Foothills Academy Society

Wave had 2 different experiences with this program. The first was a psychoeducational assessment. The second was our child participating in their online read-write program. We had a very positive experience with the psychoeducational assessment. Great assessors and positive experience for our child. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the read-write program. Very disappointed in the quality and lack of professionalism displayed by the instructor. We have subsequently pulled our child from this program and would not recommend it. Perhaps if you had a different instructor the story may have been different but that wasn't the case for us.

Due to the extremely cold weather this season, most students come to school dressed in warm attire, such as winter coats, jackets, gloves, and hats. In addition to fighting the cold, many students like to wear these kinds of clothing outside of school simply to be stylish. The issue, however, is that students are not allowed to wear these types of clothes on school grounds. This dress code is nothing new at Conant. It has been drilled into students’ heads for years that certain types of clothing — especially hats — are simply not tolerated in schools. The dress code is essentially a massive inconvenience to people who want to wear hats in school to look stylish or just for the fun of it. There is no good reason why hats and warm coats should not be allowed in schools. Conant’s official dress code policy states that a “student’s dress and grooming must not disrupt the educational process, interfere with the maintenance of a positive teaching/learning climate, or compromise reasonable standards of health, safety, and decency.” It further claims that “coats, jackets, blankets, caps, bandanas, ‘do-rags,’ and hats are inappropriate in an educational institution and threaten the educational process and compromise safety.” The problem with the school’s policy is that it does not elaborate on just how wearing outdoor clothing inside is unsafe or “threatening” to students’ education. Nor does it describe how warm clothing like coats threatens the safety of Conant students. Staff should be less concerned about policing mere hats and jackets and more concerned about policing clothing that is actually vulgar or offensive. A common justification for banning hats and coats is that hats could be used as gang signs and should therefore not be allowed. Even if this is the case, just about anything could be used as a gang sign, including a certain color of clothing, or wearing clothing in certain ways. As for the argument that students could use coats to carry weapons or other dangerous items, this can already be accomplished by a standard backpack, sports bag, or lunchbox. It is completely reasonable to expect students to remove their hats during assemblies, performances, and the morning pledge. Students who casually wear jackets and hats in class, however, mean no harm or disrespect to anyone, and thus shouldn’t have to take their hats and jackets off. They simply enjoy the way they look in their clothing, or they wear warm clothes to feel more comfortable in the unusually cold classrooms at Conant. There shouldn’t be any rule against students trying to warm up or express themselves through the way they dress. Many teachers already do not enforce the no-hat policy, and even more students wear hats when no supervisors are looking (i.e., in the hall, bathrooms, or locker rooms). This begs the question: what is the point of keeping the no-hat policy if numerous students are already breaking it? If students want to wear hats and coats in school, they should be allowed to. They aren’t hurting anyone by doing so — they are merely expressing themselves. Hats and coats can be worn in just about every other public setting, so why should a setting like a school be any different? During this unusually cold winter weather, it is better to let students wear what they want instead of banning hats and coats that pose no inherent threat to safety or to positive learning environments.

my kid went here, and it was a waste. They stopped any hats and they were treated horribly and they acted as if the students were babies.

I applied to this school based on (3) paediatricians' recommendations that my son would do well there. After waiting for an intake opportunity, making a financial plan, prepping & copying years of paperwork and paying the application fee - we were rejected within 48hrs based on IQ score data from his initial assessment for diagnosis. (This is info gathered prior medications and assistance after diagnosis.) They say his IQ is too low. In other words, he is too disabled for their program. I understand the value of the old IQ info but I don't agree that it would predict his future potential for learning - on an older child maybe, but he was 6 at the time. I am disappointed the school did not see or interview my son at all. All his teachers who have worked with him have commented on his ability - he is in grade 4 now: once he learns he can retain information. The challenge is getting that info in, and the public board is very limited on staff/resources (though they have been exceptional in doing what they can to help us along the way). He has shown significant improvements since his diagnosis and medication. He appears and is basically ''normal' in every way other than when learning something new - he us slower. I had hoped a highly recommended speciality school such as this would have been more familiar with these situations but I guess this school is better suited for students with physical disabilites vs those with any cognitive issues. They do state online that there are IQ standards for acceptance. I had expected some testing or interviews if there was any doubt to his suitability for their programming. I am surprised (but only slightly) that there is no such process. I say only slightly because there is along wait list and high demand for a spot here. I'm sure their program works well for anyone that gets in, just don't get your hopes up if your child faces challenges as mine. I will keep looking.

It's about time I write a review for this amazing place! I attended school there from grade 8 to grade 12. I gotta say, this place is amazing. I never felt unwanted. Not once. The teachers are legitimately invested in their students & are personable, caring & diplomatic. Most importantly, they're friends to the students, which goes a long way when ascending through adolescence. I was one of their early students with a mild autism spectrum disorder. They knew that this would be an academic experience for both parties. Through them, I learned just how intelligent & powerful I was; A personal epiphany that the public system could have never given me. There's a McLargeHuge binder on autism in that school because of me :D . Both student & teacher at the Academy have an insatiable apatite for learning. Those were some of the greatest years of my life & I'll never forget it. And even through the toughest, most terrible parts of my teens - which we all experienced at least one of these events together - teachers & students were all here for each other. There's a level of camaraderie at that school that would only be found elsewhere on a seasoned warship or in the great works of Star Trek. I owe this school, my fellow alumni & it's teachers more than I could ever repay in kindness or in finances. This place is a faculty of heroes, that teach kids that they are heroes themselves for the differences; And that the flaws we have are in fact the inherent power that will, in the end, change everything.