Upper Northwood

Please don’t place your child at this school. My experience has been very disappointing. My daughter suffers from anxiety and told me she did not feel safe returning after an incident. I previously submitted documentation explaining her diagnoses, but I was told it had not been reviewed. When I came to the school to address my concerns, I felt dismissed instead of supported. The communication, professionalism, and compassion from the school’s leadership need serious improvement.

Leith Walk is a place that feels like home, family even. You can leave your students there and feel totally safe. I have to give thanks to Mr. Miller it seems like he does everything around Leith Walk, however I fell on hard times and he bought groceries for our family! Ms Morris is a rockstar her students truly love her! Ms. Deener is always there to step in and help.

One of the biggest problems I have experienced is the difficulty locating my children when I arrive to pick them up. Almost every time I come to the school, there seems to be an issue with finding them. The front desk staff frequently do not know exactly where my children are or which staff member they are with. As a parent, this is extremely frustrating and concerning. When I arrive to pick up my children, I expect the school to have a reliable system for knowing where every student is and for quickly identifying where my children are located. I have also had concerns about the way some teachers and staff interact with students. I have witnessed or become aware of situations involving teachers arguing with students and yelling at students. Regardless of how challenging a situation may be, I believe children should be spoken to respectfully and handled appropriately. This is especially important when working with children who are on the autism spectrum or who have other special needs. Another major concern is that multiple staff members do not appear to be adequately trained to work with children on the autism spectrum. My special-needs son deserves to be in an environment where the adults responsible for him understand his needs and know how to respond appropriately when he is struggling. Autism can affect communication, sensory processing, behavior, transitions, and reactions to stressful situations. Staff members need to understand those differences instead of automatically treating a child’s behavior as intentional defiance or misconduct. I also have concerns about the school’s restrictions on parent access. Parents are not allowed to freely enter the school and are generally restricted to the front office. I understand that schools need security procedures and that visitors cannot simply walk through the building without authorization. However, when parents are prevented from entering beyond the front office, there needs to be strong communication and transparency from the school.