Amazing campus, although it would be better if they had a flagpole out front of the school and…read moreflags in each classroom and a flag in the gym to make it feel more like a school and comfortable

In 1994, I attended The Ivy Street School when it had only three students: Mary, Melissa, and…read moremyself. My experience there was deeply troubling and traumatic. The environment was unstable, and the students were treated as if they didn't matter. The treatment I received was beyond what any young person should have to endure. Things became so unbearable that I ran away, terrified of what was happening to me at the school. After leaving, I found myself homeless. Thankfully, I met kind people who helped me get back on my feet. Through my own determination, I earned my GED and went on to attend college. Looking back, it's clear to me that the school was more interested in the funding they received than in truly helping students. In fact, they kept several thousand dollars that rightfully belonged to me. When I recently called them to request my records for a legal matter, they refused to provide them, something I find very suspicious, especially since schools are required to maintain records. It raises the question of what they might be trying to hide. I also recall that one of the staff members lived permanently at the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and was using the school's programs, and its students, for personal gain. To any parents considering this school for their children: please think twice. My experience was damaging, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. There are better, safer, and more supportive environments out there. This was not one of them.

My daughter has attended Simply Social Kids for the past 2+ years. It's been a great learning…read moreexperience for her, with in-the-moment social coaching and short, entertaining lessons to help her learn about/understand social expectations and self-regulation. Nadine and her team do a great job leading the weekly sessions. Periodic check-ins with Nadine and/or other class leaders have been helpful to us as parents to know what progress our child has made, and give us ideas of how to help her at home. Highly recommend!

I have a 10 year old boy who has been diagnosed with mild autism (ASD). He struggles most with…read moresocial interactions, the "give and take" of conversations, how to show interest in others' conversation, and how to appropriately join a dialogue. We have a full fall scheduled but this summer we attended a weekly class at Simply Social Kids. I am so glad we did! The instructor was wonderful! We spoke on the phone and over email and she was very receptive to keeping me updated on the week's activities. I learned behavior cues, to help my son stop and pause to allow other to speak. My son really enjoyed the activities, which to him were just play, while important social practice was embedded creatively by his instructor. I wish we were able to continue in the fall, but hopefully we can revisit in the spring. The director is committed to keeping her staff trained, comes with a great resume herself, and was extremely helpful. It is obvious these instructors have a passion for helping children be their best selves. Thank you Simply Social Kids for providing a safe and natural learning environment for my son to relax and be himself, learn about others and grow socially, without the critical eye of the world around him. I cannot thank you enough!

If you are perspective, parent thinking about sending your child to Franklin Perkins school DO…read moreNOT!! It is not a safe environment and the staff do not have adequate training to deal with the population that they have. On Tuesday November 20th 2025, my 9 year old son and I went to go tour Franklin Perkins for an out of district placement during our visit there my son was physically assaulted by another student. The assault occurred as we were being shown down the hallway by our tour guide Jennifer McGrail. There had been absolutely no prior interaction between my son and the student. My son had walked down the hallway as directed by the tour guide Jennifer McGrail, and as he walked past to go to the next stop on our tour, the student punched my son very hard in the face after this happened, I immediately took my son and removed him from the building, as it was very clear that the staff at Franklin Perkins do not receive the proper training to deal with the emotional dysregulation of the kids in their care. Jennifer McGrail Disclose to us that the student who assaulted my son had been at Franklin Perkins for six months that is certainly adequate time to understand a student's needs and have a comprehensive safety plan in place to keep the student as well as others safe. Furthermore, at the time of this incident, the student who assaulted my son had a one on one aid with him in the hallway and that aid failed to react and prevent the situation from occurring .An apology was never issued to my son in person. Upon leaving the school, we went straight to seek medical attention. Later that night, the vice principal Dawn Bentley called us. It was very clear in the phone call that she does not have adequate training or experience to talk to parents or deal with situations like this as much of a phone call was sitting in silence with her, not knowing how to deal with the situation and very much felt like she was reaching out to us to make herself feel better/gauge our response. I feel very bad for the students at this program who are not being given the support that they need/deserve. Jennifer McGrail and Dawn Bentley are an absolute embarrassment to the educational field save yourselves and your children, the trauma, and skip this joke of an establishment

