Schools for young teen who acts up

[Anonymous]

Where do you send a kid (early high school)who is somewhat rebellious, doesn’t enjoy following rules and doesn’t think before he acts. No drugs. Has ADHD and executive functioning with poor impulse control. Makes socially inappropriate comments. Who takes a kid like this? MCPS will just send him to increasingly restrictive environments and that’s really not the right place. He is a sweet, smart kid when he feels in control. Anyone used educational consultants who have a list of schools that I might not know about? Medication takes the edge off but not a magic bullet. Refuses therapy frequently. What school is going to accept him in this imperfect state?

[Anonymous]

Your DS sounds so much like my DS!

Doesn't sound like a fit for Lab or McLean, or Commonwealth. And MCPS will just make matters worse, in my opinion as this is what we experienced.

We pulled our son and sent him to Fusion. I hope I don't get called out as "the mom who is always recommending Fusion", but honestly it has been a life-saver for us and for DS. If you can swing the tuition, take a look at it. And if you have any questions I'm happy to answer them.

[Anonymous]

Can you do partial homeschool/online and partial Fusion and still graduate on time in MC PS or do you have to do one or the other?

[Anonymous]

Most schools will want an evaluation and know more about what is going on.

[Anonymous]

We are finding that a more restrictive environment in MCPS has been a great alternative. Have you visited any of the programs?

[Anonymous]

OP see if you can hang on in his current school. Kids of HS age mature every year and behavior problems decline. Make sure he is not overloaded with academic demands and has an opportunity to express his strengths.

[Anonymous]

To the person who has found the more restrictive environment in MCPS to be affective, can you please give more details about which programs have worked well for you? I am only familiar with the SESS program and RICA. Is there anything else beneficial?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the person who has found the more restrictive environment in MCPS to be affective, can you please give more details about which programs have worked well for you? I am only familiar with the SESS program and RICA. Is there anything else beneficial?

There is a level between the two which is an enhanced SESS. It’s self contained in a wing of a regular school. It’s small. Classrooms are pretty non traditional - not set up with all desks, lots of hands on and experiential learning opportunities, no homework. As kids progress, they can mainstream for lunch, electives and core classes. Some kids fully mainstream and are offered the opportunity to return to the home school. There is a high staff to teacher ratio and full time social workers. Kids can participate in all school clubs and sports (if they qualify academically for sports). They can participate with certain activities in their home school, like homecoming and prom, if they choose. I think they are eligible for Thomas Edison but I am not 100% sure of that.

With ESESS, kids have to be accepted after a parent and student interview. I am told that kids who have discipline issues do not qualify. Most kids have anxiety and/or depression and, except for occasional bad days, there are not behavioral issues.

You should visit if you haven’t. As an aside, I know a lot of kids who are at RICA. Their families love it. In fact I don’t know a single family that is dissatisfied.

[Anonymous]

Can you tell me more about the enhanced SESS? What schools is that located in? Any more information that you can provide?

[Anonymous]

If he is not getting into fights I would suggest looking at St. John's in Frederic.

[Anonymous]

Frederick

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you tell me more about the enhanced SESS? What schools is that located in? Any more information that you can provide?

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/special-education/programs-services/behavior-and-emotional-support.aspx

That is a link to the SESS info for MCPS. I don't know which schools have the ESESS programs.

[Anonymous]

Magruder has an ESESS program but, as a previous poster indicated, students in that program do not typically have those behaviors which are commonly viewed as defiant and hurtful to others.

[Anonymous]

You might also look at Howard Gardner. If his behavior is bad in the sense of being illegal or harmful, then I don't think they'd take him. But if his issue is impulse control and saying inappropriate things, it might be a community that help him grow and learn. They work with kids who are smart but have trouble thriving in a traditional school environment, and it was fantastic for our kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Can you do partial homeschool/online and partial Fusion and still graduate on time in MC PS or do you have to do one or the other?

Fusion parent here (but different from 18:11.
We tried to do this with FCPS- do part Fusion and part public school.

Here's what we found:

FCPS will not allow any credits to be transferred during the school year. They will only accept credits in the summer- meaning you will have to squeeze a whole years' worth of a class into the summer to get credit.

You can enroll your child as "home schooled" with FCPS. FCPS will allow your child to take up to 2 core classes per year. You can then hire Fusion for your homeschooling provider.

We also looked at more restrictive environments in FCPS but didn't like the overall feel of the program.

We ended up pulling our kid out of FCPS and went to Fusion full time. I totally agree with 18:11, Fusion has been a lifesaver.