The Paragon School

4710 Adanson Street

Orlando, FL 32804

19 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on December 31, 2022

My Autistic son is STILL struggling with memories from the bullying he experienced at Paragon TEN YEARS LATER. He tells me the teacher threw books, screamed at kids and turned over desks to scare the kids into behaving. So much mental anguish and damage has been done to so many kids. Happy to hear they have shut down for good.
Submitted by parent on October 11, 2019

Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. Only parents who are at their wits end would put up with the nonsense at that terrible school.
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2018

We have had an amazing experience with Paragon. They have been like a family to us and our son has started learning in ways we never thought possible.
Submitted by other on February 23, 2018

I wanted to write a review of this school because I have experience with the "Principal" from when she taught 3rd grade at a small private school in Orlando called The New School. That lady was horrible to my child, and I'm sure she has not changed. When my child was in 3rd grade, she had a homework assignment to read a short story and put the events in order from 1-4. She got 2 events wrong and as a PUNISHMENT had to sit out at recess the next day!!! yes, this is absolutely true and I was appalled. My child is now in a very good college and was a straight A student in high school with zero behavior problems. I would NEVER send my child to this school solely for the fact that this lady is obviously in charge at this school and most likely still bullying students. She seems to enjoy being in charge of young children and the fact that now she is in charge at a school for kids on the spectrum greatly concerns me.
Submitted by other on May 19, 2016

This school is perfect to for children with autism that have behavioral issues. If you read all the positive reviews you'll see that there is a common component - a child with behavioral issues. This school's rigid structure will undoubtedly 'fix' your child. As one reviewer even put it, the school will change your child and get their behavior under control. The families that have children here need help controlling their autistic kids. The first question they will ask you during the admissions process is, ' what is going on behaviorally with your child?' In my opinion, the school is not as 'high-functioning' as they will lead you to believe. If your child has the potential to mainstream or is borderline, this is definitely not the school for you.
Submitted by parent on November 27, 2014

We pulled our child out just a few days into the school year. What no one tells you is that this institution is run like a military school for autistic children (a concept that is an oxymoron of its own). What broke the camel's back for us was that one day we picked our son up from school and he was limping. We were informed that he must have "rolled his foot" while exercising. Upon getting him home, we removed his shoes and found out the foot he was limping on was extremely swollen. Upon getting the swelling down, we noticed severe bruising over his foot. We took him to see a doctor, who ordered x-rays. It turns out our son had three broken bones in his foot. To make matters worse, he was made to endure an entire day at school limping. Then, upon finding out what was wrong with our son, no one at the school seemed to remember how it happened. Away went the story of him "rolling his foot" and mum became the word - no one knew how or when it could have happened, no apologies, no courtesy, no apathy...Just everyone playing the quiet game to not get sued for their negligence. Child services is now involved, and hopefully they will find justice for our son.
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2013

My husband and I could not be more happy with our experience at the Paragon school. They understand that the world will not always adjust to our children, our children need to adjust to the world. They have high expectations and goals for all of the students. My son completes an amazing amount of work in a week and is constantly being challenged. The staff at this school is amazing.
Submitted by parent on July 08, 2013

Based on the tuition of this school, we had high expectations for our child. However, after receiving low grades at the end of her 2nd year of 4th grade there, I am left baffled. With one teacher for every 3-4 students, there should be no reason for this. Then I am told that the reason is that she is falling behind. This might be expected in a large classroom setting, which is why we brought her to Paragon. Also, I am paying for her to be in class 5 days a week, 8 hrs a day, not take field trips, which cost extra. I also don't agree with the way they discipline. To tell a student monday that they cannot go on the field trip(one of many) on Friday is absurd. Do they really know about autism? Now the child gets to obsess about not being able to go all week and is still expected to concentrate on the school work. Having extra-curricular activities (during school hours of course) when the parent has to work is ridiculous. We have to take time off of work in the middle of the day to go see our child in a play. I'm all for the kids having field trips and doing plays, just not during the time that I'm paying(ALOT) for my child to get an education. In closing, PARENTS BEWARE!
Submitted by parent on August 17, 2012

It was the review on May 20th 2012 which compelled me to write my own review of this school. I am sorry this person felt the need to dispute other peoples positive reviews of the school... This will be my son's second year at Paragon. He was in the public school system prior to attending Paragon and he was unable to complete work, he sat under a table in class for alot of the day and screamed every morning before school. He was very anxious and had low self-esteem. Thankfully, this is no more. We have seen an amazing change in our son since he began at Paragon- he actually enjoys school now and makes great grades! He has friends! He comes home and does his homework without issue! He participates in after school clubs! None of this happened before Paragon. I used to be afraid for what the future held and now, thanks to Paragon, that fear has been replaced with hope and excitement!
Submitted by parent on June 10, 2012

