Editor’s note: This Palm Coast, Florida, mom was happy with the school her daughter, Abby, attended with assistance from a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship. Then Abby, who had been diagnosed with a special need at age 3, became a teenager and started to struggle. Demain once again found herself seeking an educational setting where Abby could continue to learn and thrive.
Relief came in the form of a Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with unique abilities. The education savings account that Demain was able to use allowed Abby to be homeschooled, which has proved to be an environment that suits Abby perfectly.
Here is an excerpt from a podcast reimaginED senior writer Lisa Buie recently conducted with Demain, in which Demain talks about the benefits of her education savings account.
It’s a complete 100 percent turnaround. This is a child who absolutely could not leave the house to go to school, to sit with other children. She’s agoraphobic. It became so much more when she hit puberty. Kids can be cruel. They really can. A few bad experiences with her classmates, and that was it. She was done. Where she was afraid to raise her hand or be called out if she didn’t understand something in class, we can go over it 10 times at home until she understands, and there’s no judgment. She’s not going to get called out on it.
Without having this ability to homeschool, I don’t know what she would have done. This would have been detrimental to her for the rest of her life. Having this opportunity really kept her involved, kept her interested, and it continued her education in the best way for her to learn.
To hear the full podcast, click here.
