Matoaka Elementary School

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.

I went to this school for years 1-5 and it was one of the best environments I've ever been in.

My son was diagnosed on the Autism spectrum with what used to be called Asperger's. Additionally he has ADHD. By law the school is supposed to provide additional resources to assist in his learning (FAPT and IEP). My wife and I met several times with the school administration to try to get some assistance in place. We were repeatedly stonewalled and flat-out lied to about my son's situation. From the school's perspective there was nothing about our son that was different from the typical students. Despite multitudes of evidence by respected physicians to the contrary, we were repeatedly told, "We just don't see what you are talking about." Eventually we hired a lawyer, who is also a former educator, who specializes in assisting families like mine navigate getting services in public schools. Even then we did not get much headway. Rather than continue with a lawsuit that would take several years and a lot of money to fight, we placed our son in private school. The private school is not require to provide an IEP, but the administration has bent over backward to work with us to ensure our son is getting the assistance and attention he needs. Our story is not unique, as I am aware of multiple other families who have had the same experience at Matoaka. We are fortunate to be able to provide an alternative, but we should not have had to go the private school route.

This school is not good for children with intellectual disabilities. They pushed my daughter out of the general education classroom and to a self contained classroom in a school almost 20 minutes away from our home. THIS IS NOT AN INCLUSIVE SCHOOL!

Both of my children went through Matoaka from K through 5th and I found this school to be terrific. Principal Jacobs is extremely effective, and leads a very caring faculty and staff. The PTA is fantastic, and so many parents give their time to make Matoaka even better. Matoaka fostered my children's academic growth, and they've gone on to do well at Hornsby Middle School. This school is absolutely top-notch.