The best Montgomery County elementary for kids w/ needs????

[Anonymous]

So, we've given up on our neighborhood public school assisting our child w/motor delays and sensory integration disorder. (And yes, we have IEP/service plan, fought until our wrists are raw, hired over the top expensive ed. consults...) The bottom line is, the neighborhood principal is unwilling to 'go out of his way' to ask for assistance needed for our child and others in the school w/special needs, and the school unfortunately most allocate their funding to provide much needed services to the very large population of new English speaking students.

With that recognized, we are in search for ideas on which specific elementary level schools might offer 'the best quality academic environment', while at the same time have a terrific principal and teaching staff that would advocate for kids w/ needs. I have 'heard' that the Bethesda elementaries are 'best' with academics, and Potomac. Can anyone confirm this, name a few elementaries, or offer any other suggestions?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I think your question sounds valid, however, you are also sounding very egocentric. Probably not intentional, but, egocentric nonetheless.

School principals do not allocate their own funding. A principal can "ask" for certain things, but that certainly does not guarantee anything. The budget and allocations are presented to principals. Principals and the school staff pretty much have to deal with what they are dealt. This is not fun for the teachers or the principal. Especially in hard economic times.

I think that asking for a school with a principal and teachers that "advocate for kids with needs" is inappropriate. I think the purpose of becoming a teacher/principal is to advocate for all kids in all capacities.

I guess the thing that bothers me the most about your post is the fact that you are inquiring about Bethesda and Potomac elementary schools and assuming that they are for some reason the best. Do you have something to base this on? Certainly, their test scores are higher (if that is how you judge academics). This is because of their population (high achieving parents who have all the money in the world to devote to their kids) vs. what sounds like your neighborhood school (with a high ESOL population and parents working their tails off trying to make ends meet in this country, that they are probably new to as well as their kids).

I definitely cannot confirm that Bethesda and Potomac have the best programs for any child. I, in fact, would never want my child to attend a school in one of those areas just because it is not a true presentation of society.

I understand that your child has special needs. I understand that you are looking for ways to meet those needs. I think you definitely are thinking in the way that any caring parent would think. However, I think your post begs some questions. Are you looking for a good program for your child or are you looking for your child to be the center of the universe?? Guess what! Your child will never be the center of the universe in any public school...that is what makes them so wonderful and accepting! No one is preferred. Everyone is seen as equal, everyone's needs are met in the best way physically and financially possible.

So, to answer your initial question....The best MCPS elementary for kids with needs?...I have no answer. All kids have needs. Unfortunately the world is not going to revolve around your child.

Signed,
MCPS teacher

[Anonymous]

Wow, PP sounds like you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder. I'm going to venture a wild guess that you work at one or live in one of the schools "like your neighborhood school (with a high ESOL population and parents working their tails off trying to make ends meet in this country, that they are probably new to as well as their kids".

Every parent of a child with special needs has to be a bit "egocentric" in order to advocate and fight for their child's best interests. Unless you are in the same boat, you have no idea how that feels.

[Anonymous]

To MCPS Teacher,

You are unfortunately misinformed or just plain clueless. A principal has a VERY STRONG influence over what comes to his/her school. (And principals or MCPS teachers who do not know this, well, unfortunately are typical and reasons why parents like us w/ kids who have needs are forced to 'chase down' schools who will help our kids) Teacher, you cannot tell us that you are not aware there are huge differences in academic performance and results across the county? Please, just view your MCPS website and the rankings are all there.

If OP is like me, you damn well better believe I am going to move to Bethesda or Chevy Chase if my elementary school is not meeting my child's needs (for whatever reason). As PP said, don't judge ANY parent before you've walked in her/his shoes. All of us are here to advocate for the best educational opportunities for our kids. Egocentric? You'd better be in this county. Otherwise, you pay these high taxes and get second or third rate education.

Go educate yourself, Teacher. Then bring back some real information.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who is very happy with the education and services provided to her son at Kensington-Parkwood.

Good luck to you, OP.