Horrible place with abuse and will neglect your children. My son almost committed suicide because…read moreof the treatment he received and the staff and administratiom did not try to prevent it at all and ignored my son. He jumped off the roof and broke both his legs and a few ribs and the staff just stood there and watched. It was a student who ended up calling emergency services and the staff stonewalled emergency services saying they didnt see anything. Nothing good was done for my son in this place. Don't believe anyone who tells you this is a safe place for your children. They are covering up their abuse because of the money they receive from the state and private donations. If you value your child's life and safety DO NOT SEND THEM TO DR. FRANLIN PERKINS SCHOOL! Lives are ruined there.

I can not say enough good thing about the commonwealth learning center and about my child's tutor…read moreAmy. my child was struggling with reading was diagnosed with dyslexia and was becoming so discouraged with his school. since Working with Amy his reading has improved tremendously and his confidence. Amy works so well with my child always keeps me up to date with everything they are working on and my child is comfortable working with her. We are so so happy with this learning center .

My daughter and I met with Alex, the director, for an initial consult. Alex was well-prepared,…read morehaving read, highlighted, and annotated the test results I sent to her ahead of time. She also was prepared with a set of questions based on that material. Alex is caring, thoughtful, and even during the initial meeting demonstrated deep knowledge and experience. We are so happy to have found them.

Best party eva. No, like seriously…read more.. I (err, we) didn't give ourselves much lead time to set up a party for out 2 turning 3 year old. And before you give the screw face, know this: we see birthdays as mini-(ok, maxi) holidays in this family... and as days you celebrate (perhaps wildly so) birthdays with everyone you even remotely care about... that said, if that is also your mantra, this type of party is so right for you. So very right. Again, 2 weeks from the date I frantically emailed placed I'd think of having a master bash, only to hear the time wouldn't work, the date, both, or that we'd have to skimp somewhere (though not in price). Somehow the idea of an African Drumming Party popped in my head and thus it began. Kathie, the point of contact/manager was super nice, though we never spoke on the phone, everything was organized via email. We received a confirmation with a week to spare and the invites were sent... OK, lie here, I sent them without the confirmation. This was my belief in star-wishing, the Divine and pixie dust. Ultimately however, it happened. Tom Foote came out. He was SO wonderful and engaging, and also firm. The kids were storming the djembe's and other drums before it was time and he kid-friend-ily told them,... hey guys, not quite yet and they waited hungrily for their turns. We got a full hour (perhaps a few mins more) of dancing, music, a drumming class and duck-duck-goose, a rhythmic circle and singing. Finally, after most were sweat drenched, they chanting for pizza began. In all, this was the most fun I've had at a birthday, the kids all loved it, the parents danced, it really was a great gift for everyone. PS. This man can actually play. Like, seriously, he can PLAY. That said, Kathie, Tom, if you're reading this: Thank you. This was such a very special gift. And, we'll if y'all know Kathie and/or Tom, please tell em I said so if they ain't reading cause they're too busy jamming someone else's party into perfection. They're awesome.

Tom and his colleague Chris came out to our Cub Scout Pack meeting the evening after a HUGE…read moresnowstorm. They quickly captivated their audience of 25 boys from first through fifth grade and had them all participating and enjoying themselves. The kids learned African rhythms--they each had their own drum to use--and Tom got the parents to dance to the beat. A great, fun, and informative activity for the scouts. Thank you so much Tom for your fearlessness in the face of weather and rowdy boys! It was a big, big hit. Thanks!

