Current students at Auburn SS?

[Anonymous]

My DC is in the lower school at Auburn Silver Spring and they recently lost staff including the Director of Admissions who seemed to run things. Overall I like many specialists at the school and generally their heart seems in the right place but we are saddled with a very problematic teacher. Given that we are new to the school, what are other’s experiences there? Is it worth sticking it out which will require a tutor because of poor instruction?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC is in the lower school at Auburn Silver Spring and they recently lost staff including the Director of Admissions who seemed to run things. Overall I like many specialists at the school and generally their heart seems in the right place but we are saddled with a very problematic teacher. Given that we are new to the school, what are other’s experiences there? Is it worth sticking it out which will require a tutor because of poor instruction?

Following— we’ve considered AS, but had heard it was “slipping” due to a change in ownership.

[Anonymous]

I am also curious about how things are going at Auburn. I just reached out to them regarding placement, and it seemed like things like admissions/tours, etc. is very disorganized. It worried me, and the director spent about 10-15 minutes talking about how the change in ownership did not change the mission of the school, but then admitted how there was staff turnover of teachers who had been there for many years, as well as difficulty in filling new positions. It's disheartening because there don't seem to be a lot of options for kids like ours. If there are any folks who have kids there now and can provide insight on what it's like day to day, we'd appreciate it! (I am trying not to be biased on the basis of a meeting with the director who probably isn't used to doing admissions.)

[Anonymous]

There was a discussion about this topic--Auburn being bought out by a for profit-- a few months ago on here. Do a search. It seemed that many of the great staff left and they were advertising jobs for extremely low salaries.

[Anonymous]

this is the fairfax page but the very few staff bios on here are not impressive--no special ed experience or licensure?

https://theauburnschool.org/about/our-team/fairfax-campus-team/

[Anonymous]

Actually the Auburn staff looks like an upgrade. Dan Miller is a positive and energetic person, school is lucky to have him. And new head of school at least is an educator, where at the middle and upper school grades is very important.

[Anonymous]

I am a current parent and it’s really a mess…we are so disappointed that the many supports that were promoted on the website aren’t offered in any meaningful way. Specialists are on call via a walkie talkie when a kid is melting down or having behaviors but nothing proactive. Several key staff members are gone and I know that at least one of the well-respected/beloved teachers was replaced by someone with no experience. I believe they were probably great one but those days are gone sadly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am also curious about how things are going at Auburn. I just reached out to them regarding placement, and it seemed like things like admissions/tours, etc. is very disorganized. It worried me, and the director spent about 10-15 minutes talking about how the change in ownership did not change the mission of the school, but then admitted how there was staff turnover of teachers who had been there for many years, as well as difficulty in filling new positions. It's disheartening because there don't seem to be a lot of options for kids like ours. If there are any folks who have kids there now and can provide insight on what it's like day to day, we'd appreciate it! (I am trying not to be biased on the basis of a meeting with the director who probably isn't used to doing admissions.)

There is no director now…just a people doing multiple jobs like working on the front office and doing tours in addition to their “real” jobs

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]I am a current parent and it’s really a mess…we are so disappointed that the many supports that were promoted on the website aren’t offered in any meaningful way. Specialists are on call via a walkie talkie when a kid is melting down or having behaviors but nothing proactive. Several key staff members are gone and I know that at least one of the well-respected/beloved teachers was replaced by someone with no experience. I believe they were probably great one but those days are gone sadly.[/quote]

I am a current Auburn parent and was surprised to read this. Are you an ES or MS parent? The ES Social Learning Specialist is amazing. My kid loves her and she spends a lot of time working with the kids beyond her lessons.

[Anonymous]

We've been at Auburn for a number of years. The program that we signed up for does not resemble what's happening in the classrooms today. We're stuck because there isn't another appropriate placement for us at this time. We're staying, but we're not happy about it. It feels like painfully expensive babysitting. On the best of days, there is no harm. On the bad days, I think about keeping him home because what is happening in the classroom is so out of control.

The issues at Auburn are bigger than staff changes. It just feels like the administration has lost site of the school's mission. There doesn't seem to be any leadership. There is no commitment to the core values that brought me to Auburn. Also, it just doesn't seem like that have enough people. I can't count the number of times I've been told that they can't do even the most basic things because of "staffing". The people who are there are clearly being run ragged. They're stressed out and burnt out, and that starts to show as the year goes on. It's not their fault, clearly too much is being put on their plate. But my kid is the one who suffers. I'm paying way too much for a broken program and staff who are pulled in too many directions.

