Anyone happy with mcps? Special ed edition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

MCPS forced us to move to a place that was more reasonable and closer to following the latest cognitive research for the second. So much better. The culture of MCPS (besides its incompetenceand mismanagement) is the kicker: the place is mean.

Where did you move that was better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps employee here- dyslexia needs to be remediated.in k-3 otherwise it is often a lifetime issue as the brain is less malleable. The way the current system works is to keep denying any issues exist until kids are in 3-5th grade when they are so far behind they are undeniable. At.thst point, mcps will give an iep with a ridiculously low amount of service and typically not a research based reading intervention. There are exceptions to this at well run schools but this is often how it goes. Parents need the knowledge in kindergarten so they can began intervening outside of school.

Very well reasoned. Wish this was said by any MCPS employee for my dyslexic. In my time, the word dyslexia was verboten. Serious question: how do you sleep at night having this level of knowledge about a disorder your employer won’t deal with? Super unethical behavior.

You are a dick. It isn’t the MCPS employee’s fault that the school system can’t meet your kid’s needs. Why are you trying to guilt trip them as though they are individually responsible for a system they don’t control or have that much say in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps employee here- dyslexia needs to be remediated.in k-3 otherwise it is often a lifetime issue as the brain is less malleable. The way the current system works is to keep denying any issues exist until kids are in 3-5th grade when they are so far behind they are undeniable. At.thst point, mcps will give an iep with a ridiculously low amount of service and typically not a research based reading intervention. There are exceptions to this at well run schools but this is often how it goes. Parents need the knowledge in kindergarten so they can began intervening outside of school.

Very well reasoned. Wish this was said by any MCPS employee for my dyslexic. In my time, the word dyslexia was verboten. Serious question: how do you sleep at night having this level of knowledge about a disorder your employer won’t deal with? Super unethical behavior.

You are a dick. It isn’t the MCPS employee’s fault that the school system can’t meet your kid’s needs. Why are you trying to guilt trip them as though they are individually responsible for a system they don’t control or have that much say in?

That's the entire problem. The system is set up to blame others rather than to fix itself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps employee here- dyslexia needs to be remediated.in k-3 otherwise it is often a lifetime issue as the brain is less malleable. The way the current system works is to keep denying any issues exist until kids are in 3-5th grade when they are so far behind they are undeniable. At.thst point, mcps will give an iep with a ridiculously low amount of service and typically not a research based reading intervention. There are exceptions to this at well run schools but this is often how it goes. Parents need the knowledge in kindergarten so they can began intervening outside of school.

Very well reasoned. Wish this was said by any MCPS employee for my dyslexic. In my time, the word dyslexia was verboten. Serious question: how do you sleep at night having this level of knowledge about a disorder your employer won’t deal with? Super unethical behavior.

"Dyslexia" is a vague diagnosis, with many presentations and underlying causes. You need to be much more explicit in an IEP.

[Anonymous]

MCPS employee here--I don't blame parents for being super upset and angry. Unfortunately, many districts around the country operate this way. They don't give intensive intervention in grades k-2 and then eventually end up assessing for special education in grades 3-5 (if they even get to it then as there are so many vacant related service provider positions)--if it's purely a dyslexia issue. Behavior issues (plus learning) will get you evaluated earlier because you are disrupting everyone's learning and the teacher has more of an incentive to push the case forward. There needs to be a national message that parents take charge of their child's reading if problems emerge in kindergarten. Or a dramatic change in funding to increase early literacy efforts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS employee here--I don't blame parents for being super upset and angry. Unfortunately, many districts around the country operate this way. They don't give intensive intervention in grades k-2 and then eventually end up assessing for special education in grades 3-5 (if they even get to it then as there are so many vacant related service provider positions)--if it's purely a dyslexia issue. Behavior issues (plus learning) will get you evaluated earlier because you are disrupting everyone's learning and the teacher has more of an incentive to push the case forward. There needs to be a national message that parents take charge of their child's reading if problems emerge in kindergarten. Or a dramatic change in funding to increase early literacy efforts.

I hear you and I don’t disagree. Most people with the financial resources will take care of the reading piece for their child. However, lots of people don’t have that financial/ time available part of that. I’m just not sure what we are doing as educational systems if we can’t get all kids to read. I truly can’t believe we are at a place that people think it’s reasonable that is happening. I think the national message right now is federal law that states all kids ( including those with disabilities) are entitled to an education. The absolute base of that should be functional literacy especially after spending 13 years in an “ educational” system. I really don’t understand how we have gotten to this point as a society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS employee here--I don't blame parents for being super upset and angry. Unfortunately, many districts around the country operate this way. They don't give intensive intervention in grades k-2 and then eventually end up assessing for special education in grades 3-5 (if they even get to it then as there are so many vacant related service provider positions)--if it's purely a dyslexia issue. Behavior issues (plus learning) will get you evaluated earlier because you are disrupting everyone's learning and the teacher has more of an incentive to push the case forward. There needs to be a national message that parents take charge of their child's reading if problems emerge in kindergarten. Or a dramatic change in funding to increase early literacy efforts.

