Kellar School (vs. Cedar Lane or CSS?)

[Anonymous]

Hi all-

My child is currently inpatient at Dominion with a documented Serious Mental Illness (SMI is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder resulting in serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. The burden of mental illnesses is particularly concentrated among those who experience disability due to SMI.)

I'm not sure when my child will be discharged, but I would like to arrange for outplacement at Kellar Center School as soon as possible this year. Kid has had an IEP and was in small group classes for most of his educational career and I am not interested in playing the waiting game for any longer than I have to. I'd MUCH prefer he be placed with Kellar than in Cedar Lane or CSS.

I assume I should start with a letter to his principal, special education head, and procedural liaison? Are there specific "trigger" words I could use to get this thing moving faster?

Finally- anyone with recent experiences with any of the above- Kellar, FCPS Cedar Lane or CSS placement (probably Woodson or Chantilly) would be lovely. He has "behaviors" but they're not violent- think OCD and tics. He is actually really scared and becomes disregulated when kids have outbursts, so I'm hesitant about moving him to one of the FCPS buildings. Anxiety that built over long-term bullying is what kicked-off his latest hospital stint and I'm pretty done.

Thank you all.

[Anonymous]

Kids at Kellar have significant needs. They definitely engage in disruptive behaviors and outbursts at times.

[Anonymous]

Well, my kid also has significant needs so I guess I’m trying to thread a needle.

[Anonymous]

No advice but I wish you and your DC luck with finding the next step.

[Anonymous]

Following - DC should be starting atCSS next month but I’m anticipating school refusal and dreading the next steps. Sending you a virtual hug.

[Anonymous]

Back at you PP. keep it up and hang in there.

[Anonymous]

In my experience as a CSS teacher you are going to see less outbursts at CSS because the kids there just walk out when they are mad. You won’t get Keller paid for by the county until you have tried CSS. My advice to you is to contact Mike Bloom at FCPS directly. You don’t say what base school you have, but many of them are resistant to any other placement. You should also deal directly with the PSL.

Kids that go to CSS programs might not want to at first, but they often find that they feel relief being in settings with people who understand them.

[Anonymous]

Base school is Fairfax HS. Thank you PP.

[Anonymous]

Call your PSL. Find out what your options are, and go ahead and tour your zoned CSS for HS. If you don't like it, call Kellar and try to arrange a phone call. (Kellar often does not have space)
They will push Cedar Lane instead of Kellar. Do not send your kid to Cedar Lane.

This person was the principal of Kellar last year, not sure if she's there but its hard to find contact info for them so: [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, my kid also has significant needs so I guess I’m trying to thread a needle.

Hugs OP. I love this response. My kid is at RICA in MCPS. I hated it when people told me not to send my kid somewhere because the school was known to have behavior issues. Well, guess what---so does my kid!

Good luck with your placement. RICA was absolutely the right placement for us and has been amazing. When your kid finds their people, teachers understand them, they're getting what they need academically and medically, and you're not getting daily phone calls, life becomes much more manageable all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, my kid also has significant needs so I guess I’m trying to thread a needle.

Right but you said your kid responds negatively to kids with behavioral challenges, who would likely be in this program

[Anonymous]

Kellar is more restrictive than CSS, so you would need to have a pretty unique set of needs to hop over CSS as a placement option. Are you able to articulate specific reasons why Kellar is more appropriate than CSS?

[Anonymous]

The problem with CSS for a lot of kids is the location inside a ginormous public HS.

[Anonymous]

My child has pediatric psychosis. It’s rare for a child of their age and as of now has an unknown etiology. Kellar folks have at least seen pediatric psychosis before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child has pediatric psychosis. It’s rare for a child of their age and as of now has an unknown etiology. Kellar folks have at least seen pediatric psychosis before.

That is a start, but you will need to articulate specific services that only Kellar can provide, or specific reasons why the psychotic disorder can only be accommodated within Kellar as opposed to a less restrictive setting. How old is your child? I'm a school psych, and have worked with several students with psychotic disorders within self-contained programs within mainstream schools (like CSS). I have also worked with some who have needed out of district placements. A diagnosis is not enough to justify a more restrictive placement. If you want the district to go for Kellar over their own programming, you're going to need to be a lot more specific about why your child's education cannot be provided appropriately within CSS or Cedar Lane. If you can't answer that now, I'd suggest preparing before asking the school about funding the placement.