ASR's Violations of Massachusetts Education Law

[Anonymous]

When the personal attacks start it is a sure sign they are short on facts. You left out that most of the kids are tortured and left in isolation for days with no food or water. The majority of kids are missing digits when they return home…. Ha,Ha,Ha, They have no licensed pilots or licensed plumbers on site either. I also noticed not one employee is licensed to teach scuba diving…this is awful… shut them all down.

When TheWho's sarcastic comments start in it is a sure sign he is short on facts.

If I was reading this stuff, I would call the school….

By all means call them, let us know what they say.

This is why I love fornits so much. The stories are so outrageous that parents are saying, what the heck is going on… and end up calling the school for clarification or call the
Department of Education's Program Quality Assurance Services Unit (781) 338-3700.

Which of course only validates what we are saying.

even if they are not considering placement, they call out of curiosity, you got to love the information age because you cant fool people for too long.

Which is why so many of these programs are being forced to become properly licensed. You can't fool people for too long.

I am glad you let me stick around, I just got my invitation in the mail to post for another year here…how about you…Ha,Ha,Ha,

We all have a standing invitation to post here as we are all honest about things. You will be allowed to post here so long as you remaining entertaining and continue to disuade parents from placing their kids in your program.

[Troll Control]

Sorry, you must have missed the facts posted above.  Here they are again:

They're basically not qualified to do anything lawfully. This is why they are avoiding regulation by EEC, DMH and federal DOE.

-no special ed teachers or administrators - none
-no licensed teachers
-no licensed counselors
-no student rights under federal law (mail screening, cut off communication, physical punishments, etc)

With these qualifications, ASR really shouldn't be working with any type of kid.

Facts are facts.  No need to try to shift the focus or to post some hyperbole that nobody else stated.

Just stick to the facts:

-no special ed teachers or administrators - none
-no licensed teachers
-no licensed counselors
-no student rights under federal law (mail screening, cut off communication, physical punishments, etc)

These facts alone are bad enough.  No need to make up stories about pilots and plumbers  :roll:

[TheWho]

And like I said,  you can believe people here on fornits or you can call the school or Department of Education's Program Quality Assurance Services Unit (781) 338-3700

I wouldn’t decide to place or not place a child solely based on what you hear at fornits or a web site… get the facts

..

[Anonymous]

Please by all means, enlighten us as to what you believe to be the facts in this situation.

[Troll Control]

And like I said,  you can believe people here on fornits or you can call the school or Department of Education's Program Quality Assurance Services Unit (781) 338-3700

I wouldn’t decide to place or not place a child solely based on what you hear at fornits or a web site… get the facts

..

I called this number and asked if ASR has any teachers holding licenses to teach.  I gave the names of their teachers from ASR's website one by one. The answer was "no license" for every one of them.  I also asked if they have any licensed special ed teachers - "no".  Special ed administrator? - "no".

That's all I need to know about a so-called "school".  That was helpful.  Thanks.

[TheWho]

So they dont have any licensed Special ed teachers....  This is why I encourage everyone to call for themselves because you hear half truths here.

Yes they dont have any licensed special ed teachers beacuse they dont have any special ed teachers....Ha,Ha,Ha,  just like they dont have any licensed pilots...Ha,Ha,Ha,

Did they ask if they had licensed counselors?  Didnt hear that one...we all know they do...... they are handing you bull here.

Call the school yourself or call:

 Department of Education's Program Quality Assurance Services Unit (781) 338-3700.  

..

[RobertBruce]

So they dont have any licensed Special ed teachers....  This is why I encourage everyone to call for themselves because you hear half truths here.

Yes they dont have any licensed special ed teachers beacuse they dont have any special ed teachers....Ha,Ha,Ha,  just like they dont have any licensed pilots...Ha,Ha,Ha,

Did they ask if they had licensed counselors?  Didnt hear that one...we all know they do...... they are handing you bull here.

Call the school yourself or call:

 Department of Education's Program Quality Assurance Services Unit (781) 338-3700.  

