New Book: School Choice Proves Key in Helping Students with Learning Disabilities Overcome Obstacles, Achieve Success

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Nov 30, 2020, 08:36 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- By utilizing cutting-edge brain research, non-conventional education options are helping students with learning disabilities chart a path forward to success, and equity demands these choice options be made available to every student, finds a new book published today by the California-based, nonpartisan think tank, the Pacific Research Institute.

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A Kite in a Hurricane No More shares the challenges and ultimate triumph of Mia Giordano, a young woman with serious learning disabilities that conventional schools could not help. As she shares in her first-hand account, the ability of Mia's parents to choose a nonconventional education option resulted in a life-changing metamorphosis.

"Mia's journey of change, success and happiness should not be the story of just one young woman, but the story of millions of children," writes co-author Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI's Center for Education. "Only through enlightened public policy will that journey for America's children become a reality."

Scientific advances show that the brain is not a static organ but is changeable and ever changing. Mia benefitted from a program called the Arrowsmith Program, which incorporates the latest brain research into their educational practices. Thanks to school choice, Mia was able to enroll in a small school/learning center in the Bay Area that offered the program. In contrast, conventional public schools have largely failed to take account of this research and have not adjusted to better address the needs of students with disabilities like Mia.

"My journey is not only about my personal struggles and ultimate triumph, but it is also about the much bigger issue of giving all children the same choices that I had," writes Giordano. "I was able to succeed because my family had choices in education. Only when all families have the same ability to make choices will all children have the chance to succeed that I had."

Millions of children are sadly left behind because their parents do not have the financial means to access these educational options that would work best for them or live in states where school choice tools are inadequate.

Izumi points to the Gardiner scholarship program in Florida, which gives special-needs students the opportunity receive an education savings account funded by the state, as a policy reform that should be replicated in other states. The program makes the Arrowsmith program affordable for parents and students in the Sunshine State.

A Kite in a Hurricane No More is available for purchase at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other online booksellers.

The Pacific Research Institute (www.pacificresearch.org) champions freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility by advancing free-market policy ideas. Follow PRI on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Pacific Research Institute