IEP placement question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been and still is an MS HFA "strategies" program at Francis (Stevens). School teams from around the district know that the Strategies program exists and that there is a process that needs to be completed in order for students to be placed in that program assuming there are spots available.

Right … school teams supposedly know but won’t actually be forthcoming with any information about it or the supposed process. And when I asked they didn’t really seem to know anything other than “oh yeah; I heard that exists!”

I'm sorry that has been your experience. You could always request the LEA representative at your school contact the school that has the strategies program to inquire about what the process is. Or even request a meeting with the strategies program representative yourself. Some school teams really have never had experience transferring a kid into a strategies class so they may not really know the process. Therefore not providing you with the info may likely have been related to inexperience.
(They also have a 3-5 strategies program at Takoma, and possibly Seaton.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been and still is an MS HFA "strategies" program at Francis (Stevens). School teams from around the district know that the Strategies program exists and that there is a process that needs to be completed in order for students to be placed in that program assuming there are spots available.

Right … school teams supposedly know but won’t actually be forthcoming with any information about it or the supposed process. And when I asked they didn’t really seem to know anything other than “oh yeah; I heard that exists!”

I'm sorry that has been your experience. You could always request the LEA representative at your school contact the school that has the strategies program to inquire about what the process is. Or even request a meeting with the strategies program representative yourself. Some school teams really have never had experience transferring a kid into a strategies class so they may not really know the process. Therefore not providing you with the info may likely have been related to inexperience.
(They also have a 3-5 strategies program at Takoma, and possibly Seaton.)

I mean I have zero idea who the “strategies program representative” is. There isn’t even any official documentation anywhere of what this “strategies” program is. It shouldn’t be some secret process that people may or may not know about. It’s not Sasquatch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been and still is an MS HFA "strategies" program at Francis (Stevens). School teams from around the district know that the Strategies program exists and that there is a process that needs to be completed in order for students to be placed in that program assuming there are spots available.

Right … school teams supposedly know but won’t actually be forthcoming with any information about it or the supposed process. And when I asked they didn’t really seem to know anything other than “oh yeah; I heard that exists!”

I'm sorry that has been your experience. You could always request the LEA representative at your school contact the school that has the strategies program to inquire about what the process is. Or even request a meeting with the strategies program representative yourself. Some school teams really have never had experience transferring a kid into a strategies class so they may not really know the process. Therefore not providing you with the info may likely have been related to inexperience.
(They also have a 3-5 strategies program at Takoma, and possibly Seaton.)

I mean I have zero idea who the “strategies program representative” is. There isn’t even any official documentation anywhere of what this “strategies” program is. It shouldn’t be some secret process that people may or may not know about. It’s not Sasquatch.

https://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/John+Francis+Education+Campus

Listed under "special education" it says "Autism Strategies". Doesn't seem that hidden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been and still is an MS HFA "strategies" program at Francis (Stevens). School teams from around the district know that the Strategies program exists and that there is a process that needs to be completed in order for students to be placed in that program assuming there are spots available.

Right … school teams supposedly know but won’t actually be forthcoming with any information about it or the supposed process. And when I asked they didn’t really seem to know anything other than “oh yeah; I heard that exists!”

I'm sorry that has been your experience. You could always request the LEA representative at your school contact the school that has the strategies program to inquire about what the process is. Or even request a meeting with the strategies program representative yourself. Some school teams really have never had experience transferring a kid into a strategies class so they may not really know the process. Therefore not providing you with the info may likely have been related to inexperience.
(They also have a 3-5 strategies program at Takoma, and possibly Seaton.)

I mean I have zero idea who the “strategies program representative” is. There isn’t even any official documentation anywhere of what this “strategies” program is. It shouldn’t be some secret process that people may or may not know about. It’s not Sasquatch.

https://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/John+Francis+Education+Campus

Listed under "special education" it says "Autism Strategies". Doesn't seem that hidden.

lol no. There is no description anywhere of what the program is and the criteria to get placed there. It’s not clear if that is a self contained program. I don’t know why but they really try to keep the HFA programs under wraps. And yes I discussed this with the school and they were not forthcoming. We muddled through so it’s a moot point but they are definitely trying to hide the HFA programs for some reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Asking this on behalf of a friend whose child has an IEP. Their current DCPS school isn't working. She thinks Reggio would be a good fit for her child, based on their diagnosis.

Is it crazy - or actually possible - that this family could get an IEP that would allow child to attend School Within a School?

We got a spot for my child at SWS who had HFA. I asked about this program and could not get an answer. I understand there was a many years long waitlist and it seemed vague and confusing. I toured the school and was unimpressed with the academic offerings. SWS is not really Reggio IMO and it seemed chaotic, especially sharing a park with the general public. I’ve heard this from other parents as well as glowing reviews from other parents with (neurotypical) children at SWS. We passed on the spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking this on behalf of a friend whose child has an IEP. Their current DCPS school isn't working. She thinks Reggio would be a good fit for her child, based on their diagnosis.

Is it crazy - or actually possible - that this family could get an IEP that would allow child to attend School Within a School?

We got a spot for my child at SWS who had HFA. I asked about this program and could not get an answer. I understand there was a many years long waitlist and it seemed vague and confusing. I toured the school and was unimpressed with the academic offerings. SWS is not really Reggio IMO and it seemed chaotic, especially sharing a park with the general public. I’ve heard this from other parents as well as glowing reviews from other parents with (neurotypical) children at SWS. We passed on the spot.

