Tell me about your MCPS school

[Anonymous]

And how it meets your child’s needs? Do they implement the IEP? Do you have problems getting the services needed? Or do you absolutely love it?

Child has been diagnosed with adhad and already has a language disorder. I’m trying to figure out if a small private may meet needs or if there’s an awsome school in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Adhd

[Anonymous]

Well, first off, where do you live? Are you thinking you would move to a school zone if you found an ES you liked?

[Anonymous]

How old is your child? The truth is there are some good MCPS schools for it but it's dependent on the principal and counselors and those people are sometimes transient. If your kid is about the go to K this fall, then it might be an important question but I'm not sure I would move within MCPS for a particular school, especially if you kid isn't ready to go yet, since there is no confidence that even a good principal will still be there by the time your kid arrives.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Child is going to 1st grade. I’d move for a food school in MCPS.

Does the principal make a difference in terms of the IEP implementation?

[Anonymous]

Yes the principal matters a lot, but of course they can move.

And the general education teacher matters a lot to for an elementary student.

You can have the perfect IEP at a school with a supportive principal for 1st, and then it all falls apart in 2nd grade because the teacher is a bad fit or doesn't follow the IEP or whatever.

I would focus on trying to define what you think your child needs -- what services do you want in the IEP, what accommodations in the classroom. Are you going to hire a tutor or specialist outside of school, or do you intend to rely solely on MCPS.

[Anonymous]

OP here, we’re working towards a solid IEP. I’m concerned about implementation. Principal at local schools seems good but I don’t know how they are.

Child will need smaller class size since a 25/27 kids class can be overwhelming. And I don’t think an IEP, any, can be successfully implemented with so many kids.

[Anonymous]

And we also have a tutor

[Anonymous]

If you can afford it, go private. It is highly dependent on the principal and staff at the school and their comfort level with your child's needs and diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, we’re working towards a solid IEP. I’m concerned about implementation. Principal at local schools seems good but I don’t know how they are.

Child will need smaller class size since a 25/27 kids class can be overwhelming. And I don’t think an IEP, any, can be successfully implemented with so many kids.

I agree with you. Even kids who don't need IEPs it's overwhelming.

[Anonymous]

What matters more in my opinion, is your persistence in making sure your child's needs are met. An unhelpful principal can make it harder, but if you are committed to advocating for your child, many principles will back down. We were in a top school in MCPS where the principal told us that he thought that DS "would never be a success without medication." I disagreed. DS, myself, and his team worked him to help him globally improve. I questioned every change that the team asked for, made a ton of suggestions, spoke with all DS's teachers, worked with DS at home, and asked for recommendations from his team on tools/techniques that we could implement at home. The principal's assessment was dead wrong and almost a year later, he admitted it in a room full of people.
Also, DS's class usually had an aid, assistant, or Special Ed teacher in the room, most of the time. This will not be the case in all schools, but the ones in the more affluent areas and with more funding tend to have the extra help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What matters more in my opinion, is your persistence in making sure your child's needs are met. An unhelpful principal can make it harder, but if you are committed to advocating for your child, many principles will back down. We were in a top school in MCPS where the principal told us that he thought that DS "would never be a success without medication." I disagreed. DS, myself, and his team worked him to help him globally improve. I questioned every change that the team asked for, made a ton of suggestions, spoke with all DS's teachers, worked with DS at home, and asked for recommendations from his team on tools/techniques that we could implement at home. The principal's assessment was dead wrong and almost a year later, he admitted it in a room full of people.
Also, DS's class usually had an aid, assistant, or Special Ed teacher in the room, most of the time. This will not be the case in all schools, but the ones in the more affluent areas and with more funding tend to have the extra help.

Which school? They have an aide in each room? Full time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What matters more in my opinion, is your persistence in making sure your child's needs are met. An unhelpful principal can make it harder, but if you are committed to advocating for your child, many principles will back down. We were in a top school in MCPS where the principal told us that he thought that DS "would never be a success without medication." I disagreed. DS, myself, and his team worked him to help him globally improve. I questioned every change that the team asked for, made a ton of suggestions, spoke with all DS's teachers, worked with DS at home, and asked for recommendations from his team on tools/techniques that we could implement at home. The principal's assessment was dead wrong and almost a year later, he admitted it in a room full of people.
Also, DS's class usually had an aid, assistant, or Special Ed teacher in the room, most of the time. This will not be the case in all schools, but the ones in the more affluent areas and with more funding tend to have the extra help.

I agree about being persistent but it’s not always enough. With one of my kids I was very on top of things, was careful to build good rapport with the teachers, etc but there simply wasn’t enough staff in the building. The principal also presented a friendly face and seemed supportive but just wasn’t willing to make things happen. Also don’t expect an aid/assistant/special educator in the classroom every day. My youngest child’s classroom gets one an hour here and an hour there. So maybe 2 hours a week tops. And we are in an affluent community in a high performing school. I’ve come to believe it is the focus/title 1 schools that have the most support and special ed staff.

[Anonymous]

Principal is important, but it really depends on the diagnosis imho.

We couldn't run fast enough from a school and principal that was so, so terrible for my daughter (who did not have a run of the mill diagnosis). Like switched to a private in the middle of the year awful (where my daughter is doing SO wonderfully with limited supports).

There was at least one child with a different special need where the parents had fought to keep him at the school (I think they moved or something) because the school was doing such a great job. So the answer is that it really depends on both the school,the principal, and the need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What matters more in my opinion, is your persistence in making sure your child's needs are met. An unhelpful principal can make it harder, but if you are committed to advocating for your child, many principles will back down. We were in a top school in MCPS where the principal told us that he thought that DS "would never be a success without medication." I disagreed. DS, myself, and his team worked him to help him globally improve. I questioned every change that the team asked for, made a ton of suggestions, spoke with all DS's teachers, worked with DS at home, and asked for recommendations from his team on tools/techniques that we could implement at home. The principal's assessment was dead wrong and almost a year later, he admitted it in a room full of people.
Also, DS's class usually had an aid, assistant, or Special Ed teacher in the room, most of the time. This will not be the case in all schools, but the ones in the more affluent areas and with more funding tend to have the extra help.

Which school? They have an aide in each room? Full time?

We are moving to N Arlington because some if schools there have full time special ed so the SN kids are in regural class but get extra support. Some schools in FCPS has that too. That what I would focus on and make sure there is inclusion. Then you can support with private therapy and tutors if needed