SAN ANTONIO – Sonia Soria is a busy working mother doing what she can to provide her children, Abram and Axel Ortega, the best opportunities possible.
Soria was among around 270,000 Texas parents who applied for the state’s first Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), watching closely for updates.
“I was checking every day on the Odyssey website,” Soria said.
A few weeks ago, she received the email that her children were accepted.
“I feel really lucky, honestly, that we got this opportunity,” Soria said. “It seems that I don’t even know anybody else that got awarded other than my mom.”
Soria said her oldest child, Abram — who is being treated for ADHD — was placed in a top-priority funding category.
Soria stated that the benefits of more individualized learning could change her child’s life for the better.
“Honestly, the smaller class ratio alone for my oldest is going to be, I think, a big plus,” Soria said. “He just requires a little bit more attention in the classroom with his diagnosis.”
Since finding out her family was accepted, Soria said she has moved quickly. She has already finalized enrollment at a private school, formally accepted TEFA’s offer and notified her children’s current district that they won’t be returning next year.
Soria said that the private school she chose is new to Texas. It uses an education model she may not have considered without the program.
“We probably wouldn’t have had this opportunity otherwise,” she said. “It opened the door for us to kind of see this homeschool model and how beneficial it would be to our children.”
Because the TEFA is still new, Soria said she is continuing to work through the financial details, which include how much funding will remain for additional costs such as therapy, uniforms and other needs.
Statewide, about 150,000 people remain on the TEFA waitlist. In the San Antonio area, there are about 260 schools participating in the program.
To appeal the comptroller’s decision for their child’s Texas Education Freedom Accounts application, families can email their appeal to help.tx@withodyssey.com.
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