Reply to Your true thoughts about the Newton School

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[quote=Anonymous]My son is a 4th grader at the Newton School.  He was in public school K-3 in Fairfax County.  He was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, Generalized Anxiety, and ADHD.  He was also in the Advanced Academics Program, which meant that he was labeled "twice exceptional" by the Fairfax County School System.    In public school, his biggest challenge was getting overstimulated by the number of kids in class, in the hallways, and in the cafeteria.  He also needed to move a lot to think.  To calm himself down, he would pace at the back of the class while listening to lectures, although he could sit for long periods of time doing work if it was engaging.  When he was overstimulated and not engaged, he was easily bothered by the sound of pencils erasing, dry erase markers on the board and overreacted easily (weeping, hiding under his desk) to any kind of slight (real or perceived) by a teacher or other student.  We had a 504 to accommodate his need to move, have a parent on field trips, preferential seating, etc. and an IEP to help him with writing (he'd "lock up" when faced with an open-ended writing project) and assistance in planning his transitions between subjects.  I have to say that everyone tried their best and we got everything that Fairfax County could provide, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the overall structure of public school, which simply is not designed for the level of individual attention he needed.

This is our first year at Newton and the school has been able to address all of his needs with the kind of individual attention that is not possible in a large classroom setting.  With only five kids in his class (including him) the teacher is able to design a curriculum to challenge his intellectual ability (he's working at a more advanced level than in the AAP classes in public school), while weaving executive functioning exercises into the entire day.  Newton meets these "twice exceptional" needs in a way that public school could not.  They have classes in Social Skills and Drama, which have greatly improved my son's coping skills during stressful situations. He learns how to join in to a conversation already in progress, how to disagree with someone else's idea respectfully, how to listen attentively, etc.   Even outside of these specific classes, however, the teachers are trained both to be sensitive to the kids' individual challenges, while stretching them to improve their social and emotional intelligence.  Most importantly, however, they get to move throughout the day, which has made all the difference for us.   Because he's both intellectually engaged and able to move more often during the day, my son loves going to school and I never thought I'd see that happen.

I encourage you to check it out for yourself.  If it's the right fit for your child, you'll likely recognize right away what it can offer.

I hope that helps.  Good luck. [/quote]

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