AHF weekly update

Apr 13

Written By Ann Snelson

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Weekly Announcements

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The queue is currently at these dates

Marketplace – 3/9

Direct Pay – 3/9

Reimbursements – 3/2

Pre-Approvals – 4/10

** Note, anything not reviewed that was submitted before these dates is likely in further review for one of many reasons. But as a WHOLE this is where the queue is at.

At this point the rules that have gone through have been passed to the next level for final voting. I do not know how set that makes them but have been looking at it. Some of it really needs to be rewritten because the wording is extremely poor. I also do not believe ANYTHING they cap should be a dollar amount but a percentage so that it naturally adjusts with inflation with the rest of the funding itself. And I do not think that highschoolers should have the same cap on technology as younger students. I will still be looking at who can be spoken with to see who we actually should talk to about seeing those specific issues addressed.

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If you have TEST invoices that have been in DIRECT PAY or MARKETPLACE for more than a week please message me what vendor you ordered through so I can try to make sure nothing related to a test has a hangup somewhere but PLEASE KNOW that if you PAID for a test with another company and its just waiting for reimbursement (which doe NOT affect taking and using the test on time in any way) that is NOT a test priority issue and will be reviewed in order with the rest of reimbursements.

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BUT if you have ordered a test in classwallet that has not been approved PLEASE message me the info because I think a few vendors that sell tests also sell other things not just those tests and that means could have been overlooked in the push to expedite the approval of the test invoices.

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Tomorrow is 4thQ funding day. Like the EFA update email stated on Thursday, it is likely if you are checking at the ass crack of dawn its not gonna be there yet. BUT IT WILL BE THERE.. unless you have messed your stuff up in classwallet so do check today that you are still linked to homeschool do not pay just to be sure. Better to prevent an issue than to fix and issue.

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Please if you use a vendor that is NOT a school and still wants to link and send invoices INSIDE classwallet instead of giving you a proper invoice direct them to me. This won’t even be possible soon as they are working to turn the feature fully off for vendors not approved to use it but I find the vendor does need proper instructions if they are doing this.

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I created a page to give better steps and better instructions on requesting preapproval to hopefully clear up some questions and issues. Especially reminders about not forgetting about tax and shipping for the item when submitting the amount needed.

https://www.arkansashomeschoolfreedom.com/preapprovals

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OTHER PROJECTS IN THE WORKS

OK, so it all started like this… Mrs. Angela was at the North Little Rock library and noticed the wonderful available items there that students could use to help bridge some gaps in creative co-curricular needs. Many items that will just not be possible for students to buy due to the high costs of the tools. They have sewing machines for sewing classes but the free classes are the big help and you can get your student a machine for their lessons. But they also have a multi needle embroidery machine you can use, a large bed printer for printing patterns without the need to reconstruct the pattern pages, and several other very helpful tools. WELL…. You all know how my brain works by now. This created a new project. Because I never have enough of those. I am 2/3 finished putting every library in the state and their basic info such as phone and address and website into a spreadsheet. It’s currently listed by the name of the library itself but I will duplicate it and also sort it by city, This will be made available as soon as I can complete it to help locating resources.

What I need NOW is what items have you all found at your libraries that others may be looking for that would fall in these categories. I know some have power tools to checkout and kitchen appliances, some have wood cutting and wood burning tools. I want to make certain I don’t miss making a category for all items that are available so that when we then start calling every one of the libraries to confirm what they have to offer and add their info correctly to this spreadsheet we aren’t missing items we should ask about.

Once I get to the lets start calling these places phase I could really use some volunteers to handle some of the calls.

This will ultimately once compiled fully be converted into a search engine THANK Miss Toni. So that you will be able to search the library system for tools and classes you need access to.

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As always I am available via PM if you need an answer to something and are still confused after checking here and the websites.

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I do NOT work for the ADE and do NOT know all answers. But I know a damn site more than the majority because I am a type A, OCD, insomniac that makes and keeps spreadsheets of important data so that I can reference it for accuracy… and I also DO in fact usually know who can help you when I cannot and can forward you to the appropriate person.

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HOW DID MY WEEK GO? --- WELL

I am trying to keep up and man this TROLL. We are at least having potty training success finally, but this child is absolutely ridiculous sometimes. We will prevail though we will prevail.

We interviewed and selected a wonderful direct pay tutor to come to the house twice a week this fall to tutor the three youngest funded children in reading back-to-back to keep us out of the car so much. It’s miserable to drive multiple kids to tutoring and trap the others in a car. If you have multiple students needing help it may be worth reaching out to try to find someone willing to come to you. If it’s possible to fill 2-4 spots back-to-back most are very happy to make the trip to your home. It will allow us to still focus on the others children’s lesson even during their tutoring.

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Ann Snelson

501-412-5107

ArkansasHomeschoolFreedom@gmail.com

TheSnazzySnail@gmail.com

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Helpful Links from the ADE and Outbridge

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