This school contains wonderful staff and teachers who care about their students! They have very suitable classrooms for the students and nice areas for kids to play. read more

both of my kids out of the school because she did not want to deal with conflict with me or my family. There was a miscommunication and I was concerned why my son was not offered to go on the field trip. And when my spouse decided to talk to Callie on the phone, she wouldn't let her get a word out and was bullying her. So we hung up on her because we couldn't get a word in and she was being extremely rude. Then the next day I get an email saying my children are No longer able to attend South Walton Academy because they cannot accommodate. It's interesting because you were able to accommodate since the beginning of the school year and take my money with no problem. I also asked for half of my money back for the month of March because I paid full month of tuition for my younger child. I also have not heard anything back about the remainder of these funds. I have NEVER NEVER Received any communication with them regarding my son's care plan. I gave them a copy of the care plan before he started school and I'm never received any updates regarding it. When I ask how his day was the only responses I hear are he had a good day. And the only constructive feedback I had received was him getting out of his seat most of the times while they are eating. So if the school did try to contact me regarding his care, plan updates, I would love to see the emails or phone calls trying to contact me. Do not send your kids to the school. There was also an additional mishap where she had to close the school because the school couldn't get their funding together and this has been an ongoing issue for 3 years now. She did not tell anyone or warn anyone till it was too and the day after CHRISTMAS.. And now my child is having to suffer because the owner does not want to deal with conflict. The owner stated that the school did not shut down however it did. Over half of the staff is gone because they did not get paid and majority of the students are gone as well. I should have followed them. Do not send your children to the school. Yes I did happen 2 cuss on Feb 7th and not a week ago however I did apologize. I also have not been rude to any staff member. The only one that I was rude to in accident was Jennifer through email which was a frustration talk to text that I had accidentally sent and sent an email. There has been no harassment from myself to the staff members. I received one email from Callie regarding my message to Jennifer. And I apologize to them both. I actually really enjoyed everyone and when I expressed my concerns, my child gets kicked out of school. I also waited for Callie yesterday morning when I was getting ready to drop my son off and waited and waited for her and she never showed up but decided to send me an email. I also have never signed or received a policy or a handbook guide from South Walton. Long story short do not send your kids here if you plan on sticking up for them. You cannot have a face-to-face adult conversation with these people because if you have any negative concern, they will kick you out and exile you. They took my review down off of Google because if most of you don't know you can as a business owner have Google reviews deleted or paid to have deleted. read more

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Waited 3 months for my daughter to get into this program with a doctors referral. Kelli that handles new applications is extremely judgemental and is not in a hurry to get new students into their program. Very disappointing since I was already skeptical because of it being in a nicer area that we would be judged, and I was right. Hopefully this academy finds a new person to handle applications. AWFUL EXPERIENCE read more

My children have been attending SWA for several years now. My son started when he turned 3 after having therapies with Mrs Calley the founder. He is now 8 and is still attending SWA and is in 3rd grade and thriving. I was supported by the staff and therapists and taught ways to deal with my son when he was newly diagnosed as being autistic. I would volunteer in his class some days and then my daughter loved it so much that she started attending around age 3 also. She was neurotypical until she was diagnosed with brain cancer. SWA was there for our entire family as we went through the unthinkable and made sure our son was loved and cared for. Now after finishing treatment our daughter is back at school and loving every moment. Her teachers have been fantastic since day 1! Her classmates are accepting and caring for her and so is all of the staff there. We have had major struggles with the public school system and getting her IEP corrected and the staff at SWA have been there to help and advise me when needed. Previous posts may say there is high turn over of staff which happens at most businesses. This school has grown so much in the 5 years we have been part of the SWA family and we are so proud to see the growth and be part of it. Also, most of the fundraisers have PTO involvement too which the people running that are doing a great job supporting the school. read more

I am very disappointed with this organization. They value quantity over quality. Falsely advertised. Even their positive reviews are fake and created by staff. Administration seems to care only about filling their pockets, not helping the children learn and make gains. They are good at telling you what you want to hear. Unprofessional workplace. Unqualified administration in charge of running the school or clinic and they are very far removed from the day to day operations. They spend exponentially more time on social events and fundraisers than creating educational standards. High turnover rate of staff. Decision making is emotion-controlled. There are little to no safety measures in place. This place is NOT as advertised. I wish no stars was an option. read more

I have two children with ADHD, and they have struggled in private school and public school. We have tried so many different things to help them and felt like we would never get them what they needed. Then we found South Walton Academy! It has been a game changer for our family. I love the one on one attention, how much every teacher and staff member cares, the children are so sweet to one another and my kids have never been happier! we have been there over two years now and are extremely thankful and consider South Walton Academy a blessing to our family! read more

