Full-Day Preschool Needed for DC with SN - MoCo

[Anonymous]

OP, many of us also did private services as PEP or LEAP or what ever route you go is great, but given the severity of the needs, its best to do more services while young to get them caught up. U of MD, and a few other universities have lower cost speech therapy clinics if your insurance does not cover it. I agree with the PP to also do some private even if they are doing intensive at PEP. We did 4-5 day a week services from 3-5.

[Anonymous]

JCCGW has great programs for people with disabilities. I believe they have a full day preschool.

I would also call Sulam. Although they start at K, they probably can tell you which programs feed to them.

For secular programs, Karasik has a fantastic reputation. I would also look at Wonders and MCCA centers. Many of the MCCA centers are in churches, but they are tenants and the program is secular.

[Anonymous]

OP--my son was in PEP Collab. He started when he was 3.5, technically too young for the class but the placement office made it work because I asked for help in getting him into a full day preschool/daycare program like you are looking for. I believe PEP Classic is available for 4s in the afternoon so you maybe able to work with the placement office and brainstorm ideas.

At the onset, I was told that he would have to keep up with the class academically and that there would be some 4 turning 5 yr olds in the class. He ended up staying in PEP Collab for 1.5 and we had the same teacher for both school years.

The 2 Jewish preschools that I looked at were Bnai Israel in Rockville and Temple Beth Ami in Darnestown. Our Dev Ped highly recommened Beth Ami. The director is was wonderful an I really liked the program.

But Bnai Israel was logistically easier so that's where my son ended up. Again, the director was fantastic. His admission was not a slam dunk but I really liked that she reached out to the PEP coordinator and even went on an observation visit to PEP to make sure that her school could handle my sons behavioral issues. We ended up in a PT class which was perfect because so many parents really want/need the full day component so the actual class size was very small (8:2). At the end of the morning, the other children were picked up by their parents/nanny and my son was put on the bus for PEP. Because the director knew we were in PEP, the waiting for the bus component was never an issue. Someone--a teacher, a staff member, the rabbi, the security guard--was always available to wait for the bus with my son. The school is very small in general so my son knew all of the adults in the building.

After PEP, the bus brought my son back to Bnai Israel and went to their after care program. The after care program is out sourced to Academy Childcare which I believe also runs Beth Ami's after care program. He stayed in aftercare until 5 and by the end of his 4s, he was able to stay until 6. Again, I spoke to the director ahead of time and told her what my son's issues were and how to help him. Bnai's preschool director, his teachers, the Academy director, the PEP coordinator, and I all worked together as a team to make sure my son was getting the support he needed. I think one of the keys to his success there was everyone's willingness to work together.

I would not recommend the JCCGW preschool. The summer camp inclusion program is amazing, but the preschool lacks the support that the camp offers. The JCC building is just big and loud. People have places to go and things to do--they are hustling about. The synagogue preschools provide a much warmer feel the minute you walk in the building. The JCC preschool is also very large--both in class sizes and in sheer number of children. The director will know your child if he becomes a problem. If he's not a problem child, she will be pleasant and say good morning but will not really know your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP--my son was in PEP Collab. He started when he was 3.5, technically too young for the class but the placement office made it work because I asked for help in getting him into a full day preschool/daycare program like you are looking for. I believe PEP Classic is available for 4s in the afternoon so you maybe able to work with the placement office and brainstorm ideas.

At the onset, I was told that he would have to keep up with the class academically and that there would be some 4 turning 5 yr olds in the class. He ended up staying in PEP Collab for 1.5 and we had the same teacher for both school years.

The 2 Jewish preschools that I looked at were Bnai Israel in Rockville and Temple Beth Ami in Darnestown. Our Dev Ped highly recommened Beth Ami. The director is was wonderful an I really liked the program.

But Bnai Israel was logistically easier so that's where my son ended up. Again, the director was fantastic. His admission was not a slam dunk but I really liked that she reached out to the PEP coordinator and even went on an observation visit to PEP to make sure that her school could handle my sons behavioral issues. We ended up in a PT class which was perfect because so many parents really want/need the full day component so the actual class size was very small (8:2). At the end of the morning, the other children were picked up by their parents/nanny and my son was put on the bus for PEP. Because the director knew we were in PEP, the waiting for the bus component was never an issue. Someone--a teacher, a staff member, the rabbi, the security guard--was always available to wait for the bus with my son. The school is very small in general so my son knew all of the adults in the building.

