Please suggest good elementary schools for IEP in MCPS

[Anonymous]

Hi All,
I did post this in the special needs group but was advised to also post here and see if I get any good suggestions.
Currently living in Prince George’s but wanting to move to MCPS. Have DS with an IEP (he’s 3.5).. any good elementary schools you would suggest us. Bethesda is out of our budget unfortunately. I am mainly looking for an school that places him in general education (he’s high functioning) but with some extra support. Any pointers are appreciated.. my lease is ending February end so running a little out of time.
Please advice.

[Anonymous]

Budget and commute?

I know you are looking for a specific fit for your child, but the truth is that administrations change, IEP coordinators change, and a school that is known for being "good with IEPs" right now might not have the same team in place by the time your child hits K.

[Anonymous]

Oops, posted too soon. If you tell us budget and commute, we can give you some ideas but the truth is that you won't want to max out your budget because you could still end up paying for some private therapies. You also don't want a hellish commute because there will be IEP meetings and other daytime reasons to not spend hours a day on the road.

[Anonymous]

MCPS is hellish for students with disabilities right now. My advocate says it’s the worst she has seen it in 30 years. There’s complete disregard - or a lack of training and understanding - of the IDEA, Section 504, and ADA. Paper documents are written and never followed.

Move to wherever you can to keep enough income in reserve for a lot of private services. For example - a tutor with a special education background to work on IEP goals and objectives while working on homework with your child cost $150 per hour. Your child may need two hours per week. Then there’s speech, occupational therapy, educational evaluations, etc. that might be needed.

MCPS is an adversarial environment that looks to deny student services versus providing what a child needs to learn. Students with disabilities are treated like an afterthought - they will get the teachers and services when we can budget and hire more staff but the budget and staff never appear. That could be an issue through out Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Budget and commute?

I know you are looking for a specific fit for your child, but the truth is that administrations change, IEP coordinators change, and a school that is known for being "good with IEPs" right now might not have the same team in place by the time your child hits K.

This is my experience. The strength of the team depends on the school administration and that changes from year to year.

[Anonymous]

OP here, responses are so negative.. I do understand and appreciate the concern though.
No commute, I am working from home and the budget is ideally less than $700k..
Was thinking Silver Spring but will reconsider moving to Fairfax or Loudoun if you guys think MCPS is not good. Heart just sank reading some reviews.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP who asked about commute and budget, and I'm actually not as down on MCPS as the other poster.

I just think that your child is very young, so it's reasonable to be laser focused on a specific thing (good school, mainstream placement) but that may not be where you end up in a few years and in the meantime you need a home that works for you.


I'm in DTSS, love the neighborhood, and am generally happy with MCPS but I'm also constrained by a commute. In your position, I'd look a little further out and get more home for your dollar.

[Anonymous]

What are the schools you would recommend? MCPS is huge. Any particular school that you or your friends had a good experience with? I would take that as a starting point for my search..

[Anonymous]

Our MCPS elementary has been very good at services for an IEP (and 504 for our second child). It’s not all doom and gloom. I am guessing with a diagnosis young (as you have) that the need is well documented which will help. My kids went to Flora Singer in the Forest Glen area of Silver Spring. But, as pp mentioned, staff can turn over so things can change in any MCPS school.

[Anonymous]

Don't fret too much OP.

When you use an outside diagnostic provider, there rarely are problems obtaining supports and limited services (or full placements into special non-mainstream programs when needed). For students who are relying on the school to identify issues, or help them sort out a diagnosis, they have a problem. Parents of dyslexic kids suffer a lot with "the range of normal reading acquisition" and lose important windows for intervention relying on MCPS alone.

So, OP, you are starting with an advantage coming in with your outside expert reports. Any school should respond to those materials. I agree with the poster who says to move a little further out to get more house. But check the school statistics in the "at a glance" to see what other types of issues they may be experiencing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, responses are so negative.. I do understand and appreciate the concern though.
No commute, I am working from home and the budget is ideally less than $700k..
Was thinking Silver Spring but will reconsider moving to Fairfax or Loudoun if you guys think MCPS is not good. Heart just sank reading some reviews.

I’ve been pretty happy with services in MCPS. And I’m not sure I’d make decisions based on this board. People complain about every district. Most people seem unhappy - it’s not isolated to MCPS. People wrote because they have problems - most of us who are satisfied and happy don’t post because others make derogatory comments about us.

As to schools, we are in the Northeast Consortium. My kids went to Stonegate, White Oak and Blake. I also had one kid go to a non mainstream program and the IEP team was a good advocate with the county to get him there. Your budget would get you a really nice house in this area.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all, I appreciate it and feel a little better. 😊😊

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is hellish for students with disabilities right now. My advocate says it’s the worst she has seen it in 30 years. There’s complete disregard - or a lack of training and understanding - of the IDEA, Section 504, and ADA. Paper documents are written and never followed.

Move to wherever you can to keep enough income in reserve for a lot of private services. For example - a tutor with a special education background to work on IEP goals and objectives while working on homework with your child cost $150 per hour. Your child may need two hours per week. Then there’s speech, occupational therapy, educational evaluations, etc. that might be needed.

MCPS is an adversarial environment that looks to deny student services versus providing what a child needs to learn. Students with disabilities are treated like an afterthought - they will get the teachers and services when we can budget and hire more staff but the budget and staff never appear. That could be an issue through out Maryland.

+1000. I could have written this word for word. And MCPS was HORRENDOUS prior to pandemic so can’t imagine what it is like for kids now. Any way you can just stay where you are and do private? So much better. I agree the funds for tutoring are going to be your best bet. Public schools in general and MCPS in particular are a failing model. They should die a quick death..:

[Anonymous]

I don't think there's enough information here. IEP can mean many things. Dyslexia? Aspergers? ADHD? Tourette Syndrome? A more serious disability? You need to start with whatever your diagnosis was, then what geography you're looking for.

Depending on which program and the geographic location you're looking for, yes, you could have a great experience, or no, a terrible one?

You also have to look at the program capacity by grade. I heard a rumor that some disability programs may be expanding next year, but I don't have an official source for that.

[Anonymous]

OP here- The IEP is for Autism. He has a speech delay (both expressive and receptive) but cognitively does well. I’m looking for an elementary school where he’s accepted and also where he is placed in a general Ed classroom with a teaching aide or some extra help. Was thinking of looking for schools in Montgomery, Fairfax and Loudoun county but was partial to MCPS. Rethinking a little after the reviews here.