Florida

Susan Asid has one child participating in the Florida McKay Scholarship Program, which provides a taxpayer-supported voucher to parents of special education students throughout the state to attend their school of choice.
Susan’s son, Dylan, attends DePaul School, which specializes in serving children with varying degrees of dyslexia.

Susan shares her struggle for locating quality educational options able to address Dylan’s special learning needs:

"I have been through hell and back to get some help for my child."

"When Dylan was at the public school, the teacher was writing full page letters every day telling me what Dylan could not do. He would come home with a full day’s schoolwork, plus homework because he couldn’t read the instructions. Homework became a four-hour ordeal of fighting and tears."

Susan said she first knew there was a problem in kindergarten. "Not being a special educator or teacher, I didn’t really know how to explain this to anyone else. I knew things were bad when I found out that the teacher would roll up a piece a paper and swat him on the head and call him a dummy."

"After he failed so many times, and he has no self esteem and no desire to try, then he’s labeled as something else and no one wants to deal with him."

Then she heard about the McKay Scholarship Program and sought to enroll her son. She submitted the application forms to the school well before the deadline.

"I could not get the principal to see me or to return calls. They finally left a message on my answering machine that Dylan was not eligible for the McKay program."

"When I finally reached the district school supervisor, I was told that Dylan had not been in the district long enough. They said they would not authorize the McKay application because they had not had the chance to fail him. She then added that it was past the deadline anyway, so I would have to wait until next year to apply. That’s when I realized that I had been intentionally put off."

"I don’t think they wanted to lose their money. I know that as a child who has special needs, he’s worth more financially to the district."

So, Susan went to the state Department of Education, Gov. Jeb Bush’s office and Senator McKay’s office. With their intervention she was able to enroll Dylan in the program.

"At DePaul, he does very well. He has learned a lot of coping mechanisms that he wasn’t taught at the public school."

"Before, he wouldn’t even try. He’d just say, "I’m a dummy," and give up. Now, he struggles. He tries. He’s using his coping skills he’s been taught and he’s making an effort."

"His confidence level, his self esteem are unbelievable. He’s up before anyone in the house. He’s dressed in his uniform and ready to go to school. Before this, it was a bribe to get him to go to school."

"I now feel that Dylan has a real chance at success. He’s excited about going to school. Now there are things he wants to do and learn about. He tries to read everything now – street signs, billboards, store signs – anything that he sees.

"After just eight weeks in the private school he earned his very first, ever, perfect score on a spelling test. The skills and abilities he has attained just amaze me. I always knew he could do it, he just needed the right way to unlock that busy brain of his."

"It’s like he’s got another lease on life because of this program."

"I could not afford the school without the scholarship. I am just so thankful of the McKay Scholarship and this chance at success."