The first problem I had with Challenge was when I went on the tour and glimpsed these small, closet-sized rooms (and not a walk in closet) that had a desk and a chair in them with a clock built into the cinderblock walls. The room looked like a pass-through or something, but there were something like 2 in the back of each classroom.
I was told that when a child is having a problem, they are asked to go to the backroom and 'reset'. Supposedly, most kids get out in a few minutes.
Shortly after my child started at Challenge, she started exhibiting emotional problems. She became very depressed. She had done really well at the school she'd just left - she never had behavioral problems or emotional problems and her grades were extremely good.
The "challenge" at Challenge High School must be how to figure out why your kid was put in a back room for an extended amount of time ( and I mean over 1 hour) because another student handed her a pencil she'd dropped.
It's also hard to puzzle out how she could do her work, when a teacher asked her why she wasn't working, since she'd dropped her pencil and no student was allowed to give it back and she only had the one pencil. I also have trouble comprehending why they expected her to be happy to be going to one of those claustrophobic rooms or how they expect those kids not to view those rooms as punishment.
Eventually I told them that I didn't want the rooms used. They said ok but that if she misbehaved, she'd have to go to the vice principal's office in the main campus. I said fine, then she can learn the consequences of her behavior. My daughter then reported that she liked dealing with the vice principal far more than the Challenge staff. She said that the vice principals were logical and respectful, whereas she'd experienced sarcasm, eye rolling, and some other disrespectful things from the staff at Challenge. How on earth is a child to give respect when the child isn't getting respect? Are they to simply smile and have no feelings?
I told my kid she'd have to work within the system - she'd have to stay calm and keep her emotions in check if she wanted things to change. So I'm not "that parent".
I'm not a parent who thinks their kid can do no wrong. Oh heck no. She can definitely be wrong And she was wrong. It's not ever acceptable to even raise your voice to a teacher or to talk back. Ever. She received consequences at home for the behaviors that her teachers reported to me. But here's the thing - children aren't always wrong, and teachers aren't always right.
When you tell your kid that if she wants your help, she'll have to bring you facts - times, names, places, documented as they happen, on paper, and then she does, and the school has no response other than 'I don't believe that's how it happened," you would question the school too.
And this became very evident when a teacher wrote that my child had screamed at her. But when I asked her what that looked like exactly, she told me that my child had raised her voice (which is not at all, ever, acceptable, and which she received consequences for at home, to back up the teachers).
This same teacher also took a picture of me at the meeting and then smiled and giggled as she did something with the picture on her phone. I can only imagine what was going on there. Whatever it was, it sure wasn't professional.
And I'm sorry, but why on earth is an education professional bringing her personal mobile phone with her to a meeting of this nature? How is that appropriate? I would expect that from an adolescent. Not a teacher with over a decade of experience.
Because burnt out teachers and children with behavioral issues do. not. mix. Ever. And I'm sorry if they're stressed or they don't have the resources they need. But that is Placer County's problem, not mine. It's my job to advocate for my child, but fairly.
So, no, I don't at all recommend this school to anyone unless you have no other choice. I think that their behavior modification programs can work for some children, but they should examine and evaluate the staff for burn-out.
Because burnt out staff and behaviorally challenged kids do. not. mix. Ever.
Avoid Challenge High School if you can. read more
