St. Gregory Elementary School

All 4 of my children have attended CVE. Parent involvement is high-the PTO sponsors several fun events throughout the year. The school has lots of programs above and beyond straight academics; my children have benefitted from speech therapy and emotional support programs. The gifted support program is good. The music program is excellent, with all kids learning recorder in 3rd grade and band/orchestra available in 4th grade. The on site before and after school program, Stepping Stones, is wonderful.

I know very well that the options can be appallingly sparse when you have a son or daughter with special needs. Even so, I plead with every parent: do not send your precious child to St.Stephen's . Despite the optics on which we were sold, and which were maintained through each staff encounter or IEP meeting-- that of being a well-designed, transparent, supportive, safe environment staffed by well-trained staff who understand how to care for the developmental, social-emotional needs of the human beings in their care-- it is none of those things. My now-young adult child is irreparably, profoundly traumatized from the years they spent at St. Stephens, with crippling PTSD that negatively impacts their whole life. I HAD NO IDEA THE ABUSE MY CHILD WAS EXPERIENCING. As they resisted going to school, deteriorated, became easily agitated, etc, I naively accepted staff explanations and the perspective of their relentless behavioral lens that identified any problem as my child's attitude and faulty perception. In reality, it was complex PTSD and, as time progressed, my child's attempts to protect themselves. The PTSD and its source is absolutely UNDENIABLE. Some of the somatic re-experiencing is dramatic, extremely specific to things that happened, and heart-wrenching, complete with sweating, heart racing, inability to speak. Related hyper-vigilance has affected all of their future relationships and ,activities, caused unquantifiable mental and emotional distress, and deeply exacerbated other conditions. There are staff members at this school who were irreparably harming my child and deeply scarring them for the rest of their life, who would then play the friendly professional, looking me in the eye, pretending to be my child's advocate, and lying to my face. There are no words for the feelings about this.There is no recourse now. There would not be enough "proof", and no doubt staff would only continue to override and deny the very real experiences of someone with less social power than they have. I only wish that no one else go through this, and to this end I leave this here.