Social life at Fusion

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:As a very seasoned educator, someone who works in the field of disabilities, and has been in almost every private and public school in the area serving special needs children, I would never recommend Fusion. The teachers do not have teaching degrees, the tuition is high but teachers are paid very little and therefore, there is high turnover. You should ask Fusion about their staff turnover rate- both in teachers and administrators as well as the number of certified teachers. Let's face it, most teachers who have a teaching degree will teach at public schools because it is a MUCH higher salary and the health/retirement benefits are great. Fusion is VERY expensive and what it gives you is not at all worth the money. I have seen students come out of Fusion much worse they went in. They come out behind in academics- everyone gets A's and B's at Fusion- even if they are far below grade level. In addition, social life is lacking. Many children at Fusion have social/emotional needs and being in this type of environment only reinforces their issues and anxieties. I have had clients come out of Fusion who are afraid to enter a classroom or go to college because they have been in a one-on-one environment for so long. Please remember, this is a money-making operation. everything at fusion costs extra- tutoring, counseling. etc. I strongly advise you to look elsewhere. there are many other schools that will be able to meet the needs of your child for far less.

“As a very seasoned educator,” I am not surprised you don’t recognize how hard it is for parents to find a school that can meet their special needs child’s particular needs. The standard non-profit special needs focused schools all serve a narrow group of students and public schools can be a crap shoot on whether they can meet the students’ needs. Fusion offers another option to special needs parents regardless of whether the educational establishment wants to attack it because it is for profit and the political bent of its owners. I am not saying you do not raise red flags about Fusion but our experience so far is that it’s a caring place and our child’s first few months there have been so much better than my child’s public school experience (and his last private school experience).

This is a tutoring service not a school.

Do you have a kid who goes there? My kid would be very offended to hear that the community of students he belongs to isn't actually a school.

I think your kid would be more offended if he knew his parent did not conduct adequate research on a program that does not meet the education standards of a 6-12 curriculum. You are doing him a disservice especially if you have hopes of him going to college.

DP: my Fusion student child, I am sure, is happy to be in a learning and social environment that he can manage better than public school. I am not going to feel guilty that some anonymous ahole message poster thinks Fusion parents are doing their child a disservice by choosing to have their children attend Fusion rather than a public or standard private school environment that does not fit.

Why is it necessary to resort to name calling? You sound defensive. It reflects on you and your desperation to have your child in a program, any program as long as it fits with your view of an ideal program. The feedback and research on Fusion is out there, which you are free to ignore if it is a fit for your child.

The PP poster (and really you too) made it personal when attacking parents for making choices best for their children and showed their true colors. Call me desperate or whatever other name you want. I doubt there is any systematic research out there that proves or disproves that the Fusion model may work best for certain kids. For certain kids, trying something different is the best option. These attacks on parents trying to do what is best for their children is inappropriate for this board and justify the inappropriate language in response.

It probably isn't the best option but the only option. If they had to leave multiple other schools, their child probably has severe behavioral, mental health or academic challenges where the publics and privates just cannot meet their child's needs. And, they just need their child to graduate at this point.

This isn't a school where you'd send a child who doesn't have serious SN or academic issues. Its the school of last resort to make sure they graduate.

I would think its better to register as a homeschooler and pay private tutors.

I agree. It appears to be for parents desperate for their children to have a diploma.

Wow - this is a super simplistic summary of what you seem to "know" about me and my kid. This post was started as a question posed - I'm guessing to parents who have first hand knowledge - about what kind of social life kids at Fusion have. There are parents - who have kids at Fusion - giving feedback and they are, for the most part, happy and feel like their kids are being served well by their experience at Fusion.

And then there are the people who are judging the school, its students and their parents.

The thing that is most disturbing about this thread is the judgement placed on "these stupid, desperate parents who think their kids are getting an education when they actually aren't - what a bunch of fools." This is the kind of BS that is rampant on other parts of DCUM. Generally, the Special Needs parents are aware that each child's situation is unique, and that all of us, as parents, are just trying to do the best we can given often challenging circumstances.

Fusion has served my child extremely well. Kid was extremely anxious about school and now kid is not. Kid is paradoxically a very strong student and is learning "more in a week than in a month" than at kid's previous school - a very prestigious private. I'm sure not all teachers at Fusion are awesome but that is true of any school.

It seems like there are individuals on this thread who are gunning for Fusion. To you folks, I say don't send your kids there. But to trash a good program that works for lots of kids does a disservice to those parents who are in tough situations, weighing different options. To you parents, I say check it out. Visit and get a feel for the vibe, the atmosphere and make a good choice for your kid.

Glad its working for you and your child. I looked into it as you and/or others here said to it was a good option and we needed something covid safer and I was very disappointed in what I saw and heard. There was no way the academics, especially at the high school level and higher math were equal to a prestigious private or a public school. But, the important thing is it works for your family and you child graduates.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:This sums up all of the issues that Fusion Faces at ALL of their locations...
https://www.aps1.net/DocumentCenter/View/9523/Fusion-SC-Meeting-April-2019

This is a bizarre list of complaints. Yes, there are fewer hours of direct instruction because every moment of direct instruction is geared to that student. I guarantee that no student in public school is getting 27 hours a week of teacher attention. The complaints about the content of health ed would be irrelevant to me and most parents looking for a school for a struggling student. And no private school, even the most elite, have licensed teachers, so we clearly don't take that as an indicator of quality in other settings.

Actually, many private schools in the DC area require teachers to have licenses.

