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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Tough call, we went to LAMB and were terribly unhappy with it, left for private after 2 years which we can't really comfortably afford. We have a lot of neighbors at Stokes and they seem to be very happy with it, but not sure if it would actually work better for my son.

Here are some differences I'm aware of:

LAMB, no homework, Stokes gives homework

The curriculum is quite different obviously, I'd read books on Montessori and believed wholeheartedly in it, even used Montessori techniques at home with my son when he was 1 and 2, unfortunately LAMB isn't true Montessori, the teacher's admitted to me they have to teach to the test and in the afternoons instead of letting children select their activities my son was forced to do a rotation at a Math table and at a reading table, he got in trouble for drawing one day, he was doing these lovely intricate little drawing which looked like excellent pre-writing practice and right in line with Montessori, but he was supposed to do Math.

The communities at both seem good, Stokes does lots of plays and parades and school activities. LAMB has monthly peace ceremonies and the parent community is incredible.

My son learned Spanish easily at LAMB, can't really compare to Stokes.

I have talked to a lot of other LAMB parents, many have frustrations with the rigidity of the school and lack of communication. Some I know who joined in ps-4 said their kids always said it wasn't fun and wanted to go back their old school. Kids from Stokes seem to enjoy school, but maybe a Stokes parent can comment on that. Many people I knew said their kids didn't want to go in the mornings and would have difficult mornings. Preschool for 3 & 4 year olds should be fun, in my opinion, they shouldn't be developing a lifelong hatred for school. I don't know if this is par for the course, but after reading articles in the Post about how early preschool programs done poorly can cause burnout and school fatigue for kids as they age, this seems to be the case at LAMB and is something I would be concerned about.

My son was miserable at LAMB, we eventually had him diagnosed with ADHD but the school was absolutely no help, they refused to evaluate him at all because he tested 1-2 years ahead academically. It would take months for Cristina to return emails to me, it took until the end of our 2nd year to even have a meeting with intervention specialists etc. I was criticized as parent (not by Cristina but by a teacher, told I needed a parenting class because I'm a young mom and we research a car before buying one, so I should really research parenting...)

When we talked with Cristina she said our problems weren't the school's responsibility. The teachers told me they were asking the administration for help in the classroom, and received nothing. My son and the other students, needed more movement, and the teachers would sneak the kids out for extra time on the playground with excuses ready (like we're cleaning the classroom) so that they could let the kids move more. I've visited the teachers to let my son say hi since leaving and morale is low, they are miserable and frustrated with the administration, and said thank goodness I pulled him out or he would have been miserable. They're frustrated with the lack of support and frustrated with the rigidness of the school and how kids are barely allowed to move or play. As we were leaving and I began opening up to other parents I learned that almost every boy in his class was being diagnosed with anxiety or ADHD. I have friends in other classes and have not heard the same from them.

Our neighbors at Stokes also have a kid with ADHD, homework battles can be difficult and they've struggled, but the administration seemed to jump at the opportunity to help them. Their circumstances are different (their kid was testing behind) so I'm not sure I can definitively say this is a problem with LAMB or just the nature of having a 2E kid. At his private school now he's like a different person, so I definitely blame the school environment, however it doesn't mean it won't work for other kids.[/quote]

Your experience is really interesting. We are LAMB parents who have been wading into the SN waters this year and working more with the special education team. There have been ups and downs so far, and I have had to do some advocacy. But overall, the SN coordinator and the various specialists have been great and very accommodating. I cannot say the same for the Principal but now I just work with those underneath her - she is too busy anyway and I don't appreciate that she seems mildly annoyed by active parents who happen to be middle, not low, income.

Also, I am willing to admit that my expectations for LAMB, as a public school, are fairly low for managing special needs. To get good attention in this area, I think that you really need to go private.

We have also felt that the school provided a lot of opportunity for movement. But our child's SN needs don't require a lot of movement so that may be why our experience has been different.

In talking with teachers, I think that there are a lot of mixed feelings about the administration. Some of the teachers love LAMB to death and I think that they feel a good amount of autonomy and control over their classrooms. Others feel more restricted by the environment. It's hard for me to get a sense of what exactly is going on there with the administration -- however, I do sense that the administrators are not always open to teacher feedback (as they are not always open to parent feedback).

re Stokes, I know one of the high level administrators at Stokes personally. I consider her to be a thoughtful, very well-prepared, engaged, and conscientious individual. [/quote]

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