Raising multiple children quickly shows how different and unique each child is, especially in their experience as a student.

While formal schooling often tries to standardize education with some differentiation, many students need more personalized education than that system can provide.

Luckily, education choice programs are helping parents with this. As more parents share their experiences with education choice programs, other families and lawmakers are learning that education choice offers personalization more powerfully and efficiently than ever.

Utah parents Michael and Jenny found this to be true for their six children. They shared their story about using the Utah Fits All Scholarship and agreed to let me share. It’s instructive for parents who are interested in home-based education for multiple children and for policymakers who want to understand how well this program can work. I’ve shared a few highlights of their story below.

Michael and Jenny’s story

For years, Michael and Jenny sent their children to their neighborhood schools but eventually decided to homeschool.

“Our original plan was simple: fund what we could ourselves, use free public and community resources, and be creative in building an education around the individual needs of each child.

“A few months later, we learned about Harmony Education, which gave us access to additional curriculum, resources, and community classes. That experience opened our eyes to what could happen when parents had greater flexibility to match educational opportunities to an individual child. We participated in Harmony for about two and a half years and were very grateful for it.

“When Utah Fits All was announced, we were excited to apply because it offered an even greater opportunity to individualize our children’s education. With six children, we have learned very clearly that no two children are the same. They have different strengths, interests, struggles, personalities, and ways of learning.”

In fact, they shared three specific experiences of their children receiving personalized education through the Utah Fits All Scholarship that highlight how well this program can meet individual needs: one child who succeeded in public speaking despite a speech impediment, one who overcame challenges learning to read, and one who was able to accelerate in a loved subject.

“Our oldest daughter has always been outgoing, talkative, and full of personality. As she grew older, though, we watched her become more self-conscious about speaking in certain settings after being teased because of a speech impediment. Around family and close friends, she was still very much her fun-loving self, but we could see how those experiences were beginning to affect her confidence. Her public school provided speech resources, for which we were grateful, but UFA gave us the ability to access additional resources that were especially well matched to her individual needs.

“A powerful moment came last year when she participated in speech and debate and won first place in an Ethics Bowl competition. It was especially rewarding to see her confidently use the very voice she had once felt self-conscious about.

“Our youngest daughter had a unique challenge of her own. As we began working closely with her, we discovered that she was experiencing dyslexia-related challenges that were making reading especially difficult. The methods that had worked for our five older children simply weren’t working for her. UFA helped us access specialized reading tools, learning apps, and one-on-one tutoring tailored to the way she learns. She is now reading at grade level and beginning to truly thrive with reading.

“Our oldest son provides yet another example. Early in his schooling, concerns were raised about possible developmental delays because he would sometimes doodle on his schoolwork, but as we looked more closely, we discovered two things: first, he was doing very well academically and was often doodling because he had already finished the assignment; and second, he had an incredible aptitude for mathematics. If you ask him his favorite subject today, he will immediately answer, ‘Math.’ The flexibility we have now allows us to meet him at his level and really let him run with his progress and passion for math.”

Unsurprisingly, Michael and Jenny frequently expressed how thankful they are for the program, saying they are “enormously grateful for Utah Fits All and for the legislators and others who have worked to make it possible.”

Still, there is room for improvement.

“At times, we’ve felt a gradual shift from a more parent-driven experience toward a more program-driven one,” they said. “And while we absolutely recognize the need for appropriate checks and balances, accountability, and responsible stewardship of public funds, we hope the program never loses the flexibility that makes it so valuable. We’ve occasionally encountered situations where a legitimate educational activity is approved while a required material or related expense is not, which can sometimes make it harder for a child to fully participate in an otherwise approved opportunity. Our hope is for a system that is simple, predictable, accountable, and built on reasonable trust in parents.”

Furthermore, they would love to see greater cooperation between the program and public schools.

Michael and Jenny shared that they have “encountered situations where a public-school class, team, or activity could be a wonderful fit for one of our children and a benefit to the public school, but participation has been difficult because of enrollment requirements. We don’t see public schools as competition. Sometimes the best resource for a particular child will be found there.”

Lawmakers and Utahns should be able to agree with their objective: “Our goal is to find what is best for each child.”

To do this, current and new lawmakers should better understand the role the Utah Fits All Scholarship program plays in the state, protect it, and fund it. More Utah families and children deserve to find the success that so many families have already found with this program.