Message from the President

Thank you for your interest in the Acceptance Academy Community School. Our goal is to provide a safe and welcoming educational environment for our students.

Middle school is a time of transition for children, who begin to experience physical, intellectual and emotional changes. They begin to discover who they are, which may be much different than who they were when they were younger. Things like peer pressure, academic stress, body image concerns, and social relationships impact their emerging sense of identity.

At this age, bullying based on physical appearance, race/ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, and sexual orientation becomes an issue (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019). One study found that 49.8% of tweens (9 to 12 years old) said they experienced bullying at school and 14.5% of tweens shared they experienced bullying online (Patchin & Hinduja, 2020).

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that students who experience bullying are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school.

This is the backdrop for the Acceptance Academy Community School. Our students deserve a supportive environment that helps them learn and achieve. We’ll arm them with the tools they'll need to navigate the social pressures they’ll encounter as they move through higher grades, and provide them with the confidence to succeed and thrive. Our project-based learning strategies will allow them to develop skills like critical thinking, problem-solving and practical application. They will have the ability to use their knowledge to address real-world challenges.

The participation of supportive adults matters. We appreciate your commitment to our young people.

Stephen Gaskill

President

Acceptance Academy Foundation