Anonymous wrote:I just read about a new school (new to DC, I'm not sure how long it's been around in other places) where the model is 1:1 teaching. Its website doesn't have as much information as I'd like -- no discussion of cost, or number of classes kids take, among other things -- but I'm intrigued. Anyone know anything about it? http://www.fusionacademy.com

They are very well known an have a lot of campuses in California. when we lived there I was seriously considering it for DS who has significant ADHD - did my research and I did not find any negative reviews. There's another school out there with a very similar profile/program - also with excellent reviews - http://www.halstromacademy.org

The only reason we didn't move to the next step and enroll DS was because we got relocated to DC. I am happy to hear they're going to have a presence here! I might have to consider the again

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep, my niece goes to it in NYC. She refuses to go to school so this is the alternative she was offered.

At what age does a "special needs" child get to "refuse" school?

I'm a therapist and have a client whose special needs child refuses to go to school. It's not done lightly. It isn't like the child woke up and said they are t going. The kid had a mental collapse, was on a feeding tube etc.

This sounds like a lot of the homeschooling co-ops/micro schools that are popping up. Compass Homeschool also has middle and high school classes if you're looking in Fairfax for a la carte.

I also spoke with admissions. They are very interested in partnering with public schools and, if schools allow, offer hybrid models. This is what I would love for my rising 8th grader who struggles with all things writing. I thought about adding tutoring hours to what she now has but then my kid is doing school from dusk till dawn. If she is allowed to take her English and Civics classes at Fusion then she would get the benefits of social life AND 1:1 attention on the classes where she need it. If my public allows, I may do this in the Fall.

^^^he was 8.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep, my niece goes to it in NYC. She refuses to go to school so this is the alternative she was offered.

At what age does a "special needs" child get to "refuse" school?

Don't know OP's niece but there was a little boy in my dd's class who missed several months from the school year. He had anxiety/OCD and at one point would t leave their house at all for several weeks, let alone make it to school.

Anonymous wrote:Yep, my niece goes to it in NYC. She refuses to go to school so this is the alternative she was offered.

At what age does a "special needs" child get to "refuse" school?

The website says they have campuses in Alexandria and Tysons. Anyone hear about these?

Thanks so much for this information. I am in the same spot and asking the same questions after reading about it in the paper.

OP here. I just spoke to the admissions director of the DC campus (opening this summer). It looks like it could be a good option for the right type of student, but I'm not totally sure what the right type of student is. The admissions director has a special ed background, but I don't think that is necessarily the training of their teachers. A full time student would spend about 6 hours a day at school, M-Th. After each (individual) class, kids do their homework for that class (so while it's fresh) in a homework "cafe." There are two: a silent one for kids who need that to concentrate and a "social" one for kids to do projects. The idea is that they don't need to do any homework when they get home. Projects are assigned when a teacher has multiple students doing similar things and will get them to work together, but the class itself is still 1:1. Teachers are available to support forming groups and clubs, but it seems like a child would need to be a pretty strong self-starter for that to happen. At full capacity, they want the school to have about 100 kids.

My child is still a couple years away from middle school. I'll keep the school in the back of my mind; it will be interesting to see how it does as it grows.

Anonymous wrote:Yep, my niece goes to it in NYC. She refuses to go to school so this is the alternative she was offered.

Can you elaborate? How old is she, does she have a disability? If so, what? (because from what i read school is not a sped ed) Are her parents paying or is she getting funding though some IEP/public option?

This model sounds great for my kid and will look into. Absolutely can't afford the 35-55K tuition though.

So at $3800 per course, you could take 5 courses per semester and it would be comparable in price to other SN privates. To the pp whose niece goes there, how do they build community spirit and have any of the club's or athletics that are part of the typical high school experience?

Yep, my niece goes to it in NYC. She refuses to go to school so this is the alternative she was offered.

Lots of stuff on site if you dig deeper. Choose a location and it gives you costs which are done by course per semester - $3800 per course per semester in Palo Alto. Each course includes a certain number of sessions. For middle school and high school.

Looks more like a tutoring type of model to me but I'm also intrigued. It sounds like your kid wouldn't really be at "school" a lot of the day.

http://www.fusionacademy.com/fusion-campus-location/palo-alto/tuition/

I just read about a new school (new to DC, I'm not sure how long it's been around in other places) where the model is 1:1 teaching. Its website doesn't have as much information as I'd like -- no discussion of cost, or number of classes kids take, among other things -- but I'm intrigued. Anyone know anything about it? http://www.fusionacademy.com