This week and every week we are thankful for parent advocates like Donishia Arso-Frison who fight for educational options for all children. Donishia shares her story of gratitude for parent choice which has allowed her to travel the country with her children.

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Donishia Arso-Frison has been advocating with PSO for three years, but her advocacy story really began when her son started kindergarten.

“He had to defend himself at such a young age,” says the mother of three virtual school students, who discovered her son was being bullied at his brick-and-mortar public school.  

The family switched him to Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy (LAVCA) and he has thrived in that learning environment ever since.

Donishia is grateful for the opportunities parent choice has brought to her and her family, including the ability to “bring textbooks to life” and take the children on field trips both near and far. For them, school is about “hands-on experience” and “meeting new people, traveling to different states and actually getting up close and personal with a lesson.”

“It's not all about just sitting in a classroom or just in front of a screen,” says Donishia.

The idea her children are missing out on social experiences is one of the biggest misconceptions she’s faced.

“I would like people to really understand that not all kids who attend homeschool or virtual school are socially challenged. My kids actually do get out and have real school experiences. This year alone my junior was able to attend an actual school dance through the kindness of another school.”

For Donishia, her favorite moments in advocacy have been meeting school choice champion Virginia Walden-Ford at her first PSO Parent Leadership Conference in Washington, DC and speaking at the hearing for the renewal of her school’s charter for the first time.

She says her involvement in the school choice movement has “opened my eyes to the fact that most parents don’t know they actually have a voice or options” and that school freedom means she is “100% in the know and an ally with the “ah” moments” her children experience along the way.

 “It was a beautiful sight to see your child go from sounding out and blending words to reading short stories, to mini books, to novels. As a parent, you are happy, overjoyed, and proud all at the same time.”

Donishia is grateful for parent choice because it has given her a voice and platform to share her story and learn about the educational options parents have to offer their children. She is also thankful for the “amazing people who encouraged, educated, and motivated” her “to fight for a place where our kids thrive and feel safe as they learn.”

And for the Arso-Frison family that place could be anywhere in the world.

“The kids have been able to travel and still attend school without missing a beat or falling behind,” says Donishia.

Her children have been to Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Delaware, Maryland, Texas, Ohio, and Louisiana.

“This is only the beginning,” she says. “The entire world is a classroom that needs to be explored.”

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Want to share your story? We want to hear it! Email jessica@publicschooloptions.org to be featured on our blog.