COSA denial - submitting an appeal but do we mention "gifted" designation?

[Anonymous]

A few thoughts:

Advising residency fraud to someone who has already filed for a COSA is pretty dumb, frankly. That's a great way to get caught.

Advising residency fraud to someone whose child has anxiety and would likely not handle the lying well is an added layer of dumb.

And for the OP: spending your whole summer fighting to avoid your local public school is probably not the best way to prepare your child for a school year that starts in less than a month and a half. If you don't get the COSA, what have you done to ensure that your child knows about the new school, and has some friends there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the quick responses. DD has severe anxiety when it comes to new situations and people. We submitted a letter from her therapist, pediatrician and we wrote a letter. The application was still denied.

We are going to appeal but we didn't mention the possibility of her moving twice in 2 years. She has scored in the 99th percentile for every MAP-P test she's taken and is reading on an "N" benchmark. I know that the designation of gifted isn't linked to CES acceptance but I thought it may be a factor.

Any insight on how we get them to understand the severity of her issues on appeal? I'm baffled that the letters from legit MD and PhDs didn't sway them.

Perhaps if you could get letters from her teachers/counselors at the current school they might be considered helpful? Having a kid with an IEP I think MCPS is skeptical of results from paid outside people..regardless of the credential.

I’ve supported COSAs due to a variety of circumstances. Honestly, I am not going to write a letter of support in this particular situation. OP believes the child is too fragile to switch schools, but she moved her child’s home understanding that it changed the assigned school. It’s only going to encourage other parents to take actions they know harm their kids because they expect MCPS to straighten it out. DCUM has zero sympathy for poor people who residency cheat out of desperation so they can keep a job or get away from a bigoted teacher, but when the parents is middle class, we want to help them game the system? No, thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the quick responses. DD has severe anxiety when it comes to new situations and people. We submitted a letter from her therapist, pediatrician and we wrote a letter. The application was still denied.

We are going to appeal but we didn't mention the possibility of her moving twice in 2 years. She has scored in the 99th percentile for every MAP-P test she's taken and is reading on an "N" benchmark. I know that the designation of gifted isn't linked to CES acceptance but I thought it may be a factor.

Any insight on how we get them to understand the severity of her issues on appeal? I'm baffled that the letters from legit MD and PhDs didn't sway them.

Perhaps if you could get letters from her teachers/counselors at the current school they might be considered helpful? Having a kid with an IEP I think MCPS is skeptical of results from paid outside people..regardless of the credential.

I’ve supported COSAs due to a variety of circumstances. Honestly, I am not going to write a letter of support in this particular situation. OP believes the child is too fragile to switch schools, but she moved her child’s home understanding that it changed the assigned school. It’s only going to encourage other parents to take actions they know harm their kids because they expect MCPS to straighten it out. DCUM has zero sympathy for poor people who residency cheat out of desperation so they can keep a job or get away from a bigoted teacher, but when the parents is middle class, we want to help them game the system? No, thanks.

I don't believe OP has said why they are moving..perhaps it is a hardship situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the quick responses. DD has severe anxiety when it comes to new situations and people. We submitted a letter from her therapist, pediatrician and we wrote a letter. The application was still denied.

We are going to appeal but we didn't mention the possibility of her moving twice in 2 years. She has scored in the 99th percentile for every MAP-P test she's taken and is reading on an "N" benchmark. I know that the designation of gifted isn't linked to CES acceptance but I thought it may be a factor.

Any insight on how we get them to understand the severity of her issues on appeal? I'm baffled that the letters from legit MD and PhDs didn't sway them.

Perhaps if you could get letters from her teachers/counselors at the current school they might be considered helpful? Having a kid with an IEP I think MCPS is skeptical of results from paid outside people..regardless of the credential.

I’ve supported COSAs due to a variety of circumstances. Honestly, I am not going to write a letter of support in this particular situation. OP believes the child is too fragile to switch schools, but she moved her child’s home understanding that it changed the assigned school. It’s only going to encourage other parents to take actions they know harm their kids because they expect MCPS to straighten it out. DCUM has zero sympathy for poor people who residency cheat out of desperation so they can keep a job or get away from a bigoted teacher, but when the parents is middle class, we want to help them game the system? No, thanks.

