I want to thank lawmakers for your ongoing commitment to choice in education. Your dedication to this cause is deeply appreciated by families like ours, who benefit immensely from having the ability to choose the best educational paths for our children.
Our family applied for the Utah Fits All Scholarship program. Unfortunately, we were placed on the waitlist along with 17,000 other applicants, 5,000 of which were ahead of us. Despite this setback, we remain hopeful and optimistic that the legislature will see this as a great investment in the future of the rising generation and continue to increase funding levels to enable all families to fully and responsibly utilize this opportunity. We will apply once again as soon as we are able this upcoming year.
The impact that choice in education has on our family is profound. We have four children, each with unique needs and talents, and being able to secure funding for personalized education will open many doors for them. Our experiences with the public school system have highlighted the pressing need for individualized learning opportunities that the school system struggles to fully meet, despite the best intentions and efforts of all involved.
Our oldest is a gifted student that often found himself relegated to reading in a corner. The public school environment did not cater to his advanced learning needs and left him feeling isolated and unchallenged. As he has moved into a challenging private school more suited to his talents, he has thrived and has risen to be an academic leader in his class.
We also have a child with autism who requires an individualized education plan to address her developmental delays. Her progress depends on specialized attention and tailored learning strategies which are difficult to obtain in a traditional classroom setting. She instead has thrived in a homeschool environment with specialized online curriculum, and clear structure that enables her to focus on her timeline.
The learning experiences we have had with our two older children have prepared us to also apply those to our two younger children who are also gifted, and deal with some neurodiversity. We know that they will benefit from the choice and opportunity to find the right educational fit that enables them to learn the way that best suits their unique needs, talents, and interests.
Your support for funding educational choice is invaluable to our family. It empowers us to provide the best possible education for each of our children, addressing their individual needs and helping them reach their full potential. Thank you for your continued dedication to this important cause.
