March 14, 2025
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Nestled in a tiny church in Fayetteville, The School of Hope, a K-12 school for autistic children, opened its doors in 2017 with only five students. It is currently at capacity with 75 students and a waitlist of more than 60 students.
Of the students enrolled, 95% are on a state-funded Opportunity Scholarship (OSP), an education savings account (ESA), or both.
Their original business plan was to grow by 10 students each year, and they have far surpassed that goal, according to Amy Sparks, co-founder of The School of Hope. The school stands ready to expand its capacity, with already purchased land and modulars waiting to be turned into classrooms. But without the opportunity scholarship funding, the school cannot hook up the modulars to water, sewage, and other needed utilities so that they can be utilized as classrooms.
“It’s not fair to these children,” Sparks told Carolina Journal. “I always have said this, and I will continue to say this: people who are wealthy have the means to be able to pay for an education like this. But what about the other children who don’t have it?”
The parents of autistic children want their kids to get well, and the school has had success story after success story in seeing autistic children get better.
“We’ve had kids that could not even pick up a pencil when they came to us; by the end of the year, they were taking a 10-word spelling test,” said Sparks. “They have a great chance of going to neurotypical school and graduating from high school. That’s amazing because they were able to come to a specialized school that understood autism.”
The school cannot admit the waitlisted students unless there is a building open, but the buildings cannot be opened unless there is a guarantee that there are students to fill the spots. There is a drawerful of applications that have effectively been waitlisted because they just don’t have any more room.
Without Opportunity Scholarships, schools are caught in a vicious cycle because they can’t open buildings without a guarantee that there are students to fill them. But without Opportunity Scholarships, most families do not have $13,000 to send their children to such a school. This puts Sparks in an uncomfortable position when she looks into the eyes of a crying mother, who tells her, “You’re my last hope.” Without Opportunity Scholarships, families like these face either public school or homeschooling, typically without specialized care immediately available.
It’s a testament to the quality of the school, with some families driving all the way from Goldsboro, more than an hour away, to bring their children to school every day. Many families have told Sparks: “I wish we would have found you sooner.”
CJ asked Sparks what would help them, particularly what could be done in the state legislature to benefit a place like School of Hope.
“Knowing that we have a pool of money that we could guarantee every person that applies would be given an account and amount of money, then we don’t have to wait until August when we’ve already filled up,” said Sparks. “There’s so much more that goes into this. I mean, it’s a domino effect. It affects the child, the family, it affects the school, it affects the administration, it affects the staff, and it goes on and on and on. If we had a guarantee that our children had a slot and the money they needed, then I could start preparing, and that drawer wouldn’t look like that. We could start saying that we have a guarantee that these people want to come to our school, and we would have that guarantee of knowing that they have a slot, and I could start hiring teachers.”
Sparks was inspired to open the school after the death of Jared, her middle child, who had been diagnosed with autism before his passing. Before the school’s opening, Sparks worked as a third-grade teacher in Fayetteville.
“This belongs to Fayetteville,” said Sparks. “It’s not my school; it’s our school. The thing that makes it so special is that there are so many people from different facets of life who have come into my life and made this dream come true.”
“Losing my child was devastating, but seeing what God can do through a tragedy is even greater,” said Sparks.
As the policy makers research or negotiates funding, families don’t have five or six years to wait, she says. This issue is urgent.
“The window is open right now. It may not be open in three years from now. What we do now does impact the future,” said Sparks.
She explained that because 100% of children enrolled are diagnosed with autism, they have to hire specialized teachers. She can’t just hire a regular education teacher because doing so could cause more harm to her students. Due to staffing issues caused by the lack of funding, she is teaching two classes this year, plus running the school.
“You have to know your children, but you also have to cater to their learning styles; and that’s where most of our kids are,” continued Sparks. “They tried public school, and guess what? It didn’t work, and we’re not a cookie-cutter school. We have to meet the needs of those children. They don’t have to meet our needs. We have to meet their needs.”
Sparks has expressed her frustration with former Gov. Roy Cooper, who has repeated said that institutions like the School of Hope are not accountable for how the scholarship money is being used. Sparks emphasized that she had invited the former governor to see what was happening and the lives that were being changed.
“We are learning about world history,” said Sparks, showing projects from the students. “This is work done by children who have autism. I did not help them at all; not one ounce of help was given, and they did this on their own.”
“So the governor (Cooper) wants to say there’s no accountability that we’re not teaching: come to the School of Hope; I beg to differ with you,” said Sparks. “It’s not about politics. It’s about reality, and the reality is we are teaching at this school; we are absolutely teaching at this school.”
If Opportunity Scholarships were easier to get or long-term funding was predictable, Sparks says it would give schools like hers the ability to plan for the years to come. It would also alleviate the stress on families spending the entire summer wondering on what tier they reside, or whether there will be enough available for their child.
According to data from the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA), the majority of Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) families earn less than $116,000 annually for a family of four. This income level is equivalent to the household of, for example, a North Carolina high school teacher and a registered nurse.
For the 2025-2026 academic year, NCSEAA reports that the total number of OSP applicants reached 40,089. Of those, the largest group (30%) had a family-of-four household income of $59,478 or less(Tier 1), while 28% had a family-of-four household income ranging from $59,478 to $118,956.
The scholarship is available to all North Carolinians on a sliding scale, with priority given to lower-income families who receive larger scholarships. For 2025-2026, approximately 17% of OSP applicants come from households with an income of more than $267,651, or chose not to report an income (Tier 4). However, Tier 4 families represent a smaller portion of OSP funding, as they receive smaller scholarships compared to Tier 1, 2, and 3 families.
“The significant number of new applications received shows sustained demand for the program,” wrote Kaitlyn Shepherd is a policy analyst with the John Locke Foundation’s Center for Effective Education.
The public investment into these students is being made either way, according to Sparks. She says either the investment is made now into these children so they can become adults who can care for themselves, have a chance at a normal life, and be productive citizens of society. Alternatively, the public investment is made later when they have already grown up to be adults who can’t take care of themselves or contribute to society because they weren’t invested in earlier in life.
“What we do now does impact the tomorrow.”
Sparks also plans to build a life center that she has named “The Hub,” which stands for “giving hope in unbelievable beginnings.” The project will serve as a job training center for high school students.
Sparks estimates the cost for The Hub could be as much as $1.5 million or more, but she is determined to find a way to bring it to life.
“The good Lord has never let me down,” said Sparks. “People always ask, how do you keep going after losing a child? It’s my faith in God. He’s never let me down. Never.”
Driven by a promise she made to her son Jared after his passing, Sparks, alongside her husband Rob, who co-founded the school with her, have brought hope to families with no hope left. Fully funding Opportunity Scholarships would allow institutions like The School of Hope to clear their waitlists and bring hope to countless more families.
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