REVIEW OF AVRO Academy BY parent, Alan Matsumoto

(4) Student Experience

AVRO provided a safe and supportive environment for our son. They were able to accommodate his needs, took things slowly and worked with him to integrate into his classes. I can remember the first day of Grade 9 and how resistant our son was, and how they patiently took the time to ensure he knew he was safe and welcomed and that it was going to be different than his experiences with elementary school in the public system. The small classes and individual learning our son received helped him recover from the academic trauma he experienced previously. The integrated therapy at the time also gave our son a way to express his feelings and helped him be heard. We are grateful for the support he received while attending AVRO.

Why AVRO Academy?

The small classes with individualized learning and added academic and therapeutic support were keys to the decision. The proximity was also a deciding factor, especially at the beginning.

Expectations vs. Reality

AVRO met most of our expectations and at times surpassed them. We all felt heard and supported. Our focus was a little less on the academics at the beginning due to our son's resistance to school, and once he started accepting and, at times, even looking forward to attending, it was nice to see the academic learning opportunities were there.

Your Advice

Ask all your questions and take the time to get to know the teachers. They are great partners in supporting your child, so staying on the same page is key.

(4) School Leadership

The leadership changed over the course of the time our son was there. Overall, we were satisfied with our interaction with the school's leadership and felt they always tried their best to support our son and us. The discipline was fair and warranted, especially during the more rebellious teenage transition. Because they were such a small school, we always felt that we could reach out and discuss any issues we had with the school leadership. If there was any complaint, it would be the changes over the time we were there.

(4) Teaching

The teachers at AVRO were great and committed. They were also human, so weren't always able to motivate our son as much as we would have liked. Certainly for the most part, we felt they were doing their best and were committed to supporting our son the best way they could. They were great at finding the balance between challenging and supporting, and they were able to motivate him to learn and do the work. I think at times, I would have liked them to be a little stricter with getting my son to do the work, but I'm not sure how that would have worked out, given the behavioral challenges he had at time. We always felt we could connect with his teachers and work together on strategies to support our son.

(3.5) Academics

With the small classes and dedicated teaching, we felt that the quality of what our son learned was good. I feel that it could have been better, but in fairness, that was more on the challenges my son presented than the quality of what they could provide. To support him and give him the wins and confidence he needed to stay motivated, I felt at times that what he learned was less than what I would have preferred. Again, I think that was more of an issue with my son's position than the ability of the teachers and what they taught. Certainly, at the beginning, just having him willingly attend school was far more important than the level of academics being taught. We always felt supported, which was very important to us.

(4) Extracurriculars

While our son wasn't too interested in extracurriculars, the school did provide a number of opportunities. It is a small school with limited facilities, but I did feel they worked well with what they had available. The March break school trips were excellent and we're very grateful for the support the school provided to allow my son to attend. The experience he received on the Ecuador trip will serve him well for the rest of his life. I think a larger school with more facilities to provide additional extracurriculars wouldn't have been as beneficial as what AVRO was able to make up for with the dedicated support and close knit community they were able to foster within the school.

(4) Students

AVRO supports a number of student with individual needs and their own unique challenges. The small class size and student to teacher ratio provided the level of support we needed for our son. The school does a great job at ensuring inclusion and, at the same time, respecting the needs of each individual student. There were a number of school events that brought the students together. It's also safe to say that for some students, social interactions wasn't something they were interested in. At time this was our son's case and the school ensured his needs were understood and respected. As our son matured in the later grades, a larger school might have afforded him the ability to meet and interact with a wider diversity of students, but at the same time, he would have easily been lost in the shuffle.

(4) School Life

I will say our son's interest in attending school varied significantly over the 4 years he attended. Initially, there was significant resistance, but as he became more comfortable and confident, he was very happy to attend in part due to the quality of student life the school provided. As his rebellious teenage brain kicked in, that enthusiasm to attend dropped a bit. Given the size of the student body, there were fewer students that my son was able / willing to develop relationships with. Though no fault of the school, I do wonder what his engagement would have been if there were a larger number of students at the school. Definitively pros and cons that should be assessed from an over all perspective. Something that all parents will need to assess based on their own situation.

(3.5) Community

We felt there was a community and that the school did a good job at fostering it. It really wasn't something that was important to us, so I don't have much to say from our perspective. We always felt welcome and did get a chance to meet other parents during our time there, and some of them have become friends. AVRO does a good job at including parents, and while we didn't always take advantage of those opportunities, we knew they were always there. If a broader and expansive community is important to you, given the size of AVRO, it may not be what you're looking for.

(3.5) School Location

For us, we lived relatively close to the school, so it was convenient. It's a small school with limited facilities, so classes like gym require additional travel. While not ideal, it did afford our son an opportunity to develop a level of confidence in getting around the city. An opportunity he wouldn't have had if the school had been larger. The location itself was adequate and safe surrounding neighbourhoods.

(4.5) Admissions

From what I can remember, the process was smooth and easy. Meeting with the school leadership and discussing fit was a great start to the process. Overall, it wasn't overwhelming or stressful, which made the decision that much easier and provided a sense of relief. As I said, it was a while ago, but I can't think of anything off-hand that I would recommend changing. Having said that, the process may have changed, but from my perspective, nothing more to add.

(4) University placement and counselling

To be fair, my son wasn't overly interested in a post-secondary education initially, so there wasn't as much engagement in the process had we needed it at the time. I did feel that there was support available to help with post-secondary placement and applications. When my son eventually decided to apply to college, he was supported and accepted at the college he chose to attend. I did feel a little removed from the process, but I think that was by design as the school was getting the student to take on the accountability of applying. Most of the disconnect was our son not necessarily wanting to share with us, so not an issue with how the school supported the process.