..

We've been through all this once before Cindy. We already know they don't have any licensed counselors on regular staff. What they do have is three licensed social workers providing therapy for 100+ kids.

They are:

Francis Bartolomeo-Director of Counseling-Licensed Social Worker

Tanya Beecher- Clinical Counselor-Licensed Social Worker


Sabrina Herman-Clinical Counselor-Licensed Social Worker

According to the DoE ASR is a special needs school that is unlicensed by them. They are able to avoid licensure thanks to the 30% law they worked so hard to enact. Of course now the population of ASR's kids with special needs is much higher than 30% so it looks like the next step is to calls the EEC. According to the woman I spoke with at DoE in such a case as ASR's where they remain unlicensed, it is up to each kids district (including out of state) to ensure that all standards are being met by ASR and all laws being obeyed.

[TheWho]

As a hypothetical situation.  Lets say a small place opened on Boston and it served bagels and coffee.  You could also read the many books they had around the Shoppe and purchase them or they would lend them to you to take home for a few days.  The citys regulations state that a restaurant needs to have a minimum of 5 tables and this place doesn’t.  Another person says they need to have a licensed librarian in order to lend books to the public.  Another person says they should be a book store who serves food.
Which agency should they report to?  Are they an evil place because they are fighting hiring a librarian?  They are a great café that contributes to the neighborhood, people benefit from their services…there is no need to push to shut them down, it would be unjust.
ASR is in a similar situation:
In the state of Massachusetts they don’t have a category for Therapeutic boarding schools.  So ASR fits partially under “Private Boarding school” , “Mental health facility”, “Special ed school” etc.  but don’t need to adhere to all the requirements of all the categories.

Everyone is throwing around requirements like special ed teachers, how many licensed counselors do they need etc.
We need to look closely at the regulations and how they apply to each situation and school.  This is why I refer to the State department because they have looked into it…..

Give them a call if you have any concerns

Department of Education's Program Quality Assurance Services Unit (781) 338-3700.

[Troll Control]

Yes, they have no licensed special ed teachers which puts them in violation of the law because they take state funds for disabled children, which requires licensed special ed teachers - just another violation in a long list.

I noticed you skipped over the fact that they have no licensed teachers of any kind, special ed or "regular" teachers.  When you carefully omit things you'd rather not have scrutinized it makes you look even worse.

Please save your analogies.  No analogy is needed because it is a simple fact that ASR's teachers are all unlicensed, as verified by a quick call to the number you keep repeating.  It's not that deep.  

If this makes you angry and upset, take it up with ASR - they're the one's shortchanging the families, not me.  Demand that they hire qualified licensed teachers!

[RobertBruce]

We already have Cindy. Maybe its time you gave them a call and found out the truth for yourself.

Before you do that though let's take a look at your stupid analogy.

As a hypothetical situation. Lets say a small place opened on Boston and it served bagels and coffee. You could also read the many books they had around the Shoppe and purchase them or they would lend them to you to take home for a few days. The citys regulations state that a restaurant needs to have a minimum of 5 tables and this place doesn’t. Another person says they need to have a licensed librarian in order to lend books to the public. Another person says they should be a book store who serves food.
Which agency should they report to? Are they an evil place because they are fighting hiring a librarian? They are a great café that contributes to the neighborhood, people benefit from their services…there is no need to push to shut them down, it would be unjust.

Let's say your bagel shop/library has had some complaints made to the health department concerning cleanliness.

Under your analogy the health inspector would show up only to be escorted off the property.

"What are you talking about? We aren't a resturant so you can't inspect us. We're just your run of the mill library, nothing more. Bagel shop? That's crazy talk!"

Once the health inspector leaves however its back to the oven to make some more of those disgusting bagels.

ASR is attempting to avoid regulation by claiming they have a foot in both camps, thus they dont fit into any classifcation. The reality however is they should be regulated by every agency that regulates the things they claim to be.

