appletree report--discuss?

[Anonymous]

pioneerinstitute.org/download/seeds-of-achievement-appletrees-early-childhood-d-c-charter-schools/ is really interesting to me. It seems like kids of all income levels make progress, and the achievement gap narrows though it is still pretty big.

It was interesting to see what percentage of kids qualified for FARMs at the various campuses, and how they viewed demographic changes in their schools. I also didn't know they were involved in charter middle and high schools in the 1990s.

Another thing that stood out to me is the report's claim that a lot of kids who qualify for special ed services in elementary school do so because they just haven't been exposed to high-quality preschool. The report says " Of the AppleTree graduates that have gone on to attend Washington, DC public elementary schools no student has, to date, been identified for special education services either in kindergarten or in elementary school." That doesn't necessarily strike me as a good thing. Instead, it makes me wonder if they are expelling/counseling out kids with disabilities before they graduate from Appletree, or not encouraging them to seek IEPs in their destination schools--I mean really, there are no kids with autism at Appletree? Fine motor or speech disorders? Cerebal Palsy? Hearing impairment? ADHD? Seems in any population of over 700 kids, you'd get at least something. Alternately, perhaps if they are providing resources so kids with disabilities get private placement?

[Anonymous]

Take off the tinfoil hat, pp. My DS attended Appletree and there were definitely children with special needs, such as autism and speech disorders and hearing aides, and one child had to have an aide with him at all times. Amazing school with relentless focus on the basics of reading and math.

[Anonymous]

That's good to hear. But if there are kids with these disabilities who need so many services, how is it that "Of the AppleTree graduates that have gone on to attend Washington, DC public elementary schools no student has, to date, been identified for special education services either in kindergarten or in elementary school."

Did those kids not graduate from Appletree?
Did they not go on to attend DC public schools?
Did they not receive services in kindergarten or later years?

It just seems strange to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's good to hear. But if there are kids with these disabilities who need so many services, how is it that "Of the AppleTree graduates that have gone on to attend Washington, DC public elementary schools no student has, to date, been identified for special education services either in kindergarten or in elementary school."

Did those kids not graduate from Appletree?
Did they not go on to attend DC public schools?
Did they not receive services in kindergarten or later years?

It just seems strange to me.

Doesn't make sense to me either, as my experience has been like PPs. There was a full time special ed aide in my kid's AT class last year and one child with significant developmental issues was there for the full two years and is certainly planning to stay in the DC area. Perhaps the parents of those kids didn't follow through with the study in the past?

[Anonymous]

I've read a little more -- perhaps it means that to date no child has been identified for special ed services in kindergarten or elementary school SINCE they left Appletree. That is, Appletree would have identified the need while the kids were there before K or there was not a need.

[Anonymous]

We left Appletree after PS3 because they refused to accept that our child had a development disorder because of their focus on math and literacy. Because our child always tested 90+ they argued that he did not need a IEP, even though one of the main criteria for early childhood education is social skills. The teacher and assistant teacher at Appletree identified our child as needing an assessment, but the administration pushed back even though we had assessments from outside evaluators supporting our argument.

We moved to another charter, received the necessary services for 2 years (thru IEP) and he is now moving to a 504 plan because of my child's progress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take off the tinfoil hat, pp. My DS attended Appletree and there were definitely children with special needs, such as autism and speech disorders and hearing aides, and one child had to have an aide with him at all times. Amazing school with relentless focus on the basics of reading and math.

+1. Our DD does not have special needs, but she was at LP last year and I observed on a regular basis the teachers/aides working with kids that do .. and they were terrific. We had a fantastic year and are sad that we must now move on.

[Anonymous]

I assume they are trying to say that they didn't miss any SNs...that such were identified while they were at Appletree.

Right now there is a lawsuit (class action) against DCPS (and charters I think) for missing early identification of SNs.

My child got an IEP in K. Attended one HRC in PS and another in PK, not Appletree. Continued in the 2nd charter and got IEP in second year there.