E 13th Rd
Ottawa, IL 61350

Stay very far away from this school if you have a child on the spectrum. Their lack of knowledge, training and capabilities for teaching a student on the spectrum is totally mind blowing. The worst part is that they know this and don't care. Their excuse is we don't have the facilities to provide the students with what they need and they send them off to alternative placement. They also rely heavily on the school resource officer to intervene as a method of response to student behavior (and don't inform the parents.) They have no idea how to even perform a functional behavior analysis in order to address any behaviors and develop a successful behavior intervention plan. The administration only cares about covering their own bottoms against any liability or infractions of IDEA. We are very involved in providing the necessary supports to allow our kiddo the best chance of even surviving in this crazy world and this school, staff and administration just proves that ignorance is a lot easier to justify than incompetence. In writing this review I am actually doing the school a favor by trying to detour you from sending your kiddo here but please don't put them through it just to have them do an alternative placement in the end. Trust me we tried and the regression was unbearable. In general the commitment to students at this school is unfathomable. Take a look at their accounting web page and see what the teachers and administration are paid and you will understand what they really care about.

Deer Park grade school is wonderful. The staff is friendly, professional. My daughter has an amazing teacher and the school offers more leaning programs than the former school my daughter attended. So happy that we transferred her to Deer Park. The children are well behaved, show manners and respect for each other. My daughter has made many friends since we transferred her. Her grades have improved wonderfully and her self esteem has returned that she loves going to school everyday. It is so refreshing to have parents that will wave and smile at you when they see you. This is one of the best schools in our area and I am very happy to make the decision to transfer her to a school that offers so much more than her previous school.