Nestled along a country path, a quaint white colonial building houses the Delta Institute for the Developing Brain. Its inconspicuous placement almost led me to overlook it initially, raising doubts about its status as an educational institution. I spun around, headed towards the entrance, identified myself as a journalist and inquired about a visit. I was aware that a student had been mistreated at this Arkansas school the previous year due to some media coverage stemming from a detective’s account. Upon entering, I observed the young adolescents positioned in hammock-style seats or seated on the ground. I observed cameras in the entrance hall and classrooms, signaling that to comprehend the incident fully, I must view the footage that documented the attack. However, as this occurred at the Delta Institute, a private educational institution, I lacked access to the public records such as incident reports, emails, and video that would be available at a public school. The sole indication of a dreadful event occurring was due to law enforcement’s intervention. I had to continuously report for several weeks until the criminal case was concluded. After that, I decided to search for video evidence. My purpose was to investigate the rising trend of private schools in Northeast Arkansas, near Jonesboro. This phenomenon occurred due to state legislatures allocating more public funds for parents to finance private education. According to our findings, increased public funding does not always lead to enhanced transparency.
