The EFA funds have completely changed our family. When started homeschooling several years ago, we had one child and it was a struggle to buy curriculum and supplies. Now we have 3 children homeschooling. Not only does EFA provide funding for the curriculum, but it has allowed us to get my daughters the therapies they needs in order to be successful at school. It has opened so many doors that we would not be able to provide on our own. It’s have been a huge blessing to our family and has dramatically improved the quality of education that we are able to get for our kids.
-Tandy P.
Homeschooling my child has been amazing experience. She has been able to grow so much in her education. She tests at college grade level and at 7th grade. She has plenty of time to spend with her friends, go outside and explore and learn, and have more family time. I'm chronically ill so the family time is very important to us. She has made some amazing homeschool friends and they always have something they do. They do an art project together, Bible study, or just play games. Academically she does great homeschooling vs public school. I am grateful we can do what is better for her and her education. EFA helps us buy the curriculum I used to struggle to pay for.
- Mary C.
Our family is incredibly grateful for the opportunities the Arkansas EFA program has provided. As a homeschooling family, we’ve experienced firsthand how every child learns differently, and these funds have given us the flexibility to make educational decisions based on what is truly best for each of our children instead of simply what we can afford.
One example that means so much to us is our daughter’s reading journey. We originally started her with the same reading curriculum that had worked wonderfully for both of our older boys, but it quickly became clear that she learned differently. Because of the EFA program, we were able to purchase a different curriculum that better fit her individual needs, and it made such a difference in her confidence and progress. By the end of the year, her state assessment reflected that growth, showing she was reading a full grade level ahead.
Our second oldest son was born with profound hearing loss in one ear, and homeschooling has given us the ability to tailor his education to meet his unique needs and help him thrive. The EFA program has made that individualized approach even stronger by allowing us to access resources, curriculum, and learning opportunities that support him in ways we otherwise might not have been able to provide. We’ve also been able to enroll our children in science classes and electives that enrich their education and expose them to experiences we otherwise would not have been able to afford.
These funds have expanded their opportunities, strengthened our homeschool, and allowed each of our children to learn in the way that helps them thrive. We are deeply thankful for this investment in Arkansas families and have seen firsthand the positive impact it is making on our children’s education, confidence, and future. We are incredibly grateful that Arkansas is investing in families like ours and empowering parents to give each child the education that fits them best.
-Lindsey W.
My family has been homeschooling for almost fifteen years now. Our journey started because my bright son was denied public education when he was very early preschool age. We instead enrolled with a charter school since they at least provided preschool classes for his age in cautious hopes they could challenge him in some way so he would not be bored. We ended up pulling him out mid-year after they refused to adapt to his quickness to pick up skills and his major need to be moved to a higher level due to boredom with the curriculum and pacing. I started working with him at his level at home and he really thrived. We have been homeschooling all of our children ever since. We joined the EFA program in 2024 in hopes that it would take some of the financial strain off our single income household and provide the kids so much more in ways we couldn't quite accomplish ourselves. Having the EFA available to us had taken a lot of stress and time off me trying to source and budget second hand materials that may not be the right fit for our kids. Previously, if things did not work for our kids it didn't matter, we couldn't afford to start over or adapt it to fit and that is not the case anymore thankfully. I feel now like we can try things we wouldn't have imagined just from the cost being so prohibitive without knowing if the kids will even be receptive to any of it. This gives us the best possible options that will allow our kids to learn to the best of their abilities and really embrace their strengths as well as build on their weaknesses. My teens have been able to pursue interests in a way that we would have never been able to afford without a lot of budgeting and stress and I am very thankful for that. My youngest is enjoying a rich, well rounded education perfectly suited to her now. It is so nice to be able to get ready to go unit studies that she finds exciting and make her so happy to be doing school when she otherwise may not be so enthusiastic about it. She's especially blessed to potentially have this available to her the majority of her schooling, unlike my teens who are almost graduated, but are nonetheless benefiting in ways we just couldn’t be more pleased with. I am forever thankful for the opportunities the EFA has provided to my children during this time.
-Terri F.
The ability to provide access to better curriculum was inaccessible for many families due to income limitations. The EFA program provides these families with adequate tools for better success.
The EFA program has changed the way we homeschool. We are able to provide a more detailed and in-depth education to our children because of this. I don’t feel isolated in trying to navigate this on my own and know that if they struggle, we can hire a tutor to help! My child has become an avid reader and soared through chapter books this year at age 9 and has gained so much confidence as we have had more tools at our disposal to help build him up.
My daughter starts her EFA program this year, and she is a special case. She has an autoimmune disease that has her immunocompromised on and off. I do not have to worry about her being exposed to outside viruses from school because I’m able to securely homeschool her with confidence at home and afford the tools we have struggled to afford to get for her to make up the difference caused her struggling joints.
We are forever grateful for this state and all that it provides for its children! I’m grateful to have options and support, and the ability to provide resources I otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to provide.
-Anonymous
As a family of a child with a significant developmental disability, homeschooling often hasn’t always felt like a choice.
We knew our son would, at minimum, not benefit from a traditional schooling environment and, at worst, backtrack or be left behind his capabilities. In addition, homeschooling provides the opportunity for us to spend more time together as their dad works a non-traditional work schedule.
Our EFA has not only supported what we already had in place for homeschooling all our children, including their curriculum and extracurriculars, but it has provided significant financial relief in those areas. That has allowed us to give our kids the best tools and curriculum to support their learning styles and special needs.
Most of our funds have been used for their academic curriculum, books to improve reading comprehension and broaden their understanding of the world, and especially hands-on learning and manipulatives to support a multi-sensory approach to learning for our child with autism. It allows us the space to give our children a quality education while continuing private therapies our disabled child needs without the overwhelm of having to fit therapies in after holding himself together in a traditional classroom all day.
Rather than depending on an already overextended staff in public schools who are simply doing their best with few resources, we are able as the people who know him best to help him reach his full potential, assess his learning more accurately, and support and accommodate his learning in a way that gives him the education he deserves and is capable of. EFA has also given our other children the opportunity and confidence of seeing the assessment of their own academic success through the testing requirements at the end of the year.
It’s given them the space to explore their academic interests to a greater degree and continue their creative and physical education activities over time despite costs going up. We are outstandingly grateful for the doors the EFA program has opened for our family and are thankful for privilege of being additionally supported in our choice to homeschool.
-Anonymous
My family has yet to be blessed by the EFA program.
By that, I mean we are brand-spanking new to it.
So new that I have missed a couple of deadlines and have to backtrack to catch up.
I expect, though, that we will be very blessed by it.
We are actively moving from CO to AR.
Why? Primarily because God’s Creation there we believe will better suit our plans for self-sustainability.
Our area of CO can support one cow-calf pair per 60 acres and gardens - if they last through hail, drought, insects, and deer - never provide enough.
Secondarily, politics.
After 14 years of homeschooling, I recently heard of a CO funding program.
Then I discovered it has strings attached, strings such as dictated or non-approval of Christian-based curriculum, no sports/arts, and removal of funds if your kids are in school programs with kids who do not receive that funding.
We’re looking forward to having our homeschool journey supplemented with extra funds for what AR can offer.
Our curriculum is solid. It’s the electives such as theater, music, art, sports, animal husbandry, self-sustainability, and field trips that we are happily anticipating.
- Christie P