In Her Own Words 
 

As a seasoned education professional, I assumed that my daughter would thrive in a school focused on innovative instruction, with a similar pedagogy found in the schools I helped design and lead. Our neighborhood school, located within a district ranked in the top 10 school districts in California, was idyllic. With top notch educators, award winning art programs, and a multitude of resources, this school that we could walk to and eat lunch with our daughter was a dream come true. Unfortunately, the short school day meant that our daughter spent more time in after-school programs than in the classroom. Soon afterwards, we received notice that our daughter's name had been drawn in a lottery for a highly-sought after charter school known for a strong social-emotional program.  Although it seemed like a warm inclusive school community, this wasn’t an ideal match for our daughter whose special needs were slowly, but eventually identified.  As she became frustrated and disengaged, we also became disillusioned and fearful that we would not be able to help her regain her sense of confidence and curiosity. Over a period of three years and countless hours of research, advocacy, and hard work, we finally found a perfect school fit and resources for our daughter. Her current private school has been transformative and she no longer dreads getting up and going to school.

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Finding the best academic and non-academic support for my daughter's needs was a labor of love. It became a call to action for me to advocate and empower other parents in their search for the ideal school community and resources tailored to their child.  

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