You got an IEP placement there or a lottery spot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking this on behalf of a friend whose child has an IEP. Their current DCPS school isn't working. She thinks Reggio would be a good fit for her child, based on their diagnosis.

Is it crazy - or actually possible - that this family could get an IEP that would allow child to attend School Within a School?

We got a spot for my child at SWS who had HFA. I asked about this program and could not get an answer. I understand there was a many years long waitlist and it seemed vague and confusing. I toured the school and was unimpressed with the academic offerings. SWS is not really Reggio IMO and it seemed chaotic, especially sharing a park with the general public. I’ve heard this from other parents as well as glowing reviews from other parents with (neurotypical) children at SWS. We passed on the spot.

You got an IEP placement there or a lottery spot?

Neither, their child didn’t get in and now they’d like to try to disparage the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking this on behalf of a friend whose child has an IEP. Their current DCPS school isn't working. She thinks Reggio would be a good fit for her child, based on their diagnosis.

Is it crazy - or actually possible - that this family could get an IEP that would allow child to attend School Within a School?

We got a spot for my child at SWS who had HFA. I asked about this program and could not get an answer. I understand there was a many years long waitlist and it seemed vague and confusing. I toured the school and was unimpressed with the academic offerings. SWS is not really Reggio IMO and it seemed chaotic, especially sharing a park with the general public. I’ve heard this from other parents as well as glowing reviews from other parents with (neurotypical) children at SWS. We passed on the spot.

You got an IEP placement there or a lottery spot?

Neither, their child didn’t get in and now they’d like to try to disparage the school.

Huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking this on behalf of a friend whose child has an IEP. Their current DCPS school isn't working. She thinks Reggio would be a good fit for her child, based on their diagnosis.

Is it crazy - or actually possible - that this family could get an IEP that would allow child to attend School Within a School?

We got a spot for my child at SWS who had HFA. I asked about this program and could not get an answer. I understand there was a many years long waitlist and it seemed vague and confusing. I toured the school and was unimpressed with the academic offerings. SWS is not really Reggio IMO and it seemed chaotic, especially sharing a park with the general public. I’ve heard this from other parents as well as glowing reviews from other parents with (neurotypical) children at SWS. We passed on the spot.

You got an IEP placement there or a lottery spot?

The inclusion program at SWS isn’t via lottery, so I assume they got an IEP placement there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking this on behalf of a friend whose child has an IEP. Their current DCPS school isn't working. She thinks Reggio would be a good fit for her child, based on their diagnosis.

Is it crazy - or actually possible - that this family could get an IEP that would allow child to attend School Within a School?

We got a spot for my child at SWS who had HFA. I asked about this program and could not get an answer. I understand there was a many years long waitlist and it seemed vague and confusing. I toured the school and was unimpressed with the academic offerings. SWS is not really Reggio IMO and it seemed chaotic, especially sharing a park with the general public. I’ve heard this from other parents as well as glowing reviews from other parents with (neurotypical) children at SWS. We passed on the spot.

You got an IEP placement there or a lottery spot?

Lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking this on behalf of a friend whose child has an IEP. Their current DCPS school isn't working. She thinks Reggio would be a good fit for her child, based on their diagnosis.

Is it crazy - or actually possible - that this family could get an IEP that would allow child to attend School Within a School?

We got a spot for my child at SWS who had HFA. I asked about this program and could not get an answer. I understand there was a many years long waitlist and it seemed vague and confusing. I toured the school and was unimpressed with the academic offerings. SWS is not really Reggio IMO and it seemed chaotic, especially sharing a park with the general public. I’ve heard this from other parents as well as glowing reviews from other parents with (neurotypical) children at SWS. We passed on the spot.

You got an IEP placement there or a lottery spot?

The inclusion program at SWS isn’t via lottery, so I assume they got an IEP placement there.

We didn’t get an inclusion spot. There was a long waitlist and the rest of the school offerings seemed mediocre. My child isn’t safe at a park accessible by the public due to their needs. And i genuinely didn’t get the hype. Weak academics and I took an instant dislike to the patronizing principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking this on behalf of a friend whose child has an IEP. Their current DCPS school isn't working. She thinks Reggio would be a good fit for her child, based on their diagnosis.

Is it crazy - or actually possible - that this family could get an IEP that would allow child to attend School Within a School?

We got a spot for my child at SWS who had HFA. I asked about this program and could not get an answer. I understand there was a many years long waitlist and it seemed vague and confusing. I toured the school and was unimpressed with the academic offerings. SWS is not really Reggio IMO and it seemed chaotic, especially sharing a park with the general public. I’ve heard this from other parents as well as glowing reviews from other parents with (neurotypical) children at SWS. We passed on the spot.

You got an IEP placement there or a lottery spot?

The inclusion program at SWS isn’t via lottery, so I assume they got an IEP placement there.

We didn’t get an inclusion spot. There was a long waitlist and the rest of the school offerings seemed mediocre. My child isn’t safe at a park accessible by the public due to their needs. And i genuinely didn’t get the hype. Weak academics and I took an instant dislike to the patronizing principal.

Where did you end up?

[Anonymous]

Seaton has an HFA/Strategies... You can just call the school. My friends girlfriend is the autism specialist there, she helped develop the Strategies program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seaton has an HFA/Strategies... You can just call the school. My friends girlfriend is the autism specialist there, she helped develop the Strategies program.

lol ok. I believe you but that still doesn’t mean that it’s a real program.