FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 25, 2023

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CONTACT
Rachael Slobodien
rachael@opportunityarkansas.org

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OPPORTUNITY ARKANSAS ANNOUNCES ‘FACES OF FREEDOM’ VIDEO SERIES

Series will highlight education freedom’s impact on Arkansas families, next generation

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CONWAY, AR — Today, Opportunity Arkansas (OA) released a first-of-its-kind testimonial video featuring an Arkansas family enrolled in the new Education Freedom Account program, a core component of the Arkansas LEARNS Act. The release of this video coincides with National School Choice Week and highlights a mother’s story of how education freedom changed her daughter’s life. The video series, entitled “Faces of Freedom,” will highlight how education freedom in Arkansas is changing the course of the next generation.

In the series’ first video, Arkansas mom Allison Cunningham shares how the one-size-fits-all public school system wasn’t working for her daughter, Eliza, who showed signs of ADHD and needed one-on-one support. Eliza was frustrated and overwhelmed and didn’t want to go to school. Allison explains how she even contemplated quitting her job in order to homeschool her daughter. Fortunately, because of education freedom, Eliza was able to enroll in a private school that better fits her learning needs with small classes and one-on-one attention, and she is now thriving.

The Cunningham family represents the thousands of Arkansans who have already benefited from Education Freedom Accounts. After hearing a story like the Cunningham’s, it is no surprise to learn that recent polling shows nearly 60 percent of families in Arkansas support education freedom.

“I’ve spent the last several months traveling the state and talking to Arkansans who are experiencing the benefits of education freedom,” said Nic Horton, Founder & CEO of Opportunity Arkansas. “I can tell you firsthand: This program is changing lives and changing the course of the next generation.

It's so easy in the policy world to get lost in numbers and nuance, but at the end of the day, the reason policy matters is because it affects real people like the Cunninghams.”

Horton continued:

“In the coming weeks and months, we will be telling even more stories of families like the Cunninghams so policymakers and the public can have an up close look at how the future of our state is changing before our very eyes. A quality education has been too far out of reach for too many Arkansas kids, leaving them without a fair shot to climb the ladder and thrive. But thank God, those days are over—and what we are seeing now is just the beginning.”

View the video in its entirety here.

To read more stories of Arkansans who have experienced the positive impact of education freedom, click here.

For meetings, bookings, or interviews, contact Rachael Slobodien via email at rachael@opportunityarkansas.org.

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About Opportunity Arkansas Foundation
Opportunity Arkansas Foundation is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization on a mission to renew the Land of Opportunity by simplifying government and solving generational problems for the next generation. OA stands ready to partner with state policymakers who share these goals. To learn more, visit www.OpportunityArkansas.org.