New Visions Charter School

This is my daughter's first year at this school. She had lots of problems in bigger schools and far she has been having much success at New Visions. The staff facilitate a sense of community which I love. I have had a couple of complaints but when I brought them up, they were addressed immediately. As with any school, your chiild's experience is greatly influenced by your involvement. Each parent must also realize that all schools are not a good fit all children, so do your homework to ensure the best fit possible for your child.
--Submitted by a parent

I'm surprised at the mediocre rating. My son goes here, and his progress has been phenomenal. We had him in a Montessori program prior to New Visions, and Montessori was not a good fit (he has a fine motor delay, and much of Children's House work requires fine motor skills.) We have loved both his kindergarten and first grade teachers, both of whom we found to be motivated (and motivating!). Many/most of the kids at this level aren't in the school because of developmental issues, but because it's become the community school - his class is perhaps 40% Somali (so now he has smatterings of Somali, French and Spanish.)
--Submitted by a parent

My son was very unhappy in two different public schools. The staff of New Visions takes each child's needs into account. My son feels safe, like he really belongs, and I have seen many episodes of teachers intervening with kids to ensure appropriate behavior. The teachers go out of their way to create a community and create 'school spirit' and a sense of fun and creativity.
--Submitted by a parent

This school has been so much better for my son than the Minneapolis Public School system that I wish he had been in it since kindergarten. He recently had some bad side effects from a medication and they have helped us immensely.
--Submitted by a parent

My best friend has had 2 boys at this school, all I can say is awesome everything, the oldest age 16 has so many behavior problems I lost count, if not for this school he would not have grown from grade 1 to grade 3 level, yes there are issues sometimes & they are dealt with appropriately, teachers stay in touch. The other boy age 8 has ADHD & cant sit still, she has nothing but wonderful things to say & my daughter is going to send my grandson there, maybe parents that have problems with the school are the ones that dont participate in anything, they just sit back & complain & are not part of the solution but rather part of the problem, believe it or not YOUR children are not perfect & neither are the rest.
--Submitted by a parent

When my daughter attended New Visions 3 yrs ago there was an EXTREME amt of verbal, physical & sexually deviant behavior displayed by many of the male students. My child & many female students were not only victims of verbal abuse but assaultive behavior as well, many reported to and/or witnessed by staff, some of whom advised victims to ignore the deviant behavior. To my knowledge, none of the events resulted in the school's legally-mandated police reporting by school officials. We reported the assaults to police ourselves, which led to charges and subsequent convictions. The judge and/or attorneys acknowledged an air of tolerance & secrecy at New Visions which allowed this behavior to continue. My daughter has been traumatized beyond comprehension. Please proceed cautiously in choosing this school for your child, pay frequent visits & listen to your child's complaints.
--Submitted by a parent

The person who wrote in May 2004 obviously has no clue what goes on tat this school. I have been a teacher there for 7 years. A special ed teacher, so I take offense to the 'handicapp class' as he called it. Boost-up is a fantasitc program that has made more gains for students then anything else I have ever seen. In terms of the behaviors of students it is called Responsive Classroom. This is a national program used in many of Minneapolis schools and has lead to a decrease in poor behaviors. Maybe you need to look at your child and yourself before you make rash judgements of a place you obviously no nothing about.
--Submitted by a staff

My daughter who is E/BD was a part of Boost Up this summer and she looks forward to going to school this fall. She improved her mobility and hand/eye coordination by 43%- more than any school or program that we have tried in 5 years. The cutting edge technologies that are incorporated into the school day work on processing information and assisting the brain to do so, which many children, like my daughter, struggle to do. Part of her education is also to help her with life skills such as regulating her own behavior, and the school provides a safe environment to do so.
--Submitted by a parent

I have been to this school. It is afwul. They put kids in this handicap class and make them count dots. Futhermore they put them in a room and turn this bright light on and off. They say that this helps your eyes but it actually blinds them. My child is constantly rubbing his eyes thanks to that class. Also they don't disipline the kids that much. The first time they get in trouble they make them sit in the table and the child can come back any time he wants. That could mean the child could miss an entire class without learning anything. Futhermore when there is a fight all the kids in the class make a circle around the 2 fighters and chant on to keep fighting. When a teacher arrives all the kids quiet down. There is constant cussing and the children swear at teachers kids don't tell.
--Submitted by a parent