Between my two kids, we've attended 5 private schools, mainstream and SN, and none have required their teachers to have licenses or teaching degrees (most teachers at the mainstream schools had degrees in whatever they were teaching).

This makes zero sense as all public school teachers are required to be licensed and many are required to have master's degrees.

Wouldn't you be better off just paying individual tutors in each subject?

Being licensed means you passed the licensing test, not that you are a better teacher. In our experience, tutors don't know how to create an entire curriculum, but fusion teachers do.

The curriculum is made up by the teacher for the student. That concerned me they didn't have a set curriculum when I looked at it vs. other online programs. Its a very flexible curriculum to make sure the kids pass the class but we needed one equal and rigorous.

There is zero need to recreate a full curriculum. Tons of text books the teacher/tutor can use and just work through the chapters or plenty online or you'd think fusion would do one of their on for each class.

Fusion teachers were more like tutors when I talked to them. Some are actual teachers who knew the subject but many didn't have upper level math or science experience as a teacher at this poster's "private" had or even a public had. For basic classes, it is probably good as it adapts to your child.

[Anonymous]

I agree that for some kids, it can be a good "stop gap" measure if regular school is not working out. I went through the whole interview process and almost took a job there, but what kept nagging at me was the "for profit" model. It was very clear to me that making money was the number one goal of corporate and that goal permeated just about every discussion I had with them. I think the original premise of the model is great, but over time it's just morphed into a money making enterprise. And yes, they do have tremendous teacher and staff turnover, not due to the job itself but because the pay is so bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that for some kids, it can be a good "stop gap" measure if regular school is not working out. I went through the whole interview process and almost took a job there, but what kept nagging at me was the "for profit" model. It was very clear to me that making money was the number one goal of corporate and that goal permeated just about every discussion I had with them. I think the original premise of the model is great, but over time it's just morphed into a money making enterprise. And yes, they do have tremendous teacher and staff turnover, not due to the job itself but because the pay is so bad.

This is very interesting to me as we are thinking about this as a short-term option to deal with some health issues. How does the drive for profit come through in a job interview with a teacher? Were you being asked to push classes and that sort of thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that for some kids, it can be a good "stop gap" measure if regular school is not working out. I went through the whole interview process and almost took a job there, but what kept nagging at me was the "for profit" model. It was very clear to me that making money was the number one goal of corporate and that goal permeated just about every discussion I had with them. I think the original premise of the model is great, but over time it's just morphed into a money making enterprise. And yes, they do have tremendous teacher and staff turnover, not due to the job itself but because the pay is so bad.

This is very interesting to me as we are thinking about this as a short-term option to deal with some health issues. How does the drive for profit come through in a job interview with a teacher? Were you being asked to push classes and that sort of thing?

Many jurisdictions now have a virtual program if you need another option.

I wouldn't worry so much about it being for profit but I'd worry about the specific curriculum they offer and how it is implemented for each child. Do they have the classes your child needs with staff qualified to teach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a very seasoned educator, someone who works in the field of disabilities, and has been in almost every private and public school in the area serving special needs children, I would never recommend Fusion. The teachers do not have teaching degrees, the tuition is high but teachers are paid very little and therefore, there is high turnover. You should ask Fusion about their staff turnover rate- both in teachers and administrators as well as the number of certified teachers. Let's face it, most teachers who have a teaching degree will teach at public schools because it is a MUCH higher salary and the health/retirement benefits are great. Fusion is VERY expensive and what it gives you is not at all worth the money. I have seen students come out of Fusion much worse they went in. They come out behind in academics- everyone gets A's and B's at Fusion- even if they are far below grade level. In addition, social life is lacking. Many children at Fusion have social/emotional needs and being in this type of environment only reinforces their issues and anxieties. I have had clients come out of Fusion who are afraid to enter a classroom or go to college because they have been in a one-on-one environment for so long. Please remember, this is a money-making operation. everything at fusion costs extra- tutoring, counseling. etc. I strongly advise you to look elsewhere. there are many other schools that will be able to meet the needs of your child for far less.

“As a very seasoned educator,” I am not surprised you don’t recognize how hard it is for parents to find a school that can meet their special needs child’s particular needs. The standard non-profit special needs focused schools all serve a narrow group of students and public schools can be a crap shoot on whether they can meet the students’ needs. Fusion offers another option to special needs parents regardless of whether the educational establishment wants to attack it because it is for profit and the political bent of its owners. I am not saying you do not raise red flags about Fusion but our experience so far is that it’s a caring place and our child’s first few months there have been so much better than my child’s public school experience (and his last private school experience).

+1000

I just want to give a shout out of how wonderful Fusion was for DS with ASD/ADHD. He spent one year at Fusion after a disasterous year at one of the two SN schools recommended for high functioning kids with ASD.

Fusion was great. DS finally learned grammar and his math class and science teachers were able to engage and make learning fun for him. 1/2 the year at Fusion was virtual due to COVID which made DS sad. He really liked and missed his buddies (all ages) from Fusion. DS was in middle school but most of his friends were high schoolers which was awesome.

DS learned to be a good student at Fusion. Got all As which was very helpful when he applied to mainstream private schools. Took the SSAT and got great recommendations. For the poster who is saying everyone gets As at Fusion, DS is currently at a top, very well regarded mainstream private, primarily boarding, with students from all over the world. He is in the top math class for his grade there a top student according to his math teacher and his English teacher raves about what an excellent writer he is, “Ready for a book contract!”

We are very happy that DS went to Fusion. He wouldn’t be where he is today if not for Fusion.