Why Are Families Leaving AAPS?
In the past 4 years, AAPS has lost 1,123 students!
At approx. $18k per pupil, that's a loss of approximately $20M.
So, we decided to ask families who recently left WHY and here's what they had to say...
Anonymously Share Your Story Here
"We moved our son to a private school because they were holding in person classes and aftercare and AAPS was not. Our son needed the in-person learning. We also needed to have our child at school with after-care so that our two-working parent family could make things work."
- AAPS Parent
"The focus of the school was to help kids that were struggling, while kids that were excelling were completely ignored. My daughter was asked to help other kids or just to read books. There were several sections of her grade and there could have been accelerated classes. It was a complete waste of time."
- Former AAPS Parent
“The academic standards in elementary and middle school are low. There are few challenges for children who wish to excel. For example, the pacing in math classes is very slow, there is little to no foreign language instruction until 8th grade, and English classes do not offer challenging or complicated literature to study.”
- Former AAPS Parent
"I have two children on the spectrum who were denied help because their test scores were high and they were academically meeting requirements. One was even denied accommodations. They struggled emotionally and socially and I received constant requests and “updates” from staff due to various situations, which took a toll on me. They need help to be mainstream and have much to contribute, but AAPS lacks the resources or understanding of their diagnoses. I will continue to follow what AAPS is doing closely."
- Former AAPS Parent
"The way in which the board handled a ceasefire declaration was inappropriate and a wild misuse of school board time and energy. In addition, members of the school board posted their personal views on social media which opened the door for increased anti-semitism in our schools. It seemed as if the school board spoke for AAPS, who thus allowed anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments to become publicly acceptable in schools. Jewish Heritage month was taken off the school’s calendar and a Jewish Parents Group application was deferred until the board could “decide on their standards” though they have not had a problem admitting or acknowledging parent groups before."
- Former AAPS Parent
" Poor administration that goes back to before COVID. Multiple incidents of dishonesty of principal and Balas administration that go back to my oldest's first day of kindergarten. Dishonestly and refusing to follow science during COVID. Building leadership not supporting teachers. Lack of actual support for special needs kids and learning disabilities."
- Former AAPS Parent
"We are a family of 3 elementary school aged kids zoned for Bach. We are well established and connected in the neighborhood both personally and professionally. Our oldest started at Bach in K in the Fall of 2019. We used the Rec&Ed before and aftercare offered at Bach in Fall 2019 (we used them part-time, of note, we also got to choose our days, knowing you had to pick a minimum of 2 days/week, and it was affordable). Mrs. Mary was AMAZING who was the head of the before and aftercare program at Bach and our oldest had a wonderful transition into elementary school and before/aftercare. We also had 2 little ones back in 2019 that were attending infant/preschool care right in the Bach neighborhood. We left AAPS in the Fall 2021 due to Bach Elementary not offering any before and aftercare. We stuck with AAPS and did virtual 1st grade with our oldest in Fall 2020. When looking at Fall 2021 our middle child was about to start K and oldest was about to start 2nd grade and Bach communicated to the community that they were starting the school year virtually for 2 weeks and then they said they would re-evaluate in-person schooling. Myself and partner both work and do not have any family support to assist with childcare for 3 young kids. We also did not want to look to hire a nanny d/t price and also they aren't as reliable as an in-school program. The Rec&Ed before/aftercare program that we used in 2019 at Bach was always open, never closed, and we never had to worry about staff not showing up for work. In Fall 2021 we knew with 2 working parents that cannot work from home, one being in healthcare, we had to make a switch. It was Fall 2021 that we moved outside AAPS to a private school that offers before and aftercare (drop off starts at 7am, pick ends at 6pm), no minimum days, and every student is allowed to attend both before and aftercare. To this day it's been such a sad, hard decision that we had to make, we love our neighborhood school, teachers, and principal. We would have never left had AAPS continued before and aftercare for 2 working parents. The cost of living in AA is so high and we have to have 2 working parents to be able to raise our kids in this community. It's sad because this Fall 2024 we would have a 1st grader, 3rd grader, and 5th grader at Bach but even now the before and aftercare programs make you choose either M/W/F or Tu/Th or 5 days for before/aftercare As a parent that works par-time I do not want to pay for the full week for 3 kids when I don't need before and aftercare for 5 days. For example, previously in Fall 2019 I paid for M/Tu/Wed (my work days). If we returned to Bach now with our 3 kids I would have to pay for 5 days of care based on the current before/aftercare offering. I can't afford to pay for 3 kids for full time before and aftercare when I only work part-time. It's frustrating because we had a program in the past that worked and supported working families where they got to choose their days with a minimum of 2 days/week. I'm acutely aware that our family alone is $30,000 ($10K per kid from the state) that the school no longer receives from the state but we had to make the hard decision to leave to support what was best for our family. Bach will always have our heart, we love this community!"
- Former AAPS Parent