My children go here and have been here for years, they are 10 and 14 years old. The teachers are constantly adding new adventures into their school work to make it a fun learning experience. There are extracurricular programs as well and we can't wait to experience even more once the new gym is ready. read more

South Walton Academy - Private Schools Near Me - Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

This school is in dire need of improvement, and I absolutely believe it can get there. The idea of a school like SWA is brilliant and I wish there were many, many more schools like it. The principal is incredibly kind and welcoming to the staff and families. Sadly, there is a huge lack of support from lower admin/supervisors to teachers and not much collaboration with therapists for smaller classes that need them. I understand some sides of the admin pride themselves in being not as structured/focusing on a different academic approach, but every child needs teachers who actually know what they're doing and have goals to be met frequently. That was near to impossible to find here. One of the teachers was brand new to the school and being a teacher, and it wasn't until the last quarter of the year that this teacher finally had adequate, truly effective guidance on classroom management and curriculum development, and this guidance came from an outside source. No, the school does not have to be run like a college preparatory school in order to succeed, but admin support/mentoring/goal meetings should certainly take place, weekly, for teachers and therapists alike. Teachers and assistants are not given time to plan or meet with supervisors during a typical work day. Instead, they are asked to stay after or before hours in order to discuss any sort of plan or concerns, which is unethical. Some teachers would stay until 8/9pm in order to grade or file parent reports. SWA is NOT the only school that pushes teachers to stay after hours/plan outside of the typical work day, but that's the problem with the education system today, and it is disappointing that a school like SWA-- who flaunts not being like other schools--follows suit in this direction. SWA is not a bad school to send your younger children to, but parent involvement with the teachers is a big must, otherwise you will find yourself confused and frustrated with supervisors/lower admin and teachers. read more

Do you hope your child never learns new skills? Do you wish they would not progress and gain necessary knowledge to function in society? Do you want to pay private school tuition for them to watch movies everyday? Do you want instructors and staff that are on their phone all day instead of educating your child? If you answered yes to any of these, then you should send your child to South Walton Academy. read more

I applied to SWA because of the way it was portrayed online and in my interview. However, there were several red flags I ignored--please don't ignore them. I've never felt so undervalued or unsupported as a staff member. There is no collaboration amongst teachers, therapists, or admin. Very little quality teaching happening on campus; a movie is usually playing in any given classroom daily. Therapist are overworked and underpaid. Scheduling is a joke. Quality therapy is not valued or prioritized, based on the way the schedule changes daily, or multiple times a day--leaving no time to adequately lesson plan. Over productivity and profit is prioritized over the success of students. Clients make limited progress because of disorganized scheduling. There are no breaks in therapists' schedules, no travel time, so you're constantly running behind from client to client. No time to debrief with parents or teachers. Staff uses WhatsApp for communication, rather than actual professional emails. Staff were specifically told by Admin not to be on phones when students are present, but then uses WhatsApp as the main mode of communication. SLPs were asked to supervise SLPAs unethically. The culture is not mutually respectful or one in which you can learn and grow as a professional. The professional development is a joke. Communication is disorganized or non-existent. There are no known safety measures in place for school wide for emergencies like tornado drills, fire drills (I think there was 1 the entire time I worked there!?), and active shooters. When asked about turnover at SWA, I was told there is high turnover simply because this area of FL is transient and military town, or that therapists left after having babies--and it's simply NOT the truth. If SWA was all that it appears to be or claims to be, staff would never leave because they would feel so valued. The list goes on. Although I do wish for more positive change, the leadership at this establishment must first accept and address issues when they are brought to them, rather than denying them, making excuses and lying; prioritize the mental health and wellbeing of their employees, and model true respect from the top down. Until then, I would hate to see another good quality therapist spend their time and efforts here. read more

This school has been amazing!! My son has been to a few schools in the area before and this was a perfect fit for his season in life. The teachers provide ample communication and support. My son has some developmental delays and the staff and teachers (and other parents!!) have been such a system of support - encouraging when we hit valleys and celebrated when we hit high points. So appreciative and thankful for the hand holding I so desperately needed. We are looking forward to therapy services that are offered on site and all teachers are ESE certified and have great communication with each other. This is important to me since it's a fairly smaller school but they all know how to care for my son and work together to provide excellent one one one and small group care - academically and emotionally for each student. read more

Terrible experience with this business. Very unprofessional. Please see my husbands full review.

We love SWA! My child is going into her second year of school, second year of summer camp and is active in their speech and occupational therapy program. All of SWA's teachers, therapists and staff are wonderful. I can't say enough good things about this place. I highly recommend SWA! read more

I can not say enough wonderful things about this school! We have a special needs child who did not excel in the public school system. We found SWA a few years ago and LOVE it! From small class sizes with caring and loving teachers, individual attention, on-site therapy, after school programs for us working parents and a super fun summer camp, it is all perfect! I has been a huge blessing for our family. read more