Empowerment Scholarships have been 'a significant blessing' to this Goodyear family that homeschools 4 siblings – 12News
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GOODYEAR, Ariz. — When school is in session, the Barnard children head to the upstairs loft. The two boys and two girls break out their notebooks for traditional academics, and they go online for additional coursework.
Welcome to homeschooling, thanks to Arizona Empowerment Scholarships.
The Barnards are among the roughly 14,000 Arizona homeschool children who are part of the ESA program, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
It allows parents to use state tax dollars to educate their children as they see fit.
“ESA has been a significant blessing for our family because our children are so neurodiverse,” said Kellie Barnard, the mom. “They learn differently. I have kids with autism and learning disabilities…So, because of ESA, we’re able to cater to each of the child’s unique needs.”
As ESAs have provided families with educational freedom, 12News has found the program is also lightly regulated, and some parents have spent ESA funds on jewelry, Kenmore appliances, and vacations.
Barnard said those kinds of purchases hurt the program and families like hers who depend on ESAs.
“I don’t agree with the fraud that is happening. I understand why that’s upsetting to people, but I feel like most parents like myself are trying our best to utilize the funds in a way that’s going to help our children to succeed,” she said.
Barnard, who studied music and graduated from BYU-Idaho, said she began homeschooling when her oldest child, Lance, was 5.
She said the family had a bad experience at traditional public schools in Houston and in the West Valley.
“These guys came along, and we just kind of followed suit,” she said, referring to the three younger siblings. “We really enjoy homeschooling.”
Today, Lance is 15,
Next is McKenzlie at 13.
Emmelyn is the third child at 11.
And, Cayden, is the youngest at 9.
Kellie said the family tapped into the ESA program a few years ago, after paying for the kids’ homeschooling out of their own pocket.
“ESA is important to us because it’s helped my kids to thrive,” Kellie said. “ESA has given them a lot of hope for their future. It’s encouraged them. They’ve been able to surround themselves with a team of people who believe in them.”
Kellie said the family uses Outschool, an online program that offers an array of classes, including AP courses.
She added Lance, who is autistic, takes numerous history courses, while McKenzlie enjoys music composition classes that helped her write songs.
In fact, McKenzlie has a YouTube channel and likes the flexibility of being homeschooled.
She said once her coursework is done, she can practice her singing and playing the ukulele.
The siblings also work together on their business — Kids Busy Bees Boutique.
They make resin frogs, candles, earrings, necklaces, magnets and games that are sold online or at farmers’ markets.
The kids donate 10 percent of the profits to help children at a Ronald McDonald House, give 10 percent to their church and invest 20 percent back into the business. The rest gets split among the four.
“We get all the profits, and we split 10 percent to go to the Ronald McDonald House to make sunshine bags, and I think around 20 percent we give to the business itself. For the rest of it, we just split it.”
