3242 Derby Ln
Williamsburg, VA 23185

I would definitely NOT recommend this school. When there is any sort of harassment such as bullying, threats, or fights, the school does nothing about it, even with constant complaints or worries from students. When the consolers are told that there is bullying happening to a student, they do nothing to prevent this, or even contact the parents!!!! One time there was a school shooting threat online (coming from a bullied student), and the school did not ask any questions, or even contact the parents. This kid and I were in the same English class and that is where some of the bullying would happen. This includes people throwing pencils at his head, ripping up his papers, or saying horrible things about his physical features. The English teacher is IN THE ROOM AS ALL OF THIS IS HAPPENING!!!! In the French class (which I personally take), there are kids that are constantly vaping/ doing drugs in that class. The teacher will look directly at them and just shake her head. Also in the French class, if we have a question about how to translate a word from English to French, we are told to look it up on Google Translate. There is absolutely no teaching done in that class and it is all about yelling at kids for not knowing what a French word means or using the bathroom for too long. One time, a kid took his backpack in the bathroom with him and did not even return to class. This same kid also got suspended a week prior to this and still came to the classroom. The French teacher was very aware of this but did not contact security.

We had varying experiences with different faculty and support staff at this school during the 2020-2021 school year. My oldest had positive relationships with administration and faculty; however, when COVID happened, I felt a keen sense of judgement being cast harshly on my child and our family by the instructor. We had been excited because we had heard of our kiddo getting an exceptional teacher, but that was far from our experience. During that time, I was going through a major medical event that impacted my heart and lungs. We were gaslit about him having ODD, instead of his medical diagnosis of ADHD. I had been with him in classrooms during preschool, and he started hating school. His normal child behavior was getting pathologized (when remote and in-person). We were told we needed a family/educational intervention instead of either looking at the child within the context or accommodations per the IEP/504 that was requested. When we asked for occupational therapy to do an assessment, they offered the minimum for a general kid with ADHD (seats, rubber bands). I asked about a self-regulation area and kept addressing things with him. When he would snap crayons because it was sensory seeking, I volunteered to buy him crayons but instead the teacher insisted on keeping them at their desk and telling him he was being naughty. If it had been a regular term, I think my child would have better adapted to classroom management techniques; however, that didn't account for the harm caused by the educator when they hoisted the entire blame of our child not on ADHD, not on COVID and being a social kid/peer deprived, not on being cooped up, not on being off a rhythm or schedule that helps him modulate daily needs, but on a 6-7 year old who was going through hard things, just like the adults. Kids get the pass - they don't have coping skills or abilities to the same refined degree as adults. That being said, my oldest was diagnosed with "Level 1" ASD and was able to almost hyperfocus on details at this time. The school counselor was amazing with both kids and the social skill dev group. The measurement of success was not equal or near equitable at this school in the slightest. "Resources" are seen as financial or educational advancement of the child/parent. It took a very dedicated educator to remind him of his awesomeness and potential the following year, and affirm it the year after that bullying a kid with ADHD takes a different shape, as does encouragement.

its Okay. Would have been better if the principal would have done her part and had that teacher apologize to my son and to us. But hiding isn't helping the situation. All it takes is an apology. But they're too prideful. Its a shame that my son has to be exposed to that.