El Valle, Cedarpines Park, CA

As a parent, I deeply regret enrolling my children at Valley of Enchantment. My experience with this school was heartbreaking. My two younger children are autistic, and instead of feeling supported and understood, I felt they were repeatedly misunderstood and unfairly treated.There were multiple situations where I felt staff assumed my children were the problem without taking the time to understand what had actually happened. In one incident, another student kicked my daughter, but after she defended herself, she was the only one disciplined. In another situation, my daughter was moved out of her classroom after conflicts with another student, even though I felt she was being unfairly blamed. My children have communication and social challenges related to autism, and I never felt those needs were appropriately recognized or accommodated.One comment that has stayed with me was when the principal referred to one of my children as an “odd duck.” I found that deeply hurtful and unprofessional, especially coming from someone in a leadership position.Even my oldest daughter, who is not autistic, had a negative experience at this school. She often felt unsupported and unhappy. Overall, I left feeling that our family was not welcomed or treated with the compassion and fairness every child deserves.I also had concerns about favoritism. From my perspective, it seemed that some students received more recognition and opportunities than others, and I often felt my children were overlooked despite working hard and being kind, intelligent kids.Every child deserves to feel safe, respected, and understood at school. Unfortunately, that was not our experience here. If you are the parent of a child with autism or other special needs, I encourage you to ask detailed questions about the school’s approach to supporting neurodivergent students before enrolling.