McLean elementary schools- special education staff

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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

I agree with a PP who gives KG mixed reviews-some teachers were a great match some weren't. I agree with the person who said, the information might not be useful because there is huge turnover in regular and sped teachers everywhere, especially sped teachers because there is high burnout. Regarding the above statement I highlighted, most sped parents I know vent to eachother not to the parents of typical kids. We usually say things are fine. Also, private schools that accommodate special ed needs, even mild ones tend to be more expensive than even regular private schools. So some of us stay in public, hire advocates when needed and supplement with tutoring, etc. That doesn't mean they are thrilled with public school.

[Anonymous]

We are having a terrible experience with OT services or should I say lack there of! My son has terrible handwriting, doesn’t know how to for letters without too much effort, his hand will hurt if he tries to write more than one sentence and OT wants to reduce services?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having a terrible experience with OT services or should I say lack there of! My son has terrible handwriting, doesn’t know how to for letters without too much effort, his hand will hurt if he tries to write more than one sentence and OT wants to reduce services?

You need to get private OT for something like this. Public schools don't have the bandwidth to address it.

[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.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1. This! There is so much turnover with teachers and staff in special Ed. They give over-sized caseloads to each staff member and very little attention can then be placed on one child. There was nothing super special about any of them. They will say that your kid gets x hours a week but that just means a sped teacher is in the room. You have to supplement on your own. They will not help with handwriting at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having a terrible experience with OT services or should I say lack there of! My son has terrible handwriting, doesn’t know how to for letters without too much effort, his hand will hurt if he tries to write more than one sentence and OT wants to reduce services?

Ask for a dictation accommodation until his hand writing catches up. How is his keyboarding?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any thought on Langley Special Education? We are headed there next year. (Pretty extreme ADHD with some minor brain injury at birth.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have any thought on Langley Special Education? We are headed there next year. (Pretty extreme ADHD with some minor brain injury at birth.)

Do you mean Langley High School (FCPS) or The Langley School (private school). If it's the latter, you might find some better answers on the Private/Independent school forum.