Frostig School

This place is simply AMAZING. They single handedly brought my son back from the soul crushing anxiety and depression he suffered at the hands of the other schools. His elementary school teacher, Mary Frances, healed my poor kid and gave him his smile back. Not only that, but I’d been told that because of his learning disability, remembering long strings of information may be difficult, if not impossible, for him. Somehow Mary Frances got around that and my son now knows his multiplication tables!
While some may have reservations about the age range house on campus (grades 1 – 12), they have no reason to worry. The older kids remember what is was like to get picked on, so they’re protective of the younger kids. It’s like having a school full of big brothers and sisters. This is one of the kindest places I’ve ever been to. We feel so lucky that our son is here!

After years of struggling along, my daughter came to Frostig for high school and it was the best move we ever made. She is markedly happier and more confident now and has many friends. Before this school she was always 2 steps behind and confused about what was happening in class and feeling rotten about it. Good LD trained teachers make all the difference! So now she is understanding, executing and feeling confident in her abilities
The school offers many extras like a terrific arts program and the chance to play sports. Lovely teachers and nice families.
Its a long commute for us but worth every mile.

My daughter has been at Frostig for 2.5 years now, and she loves it. Here are the things we as parents love about it:
–Teachers credentialed in special ed
–Nurturing, caring teachers and staff
–Wonderful arts program (drama, music, art classes weekly)
–Robust PE program (4x/​week)
–Extra services offered on site (ed therapy, counseling, OT, etc.)
–After-​school programs (tutoring, swim club, arts classes, etc.)
–Strong parents association
–Attractive campus with warm, inviting classrooms and a nice playground.
No school is right for everybody, but it’s been great for us. She loves going to school, she has friends, and her self-​esteem is still in tact. I’m so glad we found a good fit for her.

Due to his learning disability, our son was falling further and further behind in the public school system. It was so difficult for him that it was a struggle to go everyday. We gave him a two day trial at Frostig and he immediately became more comfortable. The teachers are unique. They are patient and know how to encourage children who have Learning Difficulties. Academically, the teachers will adjust the curriculum and work with your child until he/​she knows the material. Class sizes are small (8 – 12) with a teacher and a teacher’s aide. Forstig has a fantastic computer, art, drama, P.E. and music program. No one has to be «good.» They just have to try!
Frostig can provide your child a safe environment all the way through High School. Their «transition program» is designed to ready every Student for the next stages in his or her life and gets going early enough to be effective and is as vital as your Diploma or Graduation Certificate.
The big thing is that our Son actually looks forward to School now, and is happy at Frostig.
January 2013

My son has been a student at the Frostig School for the past 3 ½ years, beginning in middle school. Prior to that, he had attended the same well-​respected public school, in a regular classroom, since pre-​kindergarten. By the beginning of 5^th grade, however, a class of 40 students and a one-​size fits all teaching style left my very hard-​working son behind, academically and socially.
One visit to Frostig and my son told me he wanted to make this his new school. He hadn’t had a new school since he was 3 years old.
With a class size of no more than 12, and highly trained teachers who tailor each child’s education to his or her unique needs, my son has been able to really learn, not just memorize information to move ahead. The amazing staff at Frostig are always available to talk to and work with parents. On a daily basis, they come up with effective and creative ways to help my child succeed.
Frostig also has a diverse electives program and because the school is small my son has felt comfortable trying just about everything.
I cannot say enough about Frostig’s Social Skills and Transitions programs. The school understands the importance of social intelligence for future success and provides its students with regular instruction in this area. Now in 9^th grade, my son has Transitions classes that help him prepare for post-​high school life. The students explore career interests, options for college or trade school, and how their own strengths and weaknesses will play a role in the decisions they will soon have to make. I wish I would have had a class like this in high school!
My son truly enjoys going to Frostig every day, learning from caring teachers at a pace that is effective for him. Thanks to Frostig, he is a curious, hard-​working, self-​aware student who is willing to take on new challenges.

