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Any SoCal moms here?
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Anonymous
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We are relocating to Orange County, totally lost when it comes to schools.
Interested in HIGHLY RATED public, as well as special needs privates - mostly for ADHD, no autism. We are currently in the Chevy Chase cluster. Thanks |
Anonymous
| I've got family in the L.A. area not far from Orange County. (As well as family in Orange County). In the past, Irvine schools were good, don't know about now. Brother just had to pull one of his kids out of public elementary b/c of unbelievably huge class sizes (44 for 4th grade in my nephew's class) and inability of the teacher to actually teach his son. The budget crisis out there is having a terrible impact on public schools. Sorry I don't have more advice than that. |
zumbamama
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| When I was there a few years ago, people spoke highly of Ensign Middle School in Newport Beach and Corona del Mar High School in Corona del Mar. I heard Costa Mesa schools are iffy, some good, some just ok. This all hearsay, though. |
Anonymous
| Thanks for the advice! It at least gives me some direction to go in. |
Anonymous
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I grew up in Irvine and my parents are still there. Excellent schools (still!) and easy access to UC Irvine (which I took advantage of as a HS student -- both to take classes and for the library and bookstore).
My mom's a former special ed teacher -- I'll ask her re ADHD recs. What grade level(s)? I know she didn't think highly of the private schools there for special ed (and she's not dogmatic on the public vs. private issue -- just thought that the publics had been programs/resources in CA). |
Anonymous
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Thanks PP. This is OP. My DS is 7 and is a rising 2nd grader.
Has she heard of Pathway? |
Anonymous
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12:05 here -- just looked at their website and I'd be really leery of a school whose focus is special ed but where most of the teachers don't have degrees (or maybe even credentials) in the field. And National University (which shows up in a number of resumes) is basically a diploma mill with online courses. CA has an excellent (cheap/convenient) state college and university system, so it's not like there aren't better alternative training programs that are readily available. Unless the Christian element is really attractive to you, I'd look elsewhere.
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Anonymous
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Thanks 21:11 - I didn't even catch that when I was on their website.
So it seems that there aren't many privates in the area that offer additional services for special needs. I'm thinking of a school like McLean or even Lab. |
Anonymous
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Here's a link to contact information for the special education administrators in Irvine public schools: http://www.iusd.org/education_services/documents/SpEdProgStaffDirectory09-10.pdf
I think that the best place to start might be to call one (or both) of the Elementary School Program Specialists and ask about what services would be available for your child at different schools. |
Anonymous
| Thanks PP! Very Helpful. |
Anonymous
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Heard from my mom -- she says Mardan is probably the best private option (http://www.mardanschool.org/) and that Irvine would be the best public option in OC (both for special ed and for public schools generally). But if you want to be closer to LA, you should also consider Los Alamitos for public. http://www.losal.org/losal/site/default.asp
She said that RSP and speech-related services are generally high quality and easy to obtain in the public schools, but that anything they have to outsource is likely to require a bit of a fight on your part. Then there's a middle ground of services that the district provides but that aren't usually on-site at your campus (these could include things like PE) which are do-able but may not be offered unless you push. I noticed yesterday when I was looking at the IrvineUSD website that Meadow Park Elementary has a special ed wing. I assume that's for a full day program and that your DC is more likely to be in a regular classroom. That said, it's a National Blue Ribbon School as well and if your DC needs more services, placement in a regular class on that campus might give you maximum access/flexibility. But that's a question for one of the program specialists. They also have a gifted and talented program for grades 4-6 on campus which could be especially useful if your DC is both gifted and has a learning disability. Here's their school brochure: http://www.iusd.org/mp/documents/2009-10InformationalBrochure.pdf Good luck! |
Anonymous
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Thanks 12:29 - and thank your mom for me as well!
I just looked at the mardan website, and it seems ideal. Great info on the Irvine schools as well. So appreciated! |
Anonymous
| Happy to be able to help! |
Anonymous
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Hi moving mom. Don't know if you're checking, but I'm the PP poster. Just saw an article on my brother's school district that I thought you'd find interesting. Bottom line: AVOID this school district!
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/district-245294-teachers-school.html?pic=30 |
Anonymous
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Hi PP, I'm OP aka moving mom. THanks for the link. Glad I read this as Capistrano was an area on my radar....
Thanks again! |