Johnston Terrace

SPECIAL EDUCATION: This school does a great job at pretending like they care about their students' mental health when they simply don't. At the start of junior year I was diagnosed with ADHD + others (anxiety, etc) , & on my diagnosis paper, it states that extra time would be beneficial. I have contacted many adults at this school to help me with getting 504 accommodations. One laughed in my face & told me that I would probably never be getting these accommodations. FAMILY ENGAGEMENT: This school is full of adults stuck in the past, who do not take this seriously, especially if u r diagnosed at a later age. They told me this process would take 6 weeks-- it has been months. My psychologist & parents have contacted them about my ADHD. Nothing. They insist on using school grades to determine if someone needs extra time instead of taking the experiences of the student/student's family into account. SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SUPPORT: It is almost like enjoy seeing their students struggle; they think that this struggle means hard work. They take pride in not allowing their students to switch classes b/c they think they r raising the next generation of Einsteins. They watch me cry in the halls & do nothing. There is a big lack of empathy present in both students & adults in this school. SAFETY: The students r constantly looking for ways to bring each other down. It's like everyone has had their soul sucked out of them-- compared to everyone I feel very immature; students r very serious & act like they're in college. Students see more APs & NHS as a "flex" & consider themselves superior to u. I refuse to join clubs b/c of the hostile student body. I had a friend (junior also)get a suspension for defending himself against a freshmen-- this includes ISS & bus suspension. His parents r divorced & his only way home was by bus. The freshmen who was shouting slurs/attempted to physically injure my friend has not been expelled yet, but u can now get expelled for cheating on a test.TEACHING: I've written long paragraphs to them describing my experiences w/ ADHD. i feel like I constantly have to beg to them for understanding & extra time. Some r not even present during their designated office hours. Some also clearly treat freshmen worse than upperclassmen.LEARNING: Majority of students come from immigrant households, such as myself, and work only for parent validation ("u kids have it easy, back in my country we..."). This school has stripped me of my love for learning.