Urban Science Academy parent David Venter spoke with Herald reporter Taylor Pettaway about how the upcoming vote on the closing of the campus has impacted his son Joshua, who lives with autism. The Venters plan to be at Wednesday’s School Committee hearing along with other families:
“He has only been there since September but off the bat he felt safe, and it’s the first school to understand him. … It’s more than a school, it’s not just four walls.
I finally thought I could relax at the end of seven schools and this craziness. At his last school, Joshua got beat up in class four times. I complained to the district and was told there was nothing I could do. It was horrific.
I was scared to send him to a new school. But they understand kids like Joshua at USA; this is the first time since Joshua has been in school that he has had friends. He’s so popular.”