[CBC had an item about a new facility — over $28 million to help address some of the needs of autistic students in BC. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/28m-autism-centre-supporting-families-breaks-ground-in-richmond-b-c-1.2874777?cmp=rss Of course, some people feel this disproportionately favors those close to Richmond and the Lower Mainland. I though I would introduce the topic of ESAs that would, IMO, be a more fair way to help all those who qualify in that category.]
MORE Education Choices Are Needed For All Children & Families
Here is Pieceful Solutions School in Arizona designed for autistic students — http://dailysignal.com/2014/12/15/educator-using-savings-account-provide-tailor-made-education-student/
There’re two stories here: First, a successful school for autistic children — privately run since 2008.
Second, the financing is mainly done through a scheme in Arizona of public money going directly to parents to choose the educational programs they see fit for their child.
The Arizona program, Education Savings Accounts (ESA), has been in place since 2011 and trusts parents will use the money in their accounts wisely. It helps parents choose and helps enterprising people start needed schools and services.
And, ESAs allow parents to shop and choose independent, private programs that will cater to their child’s needs and talents. http://jaypgreene.com/2014/09/04/esa-parents-increase-the-bang-for-the-education-buck/
And here is a short lesson on why we need more parental choice; and why parents need to actively promote choice for all students — Give Me A Choice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoP4P7SJgFo
Florida is the second state in the USA that has recently approved Education Savings Accounts. Of course, in the overall matter of choice, there are a good number of States that have voucher programs where public money goes to the school of choice, private or public. And let’s not forget Alberta has had charter schools (public schools without school board or union prescriptions) for 20 years — http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Alberta_charter_schools
[This is supplementary to the above. My post to CBC story was posted one day, deleted the next. I checked submissions policy and found I had too many links, so I shortened the story. By the time I tried again, comments were closed. So I hunted for the story elsewhere: Here is it on Global News — http://globalnews.ca/news/1730011/ground-breaking-ceremony-to-be-held-for-a-new-autism-family-centre/ This is my amended post to this media.]
MORE Education Choices Are Needed For All Children & Families
Here is Pieceful Solutions School in Arizona designed for autistic students — http://dailysignal.com/2014/12/15/educator-using-savings-account-provide-tailor-made-education-student/
There’re two stories here: First, a successful school for autistic children — privately run since 2008.
Second, the financing is mainly done through a scheme in Arizona of public money going directly to parents to choose the educational programs they see fit for their child. They get 90% of the amount their child would pull if he was in a public school and categorized for special funds.
The Arizona program, Education Savings Accounts (ESA), has been in place since 2011 and trusts parents will use the money in their accounts wisely. It helps parents choose and helps enterprising people start needed schools and services.
In some cases parents can use the funds to customize programs for their child from a wide variety of services, therapies, talent development, etc. — far beyond school or tutoring programs. Here is another video on ESAs in Arizona — http://jaypgreene.com/2014/09/04/esa-parents-increase-the-bang-for-the-education-buck/
This facility in the Lower Mainland for autistic students is a step in the right direction. But, for families unable to access this resource, or with other developmental issues besides autism, perhaps they can explore through their associations and more lobbying of government how ESAs could be developed so that parents can shop in their local areas for resources or even enable new customized services and education to be created.