Educating Allie

As many of you know, we raised funds a while ago to get Allie started at Eton Academy. Allie has a profound reading disability. She is severely dyslexic. Public school was just not going to teach her how to read, which led to a plethora of problems. I will cut to the chase:

Our previous GoFundMe was wildly successful. Allie’s tuition balance was taken care of for over a year! I planned to have Allie at Eton for three to four years and then transfer her back to public school once she was taught how to read, became proficient in basic math, gained advocacy skills and became more confident in herself. She has made so much progress at Eton! She continues to thrive and make unbelievable gains! She started at the end of her fourth-grade year and she is now in the 10th grade.

However, my plans have not panned out. The plan for Allie to return to public school is just NOT in the cards for her. Covid and the pandemic have changed that for us and now we have to pivot. Schools are so much different than before the pandemic. I know. I just did an internship at a local public high school. Teachers, administrators and educators are up against so much. Funding is an issue. Special Education Services are NOT tailored to each individual child's needs, the environment has changed. I cannot imagine a child like Allie, with such a profound disability, getting the help that she needs in a public school. If I were to send her to public school, it would destroy her. I have been exploring other alternatives and for a disability like hers, there are no educational organizations that will service her unique needs. Not another private school, a parochial school, another district or a charter school.I am in a pinch and I am beginning to panic.

She NEEDS to stay at Eton.

I have talked with Allie about this and she is just as worried as I am. She begs me to find a way to keep her at Eton. 

I will be honest. The ONLY way I have been able to keep her at Eton is because she receives a generous grant from the school which reduces the cost of her tuition by approximately 40%. That still leaves a staggering bill. I do not get ANY help from her father. I was not able to add Allie's educational expenses to a divorce order, I cannot take him to court or get Friend of the Court involved. Jason and I have discussed this and assistance from him just will not happen.

The ONLY way that I have been able to make this happen for my daughter is by maxing out all of my student loans.

And the amount that I can take out in loans is never enough to cover the cost of her tuition.

I am doing the very best that I can.

I have exhausted every single payment arrangement, agreement, consideration and promise that I have made to Eton. Eton Administration has done all they can for our family. Despite all of those efforts, Allie missed nearly three weeks of school. I recently made a payment with my most current Wayne State University financial aid return from the U.S. Department of Education. The next payment of nearly $6000 is due on June 1st. Allie will not be allowed to finish her school year if this is not paid. Allie will not be allowed to return for her junior year unless the next payment of nearly $12,000 is made. I will not even be able to enroll her. The uncertainty of her schooling does so much harm to Allie every summer as I wheel and deal and try to make this happen for her and with Butch, her Eton dog, being sick and now needs to be put down, her world is shattering. She is heartbroken. During her last stay at home due to this tuition issue, Allie did all of the classwork that she could from home. She had friends Facetime her during class, text her during lunch, she emailed her teachers and stayed on top of Google Classroom as best as she could. I took her to the library and worked with her, I emailed her teachers and asked for guidance. We sat at our kitchen table and talked about what she was studying in History. I read her portions of FDR's Fireside Chats. I helped her navigate assignments in math, an English assignment that involved creating a podcast and writing assignments summarizing summer plans and family activities. Allie was diligent and set up her classroom at the kitchen table every morning and worked through this. It was a long three weeks but this blunder did not dull her determination or break her tenacity. Eton teachers worked with her as best as they could! 

Please consider helping keep Allie at Eton.

Please help us by contributing. If you cannot contribute, please share the GoFundMe link.

This is for Allie. Her teachers have told me that NO kid deserves to be at Eton more than she does.

And that is the honest to God truth.

We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!