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Your SN child and school
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I've recently connected with some other parents of SN children in my community and I've heard mixed reviews on the special ed program at our elementary school.
What do you plan on doing if you don't feel your elementary school is meeting the needs of your SN child? Would you move? How would you go about finding out which school has a well rated special education department?
Are you considering homeschooling because of this?
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Re: Your SN child and school
We have chosen homeschooling through a local 4-H centered co-op.
It's not that I haven't heard good things about our local elementary schools and their SE programs, it's that I don't trust anyone but our close family to handle his medical needs. I didn't bother looking into their programs.
If we were to put the boys into the elementary school system, we have the option to check in with our "home" school and then opt for another within the district. There's one form that needs to be filled out, and then we can request admittance into any of the other schools. If there's a better SE program in your district than at your local elementary, is that an option?
I think I'd try an intradistrict transfer before moving altogether.
When I started asking local friends about the schools they had chosen for their kids, someone always had something negative to say about a school that another friend absolutely loved. It's a little hard to base everything strictly on anecdotal evidence. You could continue to grow your circle of SN kids' parent friends, but that could end up being more detrimental than helpful. You could end up with so many conflicting reviews that your head spins, or you could end up with a pinpoint on exactly the school to which you should send your LO(s).
Have you sat down and had IEP(s) mapped out? Once you know what needs should be met, then you have a better idea of which school programs will specifically cater to your kid(s) in the way that you see most fitting.
Good luck!!
That is full of helpful info-thank you for responding! It's good to know I could potentially move him to another school in the area if I wasn't satisfied with what my elementary school's SE dept was doing.
My DS is still in EI for another 6ish months, then we move on to his IEP and his transition to our public school system. I know I'm putting the cart way before the horse here, so I was hoping to get some insight from other moms who have BTDT. I'm just kind of worried about his needs not being "important" enough. I've already found out he's not special needs enough to qualify for our school's SE preschool program but not typically developing enough to warrant getting into "regular" preschool via the lottery system my town does for enrollment. Blah. I already have a bad taste in my mouth.
We had a similar experience with DS#1. What I found out with moms that had BTDT in my area was that the exceptional children's department was able to allocate a very limited number of those "lottery" spots for kids on their case load that didn't qualify for the self-contained classrooms. However, they liked to wait until after the actual lottery to allocate those in case any of those kids "won" in the lottery. So what you had to do was keep calling and asking your case worker, explaining why your DC needed this, and asking who else you could speak to. We lost the lottery, but I got DS in.
Don't let this admittedly dumb process sour you on the whole school system. Pre-k dept. are often separate from the rest of the school system to a certain extent. Judge for yourself based on your experiences. I've met many moms that thought they were "fighting for their children" who were really just pi$$ing off administrators and I was able to get what they were asking for by coming in rationally as a team player. You seriously catch more flies with honey.
I do think its a good idea to have backup plans. Visit other private schools and school districts. Learn about homeschooling support in your area. Go in optimistic, but there is nothing wrong with having a backup plan.
Go in optimistic, but there is nothing wrong with having a backup plan.
ITA! When my son started elementary school in another city, several of the parents at the Kindergarten assembly mentioned how terrible the principal was and if we wanted anything to sidestep her and go straight to the vice-principal. This was disheartening. We had also heard several people mention how terrible the school was, but we had no way to move. We decided to stick it out. Several terrible things happened throughout his 1st grade year with 6-8 teachers being rotated through the contained classroom. Everyone was ready to sue the school for not giving these children any stability. Long story short, this past fall we moved. Not because of the school but for other personal reasons, within the same school district, the change in schools was just the icing on the cake. He is in a school that meets his needs so much better than the last.
Auntie--
I wouldn't be looking to be my son's only teacher. I'd likely do a co-op preschool so I could get help from others who have more of a specialization in a field I might not have. For example, science isn't my strong point so I would likely farm that out to another parent in exchange for one of my stronger subjects. It seems like they also have special education homeschooling groups available in my area as well. I just fear that with cuts in education and limited resources I might not be able to get the kind of help from our school district so my son really thrives in school. From talking with others it seems like there are great programs catered towards children with autism but not so much for my son's issues (apraxia and sensory processing). I would likely try to work it out with his current school, switch schools to another in the district before going the homeschool route, but it's something I'd definitely consider if I felt his needs were being overlooked and his grades were suffering due to it.
I think my game plan going in is going to be to appeal to get him placement in preschool, then explore the private preschool route if I'm not successful.
Luckily, we have a few options. Our neighborhood elementary school has a pretty solid reputation, and our next-door neighbor works there in the kindy classrooms as a teacher's aide.
Our district also has charter schools, one of which is almost within a stone's throw; and a "choice" system where you can try to get your child into a different neighborhood school. The charters generally have very good reputations, although unfortunately they also are free to refuse entry to kids with SN if they don't think they can handle them.
We're going to have to do some visits, I think, once school gets back in session. My impression is that the choice/charter lottery system can be very competitive, and I want to make sure we know the important dates/paperwork/info way ahead of time if that's the route we decide to go. I think at this point, it's probably more likely we'll end up at our neighborhood school than not.
DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010