Fairfax County Public Schools and 2e kids?

Anonymous
Does anyone know how well Fairfax County Public Schools works with 2e (highly gifted + ADHD) kids? We do have a 504.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how well Fairfax County Public Schools works with 2e (highly gifted + ADHD) kids? We do have a 504.


Schools have site based management. There is no consistency and watch out for emotional disability label and the ED self contained classes and centers. Academics are low end in all special ed and team taught classes. 504 means nothing to FCPS. Private schools are better for smart children with disabilities.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Schools have site based management. There is no consistency and watch out for emotional disability label and the ED self contained classes and centers. Academics are low end in all special ed and team taught classes. 504 means nothing to FCPS. Private schools are better for smart children with disabilities.


Perhaps it is a school-specific/site based management thing, but we have found that our DC's teachers are very helpful with our child's 504. I would ask the specific school(s) you are considering when it comes to 504 plans.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:

Private schools are better for smart children with disabilities.


What private schools would you recommend for a highly gifted child with ADHD? (We are in Fairfax County.)
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how well Fairfax County Public Schools works with 2e (highly gifted + ADHD) kids? We do have a 504.


Schools have site based management. There is no consistency and watch out for emotional disability label and the ED self contained classes and centers. Academics are low end in all special ed and team taught classes. 504 means nothing to FCPS. Private schools are better for smart children with disabilities.


Uninformed....
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Perhaps it is a school-specific/site based management thing, but we have found that our DC's teachers are very helpful with our child's 504. I would ask the specific school(s) you are considering when it comes to 504 plans.


We have found the same thing.
Anonymous
I used to go to Oasis School (www.oasisschool.net) It offers a challenging curriculum but it meets individual needs better than FCPS's options.
If you inquire, say it was Allie who sent you.
I am now at South Lakes High School (also in Reston), and quite literally "stuck" in the self-contained program. Sure, it provides great "emotional support" but also (for me anyway) the academics are WAY TOO EASY. Even when I switched from algebra I to geometry, and from SC english to regular "teamed" english, I still get little to no homework and extremely easy class work.
I was in the gifted program in elementary school and in a somewhat advanced home and private "middle" school setting, but every time I try to request a higher level class or even honors level work, it seems to fall on deaf ears.
I am trying to "graduate" from my program, and take honors and IB level classes for the rest of my time in high school, but at this point that seems somewhat impossible!!

I would NOT recommend "self-contained" classes to anyone, especially your children who sound very much like many IB level candidates at SLHS.
DON'T LET THEM TRY TO PUT YOU IN A PROGRAM LIKE MINE, OR THEY'LL NEVER GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Perhaps it is a school-specific/site based management thing, but we have found that our DC's teachers are very helpful with our child's 504. I would ask the specific school(s) you are considering when it comes to 504 plans.


We have found the same thing.


Us, too.
Anonymous
What's a self-contained program?
Anonymous
Placement in Advanced Academics is largely driven by overall scores on IQ tests; however, 2e kids generally tend to score off the charts in some areas (typically verbal), so looking at the overall score tends to preclude 2e kids from Advanced Academics placement.

In addition to the "GT Center" schools, some elementary schools in Ffx Cty also have Level 4 classrooms (but are not designated centers). This is where you really see a LOT of local discretion being exercised, because the principal has the ultimate say in whether your child is eligible to be put in these classes. Although the curriculum in these schools is the same as the curriculum in the center schools, these schools have something of an inferiority complex vis-a-vis their center counterparts. The result is that they try to "purify" the composition of these classrooms. So, if your child has a disability that other kids (or the teacher) may find distracting, they will likely not be placed (or will not continue to be placed) in the Level 4 classroom, irrespective of their giftedness.

My own unfortunate experience is that they booted my son from his IEP because he was in a Level 4 class (and thus, told us his disability was not affecting his academic perf). Then, they booted him from Level 4, because his disability affected his behavior -- the double-whammy.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Placement in Advanced Academics is largely driven by overall scores on IQ tests; however, 2e kids generally tend to score off the charts in some areas (typically verbal), so looking at the overall score tends to preclude 2e kids from Advanced Academics placement.


Wow, this is the first I have heard of this "overall" score issue. And I know several 2e kids that are in AAP Centers (not Local Level IV) in FCPS.
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