Faulkner County has five private schools on our list, and all five take the Education Freedom Account. But they aren't spread evenly. Three are in Conway, two are in Greenbrier, and Vilonia and Mayflower have none of their own. If you live outside Conway, here's how to think about your options.
The two Greenbrier schools
Greenbrier, north of Conway, has two small Christian schools on the state's EFA list.
Ambassador Baptist Academy is a Baptist school serving kindergarten through grade 12, with 45 students in the 2023-24 federal survey. In the state's 2024-25 EFA report, 13 of its roughly 35 students used an account, and 85% of those families stayed the following year.
Central Christian Academy, also in Greenbrier, is on the state's current EFA list. In 2024-25 it reported 4 EFA students out of about 75, one of the lowest EFA shares in the area. That likely means many of its families haven't applied yet. If you're interested, ask the school how it handles EFA billing.
Small schools like these offer close-knit communities and individual attention. When you visit, ask how they handle upper-grade subjects, labs and electives with a small staff.
Driving to Conway
From Vilonia or Mayflower, Conway's three schools are a reasonable commute:
- Conway Christian School: non-denominational, PK-12, 290 EFA students in 2024-25
- St. Joseph Catholic School: Catholic, PK-12, 234 EFA students
- Compass Academy: for students with learning differences, grades 1 to 12
Mayflower families in the southern part of the county sometimes look south to North Little Rock and Maumelle schools too. The account follows your child to any participating school in Arkansas.
Can the account pay for the drive?
Only partly. Transportation through approved channels is an allowed expense, but a 2025 state law (SB 625) caps it at roughly a quarter of the account. Most families still treat the daily commute as a household cost. If a school runs a carpool or shuttle and invoices it, ask whether that fee can be paid from the account.
Learning at home
For families far from a campus, the homeschool side of the EFA is often the best fit. Since 2024-25 the account can pay for curriculum, approved tutoring, testing, some enrichment, college courses and approved online programs. Statewide, about a quarter of all accounts in 2024-25 were homeschool accounts.
A family in Vilonia or Mayflower might build a year around:
- An accredited online school. Our featured partner AmFaith, an online classical Christian school, publishes tuition of about $2,260 for K-2 and $3,000 for grades 3 to 12.
- A local co-op day or tutoring.
- Annual testing and curriculum for remaining subjects.
- For high-schoolers, a college course at one of Conway's colleges.
The 2026-27 account is $7,208 per student, so there's room for a full program. Confirm every provider's approval in ClassWallet before paying. Arkansas still requires the usual notice of intent to homeschool, filed separately from the EFA application.
A gap a church could fill
Vilonia and Mayflower are growing, with strong church communities and no private school of their own on our list. A church-hosted elementary school or a two- or three-day hybrid program, built on an accredited curriculum and approved for the EFA, would fill a real need. If your congregation is considering it, see our partners page.
Applying
New students apply through the state's FACTS portal at arkansasefa.com during the spring window. For 2026-27 it ran March 9 to June 1, and 2027-28 dates haven't been announced. Returning families renew inside ClassWallet.
What a homeschool week can look like
For a family new to homeschooling with an account, a concrete picture helps. Here's one possible week for a fifth grader in Vilonia. It's an illustration, not a requirement:
- Monday to Thursday mornings: core subjects through an online school or a boxed curriculum, about three to four hours a day.
- Tuesday afternoon: a reading or math tutor, paid through ClassWallet if the tutor is an approved provider.
- Friday: a co-op or enrichment day with other families, plus a library trip.
- Once a year: a nationally norm-referenced test to track progress, paid from the account.
Questions for a small school
- How many students are in my child's class, and are grades combined?
- Who teaches upper-level math and science, and how do you handle labs?
- What extracurriculars do you offer, or do students join community programs?
- How do you invoice ClassWallet, and which fees can be paid from the account?
Getting started in your first month
If you've decided to try a homeschool year, start small. Pick one core program, set a simple daily routine, and add a tutor or co-op only after the first few weeks. Families who try to build a full schedule on day one often burn out by October. ClassWallet will show your balance after each purchase, so you can watch spending as you go and save room for testing in the spring.
See all five Faulkner County schools in our directory, or start a funding check for help planning from wherever you live in the county.