I hear you and I don’t disagree. Most people with the financial resources will take care of the reading piece for their child. However, lots of people don’t have that financial/ time available part of that. I’m just not sure what we are doing as educational systems if we can’t get all kids to read. I truly can’t believe we are at a place that people think it’s reasonable that is happening. I think the national message right now is federal law that states all kids ( including those with disabilities) are entitled to an education. The absolute base of that should be functional literacy especially after spending 13 years in an “ educational” system. I really don’t understand how we have gotten to this point as a society.

Yes, unfortunately kids with limited financial resources will struggle the most. I think currently 40% of kids are below benchmark for MCPS by second grade for literacy.

[Anonymous]

We are not machines. It is a disservice if you teach your kid that women/mothers are robots who have no feelings of their own.

Yeah, your life kid hard. So is your SN kid’s life because of his SN, and so is your NT kid’s life because of his SN sibling. So we all do our best & it isn’t perfect.

Let go of the shame. There’s no shame in what you are dealing with. Same for your NT DC.

I am sorry, I am with you. My SN child is a teen now, ‘ I have let go of a lot of shame. I didn’t cause this, & I can’t fix it. I make it as good as possible for my family within the human limits I’m working with. WgT else are we to do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS employee here--I don't blame parents for being super upset and angry. Unfortunately, many districts around the country operate this way. They don't give intensive intervention in grades k-2 and then eventually end up assessing for special education in grades 3-5 (if they even get to it then as there are so many vacant related service provider positions)--if it's purely a dyslexia issue. Behavior issues (plus learning) will get you evaluated earlier because you are disrupting everyone's learning and the teacher has more of an incentive to push the case forward. There needs to be a national message that parents take charge of their child's reading if problems emerge in kindergarten. Or a dramatic change in funding to increase early literacy efforts.

Frankly, there should be training programs open to the public. Then people can volunteer their time in low income settings.

[Anonymous]

Two kids (twice exceptional) who went through MCPS. We were happy with MCPS for both of them.

Eldest participated in the gifted programs grades 4-12. Late ADHD diagnosis.

Youngest diagnosed with ADHD in middle school and zoned schools were great for their needs. Late gifted was diagnosis.

I think being realistic that the school may not meet all your child’s needs and parts may be bumpy. We found extracurriculars (i.e., music and sports) were critical and balanced out the experiences.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two kids (twice exceptional) who went through MCPS. We were happy with MCPS for both of them.

Eldest participated in the gifted programs grades 4-12. Late ADHD diagnosis.

Youngest diagnosed with ADHD in middle school and zoned schools were great for their needs. Late gifted was diagnosis.

I think being realistic that the school may not meet all your child’s needs and parts may be bumpy. We found extracurriculars (i.e., music and sports) were critical and balanced out the experiences.

Good luck.

My kid is at MCPS in 5th. Inattentive ADHD and gifted. Was told she is eligible for 2e programs only with an IEP. She has a 504.
Worried about MCPS MS with the large class sizes etc. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two kids (twice exceptional) who went through MCPS. We were happy with MCPS for both of them.

Eldest participated in the gifted programs grades 4-12. Late ADHD diagnosis.

Youngest diagnosed with ADHD in middle school and zoned schools were great for their needs. Late gifted was diagnosis.

I think being realistic that the school may not meet all your child’s needs and parts may be bumpy. We found extracurriculars (i.e., music and sports) were critical and balanced out the experiences.

Good luck.

I get so mad when parents whose kids already graduated post. MCPS is bad right now and is getting worse. Yes, 10 years ago it was much better, 20 yrs ago it sounds it was pretty great. This no longer applies.

[Anonymous]

For those saying the public system is worthless and we should look to private schools - will private schools even agree to enroll a child with moderate to severe SN?

In my mind we still need public education because private schools can simply refuse to accept your child especially if it means they will have to make a lot of accommodations for the child to learn….??

This is what I don’t understand about the “privatize everything” viewpoint. If education is a product then a private vendor (school) can just refuse to sell it to you if it’s not profitable or efficient for them to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids (twice exceptional) who went through MCPS. We were happy with MCPS for both of them.

Eldest participated in the gifted programs grades 4-12. Late ADHD diagnosis.

Youngest diagnosed with ADHD in middle school and zoned schools were great for their needs. Late gifted was diagnosis.

I think being realistic that the school may not meet all your child’s needs and parts may be bumpy. We found extracurriculars (i.e., music and sports) were critical and balanced out the experiences.

Good luck.

I get so mad when parents whose kids already graduated post. MCPS is bad right now and is getting worse. Yes, 10 years ago it was much better, 20 yrs ago it sounds it was pretty great. This no longer applies.

First time poster to this string. Just to add, so everyone does not think it was all roses way back when, DS did not get any services, much less great services over 15 years ago! For his autism, privately diagnosed and a second opinion after a very hard K year, he was punished repeatedly and humiliated with the treatment by teachers and the admin. Sent to the office nearly daily. Art class? Recess? Forget about it. He was not even considered for a behavior assessment, 504, or IEP until we hired a serious attorney. So that is my in hindsight advice. We played along for over a year. It did not work. Hire an attorney and an advocate.