Officials at The Cloverleaf School, founded for students with "neurological processing differences," told parents in a letter on March 11 that the school would close March 30 because of financial troubles.
Instead, students spent their last day at the school Friday.
“I’m upset,” parent Kimberly Wallace-Sanders said Monday. “When I brought (my son) Joshua to the school in August, I felt like I won the lottery.”
“He’s devastated.”
Board member Shari Bayer said Tuesday morning via email that the Cumberland Academy was able to take students a week earlier than expected, which resulted in the premature closing.
Parents said they were forced to rethink their schedules a week ahead of time, preparing new carpools to take students to Sandy Springs instead of Decatur.
Some of the school’s teachers left almost immediately after the closing announcement was made. Students spent much of the last two weeks out of the classroom on field trips.
According to the school’s website, it was founded in January 2012 by four parents who bonded over the shared experience of raising children with processing deficiencies and wanted to create a space for their children and others who needed an environment that wasn’t being offered. Most students there have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, autism, Asperger Syndrome, and anxiety. Jen Owen, one of those founders who took a prominent role in shaping the school’s vision and programming, departed last March. It opened the floodgates as other personnel followed.
A letter from Cloverleaf’s board of directors said financial challenges forced them to close the school before the school year ended, saying cash-flow issues would have made staying open impossible.
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