Private schools that support SN

[Anonymous]

Mont. County elem schools go up to 5th, for the most part (2 in Chevy Chase go to 6th for now I think).

K-P paths to Tilden Middle School, which is also home to the county's Aspergers Prgm for middle schoolers, and then on to Walter Johnson, which has the county's high school Aspergers Prgm.

Not sure if/how many kids go to private -- we are nearby but not in that school cluster.

[Anonymous]

Should have added that WJ, along with B-CC, is a good high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do students of Kensington Parkwood Elementary move on to, local public or private? The school sounds like it has a great inclusion program but only going to grade 5 Is not ideal for us.

I think it's Westland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do students of Kensington Parkwood Elementary move on to, local public or private? The school sounds like it has a great inclusion program but only going to grade 5 Is not ideal for us.

I think it's Westland.

It's North Bethesda, not Tilden or Westland.

[Anonymous]

To the PP who mentioned The Heights, do you have kids there, I was wondering the atmosphere is it nurturing or strict and rigid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP who mentioned The Heights, do you have kids there, I was wondering the atmosphere is it nurturing or strict and rigid?

I do have kids there. You really have to visit for yourself. It is hard to explain. They are very religiously conservative (which is not popular in this area) but not strict and rigid.

We are not religious but are confident in our views so it is a very good fit for us.

One thing to note is they start in 3rd.

Each boy has an advisor, who is not only responsible for academics but is also responsible for personal development, which could simply mean - learning to have friends, learning to be more sensitive/less sensitive, learning how to shoot a basketball, etc.

The class size in 3-5 is 12-15, 6-8 is 15-20, and it has a high school but we are not there yet.

I don't like to post about the school because there are a few people that don't believe in their conservative religious views and strongly report negatively about it on the private school forum.

But in the SN forum, when you want to keep your sons togethers, I have to say something.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your honesty, my younger son will have only completed half of grade 2 when we move as our school year runs Feb to Dec so the grade 3 entry may be a barrier for now when I feel the two boys need to be together but I would still like to visit before I rule it out. We are not overly conservative or liberal, we don't set out to ruffle feathers put it that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp 10:32 here. I have a child at Mercy. Class size depends on the grade but I would not say the classes as huge. The children in the lower grades are broken up for reading and math. OP if you are interested in a Catholic education call the school to find out about the inclusion program. Re- enrollment contracts for current students were due in February so they probably have a good idea of where they have openings.

The inclusion program at Mercy is a joke. There is only exclusion at that school.

[Anonymous]

Based on my experience of calling many schools for my ASD child, parochial schools would easily accept high functioning kids; however, they don't have support / trained staff for your child and the class size is usually huge (more than 28 kids). They will also consider you providing a support for your child (e.g. parents paid for an outside aide to support the chid school during recess).

As for good/popular private schools ... it's hard enough for typical kids to get accepted there. They have way more applicants than available spots, why would they give a spot to an SN kid (I know it sounds mean, but that's what I experienced. I hope somebody convince me otherwise).

The following private schools in MD are not that competitive and seem to always get good reviews from parents:
Christ Episcopal in Rockville
Grace Episcopal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on my experience of calling many schools for my ASD child, parochial schools would easily accept high functioning kids; however, they don't have support / trained staff for your child and the class size is usually huge (more than 28 kids). They will also consider you providing a support for your child (e.g. parents paid for an outside aide to support the chid school during recess).

As for good/popular private schools ... it's hard enough for typical kids to get accepted there. They have way more applicants than available spots, why would they give a spot to an SN kid (I know it sounds mean, but that's what I experienced. I hope somebody convince me otherwise).

The following private schools in MD are not that competitive and seem to always get good reviews from parents:
Christ Episcopal in Rockville
Grace Episcopal

I would not recommend Grace Episcopal for a student with ASD, plus the school only goes to 5th grade. Christ Episcopal is a K-8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the PP who mentioned The Heights, do you have kids there, I was wondering the atmosphere is it nurturing or strict and rigid?

I do have kids there. You really have to visit for yourself. It is hard to explain. They are very religiously conservative (which is not popular in this area) but not strict and rigid.

We are not religious but are confident in our views so it is a very good fit for us.

One thing to note is they start in 3rd.

Each boy has an advisor, who is not only responsible for academics but is also responsible for personal development, which could simply mean - learning to have friends, learning to be more sensitive/less sensitive, learning how to shoot a basketball, etc.

The class size in 3-5 is 12-15, 6-8 is 15-20, and it has a high school but we are not there yet.

I don't like to post about the school because there are a few people that don't believe in their conservative religious views and strongly report negatively about it on the private school forum.

But in the SN forum, when you want to keep your sons togethers, I have to say something.

I personally like the Heights but do not think it is a good school for ADHD or exec. function problems. Most alphabet syndromes the teachers and admins think are poor parenting or poor study skills. By 6th grade, the school can be very demanding. I would not send an SN kid there but if you have a self-starter Catholic boy who is very smart, by all means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chevy Chase Elem. is not a good place for children with special needs, even mild ones. Bethesda Elem is the best for inclusion in MCPS but I don't have experience with it to know if it would suit your needs. OP look for a neighborhood that is family friendly. Some of the suburban neighborhoods are isolating--you never see your neighbors. Just saw this review of the school mentioned above--like all things on the web, I guess take this with a grain of salt: http://www.yelp.com/biz/our-lady-of-mercy-school-potomac Gosh, didn't know yelp had school reviews.

Our neighbors with a SN child left BE for Bannockburn, I believe. There are other good schools for SN in Bethesda besides BE.

[Anonymous]

Our Lady of Lourdes, in Bethesda, and St. John the Evangelist in Silver Spring are two other Catholic schools with inclusion programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the PP who mentioned The Heights, do you have kids there, I was wondering the atmosphere is it nurturing or strict and rigid?

I do have kids there. You really have to visit for yourself. It is hard to explain. They are very religiously conservative (which is not popular in this area) but not strict and rigid.

We are not religious but are confident in our views so it is a very good fit for us.

One thing to note is they start in 3rd.

Each boy has an advisor, who is not only responsible for academics but is also responsible for personal development, which could simply mean - learning to have friends, learning to be more sensitive/less sensitive, learning how to shoot a basketball, etc.

The class size in 3-5 is 12-15, 6-8 is 15-20, and it has a high school but we are not there yet.

I don't like to post about the school because there are a few people that don't believe in their conservative religious views and strongly report negatively about it on the private school forum.

But in the SN forum, when you want to keep your sons togethers, I have to say something.

My son attended camp at Heights last some. Teachers and campus are great!
If we were Catholic I would sign my son there in heart bit (if could afford it.)
I wish there would be not religious school like this for boys with similar values.

[Anonymous]

But it is not nurturing as a PP asked. It's Lord of the Flies, which is good for some boys/men and not so good for others.