View Ridge-Madison

Great school! Staff is caring and loving

If your child is neurotypical, this is a nice school, though when you don't have money for art supplies but end the year with a $9k cushion, I'm not sure how that works out, what with maths not mathing.Otherwise, prepare to have your child belittled -- not by their teacher, but by the administration's actions. They do NOT want neurodivergent kids in this school for some reason and will do everything in their power to shove these kids off on another school outside the neighborhood, and away from that child's friend group. From what I've seen firsthand and heard from other parents of neurodivergent students, the runbook goes like this:1. Do not stick to established and agreed-upon IEP interventions. Do not offer the child alternative strategies to deal with overstimulation.2. Make sure the child knows they've been Very Bad today instead of helping them learn how to self-regulate.3. In IEP meetings, gaslight the parents and insist they've done all they can for the child.4. Insist the child just needs to go to a school with a program better suited for their needs instead of giving the child the time and attention they need in the special ed classroom, sticking with strategies that have worked in the past, and working with parents instead of against us.To be very honest, the problem is at the top. The teachers are fantastic and seem to be hamstrung by policies, and comments during IEP meetings make it very clear who in the administration is driving this. I'm speaking from personal experience, but I've heard these same experiences echoed from other parents. This isn't a one-off. This is a trend.

Firstly, I’ve been involved with this school for over 20 years. I’ve attended church at NCC, I have close friends who work here, and I’ve had my students attend here. The last two years have been incredibly disappointing. Since Mr. B has taken over as head of schools, the turnover of critical staff at this school has been frightening. My current understanding is that the school is even having to hire entirely new departments next year because of staff departures/transitions, as well as all but one principal being forced out, giving the remaining woman all of the power. All of these transitions have resulted in our assistant principals being overworked, our staff feeling unsupported, and confusion about who’s actually in charge at the school. I’m also disappointed in the school choosing to align itself with a specific brand of American conservative evangelicalism rather than the “bible based” identity it claims. My understanding is that when teachers talked or prayed about the unrest in Minnesota from earlier in this year, it was met with an email from admin asking them to “steer away from politics”. But it was perfectly okay for the head of schools to send out an easter message that complained about a Washington State millionaires tax? Apparently Mark 10:25 or the Apostle’s charitable living in Acts can be overlooked to embrace a gospel of prosperity rather than one rooted in the Bible. Needless to say, this institution has gone downhill. I love NCA, its teachers, and its families, but as an institution it’s fallen well out of line with its original mission. This school cares too much about optics, and less about practice. They even had a teacher inservice event last year where teachers were instructed to create accounts and give 5 star reviews to the school to bolster its online image. I’d be surprised if this review stays up long before they have it removed, but know this is all coming from someone who’s been around this place a long time and is sad to see how it’s fallen.