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June 10, 2025 16 mins

Arkansas's AR Learns program provides homeschool families with funds that can be used for educational expenses, including NorthStar Academy's global online courses. As an approved service provider, NorthStar offers accredited curriculum aligned with state standards while connecting students with peers around the world, developing both academic knowledge and cross-cultural understanding.

• NorthStar Academy is now an approved service provider for Arkansas's EFA program
• Families can receive $1,716 per quarter beginning in the 2025-2026 school year
• Funds can be used for curriculum, specialized classes, educational field trips, and more
• Similar voucher programs exist in other states including Arizona and Florida
• Online learning develops executive functioning and communication skills for college readiness
• Global classroom experience connects students across multiple continents
• Dual accreditation through ACSI and Cognia ensures quality standards

For more information about NorthStar Academy, visit nsaschool.com or email info@nsa.school.


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Episode Transcript

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Stephanie Shafer (00:04):
Hi, this is Stephanie Shafer and you're
listening to the NorthStarNarrative, a podcast from
NorthStar Academy.
I want to thank you for joiningus.
I hope you're encouraged,challenged and motivated by what
you learned today.
Enjoy the story.
Hey everybody, welcome back tothe NorthStar Narrative.
In our last episode, ourprincipal, Katie Ahmadzai,

(00:26):
shared insights into howChristian education is adapting
to meet the unique needs ofstudents worldwide.
If you missed that discussion,I would encourage you to listen
to it for a comprehensiveunderstanding of NorthStar
Academy's mission and offerings.
Today we're continuing theconversation by exploring how
state-level initiatives,particularly Arkansas' Education

(00:48):
Freedom Account program, areexpanding educational choices
for families.
We'll discuss what thesechanges mean for families
considering NorthStar Academyand how they can navigate the
new opportunities available tothem.
So thanks so much, Katie, forjoining me for part two of this
incredibly importantconversation.

Katie Ahmadzai (01:08):
Super glad to be able to be here and talk just a
little bit about the schoolchoice options that are out
there, especially in my homestate of Arkansas, that have
just really rolled out to thegeneral public for the 25-26
school year.

Stephanie Shafer (01:26):
Yeah, Thanks so much, Katie, for spending
time researching, investigating,praying through and just really
able to bring us some goodinformation today, but also
helping us get on the list.
So I'm going to let you telleverybody what the list is and
why it's important let you telleverybody what the list is and

(01:48):
why it's important.

Katie Ahmadzai (01:48):
Great.
Well, part of the schoolvoucher program is kind of what
it is.
It's in Arkansas.
Every state refers to theirprogram a little bit differently
.
There are several states nowthat have some sort of
educational.
In Arkansas it's called aneducational freedom account, an
educational savings account insome states, vouchers in other

(02:09):
states.
Every state that is utilizingthis program has set it up a
little bit differently, based onwhat their state needs and
based on research that's outthere.
So what we are excited about asa school is that we have been
approved as a service providerfor the state of Arkansas, which
means that families who haveenrolled in the Arkansas Learns

(02:33):
program can actually now bereimbursed or use funds that
they have in their educationalfreedom account through the
class wallet program to payNorthStar directly, even for
some classes, and this reallyopens the door for a lot of

(02:55):
homeschooling families inArkansas that might need maybe
just a little bit of extrasupport for a class or two.
I know that sometimes being ahomeschool mom can be really
overwhelming Keeping track ofall of the work for your kiddos,
especially as they get olderinto high school.

(03:15):
Maybe they're taking some APcourses or some upper level
courses in subject areas wheremom's area of expertise is a
little limited.
That would, for me, that wouldbe the English area I would be
like.
I want some extra help in thiscourse, and Northstar is here to

(03:36):
be able to come alongside ofhomeschooling families and offer
a course or two, or as many asneeded to be able to supplement
what's going on at home.
And now there's even an optionfor reimbursement, like I said,
or being able to pay throughyour savings your educational
freedom savings account.

Stephanie Shafer (03:56):
Yeah, super excited about all the
opportunities this is openingand hopefully families will be
able to check us out and startwith maybe one course, just like
Katie said, or two, see howyour student does in online
courses and give them theopportunity to be challenged and
exposed to the online world soimportant.
All right, can you tell us alittle bit more, for those that

(04:17):
might be wondering about somedetails, of the amounts that are
available specifically, andwhat steps do they need to do to
enroll their student?

