charter or DCPS for special needs

[Anonymous]

Daughter has speech and OT therapies and trying to decide whether to place her in a neighborhood DCPS (got spot for 3yr) or send her to a charter school...Any experience or thoughts?

[SWolfie]

Hi,

i think it depends on the willingness of any school to help her. Some teachers/schools are better than some. Maybe you can talk to some kids' parents who already go there.. I would suspect its a case by case basis...

[Anonymous]

It is really varies school to school. Is she getting services through Early Stages or are you doing things private. If you are doing things private, at a minimum I would recommend you get an Early Stages evaluation. DCPS and Charters will both need an IEP to provide services.

[Anonymous]

Have you checked out Bridges PCS?

[Anonymous]

I am deciding between Ross and Appletree and going through Early Stages currently.

[Anonymous]

Bridges is hands down the best school for little ones with special needs.

[Anonymous]

My hunch is that Appletree would be better based on the fact that at his otherwise wonderful DCPS school, my son was never taught to hold a pen. He figured out his own (incorrect) way by himself. He just turned 7. Now we pay $350 a month for him to get private OT. He doesn't qualify for OT at school. The other kids learned to write a lot better, but not my son.

[Anonymous]

I have a child at Appltree CH. There are several children that have issues there but they clearly have a plan and support staff available to address just about every child's needs. Classes have a 3 teacher to 18 ratio. Ross because it is a DCPS will not have the resources that Appletree has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My hunch is that Appletree would be better based on the fact that at his otherwise wonderful DCPS school, my son was never taught to hold a pen. He figured out his own (incorrect) way by himself. He just turned 7. Now we pay $350 a month for him to get private OT. He doesn't qualify for OT at school. The other kids learned to write a lot better, but not my son.

Bridges is designed to be an inclusion school. The lead teachers all have Masters degrees in Special Education. Appletree is a good pre-school, but it is NOT better than Bridges for special needs, and they will tell you that too.

[Anonymous]

but if you did not get into Bridges and you have Drew or AppleTree to select from, I would go with AppleTree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:but if you did not get into Bridges and you have Drew or AppleTree to select from, I would go with AppleTree.

Oh, yes. I thought she said Ross or Appletree, but regardless, Appletree is by far the better of the two.