I enrolled my severely autistic, nonverbal son into this school worried about how he'd be treated, and unfortunately, my worst fears came true. For years, we endured an unsafe and hostile environment, not just for him, but for me as a parent advocating for his rights. On my son's very first day, I witnessed a special needs student punch another, and instead of stepping in to de-escalate, the teacher simply placed the child back in line right next to the student he hit. It was a red flag, especially for a school with vulnerable children who may not be able to speak up. My son is one of them. Despite repeated requests and documented concerns including eloping from class, self-injurious behavior like him banging his head on the floor and walls or him smashing his toes against the ground until they bleed as well as an inability to understand dangers like traffic, bodies of water etc. the school denied him a one-on-one aide. This was a direct violation of his right to FAPE. The school even told me that a 1:1 wouldn't even help my special needs child.. Something no special needs parent who understands the concept and benefits of their child having a one on one paraprofessional during school hours would accept. After raising these concerns over many occasions I began experiencing retaliation. Staff began targeting me including glaring at me in in a hateful manner during IEP meetings, forcing me to resort to IEP meetings over the phone out of discomfort of staff intentionally trying to intimidate me, pulling up beside me in their car making inappropriate gestures to me in front of my children, refusing to allow me on school campus at pick up time out of spite while allowing others in and gossiping about me to other staff right in front of my face. When I confronted them or reported the behavior to the principal, nothing changed. The same staff remain employed there to this day despite multiple reports being made involving the same employees. Also, in kindergarten, my child with special needs who is also non-verbal began coming home with frequent unexplained bruises that would at times cover his entire body. His whole demeanor was changing. I documented all the bruising as well as his new behaviors. When I came to them with my concerns, the school responded by calling CPS on me rather than investigating what was happening on their watch. In 2023 a teachers aide witnessed on multiple occasions my son's (at the time) teacher Tyler Lee, putting his hands on the special needs children as well as being emotionally and verbally abusive towards them. The teachers aide felt it was necessary to inform a parent of one of the children affected by the teachers actions regardless of "school policy". When the cops were called the school said that they would "handle it internally". The teacher aid who told on the abusive teacher ended up having to leave the school and the teacher who was abusing the children was never arrested. The parents of children in that classroom were never properly informed of the abuse and was given a letter saying that the kids will be getting a new teacher. We only learned of the athis through the News Channel 7 article that can still be found on Google search (Former staff member says they witnessed abuse at Meadow Lane Elementary). I hope others read this and think twice before sending their special needs child to Meadow Lane. read more

Meadow Lane Elementary School - Note Informing Parents Of Change In Teacher but not of the abuse. - Elementary Schools Near Me - Anderson, California

The teachers at Meadow Lane are some of the most dedicated, caring people I have ever had the pleasure to work with. The principal, Rita Mitchell, closely monitors everything from the preschool programs to school safety. The students are happy, engaging and well-behaved. Overall, parents seem to be very satisfied with the school and its staff. read more