Student and parent voices are central to the work we do at Farr.
These heartfelt sentiments continue to inspire our daily mission.
From the first day of school it became obvious there was something very different about Farr Academy. …My son, historically, has not had a lot of positive school experiences. Farr Academy from day one showed my son that school could indeed be a welcoming inclusive place where the teachers routinely demonstrate concern for the students. My son was motivated to attend Farr Academy each and every day due to the understanding, skilled staff. The staff were always prepared to go above and beyond and do whatever it takes to help my son manage his strong emotions, but also how to settle down and complete his academic work. The Farr Clinician was always available either before school or after school if I had a pressing concern, and is probably the most responsive and supportive school based employee I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I will always be grateful for everything their staff was willing to do to help my son engage in his education while also providing a truly therapeutic setting that he needed.
— Parent of Farr student, 2021-2022
Farr Academy taught me how to deal with my anger in different ways and gave me healthier options to calm down and process my anger without losing control. … I would like to thank Farr Academy and all of the staff for helping me grow up into a young man who is ready to move on with my life and make something of myself.
— Senior Statement, 2022 Graduate
Everybody has a great sense of humor… teachers participate in the humor, but there’s no bullying or roasting. [Even on the first day of school, my] anxiety was the lowest it’s been in a long time.
— Farr Student, 2021-2022
My son has attended several Special Education schools throughout his life. We cannot praise the staff of Farr Academy enough for the care, compassion and creativity they have shown to him. He has been happy to attend Farr every day. This was not the case with his other schools. He has been so engaged with the staff and they have increased his self-esteem so much more than we could have expected. We are constantly amazed at the imaginative ways that they have presented academic work to him and been flexible and accommodating to his style of learning. My husband and I could only hope that he would graduate high school but felt he might not be able to achieve this due to his challenges. We are beyond proud that he is just a few weeks away from graduating. While our son has matured considerably this year and has put a lot of effort into his education, we know without the staff at Farr this would not have been possible. We will be eternally grateful to each and every staff member of Farr.
— Parent of 2021 graduate
Farr Academy truly supported me as their student during my time at the school. I have grown with confidence in new skills. The staff’s hard work and understanding care helped me to work harder and succeed from the day I arrived. I will always appreciate all of the moments at Farr Academy.
— Senior Statement, 2021 graduate
I never thought I would come this far but I did it! I’d like to thank all of my teachers for helping me get through high school. I couldn’t have done it without you.
— Senior Statement, 2021 graduate
When I first came to this school… I was always acting crazy, fighting a lot, not going to classes, yelling at staff, and always getting distracted. I would often focus on irrelevant things. But as I got older, I learned to respect people and to respect myself. I started focusing more on my education, and staying true to myself so I could focus on what I had to get done. As people would say, I came a long way.
I look at the teachers here like they are a part of my family. They have helped me so much the past two years. At one point, I wanted to drop out, but they helped me keep pushing. I am so happy to be graduating, but I am going to miss everybody so much. I love all the teachers, but my Homeroom Teacher/Counselor and I have been through a lot. She has always been there for me. She helped me through everything. She’s like my second mom.
— Senior Statement, 2018 graduate
I believe that the most important thing that happened at Farr is that when we as parents and our student could not see the light at the end of the tunnel and felt demoralized by the long high school process, our daughter’s Farr homeroom teacher/counselor never gave up hope. He reminded me and her every day that things were better and would get still better. He shepherded when we felt like quitting. As we slogged along Farr worked with her to design curriculum that interested her as much as possible within school hours and accommodated our request to get her dual enrollment at our local community college. That in itself helped us approach college in a way that confirmed she was capable and made the actual college transition less scary this year. The products of the wood shop and ceramics were wonderful too; it is hard to use or enjoy a paper or a discussion for long but having a tangible usable item was great. Thank you Farr, for sticking with us when we felt nothing was worthwhile, and helping us get to the graduation and transition to college.
— Parent of 2019 graduate