Reply to Does anyone ever regret sending their DC to Siena?

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Reply to "Does anyone ever regret sending their DC to Siena?"

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[quote=Anonymous]We loved Siena.  Moved there in 4th grade.  But, then moved back to MS magnet w/ IEP.  The experience in 4th/5th was transformative.  YMMV on how long you want/need to stay there.  DC can still maintain current school/neighborhood friendships in other ways and make new ones.  One thing I recognized when we left the home school is that the friendships that DC had weren't really friendships.  We knew kids from the neighborhood and the sports team, but that didn't equate to really having friends that accepted DC.

One thing I recognize, having left Siena, is that DC's reading and writing really did not develop at all in MCPS despite the IEP and supposed "special instruction".  In many ways it would have been better for DC to stay thru HS at Siena.  I am worried that he does not have the functional reading/writing skills for college and job.  So, we have to consider how to go back and get private tutoring for that.

No school is perfect.  Siena has trade offs.  It is small.  There is a sports team program that many kids participate in, but it doesn't offer the breadth that a public school might.

FWIW, DC himself recognized that Siena would be great for him after a visit.  The relief he felt at being at a place that understood how he needed to learn and that he wasn't stupid -- well, that was palpable.  Had it not been for the MS magnet offer, we probably would have stayed at least thru MS and then considered what to do about HS.

Siena at the HS level has a great writing program -- kids learn to write a 10 pp paper, which isn't even taught in public school to anyone.  Kids also have time to explore internship options and learn job-readiness skills.  So, there are plenty of reasons to stay there.

The choice you make now doesn't have to be a choice until college.  [/quote]

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