Working here was one of the most professionally disappointing experiences of my career. The organizational structure is deeply dysfunctional, and leadership sets a tone that trickles down in all the wrong ways.

The Executive Director is largely disconnected from the day-to-day reality of the school and, frankly, from the staff she oversees. The Director’s management style is unprofessional, using overly familiar language with employees (pet names in a workplace are never appropriate) and displaying inconsistent, hard-to-predict behavior that creates unnecessary tension and anxiety among staff.

Since the passing of the former CEO, the school has noticeably declined rather than stabilized or grown.

What I found most troubling, however, were patterns that suggested racial bias toward both families and staff. Certain students and families appeared to be pushed out under the guise of being “too challenging,” in ways that seemed tied to language barriers or socioeconomic background rather than any genuine programmatic concern. Among staff, it was difficult to ignore that employees of color were disproportionately let go, while others with less experience or qualifications advanced, seemingly based on personal relationships with leadership rather than merit.

The school struggles significantly with retention and recruitment for SpEd teachers, paras, and therapists, and the compensation offered does not reflect what comparable schools are paying.

There are genuinely great students and families here who deserve so much better than the environment leadership has allowed to develop. I’d encourage anyone considering employment or enrollment to do thorough research beforehand.

They say they love the pay,but love the money the parents and doe are spending. School is still in debt. Don’t bring your children here.

Unorganized, racially profile, discrimination, colorism. Sending students here is for a great idea. High turnover rate.

My child has been at MSA for 4 years and we love the school. It is a very intimate, loving environment, wonderful staff, and very individualized approach, meeting every child where they are and using whatever methodologies that would benefit that child, instead of being doctrinaire. Also very supportive of AAC and other communication modalities.

New school. New hires. Bad tachera and therapists. Care inky about having a job. They twach the kids two hours at most per day.