Arts Academy Charter School

Posted: July 23, 2026

My mother enrolled me in this school hoping it would give me a better education and a better environment, but my experience was extremely disappointing. From the beginning of the school year, I dealt with bullying and harassment, and when I reported these issues, I felt like nothing meaningful was done.

One of the worst experiences I had was in vocal class, where I was bullied to the point of crying. My teacher saw what was happening and did nothing to stop it or support me. After a new teacher came in, I eventually had an emotional reaction in class because of everything I had been dealing with. The next day, there was a protest happening about ICE and immigration policies. The teacher referenced what happened the day before by saying, “there are things happening that people aren’t happy about, like yesterday, there were things said that people were not happy about.” That comment felt extremely personal and upsetting to me because my mother is an immigrant.

In February, I also had an incident involving two students during a discussion about the “All Lives Matter” movement. I felt they were making racist comments, and after I explained why I found their comments offensive, I was accused of cyberbullying instead. During the situation, the principal mentioned that she had attended BLM protests, which felt performative and out of touch to me because I wanted the focus to be on addressing what happened between students.

The bullying continued throughout my time at this school. I was harassed by another student for much of the year, and despite bringing it up, I did not feel like the situation was properly handled. My mental health suffered so much that I started avoiding lunch because I was afraid of sitting near someone who would be rude or target me.

I also lost my passion for singing and drawing while attending this school. These were things I loved, but my confidence and skills declined because of the environment I was in. Another thing that stood out to me was that all of my teachers were White, while many of the Hispanic and Black staff members I saw appeared to be in support roles rather than teaching or leadership positions.

Overall, my experience at this school left me feeling unsupported and unheard. I hope the school takes bullying, harassment, and student concerns more seriously and works harder to create a safer environment.

Posted: July 23, 2026

Posted: July 23, 2026

Posted: July 23, 2026

Posted: July 23, 2026

Posted: July 23, 2026

Posted: July 23, 2026

Posted: September 16, 2025

My child formerly attended this school. While they have a robust arts program, they are not well-equipped to handle medically complex children and show a lack of interest or empathy for providing FAPE to said medically complex kids. I was often encouraged to home school my child. The administration feels they know best when it comes to children, moreso than parents, and willfully ignore medical orders and doctor input, putting children's welfare at risk. They also had zero interest in ensuring my child was at grade level with her peers, and when her bench marking and evaluations showed she had fallen behind due to her absences (which the school continually told me not to worry about), they offered no additional supports or help. I do not recommend sending any child, but especially a medically complex one to this institution.

Posted: September 16, 2025