Atlantis Academy

I can't let the previous comment/review go without a rebuttal. I graduated in 2010 and I have received my associate degree and i am carrying it over to a bachelors. Atlantis Academy is and was a fantastic school that did teach by effort and ability. If it wasn't for the mentioned math teacher I wouldn't have passed my entrance exam to Palm Beach State. He taught in such a hands on way that I got it. He wouldn't move forward unless we understood. The English teacher was awesome and again her teaching style was what we needed. She made language arts bearable. The PE teacher made health class something that you didnt want to miss. Unfortunately we all had to put up with Kathy's antics. She stalked our English Teacher by calling her at home and she sent letters to other teachers. she bit the heads off of geckos and was extremely immature. It is obvious that there are other issues here and blaming the school and her after school tutor is a cop out and not fair to all of the students that have graduated and are about to graduate and received a great hands on education. I know of four students this year that have been accepted to college and have passed the entrance exams thanks to AA.

My name is Kathy, I attended this school from 9th - 12th I graduated in may 2011. At first my mother sent me to this school and thinking it was the best way to get my education. Well think again this school may be for students with learning dissabilities but when a school like this is suppose to help excell your learning capabilities by teaching you with hands on methods they only made you feel incapable of doing the things you were suppose to learn. when I was put into pre Algebra I never understood the subject. I had an after school tutor and she tried so hard to help me but it never stook in my head meaning I never was able to understand. The math teacher mr. bussiere passed me based on effort. But my point is once i left the school graduating with my deploma I never recieved the right education. I went to BCC and only made the prep courses and almost didnt make it into the school!!!! My teacher failed me in my writing class because I didnt know the simple meaning of adjectives, nouns, ect. So when I told him I didnt know he said college was not for me and to get a job. So please parents dont send your children here. They will not succeed in life.

Our family has found the perfect school for our son, Atlantis Academy. Atlantis Academy is a great school for children with mild to moderate disabilities. The teachers are caring and their effort is always at 100%. The students at Atlantis Academy are assessed every month and these scores are used for placement and other evaluations. The students recently attended a national college fair and are currently filling out their college applications. For students that might not be college bound for academic or ability reasons, the Assistant Director works with these students and helps find post high school placements for them. Currently she has placed students in the ARC Program and job Corps. Last year during their accreditation I was able to sit down and review the training schedule that the teachers and staff participate in, and as a Broward County school teacher myself I was very impressed with all of the ESE and special education training and classes that the staff attend. These teachers are so dedicated towards our students its wonderful to see. The school has a news and radio program that ALL students participate in, Its so wonderful to witness learning disabled reading on tv. A++
—Submitted by a parent

Our family has finally found a school that accepts our son for what he is. Atlantis Academy has what it takes to service children with special needs, a caring group of teachers, excellent administrations and academics that allow our children to grow. They use SRA Reading, Saxon Math and many other suppliments to make academics fun. They have a wonderful broadcast class, WAACS, that turns our children into stars. The special need children of the school are writing stories, reading stories off of a teleprompter and are using state of the art equipment. The broadcast teacher allows the students to "run the show". What a great sense of accomplishment Atlantis Academy should be so proud of him and his students. I do think that they could use some additional technology in the school but other than that the homework is challenging, classes are challenging and the teachers are great. It is also great to see the number of students going off to college, what a great accomplishment. The graduating seniors have been invited to a college fair this year. Thank you Atlantis Academy for all that you do!
—Submitted by a parent

Atlantis Academy is a fantastic school for children with mild to moderate disabilities. WAACS is their student run news and radio program, what a phenomenal elective class I was allowed to go in and watch a broadcast from start to finish, amazing! Highschool and middle school students in complete control of the production with the teacher close by for assistance if needed and constantly offering praise. Did I mention that the students have learning dissabilities! My autistic son wrote his own story and then was able to read it off of a teleprompter looking straight at the camera. The self confidence level of the students is overwhelming. They are all treated like stars. My son is struggling in math and now is taught at a level where algebra is fun and he gets it not to mention the teacher made a beautiful framed photo of my son and his completed algebra test that was done on the white board. The proof is in the picture. You can't find a more dedicated caring and trained group of teachers. The assistant director is such a great woman who cares for our students and will go the extra mile to help them succeed. Thank you Atlantis Academy.
—Submitted by a parent

It is unfortunate that the person on February 12th wrote such a negative comment. I have had the honor to be part of the recent Accreditation Team as well as being a long time parent. I was able to look into all of the paperwork that is submitted for accreditation and was surprisingly pleased at the amount of Special Education training that all of the teachers as well as the staff have. It doesn't take a Special Ed Certified teacher to teach our students, it takes a well trained compationate teacher that cares for and supports our children that are a little different. Atlantis Academy could use more technology within the classrooms and they recently aquired some IPADS, which helps, but more technology would be better. The teachers are awesome and they replaced a PE teacher that was lazy with a new PE teacher that teaches awesome lessons and the health classes now rock! The multimedia program is fabulous it teaches all of the students writing, public speaking and technology. They have a great educational program taught by dedicated teachers. I just asked today and there are five students graduating and three have been excepted to college. Choose Atlantis Academy you will be happy.
—Submitted by a parent

To the most recent post by a parent. I am considering Atlantis Academy for my son going into the 6th grade. If you feel strongly about your opinion, ANY type of justification would be appreciate other than run far away. It does a disservice to the school and to those wanting TRUE feedback. From what I have seen thus far, and the interactions, it is still an option on my list.
—Submitted by a parent

run as fast as you can get this school is not what it appears to be teachers are not ese qualified please if you love your child look else where so many bodies to step over think TWICE OR U WILL BE SORRY
—Submitted by a parent

