Clueless about the DC area and moving soon!
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Anonymous
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Hi -- We just found out that we are moving to the DC area around July due to work. We have decided on MoCo as our new home base but are totally overwhelmed with looking for a school and housing. Right now, we are prioritizing school then will start a housing search based on that. Just a rental to give us some flexibility. Neither my husband or I, nor any of our family members know anyone in the area so there is no one to ask about schools and homes. We are hoping to have a shortlist of about 8? 10? schools that we can visit. Any suggestions or advice will be highly appreciated! Our son will be entering 1st grade. He is a very bright boy but socially awkward. He has been diagnosed with selective mutism and is most comfortable in small groups. We are looking for a co-ed school with small class sizes that has strong arts and academic programs. Since it is so late in the application process, we will definitely be full pay. We cannot afford schools like Norwood. Our budget would be about $10K a year, give or take. Our daughter is a rising 3rd grader and achieved highly gifted scores on the WISC-IV. We are looking at public school for her but, again, are not familiar with any in MoCo. The ideal scenario is find a school fitting for our son in a school zone that has a public ES that would be challenging for our gifted daughter. Thank you so much for your time in reading this! |
Anonymous
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Welcome to the area, OP. For your son, I'm not familiar with any specific private schools in your budget that have small classes but I would suggest you try calling around to various Catholic schools to see if they can accommodate your son. I've heard there are some that do an excellent job with children with mild special needs.
I wouldn't worry about your daughter as much. First, she's only in third grade. Second, any school will likely not be much of a challenge. The curriculum is the same throughout the whole county and many parents with bright kids feel like it's very watered down. Third, she can apply to go to an HGC for 4th and they will bus her from her home school to one of the magnets so it doesn't matter where you live. That's the only way you'll get more differentiation for her. One more bit of advice would be to avoid the Potomac and Bethesda area schools if you end up going public for your son. With a few exceptions they are known to be terrible for children with special needs. |
Anonymous
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I would be more concerned about the selective mutism. Also, $10K will not get you even a parochial school, which are usually less expensive than traditional privates.
I think the MoCo gifted program begins in 4th and you need to apply: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/highly-gifted-centers.aspx |
Anonymous
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Where are you commuting to?
I think Fairfax has an overall better reputation with both special needs and elementary gifted programs. Your daughter could start in third. You aren't going to find any private school in the 10k range, so you need to be focused on which public school will be able to meet your son's needs best. (Other option is to homeschool and sign him up for homeschool group lessons, which are usually very small groups). |
Anonymous
Sorry, friend, but there aren't any private schools with small class sizes in the 10k range. Unfortunately  . Even 20k is tough to find and that's twice your budget.
Does he have an IEP now that you can transfer into another public school system. |
Anonymous
| I agree with checking out the Catholic schools. I believe Our Lady of Mercy in Potomac has a particular dedication to SN kids. I would also look at Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda. I remember small class sizes from the last time I visited. There's a head of SN at the main office who would be a good starting point. There are schools that have more SN support than others and she could probably point you in the right direction. |
Anonymous
| You might be able to pay $10k next year after applying for financial aid, but not this fall unfortunately. |
Anonymous
| What is your housing budget and where is the commute? |
Anonymous
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Do you think the public schools can accommodate your son? Does he have an IEP. Can he get an IEP? If you consider public schools, the IEP team will try to accommodate him in the home school first and if that is not a good fit, then look for an alternative program.
Can you call the office of special needs in Montgomery County to get an idea of what would be offered or where he would be placed. I have to agree that 10K will not get you a private school in Montgomery County, or anywhere that I can think of. |
Anonymous
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From a thread from 2011 in the private schools forum... Tuitions have probably changed but back then these were known as the least expensive privates.
10K here is close to what we're paying for aftercare (7K). Out in MoCo, there is Seneca Academy which is about $10K and Thomas Jefferson Prep which is about $12 K I believe. Christ Episcopal in Rockville is around $15K. All are very small. |
Anonymous
Not sure if I would agree with this but you are looking at classes with 25-30 kids and one teacher for the boy if you go public since you don't have an IEP. As a pp said, private schools are three times what mention and the good ones are already full for next year. Ironically, if you rent in a FARMS or Title I school area you will get smaller classes. |
Anonymous
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I would highly recommend posting your question about schools for your son's SPECIFIC need on the Special Needs forum. Ask not about IEPs in general or special needs in general, but about experiences with THAT specific issue. As you know, special ed is a very, very mixed bag -- one special need is not the same as another special need.
Alas. So much of it depends on the individuals hired at the school. |
Anonymous
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PS#2. I grew up and went to MoCo schools, as did my two sisters. I then worked there for several years in central office. My take on MoCo, in general, is that it's a high-performing school division that does a nice job of delivering a good education to a diverse population. I went to a tony college and then university, and so did my sisters. We weren't academic rock stars according to MoCo standards, but we were well prepared for university entrance exams and without question held our own at prestigious, competitive universities. All of us found ourselves helping fellow students write long essays, practice good study habits, and so on.
Can't speak to special ed, however. But because your some doesn't seem to have any specific learning challenges (just social?) it may not be such a different experience. I don't know... |
Anonymous
| OP here: Thank you all for your insights and suggestions. I did post separately on the Special Needs forum and have started to look at all the schools mentioned. Your willingness to share your thoughts to a complete stranger is beyond words. Not to be mushy or anything like that, but I feel like this move might not be as overwhelming as it is after reading all your responses. Thanks again! |
Anonymous
| If you haven't already had a full neuropsych workup to figure out what is behind the selective mutism you should think about doing that. That is sometimes a manifestation of high functioning autism / Aspergers or some other diagnosable developmental disability. And in this area a more concrete diagnosis will often unlock services that the public schools otherwise fight against. |