[Anonymous]

Op here: If the teacher has a problem (obvioiusly she does ) with parents who would go to the end of the earth to find an appropriate placement for their child, after years of their child being inappropriately placed by the County that has his so-called 'best interest' in mind--Well, she has a lot of nerve. Thanks, teacher, for your 'support'. I truly wish you would reveal your school, so I can keep my entitled child far, far away. Shame on you for criticizing a parent who has spent the last year crying herself to sleep not because I feel my child is any better than other students, but because he in the eyes of our educational society is not good enough. In my eyes, however, with the appropriate school, and yes it had better be the BEST, HIGHEST ACHIEVING county school, so that his 149+ IQ mind can be challenged, and his 'less than perfect' needs can be met. I will NOT feel guilty for wanting to move him to a school where more is taught in the classroom than the letter blends and grouping colors and shapes, when he is reading chapter books and doing three digit arithmetic. I have spoken with 5 principals, numerous teachers in schools from Germantown to Silver Spring, to Potomac to Bethesda. The ones who I found were willing to go out on a limb for MY child, were the ones in the areas you for some reason despise. I posted for help. Thank you to those who know really how to help a desperate parent with a child who is being lost in the system.

[Anonymous]

You don't say much about your child, but my child goes to Stephen Knolls. Very good with special needs kids.

[Anonymous]

I think Sandra Reece at Bradley Hills ES in Bethesda has the attributes you seek. And it's a very nice neighborhood to live in.

I'm trying very hard to ignore the hurtful things the first poster said, and I hope you will, too. I think one has to be the parent of a child with disabilities to understand.

[Anonymous]

19:54, I see nothing in OP's post that indicated she expects her child to be the center of the universe. Kindly, I think you are coming at this from the point of view of a jaded teacher who has dealt with too many spoiled parents. OP seemed to me to be asking for advice about the best school for her child, not complaining that her child wasn't made the number one priority of the principal and teachers at his old school.

As the old saying goes, when we've got a hammer in our hands, everything starts to look like a nail. I think you've been holding onto your hammer for a bit too long...maybe you pounded OP with it a bit out of turn.

[Anonymous]

In my experience, the schools in the Western part of Montgomery County are more likely to offer services to kids with milder needs, because they have fewer kids overall with needs. I have a DC who went to one of the Bethesda elementaries who was spontaneously put into a smal group for fine motor skills, without any formal paperwork. This would not have happened at a school where a large portion of the population are entering without basic readiness skills, for whatever reason.

Two caveats, though. First, this was about six years ago, and as budgets have tightened, so have services. Schools which once had full-time resource teachers may only have part-time slots now, unless they have enough kids with IEPs to justify the full-time slot.

Second, in your later post you mentioned your child's IQ scores. If you start talking with different schools, I would leave that at the door - the schools do not believe that they have the obligation to educate kids to their potential, just to an average level of achievement. Instead, focus on the skills which are below average, as in "Yes my child can read well, but s/he can't color or cut in a straight line, and suffers because of it".

[Anonymous]

I am in a similar boat - I have an Aspie son whose intelligence I also believe to be his chance, and am tired of having that go by the wayside. I am considering starting a school. Since that can't happen by next Fall, I am considering finding a group of kids who might be a good homeschool coop group. My son is 10 and in 4th grade. Trying to figure out how to find others in same situation. Anyone interested?

[Anonymous]

If you are thinking about moving, I don't know if VA is an option for you. And I don't have personal experience, but I have heard that Farifax and Arlington school districts are much quicker to provide services to special needs kids than are schools in Montgomery County.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in a similar boat - I have an Aspie son whose intelligence I also believe to be his chance, and am tired of having that go by the wayside. I am considering starting a school. Since that can't happen by next Fall, I am considering finding a group of kids who might be a good homeschool coop group. My son is 10 and in 4th grade. Trying to figure out how to find others in same situation. Anyone interested?

Too bad our kids are so far apart in ages (mine's only 5). I'd love to start a school too. Have you considered McLean School, or Oasis School in Virginia?

[Anonymous]

LB here, I'm having the same trouble. Tired of fighting I just incorporated a non-profit and I am currently seeking grants to start a small private scool for disabled and typically developing children. Would like to get in touch with anyone willing to assist. I already have the neccesary paperwork nearly completed.

[Anonymous]

I am interested in your new school. Can you give me more information. thanks