Our community needs places like Auburn. Our kids need for them to be successful. I don't know why their model isn't working, but it's not. I don't know much about the parent company. I don't know if their for-profit model is to blame. it certainly could be. Anyone who goes into education, especially special education, thinking their going to make money has bad business sense. if they are really worried about their profits, they better take a good long look at what's going on in Silver Spring. If things don't change quickly, I can't see how they're going to keep families and keep their doors open.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a current parent and it’s really a mess…we are so disappointed that the many supports that were promoted on the website aren’t offered in any meaningful way. Specialists are on call via a walkie talkie when a kid is melting down or having behaviors but nothing proactive. Several key staff members are gone and I know that at least one of the well-respected/beloved teachers was replaced by someone with no experience. I believe they were probably great one but those days are gone sadly.[/quote]

I am a current Auburn parent and was surprised to read this. Are you an ES or MS parent? The ES Social Learning Specialist is amazing. My kid loves her and she spends a lot of time working with the kids beyond her lessons. [/quote]

ES parent here. Agree she is amazing...they are lucky to have her. But right now she is the strongest support in an otherwise crumbling program.

[Anonymous]

This is so frustrating to hear since a school like Auburn is so needed for these children. I know it's been difficult for all schools to find teachers right now and these teachers need to have a very special skill set.

Have you thought of approaching the advisory board of the school as a group to see if they can help? It's a pretty impressive group of educators on the advisory board so maybe they would have some influence with the company?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been at Auburn for a number of years. The program that we signed up for does not resemble what's happening in the classrooms today. We're stuck because there isn't another appropriate placement for us at this time. We're staying, but we're not happy about it. It feels like painfully expensive babysitting. On the best of days, there is no harm. On the bad days, I think about keeping him home because what is happening in the classroom is so out of control.

The issues at Auburn are bigger than staff changes. It just feels like the administration has lost site of the school's mission. There doesn't seem to be any leadership. There is no commitment to the core values that brought me to Auburn. Also, it just doesn't seem like that have enough people. I can't count the number of times I've been told that they can't do even the most basic things because of "staffing". The people who are there are clearly being run ragged. They're stressed out and burnt out, and that starts to show as the year goes on. It's not their fault, clearly too much is being put on their plate. But my kid is the one who suffers. I'm paying way too much for a broken program and staff who are pulled in too many directions.

Our community needs places like Auburn. Our kids need for them to be successful. I don't know why their model isn't working, but it's not. I don't know much about the parent company. I don't know if their for-profit model is to blame. it certainly could be. Anyone who goes into education, especially special education, thinking their going to make money has bad business sense. if they are really worried about their profits, they better take a good long look at what's going on in Silver Spring. If things don't change quickly, I can't see how they're going to keep families and keep their doors open.

The private For
Profit company that bought out Auburn has a ton of other private special ed schools (most seem to be the type where all the students are paid for by school systems). Clearly their business model is to try to charge as much tuition as possible while providing the absolute bare minimum of education, and pocketing the rest. I wouldn’t be surprised if their plan for Auburn is to turn their campuses more into something like a High Road—just a basic warehouse for difficult kids the schools want to unload. They are going to milk Auburn’s good reputation for as long as they can with the private payors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've been at Auburn for a number of years. The program that we signed up for does not resemble what's happening in the classrooms today. We're stuck because there isn't another appropriate placement for us at this time. We're staying, but we're not happy about it. It feels like painfully expensive babysitting. On the best of days, there is no harm. On the bad days, I think about keeping him home because what is happening in the classroom is so out of control.

The issues at Auburn are bigger than staff changes. It just feels like the administration has lost site of the school's mission. There doesn't seem to be any leadership. There is no commitment to the core values that brought me to Auburn. Also, it just doesn't seem like that have enough people. I can't count the number of times I've been told that they can't do even the most basic things because of "staffing". The people who are there are clearly being run ragged. They're stressed out and burnt out, and that starts to show as the year goes on. It's not their fault, clearly too much is being put on their plate. But my kid is the one who suffers. I'm paying way too much for a broken program and staff who are pulled in too many directions.

Our community needs places like Auburn. Our kids need for them to be successful. I don't know why their model isn't working, but it's not. I don't know much about the parent company. I don't know if their for-profit model is to blame. it certainly could be. Anyone who goes into education, especially special education, thinking their going to make money has bad business sense. if they are really worried about their profits, they better take a good long look at what's going on in Silver Spring. If things don't change quickly, I can't see how they're going to keep families and keep their doors open.

The private For
Profit company that bought out Auburn has a ton of other private special ed schools (most seem to be the type where all the students are paid for by school systems). Clearly their business model is to try to charge as much tuition as possible while providing the absolute bare minimum of education, and pocketing the rest. I wouldn’t be surprised if their plan for Auburn is to turn their campuses more into something like a High Road—just a basic warehouse for difficult kids the schools want to unload. They are going to milk Auburn’s good reputation for as long as they can with the private payors.

Probably. But problems related developing before the sale.

[Anonymous]

This is upsetting to hear. I think you can have a for-profit company providing great services to this population of children. I would think a lot of special educators would love to work in an environment dedicated to helping rather than in some schools where they feel at cross purposes with an administration that does not care about children with special needs. I really wish there was a philanthropist who could come in and help out companies like this and make them see that there is actually potential to make money off of these types of schools because I really think there is.