If your child has dyslexia, ADHD, autism or another learning difference, the search for the right school can feel endless. In Faulkner County, one school is built for exactly these students, and the Education Freedom Account has become central to how its families pay. Here's what Compass Academy looks like in the state's data, how the higher former-Succeed amount works, and what to consider if a specialized school isn't the right fit.
Compass Academy
Compass Academy in Conway serves grades 1 through 12. The federal Private School Survey classifies it as a special-education school, and it reported 125 students in 2023-24. In the state's 2024-25 EFA report:
- 105 of its roughly 140 students used an account, 75%. That's one of the highest shares in central Arkansas.
- 87% of those EFA students continued in the program the next year, and 80% stayed at Compass.
- Families recorded about $368,000 in EFA payments to the school in the spring transactions the report covers.
The report also lists Compass's EFA students' average test percentiles: the 24th in math and the 11th in reading. For a school that serves students with learning differences, low percentiles reflect who the school serves, not how well it teaches. A better question is how Compass measures each student's growth over time.
The $8,011 question
Most students receive $7,208 for 2026-27. Students who came into the EFA from the former Succeed Scholarship receive the full state foundation amount: $8,011. Succeed was Arkansas's earlier scholarship for students with IEPs, foster youth and some military families, and its students kept their higher funding when the EFA replaced it.
Having an IEP today doesn't automatically mean the higher amount. It depends on whether your child came through Succeed. Students with disabilities are a priority group when the state reviews applications, though. If you aren't sure which amount applies, ask the state EFA office before you budget.
Statewide, students with disabilities were the largest group of EFA users in 2024-25, at 36% of participants. You aren't navigating this alone.
Beyond a specialized school
A specialized school isn't the only route. The account's flexibility means some families build a program instead:
- Therapies and evaluations. The account can pay licensed or accredited providers for speech, occupational and behavioral therapy, and for educational evaluations.
- Tutoring. Approved tutors, including structured-literacy specialists for dyslexia, can be paid from the account.
- A homeschool or online core. With a homeschool account, a family can combine a curriculum or online school with tutoring and therapy, at the child's own pace.
- A general-enrollment school with support. Conway Christian and St. Joseph are much larger schools. Ask what learning support they offer, who provides it, and whether it costs extra.
Choosing between them
A rough guide:
- If your child needs a different classroom environment all day, with small classes, specialized teachers and built-in accommodations, a school like Compass is designed for that.
- If your child mostly needs intensive help in one area, such as reading, a homeschool or hybrid account with a specialist tutor can concentrate the money where it's needed.
- If your child does well with moderate support, a general-enrollment school with a learning-support program may work, and keeps them with a broader peer group.
Whatever you choose, price it out. If a specialized school's tuition uses most of the account, there may be little left for outside therapy. Ask whether therapies are included in tuition.
Questions for Compass or any program
- Which diagnoses and support levels do you serve well, and is there an opening in my child's grade?
- What's the student-to-teacher ratio, and who provides therapies?
- Are therapies included in tuition or billed separately, and can they go through ClassWallet?
- How do you measure and report progress, and how often?
- What does a successful transition to a general-enrollment school look like here?
If your child has an IEP in public school now
An IEP is a public-school plan. When you move your child to a private school by choice, the district isn't required to provide everything in it anymore. Federal law does require districts to offer some "equitable services" to parentally placed private-school students, but those are usually limited. Ask your district's special-education office what it provides. Many families use EFA dollars for therapy and tutoring to fill the gap.
What to gather
- Your child's current IEP or 504 plan and the latest evaluation
- Any record of a former Succeed Scholarship
- A list of current services and how often your child receives them
- Recent report cards or progress reports to share with prospective schools
Thinking a few years ahead
Ask any program how it prepares students for what comes next, whether that's moving back to a general-enrollment classroom, graduating with a standard diploma, or starting a job-training path. A school that can show you how former students transitioned, and what support it provided along the way, is giving you useful evidence. The account follows your child through every one of those steps.
Compass and Faulkner County's other private schools are in our Conway directory. If you'd like help sorting out which amount applies and what it can cover, start a funding check.