My son attended this school last year at four years old. He has professionally diagnosed ADHD and…read moreAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and unfortunately our experience was extremely disappointing.
I spoke directly with the vice principal during the second week of August 2025 and explained in detail all of the behaviors and challenges he would be coming in with. If the school felt they were unable to support him or handle his needs, they should have been upfront with me from the beginning. Instead, they accepted him, assured me that it would be fine, and gave me the impression that they were prepared to support him. From the beginning, I felt the administration and staff viewed my son as simply "badly behaved".
The emotional impact on my son was heartbreaking. Every morning he became anxious approaching the building because he had begun to anticipate the reactions he would receive from Ms. Mesa, the counselor, and Ms. Claudia Zuriarrain, who were the two staff usually at the door. On multiple occasions, I personally observed both of them roll their eyes at my four-year-old son as he entered the building. Eventually, he started avoiding eye contact with them and sometimes walked into school backwards because he didn't want them to look at him. No four-year-old should feel unwelcome at school.
When we finally received his official ASD diagnosis after the school had repeatedly encouraged us to pursue additional evaluations and an ABA therapist, the response from his teacher was deeply discouraging. She rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah... then it's probably very low." That comment felt dismissive and unprofessional, especially during a time when we were trying to advocate for our child, and ensure teacher had an extra set of hands in the classroom.
Some of the behavioral strategies used were also concerning. When my son became dysregulated, he was frequently sent to the front office, where his meltdowns often escalated rather than improved, and led to early pick up almost every day. Toward the end of the school year, the principal, called me and explained that, moving forward, instead of taking him to the office, a member of the administrative or security staff would take him into the garden to give him an opportunity to calm down and regulate in a quieter, positive environment. To my knowledge, this approach was only implemented once. During one of his meltdowns, staff gave him Sour Patch Kids, and on another occasion, the principal instructed him to go into the bathroom and scream when he was upset. These strategies were discussed with me after the fact, and I was not given the opportunity to consent to them prior.
The school also asked me often to keep my son home because they were unable or unwilling to manage his behaviors. On one occasion, I was asked to keep him home for an entire week. I complied with those requests, yet those absences were recorded as unexcused instead of being properly documented.
Over the summer, multiple professionals and schools I consulted expressed concern about how Southside handled my son's IEP. Looking back, I believe the school failed to provide the support he needed and did not follow best practices for a child with his profile.
My latest concern was the school's communication regarding my son's enrollment. We were told we couldn't return next year which I was okay with, but without my knowledge or permission, staff contacted what would have been his home school to inform them that he would be attending there the following year. At that time, I was still exploring different school options and had not made a final decision. I did not authorize the school to communicate on my behalf or represent my plans to another school.
I understand that working with children who have additional needs can be challenging, but families should be able to trust that educators will respond with professionalism, compassion, and evidence-based support. Unfortunately, that was not our experience. Instead of receiving understanding and appropriate strategies, my son left feeling anxious, misunderstood, and traumatized by this school environment.
I sincerely hope the school improves its training regarding students with disabilities, IEPs, and professionalism with both children and families. No family should have to go through what ours experienced.