Katie Ahmadzai (04:25):
Sure.
So, first of all, just theenrollment process is fairly
simple.
There's an application process.
You can Google Arkansas Learnsand that will take you directly
to a site from the ArkansasDepartment of Education where
there is a small form that youfill out, an application that

(04:46):
you fill out and then, as ahomeschool parent, you can be
approved for those amounts.
For the 25-26 school year theyhave announced that the
allotment is going to be $1,716per quarter.
Thousand seven hundred sixteendollars per quarter and that's

(05:08):
for four quarters starting inAugust, and that allows the
family to be able to spend thatmoney on educational services,
on curriculum, on classes.
So a lot of different needs.
If you need, if you're ahomeschooling family and you
need books, you can use it forbooks.

(05:28):
If you are a homeschoolingfamily and you want to take an
educational field trip withinthe state of Arkansas, you can
actually file to do that.
If you need specialized classesfor one of your students maybe
they are struggling withdyslexia and they need coaching
you can use that money forcoaching.

(05:49):
Again, as a homeschool family,it's basically the money that
would have gone to the schoolsystem that your child would
have attended is now availableto you as a family, since you
are doing the schooling, and sothat's a significant amount of
money and can really be used tosupplement homeschooling and

(06:12):
enrich a student's experience inhomeschooling.

Stephanie Shafer (06:16):
Yeah, thanks again, katie, for all of this
incredible information.
If you're listening right nowand you know families in
Arkansas, you're definitelygoing to want to share this
podcast with them.
But also, in a moment we'regoing to talk about other states
, not just Arkansas.
So, but before we do that,katie, will you tell us a little
bit about how NorthStarcurriculum is aligning for the

(06:37):
requirements for the EFA program?

Katie Ahmadzai (06:42):
aligning for the requirements for the EFA
program.
Sure, so to be able to beapproved for the EFA program,
they want to know that we'reusing quality standards and that
we're an accredited school.
So we're able to say that weare accredited by ACSI,
association of Christian SchoolsInternational, as well as
Cognia.
Both are internationallyrecognized school accreditation
organizations.
They are on the list forArkansas as approved

(07:05):
accreditation organizations aswell.
We use standards that are veryclosely aligned to the Arkansas
standards.
In fact, we've gone to theArkansas state standards a
couple of times as we've writtensome of our courses, because
they've written very clearstandards that are nationally
aligned.
We feel like they arerepresentative of what you would

(07:28):
get at a national level forcertain high school courses.
That just helps forstandardization, because if
you're moving from one side ofthe country to the other side of
the country, you want to beable to walk into an algebra
class and know that they'regoing to be covering the same
types of information.
One other aspect that ArkansasLearns does require is that we

(07:49):
are doing quality assessments aswell as offer standardized
assessments.
So, of course, within ourcourses, we align our
assessments to standards so thatwe can measure what students
are learning and then as aschool, we actually offer the
MAP test, which can be providedonline.

(08:11):
It's a standardized,internationally recognized test
for growth of studentachievement over the years, and
so what's great about that isthat we offer that to all
students at NorthStar, but it'srequired for students in sixth
through ninth grade, and sostudents who are taking courses

(08:33):
with us in English and math arethen required to take that MAP
test.
We're able to track theirlearning and their growth.
That gives us information onthe quality of our program.
It also gives parentsinformation about the quality of
the program.
So if you are taking a classwith us as a homeschool parent,
you may be required to submitsome sort of national testing to

(08:57):
the state of Arkansas for eachof your students.
You can actually do that hereat Northstar.
You can do that through our maptesting program, so we also
have that kind of added bonus ofwhat we can offer to families.

Stephanie Shafer (09:12):
Yeah, and if you have more questions about
that, you can reach out to us byemail at any time.
Always use our info atNSAschool email.
We'll get you in touch with theright person as your questions
come up.
All right, let's talk about theother states, like we said.
So if you're living in the USand you're not in Arkansas, is

(09:34):
there hope for those families?
What's going on across the US?

Katie Ahmadzai (09:39):
Absolutely so.
There are a broad variety ofvoucher programs or school
choice programs across theUnited States.
So the best thing that a parentcan do is to go to their State
Department of Education'swebsite and do some
investigation about the policiesaround the voucher systems, who

(09:59):
they apply to, how to haveaccess, how you can get access
to money that may be availableto you that you don't even know
about.
So two of the other stateswhere the voucher system has
been going fairly strong isArizona and Florida.

