Thinking through staying in a condo in Arlington or moving to a SFH in Silver Spring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP why not rent an airbnb for a week in a neighborhood? It will give you live experience on the ground and won't disrupt your day to day too much for work commuting at least.

It would be hard with kids, especially if they are in elementary school. Potentially a weekend getaway? Wont' simulate everything but you can practice a commute and see the feel while keeping your job.

Silver Spring is a fine area. Not as upscale as Bethesda but hardly run down. Have you thought about living in Alexandria? It is also much cheaper than Arlington, not as nice, but keeps you somewhat close to where you are today. I imagine it is similar to Silver Spring in terms of quality of life.

This is OP. I’m counting on the Silver Spring high schools being better than Alexandria High School. I wouldn’t send my child there. If anyone has knowledge of both and thinks they are comparable, I’d be interested in hearing that, but I can’t see my coworkers choosing Alexandria High School if they had options, so I don’t think they are comparable.

Respectfully, no one is going to come up with some miracle stay-in-Virginia solution that I just haven’t thought of. I know Virginia. I’ve lived here for 40 years. I started this thread to gather more information about Silver Spring, which I don’t know at all. I do appreciate the helpful responses that people have written! It’s given me a lot to think about.

DP. I would maybe send my kid to some of the high schools in SS but not in Alexandria. Only thing to keep in mind is if your kid has an iep MD they can do certain things without consent. The other thing is that MCPS is a large school system so has a much more substantial layer of bureaucracy than you’re used to in APS.

This is OP. By "they can do things without consent" do you mean that there is no state law (like there is in Virginia) requiring parent consent for changes to the IEP, so there are no stay put rights?

Yes.

This was not our experience in MC - any changes were discussed at IEP meetings.

However we went private for speech and OT therapies as the county therapies were not enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I’m not committed to staying in Virginia, but it’s interesting to me that so many people here are trying to problem-solve for me to stay in Virginia. I think the other people posting are pretty committed to me staying in Virginia! I actually agree with poster who said it’s hard to be the least wealthy person at a rich school. It’s hard if you don’t have the clothes and the same birthday parties and take the same trips and go to the same camps and have the same toys. I don’t want her to always feel “less than.” I actually prefer a more diverse school for that reason.

Op you are not poor. I was the “poor” kid and I can tell you that the connections I’ve made by having higher SES friends is so valuable when you are looking for a job or advice about life. You don’t want to live around other poor people and the problems that many of them have/bring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I’m not committed to staying in Virginia, but it’s interesting to me that so many people here are trying to problem-solve for me to stay in Virginia. I think the other people posting are pretty committed to me staying in Virginia! I actually agree with poster who said it’s hard to be the least wealthy person at a rich school. It’s hard if you don’t have the clothes and the same birthday parties and take the same trips and go to the same camps and have the same toys. I don’t want her to always feel “less than.” I actually prefer a more diverse school for that reason.

Op you are not poor. I was the “poor” kid and I can tell you that the connections I’ve made by having higher SES friends is so valuable when you are looking for a job or advice about life. You don’t want to live around other poor people and the problems that many of them have/bring.

I don’t think I’m poor, and we can have different preferences, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP why not rent an airbnb for a week in a neighborhood? It will give you live experience on the ground and won't disrupt your day to day too much for work commuting at least.

It would be hard with kids, especially if they are in elementary school. Potentially a weekend getaway? Wont' simulate everything but you can practice a commute and see the feel while keeping your job.

Silver Spring is a fine area. Not as upscale as Bethesda but hardly run down. Have you thought about living in Alexandria? It is also much cheaper than Arlington, not as nice, but keeps you somewhat close to where you are today. I imagine it is similar to Silver Spring in terms of quality of life.

This is OP. I’m counting on the Silver Spring high schools being better than Alexandria High School. I wouldn’t send my child there. If anyone has knowledge of both and thinks they are comparable, I’d be interested in hearing that, but I can’t see my coworkers choosing Alexandria High School if they had options, so I don’t think they are comparable.

Respectfully, no one is going to come up with some miracle stay-in-Virginia solution that I just haven’t thought of. I know Virginia. I’ve lived here for 40 years. I started this thread to gather more information about Silver Spring, which I don’t know at all. I do appreciate the helpful responses that people have written! It’s given me a lot to think about.

DP. I would maybe send my kid to some of the high schools in SS but not in Alexandria. Only thing to keep in mind is if your kid has an iep MD they can do certain things without consent. The other thing is that MCPS is a large school system so has a much more substantial layer of bureaucracy than you’re used to in APS.

This is OP. By "they can do things without consent" do you mean that there is no state law (like there is in Virginia) requiring parent consent for changes to the IEP, so there are no stay put rights?

Yes.

