Veterans Park Academy for the Arts

Had the honour of being a guest teacher here for 3 months. I taught dance to the most amazing elementary kids ever! We had a blast everyday and I miss each of them so much. The staff is amazing and I felt right at home!! Best school ever! Patricia Jordan

Im a student in veterans park and i cant handle the racism that a teacher from my 7th period has with people who speak spanish how they can allow someone to force you to stop speaking your own language

I used to attend VPAA when I was in 4th grade through 8th grade. I remember it being a lot friendlier & more diverse. Now it seems like no one likes their jobs at this school. I have had issues with this school since day 1. This is my child’s second year at this school & it has been a complete nightmare. The front desk staff never greets anyone & are only nice to each other. While they treat the parents as if we are invisible and that our concerns don’t matter. I have emailed my complaints to the principals on several occasions and never truly received any feedback in return. I had to have a meeting regarding the clinic staff telling me it’s not mandatory to call parents when their child visits the clinic. In fact, on many occasions, I had no clue my child was even sent to the clinic. Even after calling to inquire if my child was there (after receiving an email from her teacher stating she was sent there) they told me they had no record of her being there. Super scary! They also accuse parents of not being financially responsible for GWP payments & will charge you anyway, even if your child doesn’t attend the after school program. During Spanish heritage month, it was as if a piñata exploded in the front office. It was decorated very beautifully. However, for black history month, they placed a few lousy photos of some African American leaders. That’s it. There were no drapes or anything else. I love her teacher & if not for her, I would have already switched schools.

I remember my sister was in this elementary in 2020 and yes, the teachers and front desk are nice people but one thing that upset me was the nurse and counselor who couldn't help her when she needed it. My sister had the worst experienced with the nurse and she would go to the nurse when she didn't feel good, every single day. They called me saying she was faking it and didn't want to be in class. My sister loves school by the way and does amazing in class. She visited the nurse when she was swollen, coughing and had nose bleeds every day. She said her nurse never truly checked and was upset with her for coming every day for help. My sister said they even BANNED her from the clinic and she cried because the nurse didn’t want to see her anymore and was going to send her to the counselor if she goes back because she had a problem. No kid had to go through that. One day coming back from home, she was having a hard time breathing since she couldn't ask for help. We took her to the ER and turns out, my sister has a disease called LUPUS (stage 2), a swollen heart filled with liquid and kidney disease. If we didn't found out in time, it be too late. If only they told us what was happening to her during her visit at the clinic earlier. Instead never did and just accuse of her wanting to leave class, making their own excuse for her. After she was in the hospital for several months, We went back and tried to sign her up for homebound but her counselor never called us either. So we went to the district and handled it. Thank God, we took her out. She went online first and then to another school who actually made sure she's in good care. Please take care of the students better. It was frustrating and traumatic for my sister.

The teachers and staff are all rude to the children. Also, they have the most useless dress code. They’re always saying stuff about the dress code when there’s always fights and kids vaping in the bathroom stalls

To begin this school is a great school when it comes to an education point point of view and their programs. My son started at this school 4-5 months ago. At first he was loving it, the teachers seem to care and be involved with their students, he said the kids were nice. Recently he’s started to get bullied so I immediately called to let them know what was happening and other details. There are cameras and after I called and an incident happened there was proof and the kids who were doing the bullying got moved classes to where they wouldn’t even run into my child. That lasted about two weeks and other kids started picking on him in class. Apparently my son isn’t the only victim and other kids are getting it even worse. Scratches and marks on their body, kids getting punched. How far is this going to go? How long are parents not going to care what their child is doing in school to other kids? What’s it going to take for the school to do something and put a stop to it? My son is a smart child with a bright future and super empathetic he and other kids don’t deserve this.

My daughter has been in VPAA since she was in kindergarten. She is now in 2nd grade and is absolutely thriving. I also volunteer a lot at the school and the teachers/admin staff are always willing to help and are so nice and patient with every student. I would recommend VPAA 100%