Is private school worth it?
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Anonymous
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We have an 8th grader with ADD, and anxiety. Next year he is slated for BCC. He is excited to go since he has a lot of friends, but his executive function is virtually nonexistent. He is also easily swayed by friends into taking risks, and has impulsivity issues. He also has sensory sensitivity.
BCC will be a lot. Our older son goes there and is thriving but he is very well organized and self motivated. I am worried my youngest will get swept up easily with a “bad” crowd, skip classes, and basically be a C student and learn nothing. BCC does not seem to care about the kids who are not either super achievers or totally failing. My kid is in the donut hole. OTOH he wants to be like his big brother and go to BCC. He is open to private school, which met be a better fit for his anxiety and ADD but the rub is we really can’t afford it. I would be raiding my retirement. If I thought it would make the difference we would do it. I do t know what to do, let him try BCC knowing he might crash and burn big time, or make him go to private. And yes, he has a 504 and the accommodations do help some. |
Anonymous
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OP does he test in the gifted range by any chance? If so, the GT/LD program at Walter Johnson could be an option.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/enriched/gtld/ Also, if you're open to Catholic schools those will have lower tuition compared to secular independent schools. |
Anonymous
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We are still in middle school but we have found that Catholic schools are highly structured and tend to have excellent organizational/EF supports.
Another question to consider -- Is there a way for you to get additional supports for him at BCC so that he doesn't fall into the donut hole? Is there a program at BCC that could be particularly good for him (and therefore super motivating)? Can you get him an executive function coach several times a week instead of private school? We are inbounds for Wilson (now Jackson Reed) and have the same concerns that our child will fall into a donut hole. He also has ADHD and anxiety. And that hole is probably bigger than the one at BCC. It was partially for this reason that we switched to Catholic school in middle school. We are not Catholic. |
Anonymous
What is the gifted range needed to be considered for the GT/LD program? |
Anonymous
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I mean this kindly and without any snark. Genuine advice: This takes a crystal ball. There are private schools in the area that will also mess a kid up.
- a parent of a kid with anxiety who pulled her child from private for MCPS |
Anonymous
| Commonwealth Academy (for ADHD kids from average to gifted IQs) was worth every penny for my struggling ADHD kid. |
Anonymous
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/enriched/gtld/faq.aspx#q2 THE GT/LD SERVICE MODELS SUPPORT STUDENTS WHO— have an educational disability that impacts the area(s) of reading, writing, and/or mathematics. Often, students also are impacted in the areas of organization/executive functioning, self-esteem, and/or attention; have a pattern of strengths and weaknesses strongly consistent with that of a GT/SLD learner (see checklist); are intellectually gifted and demonstrate superior cognitive reasoning ability (e.g., standard score of 120 or above on the WISC- Full Scale IQ, General Ability Index, Verbal Comprehension Index, or Perceptual Reasoning Index); and need an educational setting that incorporates best practices for teaching GT/LD students, including access to accelerated and enriched curriculum, increased specialized instruction and support, and intervention for the learning difficulties. |
Anonymous
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I would try BCC and just know you need to keep an eye on things (and frankly having an older sibling can sometimes help with that, or with gently guiding the younger one). I think BCC usually notifies you if your kid misses a class don't they?
Plus going to private school is no guarantee they won't fall in with a bad crowd or skip class. |
Anonymous
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We're in bounds for BCC, which does not have a strong reputation for catering to special needs. Thankfully, he qualified for the GT/LD program at Walter Johnson, which has better teachers anyway (but is overcrowded). |
Anonymous
| We are at Commonwealth and think it’s worth it, but know that EF skills get better with maturity. That doesn’t help when many kids in this area are apparently ready for college in 9th grade, but every year your son will improve significantly. So maybe they’ll be fine when it’s time for college, maybe they’ll need a gap year, maybe they won’t get into the school you think they should get into. |
Anonymous
| BCC does have some resource classes and co-taught classes. Can you get him more supports for the IEP? |
Anonymous
| Our (younger) child started private this year. Financially it is painful, but for us it was a question of whether he would go to college or not if he stayed in public. It is early yet, but I think he is much more likely on this track; public just wasn’t able to meet his needs. He is fortunate to be at a specialized school without behavior issues though; I do think it is harder at a mainstream private or certain diagnoses. Overall, it’s a crApshoot, so maybe see how he does in public but start researching a plan b? |
Anonymous
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Yes, he is gifted and 2e. When he was tested it showed that he is esp. high scoring in math, but has such a low processing speed it is deemed a disability.
The Walter Johnson program looks intriguing -- do I reach out to my MS counselor? For anyone who has a DC there, how do you get the process started? |
Anonymous
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OP again. Just wanted to add thank you for those who mentioned Walter Johnson.
You'd think the MS counselors would have mentioned this to me as an option as we are regularly in contact about my son's struggles and his accommodations. And I often express my concerns about his going to BCC. It's nuts they did not mention this option when I talk about my concerns about HS. So thank you. |
Anonymous
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Thanks to the PP who mentioned the WJ program. We are inbounds for it, though my DC is still in middle. In private right now (dyslexia) and not sure DC would qualify but I am interested in the option. Who would we reach out to for more info? Do you test in to the program?
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