This was not our experience in MC - any changes were discussed at IEP meetings.

However we went private for speech and OT therapies as the county therapies were not enough.

This is OP. The original poster didn’t articulate it well but what they are saying is that Virginia has a state law that allows parents to refuse a reduction in services if they disagree with the school team. Maryland doesn’t have that law. So it’s not about whether the change is discussed at the IEP meeting or not. In Virginia, you can discuss a change, the school team can think your child no longer needs an IEP, all the testing can show your child no longer needs an IEP, and you can say you disagree, and your child keeps their IEP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP why not rent an airbnb for a week in a neighborhood? It will give you live experience on the ground and won't disrupt your day to day too much for work commuting at least.

It would be hard with kids, especially if they are in elementary school. Potentially a weekend getaway? Wont' simulate everything but you can practice a commute and see the feel while keeping your job.

Silver Spring is a fine area. Not as upscale as Bethesda but hardly run down. Have you thought about living in Alexandria? It is also much cheaper than Arlington, not as nice, but keeps you somewhat close to where you are today. I imagine it is similar to Silver Spring in terms of quality of life.

This is OP. I’m counting on the Silver Spring high schools being better than Alexandria High School. I wouldn’t send my child there. If anyone has knowledge of both and thinks they are comparable, I’d be interested in hearing that, but I can’t see my coworkers choosing Alexandria High School if they had options, so I don’t think they are comparable.

Respectfully, no one is going to come up with some miracle stay-in-Virginia solution that I just haven’t thought of. I know Virginia. I’ve lived here for 40 years. I started this thread to gather more information about Silver Spring, which I don’t know at all. I do appreciate the helpful responses that people have written! It’s given me a lot to think about.

DP. I would maybe send my kid to some of the high schools in SS but not in Alexandria. Only thing to keep in mind is if your kid has an iep MD they can do certain things without consent. The other thing is that MCPS is a large school system so has a much more substantial layer of bureaucracy than you’re used to in APS.

This is OP. By "they can do things without consent" do you mean that there is no state law (like there is in Virginia) requiring parent consent for changes to the IEP, so there are no stay put rights?

Yes.

This was not our experience in MC - any changes were discussed at IEP meetings.

However we went private for speech and OT therapies as the county therapies were not enough.

This is OP. The original poster didn’t articulate it well but what they are saying is that Virginia has a state law that allows parents to refuse a reduction in services if they disagree with the school team. Maryland doesn’t have that law. So it’s not about whether the change is discussed at the IEP meeting or not. In Virginia, you can discuss a change, the school team can think your child no longer needs an IEP, all the testing can show your child no longer needs an IEP, and you can say you disagree, and your child keeps their IEP.

OK - we never had that happen to us but it probably is an issue if others raised the potential problem.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/special-education/common-questions/parental-rights/

Changes
Parents should be notified in writing before any changes are made to the IEP.

Disputes
Parents can use formal dispute resolution methods to address disagreements about the IEP. These methods include mediation, due process hearings, and formal state complaints.

Evaluations
Parents can request an independent evaluation if they disagree with an MCPS evaluation. They must pay for the evaluation unless the school agrees to pay.

[Anonymous]

Go for the SFH if you can. Condos are a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

How did this thread turn into a discussion of IEPs? Did OP indicate that this was an issue that they were actually concerned about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP why not rent an airbnb for a week in a neighborhood? It will give you live experience on the ground and won't disrupt your day to day too much for work commuting at least.

It would be hard with kids, especially if they are in elementary school. Potentially a weekend getaway? Wont' simulate everything but you can practice a commute and see the feel while keeping your job.

Silver Spring is a fine area. Not as upscale as Bethesda but hardly run down. Have you thought about living in Alexandria? It is also much cheaper than Arlington, not as nice, but keeps you somewhat close to where you are today. I imagine it is similar to Silver Spring in terms of quality of life.

This is OP. I’m counting on the Silver Spring high schools being better than Alexandria High School. I wouldn’t send my child there. If anyone has knowledge of both and thinks they are comparable, I’d be interested in hearing that, but I can’t see my coworkers choosing Alexandria High School if they had options, so I don’t think they are comparable.

Respectfully, no one is going to come up with some miracle stay-in-Virginia solution that I just haven’t thought of. I know Virginia. I’ve lived here for 40 years. I started this thread to gather more information about Silver Spring, which I don’t know at all. I do appreciate the helpful responses that people have written! It’s given me a lot to think about.

DP. I would maybe send my kid to some of the high schools in SS but not in Alexandria. Only thing to keep in mind is if your kid has an iep MD they can do certain things without consent. The other thing is that MCPS is a large school system so has a much more substantial layer of bureaucracy than you’re used to in APS.

