City of Falls church public for 2e?

[Anonymous]

Hi all. We’re moving to FCC with our 2e child next year. He is currently requiring many supports outside of the school day due to his disability ( social communication, sensory processing etc) however he is also quite advanced academically. Would FCC be a good fit? I know there are not many 2e specific options here. We are hoping to find somewhere with supports available inside the school system. Ideally that school would also be able to challenge our child. Boredom is making many of his unwanted behaviors worse. Thanks

[Anonymous]

No. It’s a very small school district. They will try to be supportive and with your family but there are limited programs, resources and staffing since they are so small. If possible, I would move to one of the larger neighboring districts.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. Would fairfax or arlington be better for our child? Are there any privates that serve this population?

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what the PPs experience is, but FCC has been wonderful for my medically disabled and gifted child. No complaints whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what the PPs experience is, but FCC has been wonderful for my medically disabled and gifted child. No complaints whatsoever.

I suggested a different district. It could be a good fit and I it would depend on the needs of the child. I was thinking about the high school and how the new building of 7 floors, open floor plans and glass walls presents challenges for some students with special needs. Ask for a tour if you are in the area and see if it would be okay. They will give you one.

[Anonymous]

Arlington would not be good either.

[Anonymous]

The truth is that 2e kids are not usually served well (there are exceptions) with out alot of advocating and outside support from the family.

Getting support for the special needs is difficult when the child is doing well academically. You can do it, but in my personal experience and those of friends with 2e kids, it is almost never straightforward or easy.

It would be worth talking to the special ed staff/school lead and gifted staff at any school you are considering. It's hard to know, but 2e kids are maybe 1-5% of the school population by most estimates. The truth is most schools have not seen very many of these kids.

Our approach is to make sure child is challenged at school and much of the needed support is done by specialists we have hired (and we are fortunate to be able to do so).

[Anonymous]

I have 2 kids in elementary at FCCPS with IEPs and multiple diagnoses. I will say the school has been great with IEPs. Getting them into place and adding things has been pretty straightforward. The school has been very accomodating when we have medical documentation to support services, but without it we have not been able to get OT or SLP. It has been much easier when the behaviors have been more pronounced or academic progress has been obvious. I think it would be harder without either medical documentation or academic issues. My kids receive a lot of social emotional and social skills services at school, and we augment with a lot privately.

I really do not know what to expect in MS or HS but when we chose FCC for schools, it was thinking our kids were going to be average/NT and that is definitely not the case. So far so good though.

[Anonymous]

I think academically, they could supplement learning. Behaviorally it could be challenging since there are not behavior specific classes like you get in other districts. I guess it depends on the behavior though.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thanks so much for the comments.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax would be better for 2E.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax would be better for 2E.

Agree. It’s much bigger and has more to offer.

[Anonymous]

Others with more experience with 2e and special needs kids could probably answer your questions better (and many may have).

However, I will say one thing about FCC schools -- the kids here are INCREDIBLY nice and kind. There is very little bullying and I have personal experience with one kid with very mild disabilities who the "popular" boys bring into their circle and hang out with. This is in middle school - the meanest grades of all.

So, I can't speak to the level of services, but I will tell you that the kids here are about the nicest you'll find anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Others with more experience with 2e and special needs kids could probably answer your questions better (and many may have).

However, I will say one thing about FCC schools -- the kids here are INCREDIBLY nice and kind. There is very little bullying and I have personal experience with one kid with very mild disabilities who the "popular" boys bring into their circle and hang out with. This is in middle school - the meanest grades of all.

So, I can't speak to the level of services, but I will tell you that the kids here are about the nicest you'll find anywhere.

+1

(I am the PP above w/ 2 kids with IEPs in elementary. My kids have lots of issues, but bullying has never been one of them.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Others with more experience with 2e and special needs kids could probably answer your questions better (and many may have).

However, I will say one thing about FCC schools -- the kids here are INCREDIBLY nice and kind. There is very little bullying and I have personal experience with one kid with very mild disabilities who the "popular" boys bring into their circle and hang out with. This is in middle school - the meanest grades of all.

So, I can't speak to the level of services, but I will tell you that the kids here are about the nicest you'll find anywhere.

+1

(I am the PP above w/ 2 kids with IEPs in elementary. My kids have lots of issues, but bullying has never been one of them.)

I wrote the concerns about the high school building but also need to agree with this. They are the nicest kids anywhere, even as teens.