Pine trail, Strawberry lodge, CA 92391

Our experience with Valley of Enchantment left me extremely disappointed, especially because of how my daughter was treated by adults who were supposed to support her.My biggest concern was one of the 4th grade teachers, she formed a negative opinion of my daughter and treated her like a bully instead of trying to understand her. My daughter is autistic, and looking back, it is heartbreaking knowing that some of her social difficulties and behaviors were treated as problems instead of signs that she needed understanding and support.What made this even more upsetting was learning later, through someone personally connected to this teacher, that she had allegedly discussed my daughter at home, calling her a bully and saying negative things about her. I was not present for those conversations, so I can only speak to what was reported to us, but hearing that was extremely concerning and reinforced how I already felt about the way my daughter had been treated.There were other incidents as well. Another child was repeatedly causing problems involving my daughter, yet my daughter was punished by losing recess and lunch for several days. In another situation, a child taught my daughter inappropriate and offensive language. Instead of recognizing that my daughter had been influenced by another child and needed guidance, the situation created even more problems for her, and ultimately my daughter was moved to another classroom.The principal also referred to my daughter as an “odd duck.” While I found that inappropriate and unprofessional, that comment honestly bothered me less than the overall pattern of my daughter being misunderstood, negatively labeled and punished.My daughter deserved adults who asked, “What does she need?” instead of deciding, “She is the problem.”Children, especially neurodivergent children, deserve patience, compassion and adults willing to understand why they are struggling before judging who they are. Our experience seriously damaged my trust in this school, and I hope sharing it encourages better treatment and understanding of children who need additional support.