Auburn or Maddux for K

[Anonymous]

Hello. Our daughter is ASD and rising K. We are moving and hired an ed advocate. They suggested Auburn or Maddux for her profile. Would love parent feedback. I appreciate the help.

[Anonymous]

Maddux and Auburn are good schools for the right child.
However they cater to very different profiles.
Auburn is tailored to bright students with social deficits and behavior issues that can’t thrive in a mainstream classroom. Most students do not return to mainstream settings since their support needs are moderate.
Maddux is for younger children that might do okay in a mainstream setting but need a little extra support here and there. After Maddux most students return to mainstream schools.
I’m surprised your ed consultant recommended both schools, OP.
If your child’s profile aligns best with Auburn other similar schools could be: Katherine Thomas and Ivymount.
For a child with a Maddux type of profile similar schools are: Diener and Newton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maddux and Auburn are good schools for the right child.
However they cater to very different profiles.
Auburn is tailored to bright students with social deficits and behavior issues that can’t thrive in a mainstream classroom. Most students do not return to mainstream settings since their support needs are moderate.
Maddux is for younger children that might do okay in a mainstream setting but need a little extra support here and there. After Maddux most students return to mainstream schools.
I’m surprised your ed consultant recommended both schools, OP.
If your child’s profile aligns best with Auburn other similar schools could be: Katherine Thomas and Ivymount.
For a child with a Maddux type of profile similar schools are: Diener and Newton.

This is not accurate since the Maddux Schools is at the Ivymount campus.

[Anonymous]

I would apply to both (and to KTS, Diener- or at least your them).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maddux and Auburn are good schools for the right child.
However they cater to very different profiles.
Auburn is tailored to bright students with social deficits and behavior issues that can’t thrive in a mainstream classroom. Most students do not return to mainstream settings since their support needs are moderate.
Maddux is for younger children that might do okay in a mainstream setting but need a little extra support here and there. After Maddux most students return to mainstream schools.
I’m surprised your ed consultant recommended both schools, OP.
If your child’s profile aligns best with Auburn other similar schools could be: Katherine Thomas and Ivymount.
For a child with a Maddux type of profile similar schools are: Diener and Newton.

This is not accurate since the Maddux Schools is at the Ivymount campus.

Although, Maddux is under the Ivymount umbrella both schools are very different in the to support they provide to their students.
Maddux is a SN lite type of school for HFA,ADHD, social anxiety, pragmatic communication disorders among other mild disorders.
They only accept very high-functioning young children.
Ivymount offers different programs for autistic students with higher needs of support.
Both Maddux and Ivymount are excellent schools.

[Anonymous]

We are recent Maddux parents. 100% recommend. Excellent school, wonderful community. We also looked at Auburn--we were turned off by high staff turnover, general disorganization, and many vacancies in key positions. The head of school at Auburn even told us that Maddux "ran a tight program."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello. Our daughter is ASD and rising K. We are moving and hired an ed advocate. They suggested Auburn or Maddux for her profile. Would love parent feedback. I appreciate the help.

We visited Maddux for our ASD son and we loved it. He would've did great but we didn't have the money. I'd say if she doesn't have any behaviors go for Maddux. Great school and really helpful in transitioning kids either to mainstream private or public.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. This is all so helpful and appreciated. Does anyone have feedback on how each school targets SEL? Like how it’s structured/is that structure effective or not effective?

[Anonymous]

We are recent Auburn parents and we would not recommend. They over promise and are too unorganized and understaffed to deliver on those promises. The social learning specialist was underwhelming and unprofessional at times. There are some really talented and dedicated teachers there but not enough to cancel out the negatives.

[Anonymous]

Where will you live? If in Nova, look into ETC Phoenix School.

[Anonymous]

Since you have a girl I would also look at the gender ratios for some of these schools if you think that is something that might be important to your daughter.

I think if you live in Virginia newton is another school that you might consider.

[Anonymous]

We are moving to MD but are flexible if it’s the right school. Thanks for the suggestions and feedback.

[Anonymous]

My daughter went to Maddux (we didn't look at Auburn). It was largely boys, which either didn't matter or was a good thing. There was none of the mean girl behavior my friends with girls in other schools reported. Everyone there has to be "high functioning" enough to be in 14 person classes (with 2-3 adults) but plenty (including my child) go to SN privates or public with robust IEPs after. One of its strengths is that students have a range of strengths and challenges, so that a child who needs extra help with one thing is a leader somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are recent Auburn parents and we would not recommend. They over promise and are too unorganized and understaffed to deliver on those promises. The social learning specialist was underwhelming and unprofessional at times. There are some really talented and dedicated teachers there but not enough to cancel out the negatives.

Thank you for this information. I saw that there is a Social Learning Specialist and a SLP. How do those two positions compare in the school?

[Anonymous]

OP, I have a child in K in Maddux right now, happy to answer any specific questions.

Overall - this is the best money can buy in this area for high functioning kids with light to moderate-light special needs. It's not perfect, but it's a really good setting for this profile kids.

Teachers and admin are responsive to questions or concerns. Very supportive parent community. It's a small school, and the principal is pretty accessible - I would encourage you to reach out directly.