[TheWho]

Yes, they have no licensed special ed teachers which puts them in violation of the law because they take state funds for disabled children, which requires licensed special ed teachers - just another violation in a long list.

I noticed you skipped over the fact that they have no licensed teachers of any kind, special ed or "regular" teachers.  When you carefully omit things you'd rather not have scrutinized it makes you look even worse.

Please save your analogies.  No analogy is needed because it is a simple fact that ASR's teachers are all unlicensed, as verified by a quick call to the number you keep repeating.  It's not that deep.  

If this makes you angry and upset, take it up with ASR - they're the one's shortchanging the families, not me.  Demand that they hire qualified licensed teachers!

Sorry I made you look bad but it is your own doing.  The school is a hybrid and doesnt fall into one category.  They have licensed personel, I have proved this numerous times here on fornits.  They serve a special service to struggling teens.  The state knows that ASR doesnt fit underneath one department neatly and therefore has given latitude.  If there are concerns I suggest to call the source directly and have them field your questions

One option is to call the school directly:

http://www.swiftriver.com/

Another is to ask the State (DOE)

 Department of Education's Program Quality Assurance Services Unit (781) 338-3700.  

..

[Troll Control]

Sorry, but you're not telling the truth.

ASR has not a single licensed teacher.

No matter how you stamp your feet or throw tantrums or try to wish it away, it won't go away.

Your statement just isn't supported by the facts.  Try to deflect as you may with analogies or temper tantrums, you've been proven wrong and you can't provide a single shred of evidence to support your claim.  ASR simply doesn't employ qualified licensed teachers and nothing you can say here will change that fact.

You should take it up with ASR and demand that they hire qualified licensed teachers!  They're the only ones who can change this troubling reality...

[RobertBruce]

Sorry I made you look bad but it is your own doing.

You haven't made anyone look bad. You're a blind fool and too prideful to realize it.

The school is a hybrid and doesnt fall into one category.

A hybrid of what? How does being a hybrid allow ASR to avoid all regulation? If they truly are a hybrid why did they file for exemption from a special needs school under the 30% rule?

They have licensed personel, I have proved this numerous times here on fornits.

 :rofl: No you didn't. The information on the few staff members who are licensed as anything were provided by us. You simply tried to take credit for it.

They serve a special service to struggling teens.

So youre now acknowledging that they do in fact provide special needs to special needs kids. Good you agree with the DoE then.

The state knows that ASR doesnt fit underneath one department neatly and therefore has given latitude.

Really? Then why did the OCCS fight with them so much nine years ago and claim they needed to become properly licensed. That doesnt sound like giving much latitude to me.

If there are concerns I suggest to call the source directly and have them field your questions

One option is to call the school directly:

.

Why? We already know they wont be honest with us.

Another is to ask the State (DOE)

Department of Education's Program Quality Assurance Services Unit (781) 338-3700.

Several of us already have Cindy. They've informed us that ASR is operating an unlicensed and unregulated special needs program. They have no licensed teachers on staff and apparently no licensed therapist either.

Now we understand this makes you angry and upset but remember, you did this to yourself. Ha ha ha, just kidding. Not really.

[TheWho]

You should take it up with ASR and demand that they hire qualified licensed teachers!  They're the only ones who can change this troubling reality...

I think we found some common ground Ha,Ha,Ha,...  a little hard to see though, but it there.
All kidding aside folks, like the guest said we need to defer to the ones who know and take it up with them...

Call the school or the state DOE.

[Troll Control]

You should take it up with ASR and demand that they hire qualified licensed teachers!  They're the only ones who can change this troubling reality...

I think we found some common ground Ha,Ha,Ha,...  a little hard to see though, but it there.
All kidding aside folks, like the guest said we need to defer to the ones who know and take it up with them...

Call the school or the state DOE.

Call the DOE.  They have no reason to lie.  ASR needs to protect its revenue stream and will lie to do it.  Check with DOE.

I checked with DOE and they verified that no teachers at ASR hold a license to teach.