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Parents, students at a loss as
school in Ashby is closed Academy worked with autism cases
September 4, 2007
By Felicia Mello
When a therapist told Mark McGaunn
about Ashby Academy, he thought he had found the perfect solution
for his 14-year-old developmentally disabled son. He borrowed $5,000
for a deposit to hold his son's spot at Ashby, where the annual
tuition is $66,000.
But late last week his hopes were
dashed when the school abruptly closed, leaving families from around
the country stunned and wondering where their children will attend
school this year - or whether they will see their tuition money
again. Several parents said they have been told their money might
not be refunded.
Situated on a wooded campus just a
short drive from the McGaunns' home in Sterling, the boarding school
specialized in children with Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism
that keeps sufferers - usually boys - from communicating well with
other children.
McGaunn's son, who had tried public
school and home schooling with little success, was to receive 16
hours a day of education and counseling, the school's director
assured him. He would learn to make friends.
"This was our last thing," McGaunn
said. "All our prayers were answered."
But now police say the FBI is
looking into the circumstances of the closure, which happened the
day before classes were to begin. It has been about a year since
owner Michael Beavers opened the year-round school, telling
reporters he wanted to help middle-school-aged boys whose
disabilities make them a target of bullying in traditional schools.
A school biography describes him as
businessman and lawyer.
Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman
for the FBI's Boston office, said that she had no details about the
case and that the agency does not comment on ongoing investigations.
Reached by phone yesterday, Beavers
said he was surprised at the attention the shuttering of the school
had attracted. "This is not really world news," he said. "The
school's a very private institution, and we didn't make a lot of
noise about anything we did."
Beavers said the school had closed
for financial reasons and had no further comment.
But parents expressed outrage that
they learned about the school's financial problems too late for them
to make other arrangements for their children, who have a range of
learning disabilities. The nine families whose children were
enrolled for this year come from as far as California and Chicago,
and some had already prepaid the year's tuition. In some cases,
children's belongings and academic and medical records are still at
the school, complicating parents' efforts to place them elsewhere.
"The worst part about it is you
have a child with problems and there is no way to place them," said
Ira Schwidel of Tarrytown, N.Y., whose son Sean has attention
deficit disorder and was the first student to attend the school last
year. Schwidel and his wife, Renee, praised the quality of the
school's staff and said they wish Sean could have continued there.
Sean became calmer and more social
after attending Ashby, Renee Schwidel said. "Now it's like starting
all over," she said.
Like some other parents, the
Schwidels first learned about the closure in an answering-machine
message from Beavers's wife on Friday, just before the students were
due to return from a two-week break. Some parents said they were
never contacted directly and found out when Ira Schwidel called them
to discuss filing a lawsuit against Beavers.
Jennifer Heymann of San Mateo,
Calif., said she looked at 13 other schools before settling on Ashby
for her son, who has several learning disabilities. Even with the
scholarship the school offered, she had to empty her retirement
account and take out loans when she prepaid for a year in February.
She said she has no idea where her son will go now, or how she would
pay his tuition.
The school had struggled to attract
students since opening last year, and in recent months had fired
several staff members and stopped paying others, staff and parents
said.
It was one of a small number of
schools in the country to specialize in Asperger's syndrome, a
burgeoning problem in Massachusetts and nationwide.
Children with Asperger's often
experience a puzzling range of symptoms that affect both their
ability to get good grades and their relationships with family
members and other children.
"My son can't eat certain foods
because he gets violently sick, he can't smell smells, he can't have
bare feet going to bed because the feeling of the sheets makes his
skin crawl," McGaunn said. "On top of that you have the learning
disabilities and not being able to read body language. Life is
hard."
Felicia Mello can be reached at
fmello@globe.com.
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