I would like to re-affirm that the post of 5/9 was done by a parent and that it reflects our opinion of the school. We are delighted with the school and the progress our daughter has made since being there.
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2012

The review posted on May 20th is both inaccurate and slanderous. After reading the guidelines for this site, I wonder why these posts have been allowed to persist.
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2012

This is my daughter's first year at Paragon, and my husband and I could not be happier with the progress she has made. We started with many behavoir issues and she was well below her grade level.The staff is very professional and promotes a drama-free enviornment. I'm happy to say the behaviors are under control, the school has surpassed my expectations academically and best of all, she is very happy.
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2012

Paragon has been a Fantastic Experience for my son. Reading the previous postings, I'm sorry to hear any child had a bad experience - but ours has been nothing even close to this. Our child had strong issues in public school where the teachers tried their best, but were not equipped to handle his needs - nor did they really have the time. Military Discipline?? Hardly.. High Expectations - Absolutely!! And the school EXPECTS the students to CONTROL THEIR OWN ISSUES, and for the most part the kids respond to this can can do so. I appreciate the teachers, staff and principal and other parents and consider all of them part of a larger familty - not just a school, which is a huge difference in my son's life.
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2012

Our son has attended The Paragon School for 3 1/2 years. When we arrived, our son couldn't sit in a classroom, didn't listen and used aggressive language. In just a few short weeks he was sitting at his desk, participating, listening and learning. We no longer deal with his aggressive behavior/language. The school is highly structured and meets the need of each child academically, socially and behaviorally. We had tried private and public school options and utlimately moved our family from Connecticut to Central Florida to attend this school. If you are looking for a school that is focused exclusively on high-functioning Autistic and Asperger's children, The Paragon School is the only one out there. It has saved our son as well as our family. Today he is flourishing and learning. We look forward to family time, we don't dread it anymore. All this is a testament to The Paragon School - great teachers, great adminsitration all making great kids. It's the best!
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2012

My son has been going to Paragon School for 5 yrs now since its inception. I have nothing but praises for the all the staff especially the teachers who believe in our children and their potentials. My son has improved tremendously academically beyond our expectations. While the school focuses on academics, they do not fail to address the behavioral needs of the child too. My son had a problem with accountability and thanks to his teachers and the behavioral analyst, he has improved tremendously. I have to say that it is a mutual effort at school and at home to make it a succcess. I highly recommend this school especially for those with Asperger's syndrome.
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2012

I love this school! I've looked for the best placement for my child ever since kindergarten without much luck. Public schools were only as good as the individual teacher, and many did not have enough training or experience working with autistic kids. The charter school we went to was much better, but did not have as much emphasis on academics as I would have liked. I finally decided to try a private school, and I am so glad I did. This year has been the absolute best year we have ever had at school. I recommend Paragon to anyone in the Orlando area who has a child with Aspergers/high functioning autism.
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2012

Our child struggled academically and behaviorally in the public school system. The public school he went to did everything they could to help him but, they lacked all the necessary resources as well as having large classes. We also looked at charter schools but, too many were closing. We placed him in this school and immediately he was coming home and telling us he LOVED school! He is learning to be flexible, accept responsibility for his actions and there is no more pulling hair out at homework time. He just comes home and completes it. This school has helped him so much that our quality of family life has improved greatly! We think so highly of this school that we will be starting our other child there in the fall.
Submitted by parent on March 26, 2012

My son goes to Paragon school and I have to say, they have made a life changing difference in his life. ALL of the staff there are caring professionals that create a place where autistic students can learn and in turn, have a more satisfying life. My son's self esteem has never been better. He has been held accountable for his actions and has been more atttentive to learning. He used to avoid a challenge, but the staff there doesn't accept that, they make sure the kids have the support to start from their current level and advance from there. My son has received detentions and some very firm expectations at time, and it has worked wonders. He now has much more appropriate behavior. His emotional level as well as learning has improved in a very short time. We have experienced varying enviornments for our son, from the worst where the school reacted to behavior issues mainly and didn't achieve much academically, to one that tried to focus on academics but did not address the behavioral needs of the child. Paragon has loving, caring professionals that create a high functioning expectation of behavior so that learning can happen and students can reach for their potential.
Submitted by parent on March 06, 2012

This is my second time rating this school. I hope my review goes through this time! This school is basically a military school for children with autism. My Child started this school as a child who loved school and had no behavior problems to a child who came home daily with headaches and tears from being bullied by the staff and having all day detention. (Where I come from that is called a in school supspension). While in detention he was bulled by the staff. When I asked what was going on the response I got from the teacher was "---- knows what he did". When I complained he was asked to leave base on "the staff is AFRAID to work with him". He is now at a new school and back to his happy self loving school again. Sadly he now has to see a psychologist to get over the trama that was allowed to be done to him while being bullied by the staff! This school deserves a score of -1000. Biggest regreat of my life is that I paid them to bullied my child.