I don't believe OP has said why they are moving..perhaps it is a hardship situation.

Look, I hate how the US mental health care system works, but in this system someone who can afford a private psychiatrist (not a LCSW or another counselor) is likely not moving due to hardship.

[Anonymous]

Can’t you just keep your daughter at the same school and drive her? This is what happens in our school district when people move after they are registered and attend the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the quick responses. DD has severe anxiety when it comes to new situations and people. We submitted a letter from her therapist, pediatrician and we wrote a letter. The application was still denied.

We are going to appeal but we didn't mention the possibility of her moving twice in 2 years. She has scored in the 99th percentile for every MAP-P test she's taken and is reading on an "N" benchmark. I know that the designation of gifted isn't linked to CES acceptance but I thought it may be a factor.

Any insight on how we get them to understand the severity of her issues on appeal? I'm baffled that the letters from legit MD and PhDs didn't sway them.

Perhaps if you could get letters from her teachers/counselors at the current school they might be considered helpful? Having a kid with an IEP I think MCPS is skeptical of results from paid outside people..regardless of the credential.

I’ve supported COSAs due to a variety of circumstances. Honestly, I am not going to write a letter of support in this particular situation. OP believes the child is too fragile to switch schools, but she moved her child’s home understanding that it changed the assigned school. It’s only going to encourage other parents to take actions they know harm their kids because they expect MCPS to straighten it out. DCUM has zero sympathy for poor people who residency cheat out of desperation so they can keep a job or get away from a bigoted teacher, but when the parents is middle class, we want to help them game the system? No, thanks.

I don't believe OP has said why they are moving..perhaps it is a hardship situation.

I’ve had to move my two kids (who have anxiety) in a hardship situation. It didn’t really leave headspace for thinking about hypothetical admissions to CES two years out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Look, I hate how the US mental health care system works, but in this system someone who can afford a private psychiatrist (not a LCSW or another counselor) is likely not moving due to hardship.

People who have money can have hardships too. Maybe fewer financial hardships, but that's not the only kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can’t you just keep your daughter at the same school and drive her? This is what happens in our school district when people move after they are registered and attend the school.

This is called residency cheating except under specific circumstances like eighth grade has already started.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't believe OP has said why they are moving..perhaps it is a hardship situation.

OP does not seem to have come back to OP's thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Look, I hate how the US mental health care system works, but in this system someone who can afford a private psychiatrist (not a LCSW or another counselor) is likely not moving due to hardship.

People who have money can have hardships too. Maybe fewer financial hardships, but that's not the only kind.

Of course, but financial hardships are on a pretty short list of things MCPS cares about in this situation. They don't care that OP wanted a bigger house, or wanted to buy instead of renting. That's life, not hardship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can’t you just keep your daughter at the same school and drive her? This is what happens in our school district when people move after they are registered and attend the school.

This is called residency cheating except under specific circumstances like eighth grade has already started.

And mail will keep going to your old address. If you update the address then someone is reasonably likely to tell you that you need to go to a different school. Then you’re switching in the middle of the year rather than at the beginning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My coworker got a COSA for her ES kid using the babysitter situation (which was true).

There are several kids who have COSAs at our school due to a grandparent acting as the babysitter. Or using a daycare in our ES zone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would definitely appeal. People seem to go through this a lot. Denial on the first try but then they eventually get the COSA.

If not, do you have a friend or family member who will allow you to use their address? This is pretty commonly done also. Make sure it is someone who you trust because the kid’s report cards will get sent to that address.

It's also fraudulent, no matter how common it is.

Maybe, but unlikely that OP would ever get caught. None of the families at our ES have ever had issues doing this. Several have continued on with their false addresses through MS.

Impossible for MCPS to enforce residency requirements, IME.

Another post from the "rules are for chumps" contingent.

Look, MoCo is a diverse county. People from other cultures see things differently. Family included extended family, so there is no issue with using a family member’s address.

It’s been posted in here before. Many cultures follow the ‘Rules are for kids and fools’ line of thinking.

[Anonymous]

All the folks I have known who had COSA's in ES used childcare for their reason.

[Anonymous]

At least one of the schools with a local center is at 150% capacity. I would think it’s even harder to get a COSA for that school due to the overcrowding. At least I hope it is.