ACCESS Understands How to “deal with” Our Child

10/10/2025 9:51 am

I am the parent of an ACCESS 8th grader. We live in deep SE Portland in a working class neighborhood. When our child was in our neighborhood elementary school we received near daily phone calls and reports of poor behavior and disciplinary action. Our child had very few friends. Pick up time was filled with dread about another difficult discussion. Our parent teacher conferences always included the counselor and assistant principal. We were regularly asked by teachers and staff for recommendations of how to "deal with" our child. Depending on the person there seemed to be a mix of judgement and desire to help, but no bandwidth to do anything about it. 

Eventually, the vice principal pulled us aside and told us about ACCESS. She helped our child get TAG tested and get everything we needed to get on the ACCESS radar.

When we switched to ACCESS we began to notice differences. Our child was met with understanding and a greater level of caring, even when there were disciplinary issues. Our child showed a greater trust and interest in interacting with their teachers and staff. They came home happy. They had friends! They were surrounded by kids they could identify with. We are incredibly grateful to ACCESS and what it offers. Our child's life would have been very different had we not found such an amazing school.