Wings Academy
FAQ's
Wings Academy FAQ's
Got questions about Autism or Angels Academy?
Chances are, we've got the answers available on our FAQs page!
And for additional information not covered, feel free to contact us with your questions. We do our best to get back to you as soom as possible.
What are school hours and calendar?
Angels Reach classes begin at 8:30 am. Students are dismissed at 3:00 pm, and 2:00 pm on Wednesdays for all grade levels. Morning care is available beginning at 7:30 am. Our yearly calendar is available in the front office as well as in the parent resources section of our website.
What is the dress code?
Please see the Angels Reach Academy Handbook for the full list of dress code expectations. All clothes must be neat and in good repair (no rips or frays). Official uniforms are to be worn daily. Uniforms can be purchased at Ibiley Uniforms and include navy pants, shorts, and skirt, as well as burgundy polo's with official school logo attached. For safety purposes, shoes mush be closed toe. Official navy jackets with the school logo can be purchased from Ibiley Uniforms as well. Hats are not allowed during the school day. The official green Angels Reach t-shirt is required for all field trips and can be purchased from the front office. Students may wear the official green t-shirt on Fridays.
What are your lunch options?
Students may bring their lunches from home, or parents may pre-purchase catered lunch according to monthly meal calendars.
Do you offer before/after school activities and summer camps?
Angels Reach offers both morning care as well as after school clubs, including karate, tutoring/homework help, S.T.E.M., sports and literacy options. We also offer various summer camp options as well as winter and spring camps.
What school trips does Angels Reach commonly offer?
All school trips throughout the year tie into specific academic themes being studied, especially those focused on multi-culturalism, science, literacy and the arts, or support our Ambassadors Leadership Development Course. Throughout the year, our students will participate in numerous outings which allow them to actively engage with the community and give back to our society. Additionally, we offer the opportunity to participate in a yearly extended outing outside of south Florida, always with the dual purpose of receiving real-life, hands on learning, as well as the opportunity to be of service to others. The 2017-2018 culminating trip will be a service and cultural experience trip to Belize where our students will experience the natural wonder of the country and will support village children in their educational endeavors.
Do you offer financial aid?
Yes, Angels Reach is committed to bringing high quality education to families with varying financial resources. As a non-profit 501c3 organization, Angels Reach accepts state scholarships including VPK for 4 year old students, and McKay, Step Up for Students and Gardiner students. Additionally, Angels Reach offers over $70,000 yearly through in-house service scholarships. Financial aid applications are available through our finance office.
What grade levels are accepted ?
Currently Angels Reach Academy accepts students ranging from Pre-School to 9th grade in our Masters Academy, and Pre-School to 10th grade in our Wings Academy. Additional grade levels are planned to be added within the next 3 years.
How long has Angels Reach been offering services?
Angels Reach was founded in May 2004, as a result of the Directors’ daughter’s diagnosis of Autism, which reflected a 75% delay in most functional areas, and which through the unique Intervention approach of Angels Reach and the Director herself led to the full recovery of her daughter, and many more children since. Since it’s inception, Angels Reach has continued to grow, expanding its services to benefit children with varying kinds of developmental delays as well as to support typically developing children with advance abilities.
What are your application deadlines?
Angels Reach maintains an open application policy an accepts applications through out the year, however placement of prospective students may require a wait period depending on particular program and grade level availability. We take pride in offering great levels of individualized attention to our students and therefore limit classroom sizes in order to maximally support our students' needs.
What is Autism?
What a joyful sight: children laughing, playing together; proudly showing each other their artistic creations or sharing toys; running to their moms with incessant invitations to join in play…
Yet, there are too many children who don’t quite fit this scene. Children with Developmental Delays, including Autism, PDD and Apraxia are not able to play with each other as many children do. They cannot communicate their ideas or often even basic needs. Their motor coordination may limit their abilities to keep up with their peers. They are often easily overwhelmed by sounds, textures, lights. Rather than delighting in the joint attention of their friends, these children often run away from social contact, shutting the world out. Parents of such young children often yearn for a single moment in which their child would run to them, verbalizing, eve in the simplest way, a desire to play together. The simple day to day activities that many parents take for granted - sharif meals, laughing together, sleeping through the night hearing about what happened at school, dressing, climbing on a play gym, riding a bicycle - are painful reminders to may other parents of the challenges their children face.
But, all is to hopeless. Many children diagnosed with a Developmental Disorder are making great strides today, even though it requires incredible sacrifices by their families. Intensive early intervention has proven to be effective in helping these children not only progress, but match typically developing functional expectations. A multitude of therapies, often amounting to between thirty to forty hours each week, biomedical interventions, and constant monitoring and involvement in developing intervention are saving these children from a life of dependency and isolation.
Autism Statistics:
- The most common of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders
- Affects 1 in 68 births and 1 in 42 boys (CDC, 2014)
- As over 2 million Americans today, and rising
- Growing at a startling rate of 10-17 percent each year
- ASA etiolates that Autism could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade.
- Autism knows no racial, ethnic, social boundaries, family income, lifestyle, or educacional levels and can affect any family, and any child.
- Autism costs a family $60,000 per year, on average he U.S. is facing almost $90 billion in costs for Autism.
Signs/Symptoms
- Difficulty expressing eeds (verbally or with gestures)
- Insistence on sameness; resistant to change
- In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior
- Echolalia
- Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason
- Preference to being alone; aloof manner
- Extensive tantrums
- Difficulty interacting with peers
- Not wanting to cuddle or be affectionate unless on his/her terms
- Little or no eye contact
- Sustained odd play and lacking symbolic play
- Obsessive attachment to objects
- Apparent over-sesitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
- No real fear of danger
- Noticeable physical over-activity or under-activity
- Uneven gross/fine motor skills
- Non-responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf
- Repetitive actions
Be an angel
With the support of individuals and corporations, Angels Reach has the ability to touch the hearts and change the lives of the children who study in our School. It is with great pride that we acknowledge and thank our donors and sponsors for their acts of kindness and generous support.