Atlantis Academy has met our daughters needs in every way. The communication is unbelievable and the academics are challenging. They teach to all modalities and focus on where the students are lagging behind. They not here to "cure" our children but to bring them to the academic level that can each individually achieve. We as parents enroll our children at Atlantis Academy because certified public school special Ed teachers are not meeting our goals we as parents should not focus on their teacher Special Ed certifications but focus on their amount and level of training that they all have. They are more qualified than the "average" Special Ed Teacher. I am so happy that we found this very special school. Safe environment, excellent academics, afterschool clubs, caring and well educated teachers and staff! Thank You Atlantis Academy my daughter loves school and she is now reading two grade levels ahead of when she began.
—Submitted by a parent

I am so happy that we found Atlantis Academy. I wish more people knew about it. Atlantis takes our children who didn't quite fit in anywhere else and challenges them to excel. My child is in the lower school and is being challenged in all subjects. He has homework almost everynight and is pushed to move on to higher math. I feel that his reading has improved greatly since attending Atlantis. His teachers cover Lifeskills and he is constantly talking about WAACS the news broadcast. If I could have one complaint it would be that I feel he is being pushed academically a little to hard but he seems to respond so I have to leave it in the hands of the very professional teachers. I love the assistant Director she is to the point and a "get things done kind of person" and the broadcast teacher is allowing our students to SHINE in their own ways! Thank You Atlantis Academy.
—Submitted by a parent

My son attends Atlantis Academywe had searched all over to find a school for him in 6th grade. Atlantis stepped up to the plate in so many ways. They challenge in math and reading, their social skills lessons are fantastic and they are sending special ed students to college!!!! To answer how does a school without special ed teachers market themselves as special ed?- is an easy answer. I am a parent and a school teacher and that is an important question. There are certified special ed teachers on staff and all of the teachers and STAFF(very important) are trained in special ed. I asked and I saw for myself, I was able to view the certified classes that they all take. Atlantis Academy completes more training for their teachers than any of the public schools and in subject matters that the public schools don't deem as important. I believe instead of criticizing---investigate, probe and you will see that the training they all receive is more than a certification brings to the table. I work with many Certified Special Ed teachers and they don't add up to what Atlantis Academy teachers provide for their students. They are dedicated, well educated, compationate and knowledgeable.
—Submitted by a parent

How does a school without special ed certified teachers market themselves as a special ed school???
—Submitted by a parent

What an awesome school! The staff this year is great, the teachers all care about my son. Last year there was a spoiled social studies teacher that had no bounderies with our children, she walked out on our students when she didn't get her way. The new teacher is great. Atlantis Academy has obtained membership with the National Honor Society and several colleges have come in to recruit the students. I don't understand how that disgruntled, spoiled teacher could ever say that the students won't go to college when my sons three good friends are all registered and are attending college. My son receives about an hour of homework per night and if he is having trouble Atlantis Academy allows him to stay after school for one on one tutoring. Right now he is a producer for the WAACS news and radio program and we do not see this as a joke; as Full Sail University came in to recruit some of the students because of the work that they do with this class/club. Honors classes are offered as well as online classes.
—Submitted by a parent

Algebra, English Honors, Psychology, Television Production and the ability to complete indepedent studies is just a small portion of what Atlantis Academy has offered my son. He is on his way to college with the skills that he obtained from Atlantis Academy. The group of teachers this year are great they bring a positive and loving approach to teaching.
—Submitted by a parent

My son has improved greatly since attending Atlantis. To the person that wrote a negative review we have to do our part as parents to help our kids succeed as well and not put all the blame on the school..
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter is finally learning math. She is a member of Atlantis Academy's lower team and my husband and I see huge changes in her since we placed her in Atlantis Academy. It is so nice to see her face when she walks towards our car, she has a smile and she tells us what she learned during the day. Thank you Atlantis Academy administration and a Huge Thank You to the teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

Atlantis Academy changed my daughters life. Again, I to am glad that the negative teacher that walked out on her students is no longer teaching at Atlantis Academy. Our children do not need to have such negative forces in their lives. My daughter is now attending a University in Miami for computer science. She has received a full scholarship and that was because of the excellent teachers that are dedicated to our children. I would like to thank the math and language arts teachers because they went above their duties to help my daughter with her future. Thank you again.
—Submitted by a parent

Awesome school that changed my sons life. Contrary what that obviously disgruntled teacher wrote, my son was acepted to all three colleges that he visited he is now attending college and I would like to add that he is attending on scholarships that the staff members of Atlantis Academy helped him get. He was a member of the broadcast club and I can assure you that he can spell it. It is unfortunate that one bad teacher can try to ruin a great opportunity for our children. I will be walking through the doors of Atlantis Academy next year to enroll my younger child into their great high school program.
—Submitted by a parent

If your child goes to this school they would have a zero percent chance of making it to college. The previous post was not written by a student as it states. As a faculty member I can verify that none of the students at this school can spell extracurricular activities. Also you do not need to be certified to teach at this school. The kids spend no time on actual academics but are randomly and frequently pulled out of class to work on a sub-par "television production news show" check out their website to have a good laugh.
—Submitted by a teacher

We have a good academic program, good teachers, and good extracurricular activities like are news show. Overall a very good school.
—Submitted by a student