COSA?

[Anonymous]

I know there are many threads on this topic but I have a particular situation I'm wondering about. We live in Silver Spring in the DCC (let's just say nobody is moving to our neighborhood for the middle/high schools). We have one daughter with special needs and another who does not have special needs. Next year, our special needs daughter will be bussed to a different school district. Our older daughter, however, just started middle school this year. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but she's doing very well (she has always done very well academically). We have wanted for many years to move to a house with more room for our family. We'd like to stay in Silver Spring for many reasons, but if we limit our house search to the area zoned for our older daughter's middle school, it is unlikely we will get what we want. If we expanded our search within Silver Spring/Kensington but in different middle school zones (Sligo, SSI, etc.), it is more likely we'd be able to find a house. BUT, we don't want our older daughter to have to seperate from her friends. I know some will say "she'll make new friends," we have been advised by therapists who work for our family that this would be particularly traumatic for her. Because of our younger daughter's limitations, our older daughter has built a very close network of good friends she's had since elementary school that are very important to her well-being. Any opinions on whether or not MCPS would consider this a good enough reason to allow her to stay in her middle school until HS? Of course, we will look, and may find, a house zoned for the current middle school, but it would be great to be able to expand our search. Does it matter that DCC isn't a highly sought after school zone? I mean, I understand why the county wouldn't readily allow people from SS to apply for their kids to go to a Bethesda school, for example, but would it be easier to try to get them to agree to let a very high performing kid to stay in an under-performing school? Please refrain from nasty posts about why I'd want to keep my kid in this school. She's very happy, she's doing well, we value the diversity, and she has a really great group of good friends. Could we appeal to the middle school administration now to see if they'd let her stay? Any other thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I think you should find the house that works for your family and then talk to the school. Since you have a complicated family situation with your younger child and you want to remain at a school instead of switch schools and only through the terminal grade of that school, you should get some traction with your request if you lay it out plainly. It can’t hurt to ask.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you do definitely have a chance if you can get a letter from a professional, or at least you did prior to this year. There is so much upheaval this year about middle school, who knows. I know a DCC family that got a COSA to another DCC school for middle school, one that I consider preferable to their home school, for the kinds of reasons you are describing.

[Anonymous]

I find your post a bit confusing, but if you are asking to be retained at your older daughter's current school, I believe you do have a good argument for that. Also, if you are asking to keep your girls together, I think the county is also responsive to that argument as well.

[Anonymous]

I never count on MCPS to do the right thing.
Who knows how they really make these cosa decisions- flipping a coin?

[Anonymous]

We got a COSA last year for our younger daughter to switch to the school where our older daughter was moving (not the same situation as you), in large part because of some specific social/emotional factors. Although our COSA was originally denied when I didn't include enough information, it was accepted on appeal, and the appeal officer who called me to discuss the updated application was quite sympathetic and made sure he fully understood the situation. I think you have a reasonable chance of success, especially if you include letters of support from the therapists who advise that "this would be particularly traumatic for her." Good luck!