This is our second year at Frostig. I like to think of Frostig as «the land of opportunity» for my two sons, both diagnosed with Autism. At first, I had doubts and was apprehensive about moving my boys from a full inclusion public school to Frostig, but within the first two weeks I knew that we had made the right decision.
At Frostig, the teacher to student ratio is very low which allows for more individualized attention and instruction. Each class is staffed with a lead teacher and an assistant teacher. The curriculum is research based and is taught at the right level for each student. Back at the public school, my boys would often complain and stress out about falling behind and not understand what was being taught. They are both intelligent boys, but were not able to flourish in their previous school. I recall one of my boys using the following analogy to describe the experience, «Mom, it’s like everyone is on the freeway and I’m left behind on a little road.» Obviously, this created a lot of stress which manifested itself in difficult behaviors and emotional anxiety.
Frostig is a treasure. Because of the specialized instruction, my boys now love going to school, are responsible and diligent about doing their homework and take pride in their work. The success attributes are taught throughout the curriculum: Self Awareness, Proactivity, Perseverence, Goal Setting, Support Systems, and Emotional Coping Strategies.
In additon to the core subjects, Frostig also offers drama, music, computers and art. The teachers in these specialized subjects offer kids the opportunity to experience and succeed in the performing arts and to tap into their creativity. Earlier this year, one of my sons played a character in the school play. Before coming to Frostig, I never would have imagined that this would be possible. The production was wonderful.
Frostig is a haven for students and parents alike. At Frostig, my kids blend in, not stick out as they did in their previous school. Acceptance, tolerance and community are very important. My boys now have a sense of belonging and for the first time have a group of real friends. Frostig has afforded me the opportunity to meet other parents that truly understand the difficulties of raising a child with special needs. We seek each other out and plan activities together as parents and as families.
The staff and administration at Frostig are special individuals with big hearts who are dedicated to helping children. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

Frostig literally saved my son’s life. This is not hyperbole.
We came to check out Frostig when my extremely high-​functioning autistic son was finishing 7^th grade at our local public school, and he had been diagnosed with severe depression. Our doctor warned me I had to extricate him from the school he attended before he became so depressed he harmed himself.
Our school had egregiously failed to implement my son’s IEP. They set him up to fail again and again, and allowed him to bullied by students and even some teachers. It was a phenomenal failure on every level. His aide would sit in the back of the classroom, reading the newspaper, and didn’t assist with any of the executive functioning skills he was there to coach.
So we checked out Frostig and took a tour. At the end of the tour, my son, who had been skeptical to say the least, announced he wanted to attend the following year. Luckily for me, after we applied, they accepted my son. We did unilateral placement, and sorted things out (that’s a euphemism!) with our school district later. My son’s health and survival were at stake.
The first year at Frostig was tough, because my son had PTSD from the public school, and thought all the kids were trying to hurt him. Instead of overreacting or punishing my son, the universally-​educated staff at Frostig supported him and helped him work through the misery until he was truly functional in a school setting once more. (And by universally-​educated staff, I mean that EVERY staff member, from the front office to facility maintenance to janitorial has a CLUE about how to interact with kids with LD, HFA, or Asperger’s. It’s fantastic!)
After 5 years at Frostig, my son blossomed into a friendly, funny young man. He was able to participate in the softball team and the year he played, they won the championship! He passed the California High School Entrance Exam (CAHSEE) on his FIRST try, and with only about a week’s notice. That is an indicator, to me, of general preparedness, not desperate «teaching-​to-​the-​test». He later took the ACT exam and got a composite score of 26 (which is 84^th percentile, nationally). He graduated in June 2011.
He now attends Citrus College and plans to transfer to the McNally Smith School of Music in Minneapolis.
Frostig MORE than prepared my son for life, Frostig taught him to trust again, to invest in a school community, and perhaps most importantly, to be a strong self-​advocate in his life, so people can understand his differences and embrace them without confusion.
I will also call out, as did another reviewer, Rita Zobayan (and Dee!), who patiently and tirelessly help all the seniors with transition to college (or trade school, or whatever the student chooses). Their dedication is powerful and transformative for these kids.
I also want to mention two teachers who profoundly changed me son’s life: Grant and Jason. There are no words to express my gratitude for their contribution to my son’s successes and growth, both emotionally and academically.

