Seeking parents of children with DS/SN who attend Woodrow Wilson High Schoool

[Anonymous]

We are relocating to DC this summer and our 16 year old daughter with Down syndrome will attend Woodrow Wilson High School. Eager to hear from other parents of students at Wilson with DS or SN and learn more about experience there.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to be blunt.

Is it too late to reconsider where you're living? DC tops every list in terms of how badly they treat their students with IEPs.

You'll be a couple of miles from an area with some of the best special education services in the country, where housing stock and housing prices are roughly similar.

[Anonymous]

Whitman has a strong program for SN kids including Downs. I think it draws from more than just the Whitman district so you may have more flexibility on location (but has to be in MoCo of course).

[Anonymous]

PP - can you say more about the Whitman program?

[Anonymous]

If you have any flexibility on location why don't you contact the local Ds groups in Maryland and N Virginia? They have experience with kids in many different schools throughout the area.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your honesty and information. We've had such a positive experience in southwest Virginia. Disappointed to learn that services in DC are not good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - can you say more about the Whitman program?

I don't have a child in the program so don't have direct experience. It's called Living for Independence and some (maybe many?) of the kids stay until age 21. There is a mix of special needs in the program. As I understand it the kids have some special classes and attend some mainstream classes (I think usually with a student buddy). The school also has a corollary sports program and a very active Best Buddies program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP - can you say more about the Whitman program?

I don't have a child in the program so don't have direct experience. It's called Living for Independence and some (maybe many?) of the kids stay until age 21. There is a mix of special needs in the program. As I understand it the kids have some special classes and attend some mainstream classes (I think usually with a student buddy). The school also has a corollary sports program and a very active Best Buddies program.

Thanks for the information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP - can you say more about the Whitman program?

I don't have a child in the program so don't have direct experience. It's called Living for Independence and some (maybe many?) of the kids stay until age 21. There is a mix of special needs in the program. As I understand it the kids have some special classes and attend some mainstream classes (I think usually with a student buddy). The school also has a corollary sports program and a very active Best Buddies program.

Thanks for the information.

I'm the "blunt" poster above. To give you a context for my perspective, I'm a special educator who also has a small private practice as a tutor. Through my private practice I've gotten to know the programs I describe below.

MCPS actually has a pretty wide range of programs for kids with disabilities. I can describe the options in the Southwestern part of the county best (Bethesda Chevy Chase (aka BCC), Walt Whitman, and Walter Johnson clusters) but there are equivalent programs in other parts of the county. You can find out what programs any school has by googling the name of the school and the words "school at a glance" and then looking in the "School Programs" box on the right hand side. Given the wide range of functioning for kids with Down Syndrome, any of these options might be appropriate.

1) Inclusion options: For both kids who are able to access grade level curriculum with scaffolding, support, and modified expectations, and for kids who benefit from alternative curriculum delivered in a general education environment. MCPS has inclusion programs in every high school in the county. These include co-taught classes, remedial classes like Read 180, support classes (where a kid takes a class like Algebra, plus a second period of "Algebra Support", resource rooms where kids can work on assignments from other classes with the support of a special educator, paraprofessional support in classes, and related services. MCPS also has a pretty extensive array of vocational options at the Thomas Edison School, and run buses back and forth to every high school so that kids can split their day between vocational and academic classes. The Bethesda Chevy-Chase cluster uses a "home school" model which basically intensifies the inclusion support, and allows for some very complex kids to receive the majority of their education in a general education environment.

2) Learning and Academic Disabilities these programs generally serve kids with average range IQ's, who need more structure and support to access grade level curriculum. I think the line between what I described above, and the LAD program are pretty blurry. All 3 high schools I mentioned above have LAD programs.

3) Learning Centers also serve kids who are working on MCPS's "regular" standards, but are usually a little more complex. They may have borderline IQ's or mild intellectual disabilities, they may have some degree of autism or difficulties with attention and regulation, or have significant speech and language needs. They may also be farther behind academically. For whatever reason, these kids do better with smaller class sizes, specially trained teachers, and specialized curriculums. They may also be working on standards from previous grades in addition to or instead of the standards from their current grade. Walter Johnson hosts this program.

4) Learning for Independence serves children who are generally working towards an alternative diploma, and have a developmental disability, such as an intellectual disability, TBI, ASD etc . . . Children in this program are working on vocational skills, and functional academics such as using money, and reading written instructions. Walt Whitman, and Walter Johnson both have LFI programs.

5) School Community Based programs serve kids with more significant developmental disabilities, who may be working on basic communication skills, navigating the community safely, and other similar goals. Walter Johnson and Walt Whitman both have SCB programs.

