New L.E.A.P.S. Academy

Our experience with New Leaps Academy has been extremely disappointing. We remained at New Leaps for several years largely because other schools we felt were better suited to our son’s needs had long waiting lists, leaving families like ours with very limited alternatives. At the beginning of each school year, we communicated in writing that our priorities for Joey were communication, comprehension, reading, writing, and math. Yet the work coming home often seemed disconnected from those priorities. I am attaching examples of worksheets, including lessons about the voting process and voting rights, and even an assignment about the ingredients in the President’s pita sandwich. A significant amount of time also appeared to be devoted to basic “life skills,” such as making pasta and sandwiches, along with repetitive activities like Christmas Bingo that continued for months. Meanwhile, we saw very little evidence of consistent academic instruction in the areas we repeatedly asked the school to prioritize. In our experience, the school also relies heavily on students’ RBTs to provide the individual support and structure these children need. When Joey’s insurance reduced his RBT coverage, we were not provided his re-enrollment information and ultimately learned there was no longer a place for him. After years at the school, the timing was extremely troubling. Families are also repeatedly asked to donate, provide supplies, and participate in fundraising, including the school’s golf tournament. In our experience, there was significant pressure surrounding fundraising without adequate transparency about the goals or results. For a school serving children with special needs, we expected qualified educational support, meaningful academics, transparency, and partnership with parents. Unfortunately, our experience increasingly felt less like a school providing individualized education and more like a daycare heavily dependent on outside RBTs to carry much of the responsibility.

Madlena McAllister · 8/7/2026