Address: 905 Purdy Lodge St.
Phone: 286-1708
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website: voices4students.net
Owned/operated by: Dominick J. Capersino Sr.
In business since: 2013
Describe your business.
Voices4Students is a student advocacy group that provides representation on behalf of parents and students. Representatives attend conferences with the School District, listening to allegations against students and asking clarifying questions.
Who are your customers?
Our customers are parents or guardians of students in the Clark County School District who feel as if the consequences and/or treatment that they are experiencing are biased, unjustified or may be modifiable. Parents often expressed to me that their children are being treated unfairly at school. They stated that they were frustrated because they felt as if they were forced through the progressive discipline procedure without knowing their rights, their children’s rights, or necessary and appropriate questions to ask at conferences.
What is the cost for your services?
$40 per appointment.
How did you become involved in this line of work?
As a teacher and administrator, I often had to comply with policies I felt were unfair to children as well as counterproductive to their social development and educational involvement. It appeared as if we were actually pushing students away and alienating them rather than including them in learning. I firmly believe that in order to modify behavior and to improve student discipline, you need to offer options and compromises that children recognize as beneficial for them.
What makes your business unique?
We speak up for parents and the children in a forum where they are not expected to be an expert. We ask the district clarifying questions and hold them accountable for their decision-making.
What differentiates your business from a legal service that advises families on school incidents?
The main difference is the cost and experience. My experience has provided me with the knowledge of what goes on inside the school, on the playground and at the bus stops. I understand the dynamics of the student relationships at various ages. Therefore, thousands of interactions set me apart from a legal advisement service.
What’s the most important part of your job?
To do my research before a conference and prepare a line of questioning that I know that the school administrator, staff and faculty may not have addressed or investigated properly.
What obstacles has your business overcome?
One is trying to differentiate ourselves from other advisers, as well as making people recognize the value of having representation at school conferences. I have been at enough school conferences and hearings to see the parents’ discontented looks when the meeting is going at such a rapid pace and they do not know what questions to ask that may make a difference in the outcome.