High School Acceptance with learning disability

[Anonymous]

My child has a diagnosed mild language disability with an IEP in place and is currently in public school. Child is below grade level, there is very little support from the school and child continues to fall behind. Some of the private high schools seem like they would be life changing but does a child even have a chance of getting in if current performance is below grade level? Appreciate any insight!

[Anonymous]

Yes but you need to look into the schools. Private schools often accommodate with things like extra time. But they often don’t have significant support on their staff so you pay for tuition and tutoring after school. That said, there are some excellent schools that offer support. Lab, McLean and Oakwood specifically focus on children with learning challenges so you would get the support during the day. Flint hill has a sort of school within the school in lower grades for children with relatively mild learning differences. If the issues are severe they will not admit because the goal is mainstream those kids by mid-elementary (although they still offer support all the way). You need to be very transparent about what you need to allow the school to be frank. The worst thing you can do is minimize the issues and go someplace that simply does not have the plan to accommodate. Some parents get mad saying private schools “can” offer this or that and therefore should. But that isn’t the parents’ choice. Private schools have a lot of financial pressures so they have to be very careful how much they offer or accommodate.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered schools with in-house programs for students with mild learning differences like Ryken at Good Counsel or Benilde at St. John’s?

[Anonymous]

I would definitely apply to Lab.

[Anonymous]

I would also look at Chelsea School in Maryland-- they focus on language based learning differences, and got my kid reading fluently after years of struggling.

[Anonymous]

Here's the open house schedule for Chelsea. There's one November 20.


https://www.chelseaschool.edu/news-events/

[Anonymous]

If your child is a girl, Holy Child in Potomac may also be worth a look. They offer a lot of services to kids with mild learning issues.

[Anonymous]

What grade is your child in OP?

[Anonymous]

I’m following along for my DD too. Currently in Bethesda Public and most of her friends are applying to schools that may be too rigorous that she would fit into just fine socially. Not a quirky kid so don’t think she’d be happy socially at Lab, ect. She loves Field Hockey and Lacrosse and would love to play in HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered schools with in-house programs for students with mild learning differences like Ryken at Good Counsel or Benilde at St. John’s?

SJC and Good Counsel will not take kids who do not meet the cut off for HSPT scores, they also do not take kids who are academically behind. They provide accommodations like extra-time, etc. They do not provide modified work like public schools often provide with IEP's. You want to look at private high schools that are more geared towards kids with learning differences.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for all of the replies. My child is a current 8th grader so we are applying to private schools now for next year. Public school offers very little support even with an IEP but I'm trying to set expectations as to whether a traditional private school with supports is even an option for students who are currently below grade level and/or don't do well on the HSPT so these replies have been helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much for all of the replies. My child is a current 8th grader so we are applying to private schools now for next year. Public school offers very little support even with an IEP but I'm trying to set expectations as to whether a traditional private school with supports is even an option for students who are currently below grade level and/or don't do well on the HSPT so these replies have been helpful.

You will need to start moving now to get testing done for schools that focus on learning differences--look at the admissions websites and start contacting testing providers. CAAT is one. The McLean school has a list of testing providers on their website. Expect to pay at least 3k for testing, and you'll need the final report to submit before admissions deadlines. The testing will also give you a better sense of whether a mainstream private would be doable or if one for learning differences would be a better fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered schools with in-house programs for students with mild learning differences like Ryken at Good Counsel or Benilde at St. John’s?

SJC and Good Counsel will not take kids who do not meet the cut off for HSPT scores, they also do not take kids who are academically behind. They provide accommodations like extra-time, etc. They do not provide modified work like public schools often provide with IEP's. You want to look at private high schools that are more geared towards kids with learning differences.

What is the cutoff for HSPT scores?

[Anonymous]

Here is a thought your child may not like... but would she consider a repeat year? It could be a skill building year. I imagine 99% of kids would object but maybe you've got the 1%!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much for all of the replies. My child is a current 8th grader so we are applying to private schools now for next year. Public school offers very little support even with an IEP but I'm trying to set expectations as to whether a traditional private school with supports is even an option for students who are currently below grade level and/or don't do well on the HSPT so these replies have been helpful.

The short answer is no. They have far more applicants than they have available seats, so they have no reason to accept a student I'm who is below grade level. They might consider a student who is on grade level with limited supports. Might.

I would seriously consider looking a specialized schools that serve your child's learning disability if private is the route you want to take. Even those often have a cut off for just how far below grade level they will accept students, often no more than a year or two.