MCPS has other programs as well, such as those for autism, asperger's, hearing impairment, and emotional disturbance. They also have some specialized schools for the kids with the most severe needs. These programs aren't as likely to serve students with Down Syndrome, unless they also have other disabilities as well, such as a student who has Down Syndrome and Autism, or who has DS and is deaf.

[Anonymous]

"Blunt" poster again.

Obviously, I have a pretty strong bias towards MCPS, but if you're already locked into living in DC, I'd give you the following advice.

1) Look at charters, but be cautious and picky.

2) Tighten up your child's IEP as much as you can before you come. DC is notorious for being very lax on what "counts" as a service or as specialized instruction. If your daughter benefits from very small group sizes, have them written in explicitly in the accommodations section. If she benefits from close supervision as she navigates a big busy high school environment, consider writing in a dedicated aide. Make sure that the specific skills she's working on are spelled out as clearly as possible.

3) Hire an advocate, or if you can't afford one,

4) Research special school options so that if you need to bail suddenly you're ready. Ivymount would probably be the first place I'd look for a student with Down Syndrome. One positive to the terrible state of DCPS's services for children with significant needs is that, if you play your cards right, you will probably get tuition and transportation paid for at a private school. The downside is that none of the private schools have any inclusive elements, something that most Down Syndrome kids benefit from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Blunt" poster again.

Obviously, I have a pretty strong bias towards MCPS, but if you're already locked into living in DC, I'd give you the following advice.

1) Look at charters, but be cautious and picky.

2) Tighten up your child's IEP as much as you can before you come. DC is notorious for being very lax on what "counts" as a service or as specialized instruction. If your daughter benefits from very small group sizes, have them written in explicitly in the accommodations section. If she benefits from close supervision as she navigates a big busy high school environment, consider writing in a dedicated aide. Make sure that the specific skills she's working on are spelled out as clearly as possible.

3) Hire an advocate, or if you can't afford one,

4) Research special school options so that if you need to bail suddenly you're ready. Ivymount would probably be the first place I'd look for a student with Down Syndrome. One positive to the terrible state of DCPS's services for children with significant needs is that, if you play your cards right, you will probably get tuition and transportation paid for at a private school. The downside is that none of the private schools have any inclusive elements, something that most Down Syndrome kids benefit from.

You might want to search the archives on private placements in DC. This is not a good back-up plan as the city has made it much more difficult to secure funding for private school.

Also, the learning centers are in the process of being phased out above the elementary school level in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

"Blunt": Thanks again for your reply and information, particularly re: the IEP. She had a successful year this past in 9th grade in co-taught classes with small group instruction as necessary, so I am expecting that to be the same at Wilson as it is clearly written in her IEP. I also included a resource room class, an aide until she navigates the school on her own, an elevator pass, lunch support until she makes some friends (hopefully), and weekly teacher emails for first two months. Any other thoughts you have as to whether this is done in DCPS would be most helpful.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't count on private placement funding -- it is quickly going away.

I would be cautious about who the aide is -- run a search on the local court databases with the person's name before you allow the person to be alone with your child.

DCPS can be OK for SN but it's a lot of work and can go very wrong. I would live in Mont County if I were moving here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Blunt": Thanks again for your reply and information, particularly re: the IEP. She had a successful year this past in 9th grade in co-taught classes with small group instruction as necessary, so I am expecting that to be the same at Wilson as it is clearly written in her IEP. I also included a resource room class, an aide until she navigates the school on her own, an elevator pass, lunch support until she makes some friends (hopefully), and weekly teacher emails for first two months. Any other thoughts you have as to whether this is done in DCPS would be most helpful.

Blunt here. It does sound like you have a rock solid IEP, as well as data that shows that she has been successful in the past with these supports. Both of those things should be really helpful. However, I would still have real concerns about DCPS implementing the IEP as intended. By "as intended", I mean that it's possible that they will follow the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the IEP. For example, assigning a lunch support who is shared with too many kids, or with kids with violent and disruptive behavior who aren't the peers you want. They might put her in a resource room, but it might be one that serves other kids with very different needs so that she doesn't benefit. You might get weekly emails, but they might not include the information you need to make decisions.

Have you looked at charters?

I also want to say that I agree that funding is harder than it has been in the past, but it's not impossible if the school isn't meeting its obligations. Because of that, I'd watch very closely to see if things are being followed, and document carefully.

[Anonymous]

I was just told by Wilson that there is no inclusion in science and history classes across the district (only in math and English), so that all students with an IEP must take those subjects in a self-contained classroom. My understanding of LRE is that if a student gains academic benefit from being in a regular class with accommodations (i.e., special ed teacher support), than that is the correct LRE placement. Has anyone dealt with this issue?