Reply to Tell me about Catholic School Over Fairfax County

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, you can still get speech, OT, etc. from the public school system even if you go to Catholic school.  They are mandated to serve every child who has these needs.   The only problem is you have to get them to the school to have these services.  My mother used to pick my youngest sister up from Catholic school once a week, drive her to the public where she got speech therapy (and then drive her back?  I don't know if this was the end of the day or what.  I do recall my mom always trying to schedule it for something she considered "extraneous" like during her regular p.e. period.)

Nowadays, I too have a child who needs speech but we have chosen to go private b/c I work and I could not do all this juggling during the daytimes.  But we did go through the Child Find process and were deemed to be eligible for the service; it's just that we declined it.  We could have accepted it if we wanted to.  They do not care what school you go to.  They have to serve the entire population.[/quote]

If a disability is present, the public school is obligated to create a service plan.  They list what the child needs and what they will offer.  Catholic school families often decide to go to the related service provider privately (Speech, OT, like we did) and that way the Catholic School teacher and the service provider can work together.  The public school provides case management.

If the child needs accomodations (text to speech software, ADHD help, etc.) the Catholic schools in Fairfax are generally under the Diocese of Arlington, which has guidelines and supports for those students.

What each school offers differs (as does tuition) and parents are expected to pitch it to meet their child's individual needs (like a reading tutor after school) but it is a partnership.

My son has ADHD and a "hint of quirk".  He fits right in in Catholic school. There are quirkier kids than him in his school, and many of the behaviors seen as negative are lessened by the structure of the program and the caring support of the teachers who are not in a battle with families like we saw in public school. It is a much more collaborative scene, in my experience.

My other child has a hearing issue.  He was a "504" kid. Never had 1 problem with compliance in Catholic school. In public school he was often given extra seatwork for not hearing what people said in crowded rooms, like gym & the cafeteria.  It was bonkers.

Both my kids say that the Catholic school teachers "don't scream" like their other teachers do, and when I ask what they like about school they say their teachers love them. 
I also find (biased opinion....) the middle school kids appear to be more innocent than the middle school kids I used to work with in my old job, but I worked in some tougher socio-economic settings, so that may not be fair.  The kids are generally kind to one another, even if they are not "friends" because they know their parents are friends, the siblings are friends, and it is the right thing to do.

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