Princeton House Charter School


Princeton House Charter School, which this spring settled a lawsuit alleging abuse of a student, has been sued by a second family.

In the new suit, two parents, identified only by their initials, say that their 6-year-old daughter was badly bruised while being restrained at the school in January and that she was grabbed and dragged by staff in November.

The Orlando school, which serves students with moderate to severe autism, in spring settled a 2010 suit that alleged a 15-year-old boy was injured by staff. A settlement of $74,465.74 was placed into a special-needs trust for Rose and Lawrence Casto's son, Christopher, and the parents were awarded an additional $20,000...

"They just abused my son, hiding behind the word 'restraint,'" Rose Casto said at the time. Restraint is a controversial practice of physically holding students with disabilities when they act out...

The new lawsuit, which was filed in federal court this month, also centers on the use of restraint.

In the January incident, the lawsuit alleges that the student suffered extensive bruising after a staff member pulled her sweater over the back of a special wooden chair. The chair, known as a Rifton chair, is intended to support and hold students who can't sit well on their own...

In the November incident, the same child was forced into a fabric tunnel, which made her panic, and later was dragged and forced onto a trampoline during a class activity, the lawsuit alleges. The suit says the staff at the school were not properly trained and that the school knew of "the unlawful abuse, restraint and seclusion of its special-needs students" and failed to act...

However, Daniel Cotter, an attorney for the girl's family, said the suit also aims to draw attention to what he called "systemic problems at this institution."...

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't comment as to this instance, but I can comment at the powerful effect Princeton House Charter School has had on my son. He is thriving. He is learning. He enjoys school and loves his friends and teachers there. He is speaking and interacting with others. This school has been tremendous for my family.

Anonymous said...

Princeton House was a good school many many years ago now is just a plain school with a fancy name the owners don't care about the kids just money the parents can provide the staff, is not well prepared there is people working in there that cannot even speak English very well

Anonymous said...

This school is plain awful the administration are money vampires the only thing they care is how much money they can take from you they don't care about the kids or the families.

Anonymous said...

This school is awful just care about how much money they can get from the parents they don't care about the kids

Anonymous said...

Awful school

Christina Clark said...

This school has saved my son from a dark lonely life.He was not talking at all now he can tell me that he loves me.You cant put a price on that. That school is full of love and caring. If u dont know about a autism melt down ask someone who has a child with this my son has a scar on his head because he did it they do that so the child dose not hurt them self. Thank u Princeton House you are a God sent to me and my son!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I came here two years ago and have been the most amazing years for my kids. They were not potty trained, is even speak. My son have a great improvement and that was not right that they don't speak English. I just keep praying God for them

Jenn Middendorf said...

When my family first moved to the Central Florida area we were hesitant about even going to check out Princeton House because of these two situations were children were abused. However there aren't many charter schools for autism and we did not want to put our children in a special needs class at a regular public school. We wanted teachers who specialized with working with children affected by autism. Let me just stop and say I am SO GLAD that I didn't let this school slip threw our fingers. My daughter has been at PHCS for 3 years now and she is thriving. Her first year of pre-k was not at PHCS and she would cry if I even got in the vicinity of her prior school because she didn't want to go. Things changed once she started Princeton House she would cry if we drove past school on a Saturday because she wanted to go. when she started @ PHCS she was non verbal and had transitioning problems, tantrums, couldn't sit long to do school work, activities, along with a list of other issues to work on. Three quarters thru her first school year she was student of the month, had met all IEP goals and was on a beginning journey towards becoming the wonderfully happy, polite, behaved child she is today. She still has a long way to go but PHCS has been the key to helping me find my baby girl who was lost in her own world & trapped in her own head. My son also attends PHCS this is his second year he had many of my daughters mentioned areas of concern biggest being non verbal and fits because of his inability to communicate he would loose patience and melt down. Today he repeats everything I say and again only in his second year at PHCS. I'm sorry if my post is long but I believe in Princeton House I adore the teacher and staff. I've heard people say they are just money hungry let me say the went from being a private school into a public school so all children affected by autism could have a chance at an education they deserve. We do a lot of fundraising but the kids also have access to the best technology and therapies because of this. Creating a public school that teaches like a private one takes help on every ones part. I will stop now by saying the schools principal is amazing as is the rest of the staff, teachers and therapists. Also I am so grateful for PHCS and all they have done for my two ASD children. So if your one of those parents about to dismiss PHCS because of these past situations, please don't. Stop in and take a look for yourself it might be the best decision for your child's education as it was mine. Thanks for your time and I hope you become as passionate about PHCS as I have. God Bless

J Mejia said...

My son has been going to PHCS for more than 3 years now. I've read the claims that the school only cares about money which is an absurd claim since it is a FREE public charter school. I will also address the claim that they have people working in the school who do not speak English very well. Ridiculous!!! PHCS is like many other specialized schools, they are not a match for everyone. Since I am a parent with a child with special needs and I run a non-profit group that meets the needs of others who have children with special needs, I know that parents are often wanted schools to meet their every need and staff to walk on water. Well, NO SCHOOL can live up to this standard. PHCH has behavior staff to deal with tantrums which can include students biting teachers, students kicking teachers and other students, students throwing over desks, children spitting and other children or staff. It is sad, but these behaviors are common in schools like this. The staff at PHCS has gotten better and better at dealing with these situations. I've seen kids have tantrums, including my own son and I would hope that a teacher would not allow him to hit, kick, bit, or spit at them. No matter their issue, this is not acceptable behavior. Teaching in this demographic is tough and staff have to make tough decisions in the blink of an eye. The staff is in constant training of how to diffuse situation, but they cannot always be diffused by anyone but the one having the issue. If you have never experienced a child having a meltdown who has autism, it is a tough experience. If a school is not the right fit for one student, it doesn't make it an awful school.

keenya said...

I'm waiting now to hear if my son gets in
I've heard wonderful things and was impressed at the parent orientation
My son needs occupy therapy he can get it during the school day!!!
Thanks for the positive message

Anonymous said...

As a former employee, I would not send my child there. They do not offer speech, occupational, physical and behavioral therapy as they say. They show up for behavior only when crisis behavior occurs and speech shows up once a week for a half hour and play on an ipad. If your child is nonverbal forget it. Children never really learn to speak. Their Occupational therapy is done by paras with directions written on a whiteboard or not done at all! Most of the teaching staff do not have a background in autism. Very little progress is ever made with these children and it's basically a daycare. Some teachers were great there and some had no business teaching at all! There are much better places out there to send your child!