efforts to support the children and youth they serve. Their presentation will be followed with an interactive panel discussion. Panelists include current classroom teachers and a building principal.

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 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 can't make the training, or if you are ready to roll on your own, click the button below.

Start filming!

Fiscal study shows positive return for schools on bill

"It would alleviate budget concerns at public schools while giving parents the power to choose the learning environment that works best for their children,” according to The Reform Alliance's Managing Director Emmy Henley.

Patrick Wolf: Give parents more school options

"One size doesn't fit all, especially regarding the education of children during a global health crisis. Parents need educational options.

I study school-choice programs. The evidence of their effectiveness is strong. The 19 most rigorous scientific studies of private school-choice programs find that they tend to have positive effects on student achievement, especially several years after students have entered a private school of their parents' choosing."

Panel backing semi-virtual teaching plan

The Arkansas Charter Authorizing Panel on Tuesday endorsed the LISA Academy charter school system’s plan to establish a semi-virtual “hybrid” school for kindergarten-through-12th graders in the coming 2021-22 school year.

Arkansas Succeed Scholarship

These are the voices of Arkansas families who have benefited from Arkansas’s Succeed Scholarship Program:

"Our family is grateful for the amazing Succeed Scholarship. Our son John Paul was diagnosed at 18 months with autism. He began public school in the Ft. Sam Houston Independent School District. This changed to Pulaski County Special School District when we returned to our Mabelvale home. The public schools in our area could not offer JP the educational needs he received at his previous public school. With autism, JP needed a place he felt calm, secure, and safe; an environment that could help him reach his intellectual potential while understanding his differences. We are fortunate to find that learning environment at St. Theresa Catholic School. With a small school population, a very tight "family" setting among students, family, and staff, and the ability for his special needs to be met, STS is where JP is thriving. ..." - Rose Mary, Succeed Scholarship parent.

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.

Read more stories

Education bills of interest to our grassroots network

HB1371 - creates a new dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit program for individuals and businesses that contribute toward either flexible private-school scholarship accounts or grants for public schools serving predominantly low-income populations of students.
SB89 - Changes the IEP requirements for the Succeed Scholarship and establishes a lottery program for selection if applications exceed available scholarships.
HB1171 - Any student transferring schools using the Public School Choice Act is automatically eligible for interscholastic activities.
SB25 - Schools do not have to count a student for the 3% cap of public school choice if a student has gone to the district for preschool.
HB1237 - Schools would have an option to provide virtual options permanently. The school year would be amended to not start before the Monday before Labor Day, and schools would have the option to implement an alternate school calendar.
HB1151: For the 2020-2021 school year, HB1151 suspends the A-F rating system, an accountability measure for students and families to assess how well schools are performing and serving the needs of students.

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.

Learn more

#saveARstudents