Terrible leadership at this school. Favoritism and retaliation is rampant. The Principal's behavior is toxic. Many families have opted to leave, including staff and children with IEP's. If you are a large financial donor or connected, your child will most likely be protected from this. An interesting article illustrates forms of abuse very well: Forms of emotional abuse are: ISOLATION - Physical confinement; limiting freedom within a person's environment. The group leader says it is for your own good and that it will teach you life skills, but for you it is an emotional horror show. Can you imagine the emotions that you would feel? Singled out in a group of twenty, publicly labeled as a loser too stupid to follow the rules, the subject of derisive and degrading attention, isolated, even terrorized by the psychological horror, you would be traumatized for a long period of time, maybe for life. And this would be true even if the group you were in was relatively supportive. Even if they downplayed the social isolation and public shaming, you would still feel it at a deep level. We are social beings after all and as the great Robert Merton said, we get our self-image in part by the way others see us. And if we think others are seeing us as some stupid loser (which is the intent of socially isolating someone in this fashion) then that is how we are going to see ourselves. And that cannot help but have a negative, disturbing, impact on us. Forms of emotional abuse are: DEGRADATION - Your illustrious leader has isolated you and degraded you in front of his or her charges, and they are likely to do the same. Human beings, children, adults, learn what is modeled to them. If an authority figure models isolation, degradation, and abuse, chances are that the people watching are going to do it to. Sadly even when you leave school, even when you leave isolation and re-enter the social fabric, degradation is going to follow you. This means that the deep psychological, emotional, even spiritual trauma of the initial event is going to be revisited on you over, and over, and over again. If this sounds like hell on Earth, you would be right. Even adults buckle and break under the abuse of degradation. And it has just gotten worse. Adults model emotional abuse to children, and children take the hammer and bring it down even harder. Forms of emotional abuse are: REJECTION - Refusing to acknowledge a person's presence, value or worth; communicating (by word, deed, or example) to a person that she or he is useless or inferior; devaluing her/his thoughts and feelings. Of course, the sad thing is, it is a lot worse than just your personal feelings about it. The reality is most groups would not be supportive. A lot of psychological research in the sixties (look up Zimbardo's prison experiments) showed very clearly just how ugly it can get for people who are publicly separated and isolated. People, even close friends and family, turn on you when an authority figure labels, isolates, and rejects. There can be a snowball effect. First, you sit in the middle of the room and feel bad, while the authority figures treats you with derision and disrespect. Then the people around you start to treat you differently. They laugh and point fingers and find other ways to isolate and exclude you. They avoid you at recess, talk behind your back, titter and laugh and extend the boundaries created by the initial isolation.  Pretty soon you become a bonafide social pariah, avoided by all and excluded by many. From a social control perspective, the whole things works very well because having experienced that kind of trauma once, you will never want to go through it again, and so for sure you will jump into line and tap along with the tune provided (either that or you will conform to the anti-authoritarian stereotype). But of course, once you have been labeled and humiliated, rejected and degraded the long-term emotional damage is done. The outcome of emotional abuse: Emotional abuse of children can result in serious emotional and behavioral problems, including depression, lack of attachment or emotional bond to a parent or guardian, low cognitive ability, and educational achievement, and poor social skills. One study consistently found them to be angry, uncooperative and unattached to their primary caregiver. The children also lacked creativity, persistence, and enthusiasm. Indeed, children who experience rejection are more likely than accepted children to exhibit hostility, aggressive or passive-aggressive behavior, to be extremely dependent, to have negative opinions of themselves and their abilities, to be emotionally unstable or unresponsive, and to have a negative perception of the world around them. read more

Bullying is a problem that can derail a child's schooling, social life, and emotional well-being.   Here at Ashley Falls, Abby Domingo, the school Principal is the BULLY!  Almost everyone already knows this by now. Just ask around. Not only has she lost the respect of many parents and students, most teachers have had it with her.  It's almost laughable that she has the nerve to stand up in front of parents, children, and staff and preach about "Integrity" and "Keys of Excellence."   What a joke.   Abby Domingo is a dishonest Principal with ZERO integrity.  And she should be ashamed of herself. She can be professional to your face, but she is untrustworthy and fake. Abby has made several teachers put speaker phone on in her office and she writes down on a piece of paper what to say, without the parents knowing she is present for the phone call!! Her lack of confidentiality is not the only thing to look out for. She has ulterior motives and prides herself on manipulation. Ask around...she is a self proclaimed liar (ask teachers who have been in her PD training's!). She's a loud-manipulating bully rather than an honest and supportive leader. She's in charge, she is the boss, her way or the highway...she makes that clear!  If a parent expresses dissatisfaction or concerns, Mrs. Domingo retaliates against them and labels the parents as High Needs "HN". Mrs. Domingo makes teachers label parents this way as well. The title of "HN" is then used to make class placements for the student and limit school access to the parents. **PS   Please also see the "HIDDEN" reviews down below.  Just scroll all the way down and click on the link that says "reviews that are not currently recommended" ** read more

The school Principal is a bad person in a position of power over children. Her behavior is harmful to the academic success, emotional well-being, and the health of students. She is dishonest, manipulative, and conceals important information from families about their children. The Principal pits staff, teachers, families, and children against one another. She boasts to staff and families about her ability to lie and manipulate. She chases good and qualified teachers out of their profession. This is a perfect example of where you ask, "How is an awful person like this allowed to remain in charge and have so much power over our young children?" Makes you also wonder what the school Principal must have over the Superintendent for her to continue to allow this. All the one star reviews for this school are hidden on this site. You have to dig deeper, scroll all the way down to the bottom, and click on "reviews not recommended" to see some of the true facts of this school. These are only a few examples and a small bit of the tip of the ice berg. read more

Terrible leadership at this school and this district. Principal Mrs. Domingo's behavior is abusive and toxic. Discrimination, Favoritism, and Retaliation is rampant. The Superintendent, Holly McClurg, couldn't care less if your child is harmed. If you are a large financial donor or connected, your child will most likely be protected. Even members of the board know the leadership is bad and the Superintendent is condoning violations of California laws. But the Principal has worked for the district for a long time and it would cost too much money to buy the Superintendent out of her contract. Many families have opted to leave this school and district, including staff and children with IEP's and without. Families who bought homes in the area specifically for the the DMUSD schools, are now paying private elementary school tuition for their children in addition to their Mello-Roos taxes. read more

Parents BEWARE of principal at Ashley Falls School Abby Domingo! She can be professional to your face, but I have witnessed first hand she is untrustworthy and fake. Abby has made several teachers put speaker phone on in her office and she writes down on a piece of paper what to say, without the parents knowing she is present for the phone call!! Her lack of confidentiality is not the only thing to look out for. She has ulterior motives and prides herself on manipulation. Ask around...she is a self proclaimed liar (ask teachers who have been in her PD training's!). Teachers retire early at this school because her controlling ways are too much to handle. She's a loud-manipulating bully rather than an honest and supportive leader. She's in charge, she is the boss, her way or the highway...she makes that clear! You have been warned so watch your back! read more