Ashton Bailey’s son, Donovan, attends Leading Little Arrows Academy in Irving, TX. Little Leading Arrows is a hybrid homeschool academy that provides families with educational support in a safe and nurturing environment.

“I was in a rough place when I found Leading Little Arrows. I found them through a Facebook group. I had just joined a bunch of groups at random, and I reached out to the school’s founder, Amber Okolo-Ebube. 

“My son is Donovan. I call him Donovan Bear because when he was a baby, he looked like a gummy bear with no teeth. Some kids talk at their own pace, and you must take your time and let them grow. At about three years old, I started thinking, ‘Okay, I’m seeing his peers and he’s not communicating the way his peer group is.’ 

“Once we got here at LLA, I watched him making friends, even if it wasn’t the way I made friends when I was three or four years old. After being around the other children, he started asking about them when we were at home, which I thought was great because normally he would just kind of lash out because he didn’t know how to communicate. 

“It’s just been a revelation to see him grow into this little person, and I can’t wait to see what he grows into next.” 

Okolo-Ebube says families like Ashton’s will benefit greatly from the new Texas Education Freedom Accounts program. “The hardest part as a school founder is having to turn away families because of a financial need. Because of the families that we serve, we can only take so many. This law, where Greg Abbott being brave and championing this, has really opened doors to free children from educational systems that they’re trapped in. And this is amazing.”