Moving to DC/MD/No Va area, good school or district for a 7th grade child with SPD?

[jmskinner]

I just got off the phone with the hubby and we will be moving to the DC area this Summer. I know there will be other resources I will look in to, but hoped some of my fellow Dis'ers could be helpful.

My son will be in the 7th grade next year. He is mainstreamed and does have an IEP. Just wondered if anyone could recommend a school to begin our search.

We previously lived in Rockville, MD but our son wasn't school age, so we know a little about the area, but not the schools.

I would greatly appreciate any help or links someone can give me.

 

[Singledad]

I know nothing about the area, but when i was looking into moving to another state I looked for facebook groups of parents in the school district I was looking to move into. once I found them, I randomly messaged a few of the parents and asked them their experiences with the school, would they recommend their school, and ask if they had any experience with special ed, or IEP's and what information/stories they had about that. I had a few that never responded, a few that gave a little info, and two of them gave me a wealth of information and helped me decide if I wanted to move my daughter there or not, and if I did which section of the district I wanted to be in. Just a suggestion! (I also looked up the school board and contacted them for their information and asked if they knew of any other parents willing to converse with me. )

 

[jmskinner]

I know nothing about the area, but when i was looking into moving to another state I looked for facebook groups of parents in the school district I was looking to move into. once I found them, I randomly messaged a few of the parents and asked them their experiences with the school, would they recommend their school, and ask if they had any experience with special ed, or IEP's and what information/stories they had about that. I had a few that never responded, a few that gave a little info, and two of them gave me a wealth of information and helped me decide if I wanted to move my daughter there or not, and if I did which section of the district I wanted to be in. Just a suggestion! (I also looked up the school board and contacted them for their information and asked if they knew of any other parents willing to converse with me. )

Thanks for the info. Hadn't thought of using Facebook that way. Just need to narrow it down from the 100 or so schools.

 

[Singledad]

Thanks for the info. Hadn't thought of using Facebook that way. Just need to narrow it down from the 100 or so schools.

I just picked 10 or so at random. even the parents that didn't have kids that went to the others, knew the rep of the others.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Well, first of all, I'd rule out DC, and PG county (MD) off the bat. It's possible to get a great education for your child with special needs right off the bat, but it's incredibly time consuming and I wouldn't choose that path if you have other choices.

Then I'd think about what you want. What's most important to your child -- do you want all push in, or some pull out services? Are small class sizes key, or are they less imporant than other things? Are their certain extra curriculars that are important to him? Does he also qualify for gifted services? Montgomery County, and Fairfax County (the two biggest close in counties that do a good job with special needs kids) are different in their philosophies and approaches. They are also quite different areas to live in. Knowing a little more about what's important to you in both a school and a neighborhood would make that easier to figure out.

Also knowing, what you're looking to spend on housing, and how you feel about trading off commute for housing price, would make a difference.

 

[jmskinner]

Well, first of all, I'd rule out DC, and PG county (MD) off the bat. It's possible to get a great education for your child with special needs right off the bat, but it's incredibly time consuming and I wouldn't choose that path if you have other choices.

Then I'd think about what you want. What's most important to your child -- do you want all push in, or some pull out services? Are small class sizes key, or are they less imporant than other things? Are their certain extra curriculars that are important to him? Does he also qualify for gifted services? Montgomery County, and Fairfax County (the two biggest close in counties that do a good job with special needs kids) are different in their philosophies and approaches. They are also quite different areas to live in. Knowing a little more about what's important to you in both a school and a neighborhood would make that easier to figure out.

Also knowing, what you're looking to spend on housing, and how you feel about trading off commute for housing price, would make a difference.

Thanks for responding. Actually due to housing prices, we are considering Loudoun County, VA now. We know it will be a long commute for the husband, but at least there is public transportation so he can study or rest instead of doing the driving. His guidance counselor contacted a friend that works in Loudoun County and from what she said, it will be a good choice also.

Our son is currently mainstreamed and is enrolled in 3 advanced classes (Math, Language Arts, and Reading). As last years teacher told us, it would be better for him to be in advanced classes and make C's, then to be bored in the regular classroom. Right now he has all A's and B's.

We previously lived in Montgomery County, MD, but have ruled it out due to the housing costs.

We go househunting in a couple of weeks and I am hoping we can have some time to swing through a couple of schools to get a feel for them.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

I'm not sure where in particular you'll be living but Loudoun County is a good choice. A friend of mine whose son has Aspergers speaks very highly of his school at Lowe's Island in Sterling, VA. He's done quite well there and has an excellent IEP from what she's told me. I personally don't know much about the school itself, I'm going by what she told me. Good luck!