This is OP. By "they can do things without consent" do you mean that there is no state law (like there is in Virginia) requiring parent consent for changes to the IEP, so there are no stay put rights?

Yes.

This was not our experience in MC - any changes were discussed at IEP meetings.

However we went private for speech and OT therapies as the county therapies were not enough.

This is OP. The original poster didn’t articulate it well but what they are saying is that Virginia has a state law that allows parents to refuse a reduction in services if they disagree with the school team. Maryland doesn’t have that law. So it’s not about whether the change is discussed at the IEP meeting or not. In Virginia, you can discuss a change, the school team can think your child no longer needs an IEP, all the testing can show your child no longer needs an IEP, and you can say you disagree, and your child keeps their IEP.

OK - we never had that happen to us but it probably is an issue if others raised the potential problem.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/special-education/common-questions/parental-rights/

Changes
Parents should be notified in writing before any changes are made to the IEP.

Disputes
Parents can use formal dispute resolution methods to address disagreements about the IEP. These methods include mediation, due process hearings, and formal state complaints.

Evaluations
Parents can request an independent evaluation if they disagree with an MCPS evaluation. They must pay for the evaluation unless the school agrees to pay.

What do you mean “we never had that happen to us”? That doesn’t make sense in this context. There’s an additional right in Virginia that doesn’t exist in Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP why not rent an airbnb for a week in a neighborhood? It will give you live experience on the ground and won't disrupt your day to day too much for work commuting at least.

It would be hard with kids, especially if they are in elementary school. Potentially a weekend getaway? Wont' simulate everything but you can practice a commute and see the feel while keeping your job.

Silver Spring is a fine area. Not as upscale as Bethesda but hardly run down. Have you thought about living in Alexandria? It is also much cheaper than Arlington, not as nice, but keeps you somewhat close to where you are today. I imagine it is similar to Silver Spring in terms of quality of life.

This is OP. I’m counting on the Silver Spring high schools being better than Alexandria High School. I wouldn’t send my child there. If anyone has knowledge of both and thinks they are comparable, I’d be interested in hearing that, but I can’t see my coworkers choosing Alexandria High School if they had options, so I don’t think they are comparable.

Respectfully, no one is going to come up with some miracle stay-in-Virginia solution that I just haven’t thought of. I know Virginia. I’ve lived here for 40 years. I started this thread to gather more information about Silver Spring, which I don’t know at all. I do appreciate the helpful responses that people have written! It’s given me a lot to think about.

DP. I would maybe send my kid to some of the high schools in SS but not in Alexandria. Only thing to keep in mind is if your kid has an iep MD they can do certain things without consent. The other thing is that MCPS is a large school system so has a much more substantial layer of bureaucracy than you’re used to in APS.

This is OP. By "they can do things without consent" do you mean that there is no state law (like there is in Virginia) requiring parent consent for changes to the IEP, so there are no stay put rights?

Yes.

This was not our experience in MC - any changes were discussed at IEP meetings.

However we went private for speech and OT therapies as the county therapies were not enough.

This is OP. The original poster didn’t articulate it well but what they are saying is that Virginia has a state law that allows parents to refuse a reduction in services if they disagree with the school team. Maryland doesn’t have that law. So it’s not about whether the change is discussed at the IEP meeting or not. In Virginia, you can discuss a change, the school team can think your child no longer needs an IEP, all the testing can show your child no longer needs an IEP, and you can say you disagree, and your child keeps their IEP.

OK - we never had that happen to us but it probably is an issue if others raised the potential problem.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/special-education/common-questions/parental-rights/

Changes
Parents should be notified in writing before any changes are made to the IEP.

Disputes
Parents can use formal dispute resolution methods to address disagreements about the IEP. These methods include mediation, due process hearings, and formal state complaints.

Evaluations
Parents can request an independent evaluation if they disagree with an MCPS evaluation. They must pay for the evaluation unless the school agrees to pay.

What do you mean “we never had that happen to us”? That doesn’t make sense in this context. There’s an additional right in Virginia that doesn’t exist in Maryland.

I meant that MCPS never reduced special ed services without consultation. Actually they never reduced services offered by the IEP but we went private due to the MCPS school placing ED students in the same program with the LD students. It became very disruptive with focus being less on remedial teaching and more on maintaining classroom safety.

I conceded that it may be an issue since some people raised the point that technically MCPS does not have to consult parents before reducing services. We just never experienced that.

We actually had IEP meeting in NOVA as well as the therapeutic school was located there. I found both MCPS and FCPS IEP teams and approaches to be comparable.

My understanding is that OP flagged this as a potential issue.

Parenting children with special needs is not easy so I understand the importance of considering special education services. Ironically, that is reason why we chose to live in place served by MCPS.