McLean elementary schools- special education staff

[Anonymous]

My family is moving to McLean for my husbands job so we will be renting for a few years. We have a son with Autism (mix of general ed and special ed support). Can anyone share about the principal and special education staff at Franklin Sherman, Kent Gardens and Chesterbrook? I’m curious about speech and OT too because we also have a daughter with a speech IEP. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

No experience with ES, but Avoid Cooper Middle School at all costs. It’s been a nightmare for my child with an IEP.

[Anonymous]

You’re not going to get an answer that is worth much. Why? Because there are staff changes every year. Someone might post about a really great teacher at one school who isn’t there the next year. Or another person might post about an experience years ago about a teacher/principal who isn’t there anymore. One person might be the parent from hell and trash the school. Anonymous forums are rarely good for these kinds of questions.

Focus instead on finding a house that meets your family’s needs in terms of cost annd commute. And take into consideration the size of the schools. Kent Gardens is three times the size of Franklin Sherman. You may have a preference for one over the other. There are positives and negatives for each.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

WOW, PP. If you don't have anything nice (or helpful) to say....

While I don't have personal experience with your child's needs, both of my kids attended Kent Gardens and friends I have known who have children who need extra support have had a positive experience. There is typically one class per grade (typically taught by the grade-level lead) that will have a support/aide position, and that class will typically include Special Education students and/or students with Special Needs. There are a fair bit of kids that are also "pulled out," based on their individual needs, for individual needs each day.

Outside of those classrooms, the K-3 and 4-6 leads have been in place for quite some time, and I know many of the individuals who would work with your child are highly praised. The Principal has been in place for 10+ years and is available to and works closely with families.

I also have had friends who chose to keep their kids at KG, LMS and McLean based on the attention and services their kids need and receive vs. placing them in private schools.

Good luck and welcome to McLean!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WOW, PP. If you don't have anything nice (or helpful) to say....

While I don't have personal experience with your child's needs, both of my kids attended Kent Gardens and friends I have known who have children who need extra support have had a positive experience. There is typically one class per grade (typically taught by the grade-level lead) that will have a support/aide position, and that class will typically include Special Education students and/or students with Special Needs. There are a fair bit of kids that are also "pulled out," based on their individual needs, for individual needs each day.

Outside of those classrooms, the K-3 and 4-6 leads have been in place for quite some time, and I know many of the individuals who would work with your child are highly praised. The Principal has been in place for 10+ years and is available to and works closely with families.

I also have had friends who chose to keep their kids at KG, LMS and McLean based on the attention and services their kids need and receive vs. placing them in private schools.

Good luck and welcome to McLean!

DP
I didn’t read anything in the PP that seemed negative against Kent Gardens other than it is larger, but not that that’s a negative.

[Anonymous]

DP
I didn’t read anything in the PP that seemed negative against Kent Gardens other than it is larger, but not that that’s a negative.

They didn't say anything negative about specific schools, but their answer in general came across as very negative. "You're not going to get an answer that's worth much" as a start? OK, then.

[Anonymous]

We had a mixed experience at Kent Gardens, but true there’s always new staff in special education. A friend loves the special education teacher and speech therapist at Franklin Sherman

[Anonymous]

Ours kids have all gone to Kent gardens and really love the principal. Our only experience with special ed has been speech, and the speech therapist has been awesome.

I have heard mixed things about the experiences of kids with higher needs, but I know families have kept their kids at KG when many have the means to afford a different school, so I think that speaks fairly well of how their children are doing.

It’s a big school, which can mean more access to services as well

[Anonymous]

I would look for elementary schools that have autism programs, like Colvin Run. They are usually better staffed and have more understanding of the autism spectrum. Even if you kid is in general education classes.

Here is the link to see what schools have what programs. https://www.fcps.edu/academics/special-education/special-education-program-sites

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No experience with ES, but Avoid Cooper Middle School at all costs. It’s been a nightmare for my child with an IEP.

Our child with an IEP had a very successful two years at Cooper.

[Anonymous]

I had our kids at Franklin Sherman for special need reasons because I learned from someone that I knew it is the best school for our needs. I love Franklin Sherman. The school helped my kids so much with IEP. My kids are middle school & high school now. They are no longer need IEP. The speech teacher is wonderful. She is still there. All the teachers are great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

DP
I didn’t read anything in the PP that seemed negative against Kent Gardens other than it is larger, but not that that’s a negative.

They didn't say anything negative about specific schools, but their answer in general came across as very negative. "You're not going to get an answer that's worth much" as a start? OK, then.

It’s a true statement though, I’ve gotten nothing from this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

DP
I didn’t read anything in the PP that seemed negative against Kent Gardens other than it is larger, but not that that’s a negative.

They didn't say anything negative about specific schools, but their answer in general came across as very negative. "You're not going to get an answer that's worth much" as a start? OK, then.

There was nothing wrong with the post you complained about. You’re very oversensitive. You should work on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had our kids at Franklin Sherman for special need reasons because I learned from someone that I knew it is the best school for our needs. I love Franklin Sherman. The school helped my kids so much with IEP. My kids are middle school & high school now. They are no longer need IEP. The speech teacher is wonderful. She is still there. All the teachers are great.

I also had my son at Franklin Sherman and we all loved the speech therapist. Yes, she is still there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No experience with ES, but Avoid Cooper Middle School at all costs. It’s been a nightmare for my child with an IEP.

Cooper is a nightmare for every child.