Easterseals Arkansas has started construction on a new school for grades kindergarten through 12th grade.

The new K-12 Academy, partially funded by the state’s Restricted Reserve fund, will expand the number of students the current Easterseals Arkansas educational program can accommodate.

In the 1990s, Lisenne Rockefeller and her late husband, Lt. Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, founded the school for children with special needs. They were inspired by their own children, both of whom were born with Down syndrome.

The original school, initially housed in the Rockefeller family home, later moved to its first dedicated location in the Riverdale area of Little Rock in 2003. In 2017, with enrollment of fewer than 20 students, Easterseals Arkansas assumed operation of the school, which now serves 78 students with special needs.

But the school has a wait list of about 200.

“This expansion will allow Easterseals to extend its reach, supporting even more students in the years to come,” Easterseals Arkansas officials announced Wednesday.

On Wednesday, officials gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony, which included Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She referenced the LEARNS Act — a 145-page broad education package that includes setting minimum salaries for teachers, changes in student testing and an expanded school voucher system — in her remarks.

“At the heart of Arkansas LEARNS is the belief that every student, no matter their ability, deserves an education that best fits their needs,” Sanders said. “I’m proud that the Education Freedom Accounts created by LEARNS, along with a financial contribution from the state, are helping Easterseals Academy grow and put more students on a path to success than ever before.”

The Educational Freedom Account program greatly expanded a smaller Succeed Scholarship voucher program that had been for students with special education needs.

Ron Ekstrand, CEO of Easterseals Arkansas, expressed appreciation for the state’s financial help with the new Academy, saying it “ensured that families of students with special needs are included and prioritized in accessing the necessary funds to attend a school like Easterseals Academy. This new facility will provide our students with the specialized support they need to thrive, and it will serve as a model for similar schools in other communities across the state.”

Easterseals of Arkansas said that families from Batesville, Dermott and Pine Bluff as well as from Mississippi have moved to Little Rock to to attend the Easterseals Arkansas school.

Others commute daily from Judsonia, Hazen, Brinkley, Malvern and Hot Springs, Easterseals Arkansas said.

Carter Ford, who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, said he and his family moved from Batesville so their daughter, Chaney, could attend the Academy.

“Beyond the first-class curriculum, teachers, therapists, and beyond the safe environment, Chaney has something here that every human deserves, and that’s a full life,” Ford said. “She has friends, she has a community that she belongs to, she has the opportunity to be challenged, to learn, and to grow into her full potential.

“And beyond her education, she has this organization, Easterseals, who will be there when her education is complete to find a place in the workforce, find a community to possibly live with semi-independently as an adult, and activities to participate in for the rest of her life. She has a full life because of this school, this community, and this organization. The hope that we have because of this is priceless.”