Need to be totally revamped The place is barely hanging on in terms of technology they give the students they need a stronger foundation it is strong but not strong enough anymore it was great when I went there now something is missing

My daughter went to Frostig for two years in their 1 – 3 grade Elementary class. During her first year, there were some signs of inconsistency within the program but we hoped those issues would eventually improve.
My daughter attended summer school and showed improvement, however, things significantly changed in her second year. She had the same teacher but 80% of the class was new. During the first semester, the social skills teacher was on maternity leave and the school did not provide a similarly qualified substitute. Instead, they tried to fill the void with existing staff and student groups that were unqualified to provide social skills support. This resulted in behavior issues that were not addressed until the social skills teacher returned 3 months later. In hindsight, the lack of social support was unacceptable. We placed too much faith in Frostig and trusted things would get better once the social skills teacher returned but it didn’t.
Aside from the lack of social support, we also noticed that our daughter was not progressing academically. She was not being challenged on a consistent basis and there were many days she received work intended for other students. Many of the modifications that were outlined in her IEP were not followed and the lack of communication about the academic program left us very frustrated. The school never provided a clear outline of the topics to be covered during the month/​semester. Our repeated requests for information on journal topics, reading curriculum and social studies subjects were ignored. It took a meeting with the head of school to get a daily report on which subjects my daughter completed during the day. We were appalled at the amount of work it took to simply get feedback from the teacher everyday. While my daughter was in public school, daily feedback was automatically given to us. The Frostig teacher provided periodic behavior feedback but failed to provide any academic feedback at all — even if we consistently asked for it. When we asked her direct questions, we got a lot of «I don’t know» answers. This behavior was utterly inexcusable because she only had 9 students and a full-​time TA. We got better feedback from teachers with more than twice as many students.
The Frostig school tour is very convincing as they emphasize customized curriculum and use of technology. In the two years my daughter was there, she did use a computer for special projects but the technology was by no means «cutting edge». She did not use an iPad or any other helpful devices for her academic curriculum. We also did not see any attempt at customizing the curriculum to my daughter’s needs. On the contrary, the school requires ALL students take music and drama as electives even if they do not really participate in it. To me, a customized program would allow for flexibility to take an extra art class instead of drama when students clearly can’t decipher abstract concepts. This was not an option at Frostig.
We addressed all these issues with the school administration and staff and did not get any worthwhile feedback or support. While we desperately wanted Frostig to work for us, they clearly did not live up to our expectations and we felt that we wasted our daughter’s time and our money by keeping her there.
My daughter entered Frostig at grade-​level on math and reading but below grade in reading comprehension and writing. The school convinced us that they were going to be able to «plug the holes» in her academics through their customized program. When she left Frostig, she tested below grade level across the board.
While the school presents a lot of very helpful workshops and seminars, these programs are through the Frostig Center, not the Frostig School. It is a shame that this Frostig School does not practice what the Frostig Center preaches.
We were frustrated and disappointed that the school did not provide any of the support they advertised.

I haven’t really reviewed educational services in the past and yet after attending their college fair I was compelled to do so.
The services this center provide give students the foundation they desperately need to launch them into a successful career.
I want to personally recommend working with Rita Zobayan who was ultra-​helpful & engaging. A day spent around her and her students is sufficient to make you a believer in this center.
We got a personal tour of the facility given my their principle who just radiated with pride and enthusiasm for the work they do.

Before I review the Frostig Center, let me start of by saying I have not sent or do not know anyone who has had children go here.
This review is simply from a consumer and fund raising attendee perspective.
Every year this school has a huge electronic sale. When I saw HUGE, I mean pretty frickin’ HUGE.
The doors open at 8am and by the time we got there it wrapped the block.
All I wanted was my 42 inch plasma. When they passed me the inventory sheet and I saw that there were only 29, I began to have a slight panic attack.
As I stood in line for the next 1.5 hours, I watched each Samsung 42 inch TV leave, trying to convince myself that there will be enough.
Long story short, I took one of the last 9 of the 42 inch plasma TV for $ 800. THAT is a deal if I’ve ever heard of one.
The BEST part…100% of the proceeds go straight to the school, which from what I’ve heard is excellent and from attending this event, has a nice solid family like school community.