Schools for struggling kids?
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Anonymous
| We have one middle school and one high school student who seem to be falling through the cracks. We're not happy with the public school, and they're not succeeding. My husband and I have long been committed to public schools for all our kids, but we're pretty much ready to give up. But because they're not doing well, I'm not sure that it's possible to get them into a private school. One is ADHD, so Commonwealth Academy might be a possibility, but the other is not (or at least is undiagnosed). Are there schools who take kids who test well but have bad grades? We live in Alexandria, so schools not crazy far away would be great, but we're open to just about anything at this point. |
Anonymous
|
Many of the Catholic Schools have programs for mild learning disabilities.
http://www.bishopoconnell.org/page.cfm?p=410 http://www.paulvi.net/page.aspx?pid=332 http://www.stjohnschs.org/academics/benilde |
Anonymous
What years? MANY private schools accept kids just like yours for those exact reasons. They see the good tests, know there is potential there that they can get at. What grades? |
Anonymous
| Landon. They take a lot of kids who have need a new school because of academic/behavioral issues. |
Anonymous
| OP here--one's currently in 8th, one in 9th. And let me be honest--by struggling, I mean really, really bad grades last year. I have some hope for improvement this year with one (anxiety issues now more under control), but I'm not expecting miracles. Catholic schools are definitely an option for us, although it's possible one of our kids is gay, and I'm not sure about the social environment given that. I'll definitely look at Landon. |
Anonymous
| I can relate. Since your children test well, they are probably not doing the homework. In my experience the demands of staying organized are the problem. Two suggestions: find a school that explicitly helps with organization/study skills; and/or get them a homework tutor with a focus on organizational skills. |
Anonymous
Are you sure there's no learning disorders involved? Might be worth getting them tested. |
Anonymous
|
St Johns has a programfor kids with learning issues
Good Counsel does as well. Landon does haev a learning specialist for both the MS and US. They will work with you on accomdations such as extra time for tests, specific needs in teh classroom etc. Sandy Spring, Field School and Burke are also possibilties. Bullis has a learnibg center within th library that also works one on one with kids needs and allows tutorign to be done during school time. |
Anonymous
| I think St Johns has a special sub group of kids with learning challenges. Also, Field and Bullis seem open to this profile. |
Anonymous
| OP here--yes, the problem is they did NO homework last year. One is, as I've noted, ADHD (with anxiety issues). The other hasn't been tested. Neither school provided any support to us when we were trying to work on their executive functioning skills. So, yes, schools with help in that area would be great. You've given me some hope--I figured it was all a lost cause at this point. Thank you for that. |
Anonymous
Heard great things about Bullis for kids like this. Would they be willing to repeat a grade if the school asked it of them? |
Anonymous
| Flint Hill might be able to accommodate them. |
Anonymous
Honestly, they don't want to go to private school--they don't want to be separated from their friends--so I think getting them to bite down on repeating a grade would be near impossible. (They also both have fall birthdays falling just after the cut off, so they're already among the oldest in their classes.) |
Anonymous
| Is there a thread for kids who do not do homework? I couldn't find it and I'd love to read what's worked for others. I nearly wept when I saw all the paper that my child's teachers gave DC last year (8th) that DC never even looked at, let alone completed. Yes we were monitoring up until 8th grade but DC would drag it out, lie about it, cry about it, and carry on and beg us to stay out of it. So we did that for one year. DC ended the year with reasonable grades (nothing below a C) but when he threw out the year's papers it was so sad to see worksheet after worksheet untouched. |
Anonymous
I bet there are plenty. It would be an indication that the kid has aptitude but something else is interfering with performance. FWIW my advice would be to try to bore in on what is causing the disconnect between the native abilities and the grades. It could be an organizational/executive function issue in which case PP's advice about finding a school that helps with that is good. Or it could be simply matter of comfort and motivation. You hinted that there could be some social discomfort reasons. So many things could be causing the disconnect -- which school is right depends on which it is. |