Paul A. Schalm School

Our daughter spent several years thriving at Japhet School. She earned nearly straight A’s, cherished her classmates, and fully embraced the community. We believed we were in the right place — until her mental health began to decline and the school failed to act.In January 2025, her grades dropped noticeably, and her pediatrician, counselor, and prior neuropsychologist all recommended accommodations to support her suspected autism and rapidly progressing anxiety. These recommendations were brought directly to the Head of School and her teacher — and were met with delay, deflection, and silence. Despite presenting medical documentation, past accommodations, and a collaborative proposal, no meaningful steps were taken — not even acknowledgment. For months our daughter struggled through 5+ hours of homework per night, experienced escalating distress, and began exhibiting severe trichotillomania. We asked for urgent follow-up, confirmed her suffering, and even laid out specific accommodations recommended by her care team. The school’s response? Vague reassurances, inaction, significant delays, and ultimately — a statement that they were not resourced to help and we therefore were forced to withdraw her with 7 weeks left in the academic year.Her final days at Japhet were devastating for her and me as her parent. Staff completely ignored our emails. Her friends were never told she was leaving. She was sent home with hours of homework knowing it would never be graded and despite confirmed withdrawal due to mental health. There was no closure. No sense of RELIABILITY, HUMILITY, or RESPECT not for her as a learner, nor for us as a family. Japhet often speaks of its 18 character qualities — initiative, courage, gratitude, justice, respect, reliability, joy, humility, peace, and more. But in our experience, these values were words on a wall, not principles in practice. When our child needed understanding, flexibility, and human connection, zero compassion was shown despite the fact that she was unraveling inside their own walls.We share this to caution other families of neurodivergent children, especially those with autism +/- PDA profiles. If your child requires flexibility, emotional safety, accommodations or genuine partnership — be prepared. Our experience was marked by neglect, poor communication, and a striking lack of sensitivity. Japhet may not leave students behind academically — but emotionally, we were left entirely alone.

I enrolled my son in the toddler program at schoolhouse in January. I am a stay at home mom so the adjustment was really rough for him but his teachers did such a wonderful job making him feel comfortable. I noticed so many great changes in his personality as the year went on. I could tell he really loved school and was excited to go. His speech got tremendously better and he seems more confident around people he doesn’t know well. I am so happy that we decided to send him there and I feel very blessed that he got a teacher like Mrs. Pise.