Our family feels it’s extremely important, especially in today’s world, to have God woven through every part of our kids’ lives. They spend the majority of their time at school, so we wanted them to have as much Christian influence as possible throughout the day. My son also has dyslexia, and the smaller class sizes at Valley Christian are much more conducive to his learning style.

What we love most is the loving teachers, the community, and how the curriculum weaves a faith-based view into every subject. Our kids are free to express their values and pray at school, and we’re free to go to school leadership and have honest dialogue around any issues that arise.

Without ACSTO’s assistance, we would not have been able to afford sending three kids through private school. We moved here from Colorado, where no such assistance existed, and we appreciate that here, families of all income levels can afford private Christian schools — which means a genuinely diverse group of kids, not just those from high-income families. I believe that makes for a healthier environment for everyone.

At first, the idea of paying full tuition felt scary. But with ACSTO, if you’re willing to put in the effort, it becomes very affordable — and it has been well worth it. With the public school system dealing with overcrowding and today’s curriculum, I’m more thankful than ever that God provided this pathway for our family. If the tax credit program ever went away, we would sacrifice to keep our kids in their schools, because it has been life-changing for them. The Tax Credit Program is a huge blessing in Arizona, and I’m thankful for the people at ACSTO who work so hard to make sure families can afford a Christian education for their kids.