I had contacted Rhode Island Advocacy for Children after 3+ years of trying to get my son the…read moreplacement he needed.   His school could not provide the services my son needed and was covering up the fact my son was way behind, he was been labeled a disciplinary problem even though he was the one bullied and was physically abused several times by other students.  The last attack happened a month ago and left him with a severe concussion and hearing issue.  My son's school district had broken the IEP & 504 law repeatedly and tried to cover everything up and always made excuses or blamed him.   Rhode Island Advocacy for Children went far and beyond what I had expected and provided 100 % fantastic service.  Joanna Scocchi and Linda Kortick ,  came with me to my IEP meeting and they were successful in working with the school to change my son's placement to where he needed to be!  With Rhode Island Advocacy by my side they were all of a sudden doing the right thing!  My son is now on the road to recovery with much stronger education supports - something that I had tried to get from the school for years and years!   If it was not for Rhode Island Advocacy for Children I don't believe I would have gotten a private placement from the School district and I would have ended up removing my son from school permanently and just given up!  Thank you both for working so hard.  I came to you desperate, hopeless, frustrated after years of getting nowhere and I entrusted you with my son's education and safety.  You made sure you took that to heart as if my child was your # 1 priority!  To anyone who needs support: honestly believe you can trust Rhode Island Advocacy for Children because they do have a heart of gold and don't charge gold prices. Their fees are reasonable because I called other advocates and talked to a lawyer about this before reaching out to Rhode Island Advocacy for Children.  A lawyer that specializes in IEP & 504 laws gave me an idea of what they would charge for my son's case and it would have been easier and cheaper to pay for the placement out of pocket then fight the school!  If you tried to fix the problem alone like I did and got nowhere, do not wait 3 years and call Rhode Island Advocacy for Children as soon as possible  If you didn't start fighting yet, it would be easier to call Rhode Island Advocacy for Children first because you'll probably be ignored and your child is the only one to suffer ! Thank you.

MDS is a highly stressful place to work. There is a lack of communication between management and…read moreemployees. There is no consistent schedule. I feel bad for the students who go here. There is a poor workplace culture. There is a lot of gossip. You can't trust your supervisors.

Honest review from a graduating High school senior:…read more This school isn't bad, but has a LOT of issues. Staff turnover has been seriously high ever since the pandemic. I believe the school is really prioritizing the managing of student social behavior and classes around those at the cost of really hiring effective teachers in sufficient roles to focus the students on academics and transitioning into the real world. As someone who is graduating senior year in a week, I find that a major fault of the school. It wasn't until recently where I realized I have forgotten a majority of basic Algebra 2 and did not learn enough of High school topics due to the lack of academic enforcement and general management by the higher-ups and admins. The diversity ratio is also disastrously low, and there is barely any diversity in the school, and they also would rather keep problematic, distracting students in the same classroom with high-attentive neurotypical students due to the school not knowing how to manage a situation that is their job to manage, and I believe it's very unprofessional. There were positives though, the staff are super friendly to get along with, they really become your friends in the school if you don't like the students, I also feel overtime I was given a good amount of emotional support to manage my anxiety, but when I got through that hurdle, I began to severely struggle academically, even though I had good grades in my classes. Overall, this school that has a lot of potential, but has gradually been going downward in the last few years since the pandemic, and if the turnover continues with the lack of heart & soul it used to have a few years ago, I fear this school will progressively get worse.

Some good and some bad. This school was originally designed for higher functioning learning…read moredisabled youth. Now the majority of the students have significantly lower IQs. Pros: welcoming, very nice campus, great social experiences, has everything a public school has (sports, arts, theater, etc.) Cons: academics are not easily adaptable to students needs, classes spend too much time watching movies, older students don't get a ton of life skills instruction, food is not the greatest and portions are very small, older students could benefit from more vocational instruction than they offer.

I love it here. I've been here for two years, but around the years, I've realized this school has…read morethe tendency to say "what" instead of "yes". and other cultures (and mine) find it very disrespectful and I really don't want to pick up a habit. Also, I'm starting to eat less because of the food choices. we need more. I can understand the fact that we're trying to keep people healthy but eggs at breakfast almost everyday could be a little bit boring...