After PEP, the bus brought my son back to Bnai Israel and went to their after care program. The after care program is out sourced to Academy Childcare which I believe also runs Beth Ami's after care program. He stayed in aftercare until 5 and by the end of his 4s, he was able to stay until 6. Again, I spoke to the director ahead of time and told her what my son's issues were and how to help him. Bnai's preschool director, his teachers, the Academy director, the PEP coordinator, and I all worked together as a team to make sure my son was getting the support he needed. I think one of the keys to his success there was everyone's willingness to work together.

I would not recommend the JCCGW preschool. The summer camp inclusion program is amazing, but the preschool lacks the support that the camp offers. The JCC building is just big and loud. People have places to go and things to do--they are hustling about. The synagogue preschools provide a much warmer feel the minute you walk in the building. The JCC preschool is also very large--both in class sizes and in sheer number of children. The director will know your child if he becomes a problem. If he's not a problem child, she will be pleasant and say good morning but will not really know your kid.

OP here. Thank you so much for the info! We were a little nervous about the programs at TBA and BI that seemed great, but contracting out aftercare made us feel a bit nervous. We're really happy you had a great experience with BI and the aftercare provider, so we'll definitely be checking them out!

We think we'll be looking at the JCCGW preschool, but we're not certain of the extent they've had experience with PEP Classic children recently. We think we're also going to look at Shaarei Torah in Gaithersburg, Berman, the daycare/preschool in the building where our son is currently in PEP, and possibly a few other programs.

Who is your dev ped? We don't currently have one, and while our DS is going to be evaluated by a developmental pediatrician at KK (Greenspring) soon, we'd rather not go to Baltimore regularly for appointments.

To answer the question of other posters regarding PEP next year: Our DS entered PEP on the rolling admissions basis this year when he turned 3 after 9/1, so he'll repeat 3-year-old PEP next year.

[Anonymous]

10:38 here. Our dev ped is Dr. Shapiro.

I know the JCC has kids that attend PEP because my sons bus stopped there first. But I don't know which PEP class the kids in were in-- INC, Classic, Pilot etc.

I think Ashburton has a 3yr old Classic class in the afternoon. Talk to the placement office. They were super helpful to me.

I also looked at Berman. The school was great and I enjoyed the preschool class. Ultimately the school was too observant for us. The majority of the boys wore tzitit even though it's not required. And I felt uncomfortable during the play dates in jeans when all the other moms were in long skirts.

[Anonymous]

We are required to go to the developmental assigned to us but if I had a choice, I'd go to Dr. Shapiro. I know via our speech pathologist he keeps up with speech related issues and is supposed to be good. But, I don't think he accepts insurance.

The other option is Dr. Camarata as he specializes in language issues. He was helpful during our visit but he does not do his own reports and it was very very very poor (i.e. could not use it for anything as there was no diagnosis, recommendations or any of that stuff).

[Anonymous]

Rockville JCC has a special needs camp over the summer, so maybe call them and see if their preschool would take your kid.

DCJCC had a student last year with Down Syndrome, but the family provided a full-time aid for the child. Is that an option for you?

The Gan at Adas Israel has a special needs coordinator on sight and a speech therapist who comes to the building.

I know the last two are in DC and not MoCo but they might fit your requirements.

good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rockville JCC has a special needs camp over the summer, so maybe call them and see if their preschool would take your kid.

DCJCC had a student last year with Down Syndrome, but the family provided a full-time aid for the child. Is that an option for you?

The Gan at Adas Israel has a special needs coordinator on sight and a speech therapist who comes to the building.

I know the last two are in DC and not MoCo but they might fit your requirements.

good luck.

MCPS will not bus a student into DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are required to go to the developmental assigned to us but if I had a choice, I'd go to Dr. Shapiro. I know via our speech pathologist he keeps up with speech related issues and is supposed to be good. But, I don't think he accepts insurance.

The other option is Dr. Camarata as he specializes in language issues. He was helpful during our visit but he does not do his own reports and it was very very very poor (i.e. could not use it for anything as there was no diagnosis, recommendations or any of that stuff).

You are correct. Dr. Shapiro does not accept insurance but he will give you an itemized receipt that you can submit for reimbursement if you have out of network benefits.

[Anonymous]

Shapiro does not accept patients older than 4 ever and is probably not now taking new patients (he opens the practice for a while and then closes it to new patients). OP, I would verify that your kid will not change classes mid-year when he turns 4, which could mess up your plans. It is very, very difficult to get more than 2 years of PEP.