Channel 2 Action News was there Friday night as police raided a private school for troubled teens.
We’ve been looking into Advancing Youth's Academy on Holcomb Bridge Road for months after parents brought us concerns about its accreditation and other issues.
A joint Channel 2 Action News and Telemundo investigation uncovered 30 police reports at the school since 2012.
Officers didn't say much as they arrived and left the school, but they were inside for more than two hours.
Parents we talked to said the school's leader misled them about being accredited.
Our camera got video of officers who identified themselves as Roswell Police inside the school. We saw them taking photographs, and later, watched them leave with containers.
“I have too many emotions right now,” said parent Rhonda Repasz.
Rhonda and Rob Repasz told us they enrolled their son in the school, which advertises itself as specializing in helping troubled teens, to be proactive
They told us the school's leader said the school is accredited and re-enrolling their son in public school would not be a problem.
“It was very deceitful and it was hurtful and they knew it and intentionally did it,” Rhonda Repasz said.
But when the family took their son’s transcript to Forsyth County, they said the school district told them their son's credits wouldn't count because Advancing Youth’s Academy is not accredited.
“What bothers me the most is there's a ton of students over there right now who don't know that they are going through the same thing,” Rhonda Repasz said.
We confronted the school's dean Friday about the issue. She admitted the school is not accredited and denied telling parents otherwise.
“Not even our transcripts say that. People are just taking this to another level,” Rommys Beltran said.
We also asked about the 30 police reports Channel 2 Action News obtained through an open records request showing incidents at the school in recent years ranging from "false imprisonment" to "battery."
We're working to learn if those reports led to any charges.
"The police reports, several kids run away, fighting, we work with troubled teens, what do you want?" Beltran said.
Channel 2 Action News is working to find out what police were looking for as they searched the school. We will also continue to checking on the complaints made against this school and will have more reports in the days and weeks ahead.