(10:19):
Fairly strong is Arizona andFlorida.
In both of those states theyhave a similar system where
there are educational savingsaccounts and parents are able to
spend that money as they decideon courses like Northstar.
Different states have differentways about being refunded for
that or how to pay with thatmoney up front.

(10:42):
That varies from state to state.
So that is something that,again, I cannot emphasize enough
that parents really have to dosome due diligence in this.
Not only does each state have adifferent process, sometimes
those processes are changing,because each year, whenever the
state legislature meets,sometimes there are some changes

(11:04):
.
So being able to find like anewsletter to be a part of,
where you're getting updatesabout your state's funding
program is really helpful.
Finding groups on social mediathat are focused on this can be
really helpful as homeschoolfamilies to make sure you have
all the information you need tobe able to make the best
decisions for your family.

Stephanie Shafer (11:22):
Yes, those are great tips, so pay attention
and do your due diligence, getonline, find the information you
need for your state, and we'llbe praying that it does pay off
for each family and you'll getto have a broader selection for
your student to learn.
And so, as we wrap this up,katie, tell us a little bit

(11:44):
about your vision for the futureof online Christian education
in light of these state-levelinitiatives and how NorthStar
Academy is evolving to meet theneeds of students and families.

Katie Ahmadzai (11:57):
So something that I just have a heart for is
that, just like variety is thespice of life, that exposing
students to a variety ofdifferent types of learning
experiences enriches them andprepares them for their future.
And so, if you are a part of ahomeschool family or a

(12:20):
homeschool co-op, just thinkingabout NorthStar as an
opportunity for your student tofirst of all be involved in an
online school where they aredeveloping some ownership of
their learning, developingexecutive functioning skills,
communication in an onlineplatform those are great skills

(12:42):
to be able to learn at thisstage of life, before you get on
into college.
The extra bonus to me is thefact that NorthStar goes beyond
just an online learningexperience to the fact that you
are interacting with studentsfrom around the world, and so
you are impacting your worldview.

(13:02):
Just by being a part of aNorthStar class, your students
are going to be interacting withstudents on probably five or
six different continents who areexperiencing the world in very
different ways and are going tobe able to discuss what they see
going on in the world with oneanother, and then your student
is able to walk out into yourcommunity with a broader scope

(13:25):
and a broader understanding ofthe world.
They're going to be ready tomake an impact not only in your
community, with a broader scopeand a broader understanding of
the world.
They're going to be ready tomake an impact not only in your
community, but they're going tobe thinking about worldwide
change as well, and so, to me,this is one more way of opening
that door for students to haveaccess to what very few students
really get access to.

(13:45):
You may, your student may neverget the chance to study abroad,
but they can have access towhat other students are learning
from their experience of beingabroad and maybe develop
relationships where you know,during the gap year, they decide
to go to one of these countriesand spend time serving in some
way or learning in some way, andso that experience is very hard

(14:08):
to replace, and I think that'swhat makes Northstar stand out
beyond just any othereducational service provider
that's out there.

Stephanie Shafer (14:17):
Yeah, Northstar is so unique and we're
so proud of just thoseopportunities that our platform
gives for students all over theworld to interact.
So if you want more informationabout Northstar, again, you can
email us at info at nsaschool.
Check out our website,nsaschool.

(14:37):
There's lots of greatinformation on there.
And, again, do your duediligence and get involved in
what's happening in your state,finding out more, researching
and, yeah, in the legislation tohelp get these items passed for
your students, your counties.
So remember, listen to the firstpodcast with Katie if you

(14:58):
haven't, and share thesepodcasts to learn more about
NorthStar, for your friends andfamily, to learn about what's
happening in the states andespecially in Arkansas.
We're super excited aboutArkansas and where we are
heading.
So pray for NorthStar, pray forChristian education and, of
course, our families andstudents across the globe, that
God would continue just to openthese incredible doors and give

(15:20):
so many fun opportunities.
Don't miss what is happening,because it's really a good time,
really a fun time, to be a partof Christian education.
Thanks so much, katie, forjoining us today.

Katie Ahmadzai (15:32):
Always, always a blessing and love the
opportunity to be able to share,yeah, great opportunities that
are out there for students.

Stephanie Shafer (15:40):
Thank you so much for listening today.
If you have any questions forour guest or would like
information about Northstar,please email us.
At podcast at NSA dot school,we love having guests on our
show and getting to hear theirstories.
If you have anyone in mind thatyou think would be a great
guest to feature, please emailus and let us know.
And don't forget to subscribeso you don't miss out on

(16:04):
upcoming stories.
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