Special Needs Services about Public Schools in Silicon Valley

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know anything about this or know anyone who does? We may be relocating to Silicon Valley (preferably near San Mateo) for about two years. My daughter is 11 and has a great IEP and a great public middle school here in DC. I have no idea how public schools out there work. Any idea?

[Anonymous]

All public schools legally need to follow FAPE. If she has an IEP, you could search Wrights Law, but it will pretty much travel with her.

[Anonymous]

San Mateo county is a mixed bag. Each city runs its own school district, so you really need to choose wisely. Anything in the hills will be a good school, but very expensive to live in. Palo Alto has good schools as well, but not East Palo Alto. Closer to San Mateo, Foster City has excellent elementary schools with limited choices for middle school. San Carlos also has an excellent school system (only 4 schools!), all with extensive support for kids of all kinds. Burlingame up north also has good schools.

Many of the poorer districts will still have a few good schools, mostly because the parents tend to be extremely active. Up in San Francisco, it is considered a "poor" school when the PTA only raises 60K a year. Our school raised 300K the year I was there. Many schools will not always have a nurse on staff, or a special band teacher. Most will contend with a half-time music teacher in fact. But they will have a solid special needs program in place, because they do cater to a very diverse population.

I have a child with ADHD. For us, the move to FCPS has meant an increase in stress, precisely because everything is so regimented. In the Bay Area, teachers have a bit more control in their classroom, and they tend to better adapt to the needs of a special kid. Individual mileage will certainly vary.

Take a week and go visit some schools, talk to the PTA, maybe even read their minutes online, and talk to the principal. Right now, they are holding tours for prospective parents, so it's a great time to go. Also, go to GreatSchools to compare spending per area and per teacher. In CA, they will need to report details about achievement gaps between populations, with some better level of detail.

Finally, mind the registration deadlines. Many school districts follow a "lottery" system, where you will not necessarily go to your neighborhood school. Find out what the deadlines are, to make sure you can actually get into the school of your choice.

The Bay area is an excellent place to live and raise a kid. There are just so many resources for raising a kid...