Schools for gifted dyslexic kid in the DMV?

[Anonymous]

My kid is currently in 3rd grade at a DCPS bilingual school, which we love. We just received a diagnosis of dyslexia, along with test results that indicate giftedness in a bunch of areas. I'd love to hear from families with similar kids:

1. If you sent your kid to private school, which one? Tell me why you like it? We can afford private, but hadn't considered it before the diagnosis because we are generally satisfied with our public.

2. Would you recommend a regular private school or a private school specifically focused on dyslexia for an academically talented kid with ADHD and dyslexia? She has no behavior problems and is a rule-follower. She doesn't like chaos in her classroom (though has learned to deal with some amount of it in large DCPS classes). She loves math, problem-based learning, experiments, etc. She also loves books and creative writing, but she struggles with spelling and speed (does great with audio books, but her reading is very slow).

Thoughts on the best path? We live in NW DC (east of the park).

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Siena and Lab are the two schools in the area that specialize in dyslexia. Tour both and ask lots of questions.

How much energy does your child have at the end of the day? Even with an IEP, dcps won't provide enough intervention and you'll need tutoring -- does she have enough energy at the end of the day to engage in tutoring? Has dcps been willing to provide all the assistive technology she needs to access grade level reading and writing, while her decoding and spelling catch up?

We found that it was much easier to supplement strengths outside of school than to supplement weaknesses.

[Anonymous]

Also, how important is bilingualism? You won't get that at most private schools, but in exchange you'll get smaller classes and, usually, a more hands on curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the degree of dyslexia, tbh

PP is right — Lab and Siena are the ones to look at. There are some others in Baltimore area.

We were at Siena but it was not a good fit for our kid; as a result, there was not much progress. We blew a lot of money there and kid is now struggling in public high school. Kid cannot fluently read, spell or write a one page essay (this is after years). Struggles with annotation and comprehension. Kid is probably two years behind academically and that’s where they were when they started Siena.

Looking back, I wish we’d stayed with our excellent tutor instead of pulling her for Siena.
You could be better off hiring a too-notch tutor to remediate the dyslexia, if DD likes her current school, you are satisfied there and you have money to throw at the issue.

There are some good teachers at Siena (many have left in recent years) but their tuition keeps going up (it’s $50k last time I checked) and the programs, sports, curriculum aren’t worth it, imo. They hand hold/coddle way too much and they give virtually no homework (typically done in school). The school will use these as selling points (and it works if you choose to keep your kid in their teeny bubble until they graduate). But they can be issues if you move your kid back to public, or frankly, a mainstream private.

People will come on here and defend it. Go see for yourself. Ask hard questions. It works well for some kids and YMMV

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

We were in the same exact position as you several years ago, PP, except that we were at a bilingual charter. We looked at Siena and I thought it had a lot of promise, but they really don't like ADHD (which is weird, considering how comorbid it is with SLD). It needs to be extremely mild ADHD, and then of course they also require the SLD to be mild as well.

We ended up at Lab and have been extremely happy. Kid is totally thriving. Might have had the same experience at Siena, I don't know.

BTW Chelsea is the other school to look at. It's much smaller and has pretty much NO outdoor space, but I think I heard they are moving (eventually).

[Anonymous]

Also Jemicy — our tutor told us this was the best school for dyslexia in the region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also Jemicy — our tutor told us this was the best school for dyslexia in the region.

Jemicy is really far for most families in the DMV. Especially DC and NoVA.

[Anonymous]

My child goes to Jemicy and it’s truly been life changing for her. We drive 45 minutes to get there, it’s worth it.

[Anonymous]

Chelsea has been great for us, it is small though. It's moving to a new location with outdoor space for next school year in Columbia, so it would be a hard commute from DC, but it would be a reverse commute.

[Anonymous]

Lab and Siena are going to only focus on the dyslexia and not her strengths. That’s why we picked McLean after visiting all 3. They can accelerate on the strong academics and she will be able to stretch more in her strengths. We have similar situation with our son - very bright in math and he struggles with reading. I think your daughter might find the academics unchallenging at lab and Siena. McLean knows exactly how to support and challenge that profile - we couldn’t be happier there for what it’s worth.

[Anonymous]

Oakwood School

[Anonymous]

DS had qualified for full time gifted program in public school despite dyslexia. Your kid would not be the only one like this at Siena.

[Anonymous]

OP, talk to Commonwealth Academy in Alexandria. My gifted 2E (ADHD) kid blossomed in the environment, but that was eight years ago. At that time, the focus was bright ADHD kids and not dyslexia, but that sometimes came part and parcel with the kid. It's worth a call. And if it's not the right place, the admissions counselor will tell you where to look.

[Anonymous]

Thai was my DD also. For many reasons, we opted to stay at our parochial school. They actually had an excellent reading program with some supplemental assistance and we also supplemented at home and with a tutor. She developed a love for reading (now in HS) and wants to major in English.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, OP, your money management over the many decades of your life is paramount here, for you and your children.

Unless you're so wealthy you can't tell the difference, I strongly advise you to pay for intensive Orton-Gillingham dyslexia tutoring outside of school, and continue with whatever public school you prefer. I prefer the MCPS clusters in Bethesda, Potomac and Chevy Chase, and for "gifted" services, my SN kid was accepted into the MCPS Gifted, Talented and Learning Disabled program at North Bethesda Middle School and Walter Johnson High School. But if you can't move, your NW DCPS will work too.

This approach will come out cheaper than SN privates, and the remediation will be more targeted to your child, so it will probably be better. Families at SN privates often need to supplement too. You'll be able to save/invest the money you'd have spent on years of private to grow her college fund, pay for graduate school, car, or downpayments on housing, whatever else that's needed in the future.