Both Brenn Monroe and Brien Shea have children with learning differences, and they believe Amendment 2 would provide more educational options for Kentucky’s students, leading to more successful students and schools.
Amendment 2 is a ballot question that asks voters if they support enabling lawmakers to provide financial support for the education costs of children outside the public school system.
Monroe and Shea both send their children to Pitt Academy, a Catholic school that serves children with learning differences from kindergarten to 12th grade.
Shea said his son’s life changed after moving him to Pitt. His son, who has Down syndrome, wasn’t able to receive the education he needed at his previous school, said Shea.
“He was just sitting in the room; he wasn’t expected to do anything,” he said. Changing schools “changed our lives,” and “enhanced his life.”
“When we sent him to Pitt, we had more papers in one week from him than we did at the other school after a month,” he said.
Shea said his family has faced the financial challenges posed by choosing a non-public school.
“With the pandemic and now inflation, we had some rough years,” he said. Many other parents in the special-needs community face a similar challenge, he noted.
Tuition at Pitt this school year ranges from $16,400 to $18,500, according to the school website, Pitt.com.
About 56% of the school’s students this year received tuition assistance, said Renee Doty, principal of Pitt Academy. Doty said she has witnessed first-hand the financial challenges that prospective families encounter.
“We meet students with learning differences and disabilities that undoubtedly need to be at Pitt,” she said. “But even with the tuition assistance we have available, they are not able to attend due to financial hardships.”
“If these families and their students had access to (a financial assistance program supported by) Amendment 2 funds, they just may be able to attend Pitt Academy, a school that is able to individualize instruction to better meet their needs,” she said.
Monroe, whose daughter has attended Pitt since kindergarten, said voting “Yes” on Amendment 2 is vital for students with developmental or learning disabilities.
“To have more input as a parent is invaluable, when, you know, you can choose (from) several options for your child,” said Monroe.
“When we were looking at schools for our daughter, we knew we wanted something with a smaller environment,” Monroe said.
Her daughter sometimes has trouble with larger groups and requires specialized attention. Pitt gives her daughter a more “tailored” educational experience, she said.
“She can move at her own speed,” said Monroe, adding, “She’s not being forced into the same box or to keep up with the other kids to move on. Not every kid is going to succeed in each school.”
Monroe said she worries that, in another school, her daughter would be stuck “playing catch-up year by year.”
“She takes a little bit more time and wouldn’t be granted that time in a setting with one way of doing things,” she said.
At Pitt, she has also thrived socially, said Monroe.
“Everyone from K-12 knows who she is,” she said. “It’s such a tight-knit community, and, having less kiddos, it’s easier for her to connect with the other kids.”
“Whereas she might be left out” in other contexts or schools, “they nurture those friendships at the school,” Monroe added.
Shea has seen social benefits for his son, too.
“There’s a lot of times that kids with Down syndrome can get left behind if they’re with mainstream kids,” Shea said. “We just know he is in a better environment for him. He has friends; they hang out all the time.”
Shea said his son will emerge from Pitt with lifelong friends.
