One of the first things you hear at an FCS open house is that they are not a special needs school. They do not have the staff or resources to handle special needs and really have no interest in trying. Not in a bad way, but simply if you know your child has special needs and will require services above and beyond, they are simply not the place. I appreciate the forthrightness. It saves parents time applying, and it saves the school time rejecting, or accepting and failing certain kids.

Where can you get more info on the new school. I am zoned for Ceasar Chavez but I won't be enrolling my DD there unless there are significant changes.

I'm 9:55. I would say moderate. I know aspergers and adhd kids that are or were there. There are probably more comprehensive schools ( lab, auburn, kingsbury, Siena) but for some, it's a good fit. There aren't a lot of openings, so I don't think they'll just take any child willing to pay, but school can't fix everything. I found them helpful in implementing plans made with home and outside professionals. It's always about options. They are way more helpful than my neighborhood school, but some are luckier in that regard. Public should have more resources, and you have more legal rights. I don't know anyone in the county autism program to be able to comment.

I've heard wonderful things about Frances Fuchs in College Park for kids with special needs but I don't know what grades they go up to. I know from personal experience that the kindergarten teachers at UPES are absolutely wonderful and you could probably call and take a tour to get a feel for the school and actually meet with someone from the special ed dept to see what you need to do to get an IEP on admission for on site speech/language therapy. I'm not sure what the class size is though. Getting special ed services in PG county is a very slow process but it does depend on the school and what resources they have access to. Hyattsville elementary may also be an option, I only know the elementary schools in that side of the county. There will be a brand new elementary school opening next school year so who knows how that will impact neighborhoods that are districted to UPES or Hyattsville.

not 9:55 but I have heard that Friends is NOT "friendly" about admitting kids with learning disabilities such as ADHD, Aspergers, etc.

9:55 I have a child with Aspergers. Would the Friends school be able to accommodate. This would be for middle school grades (or do they stop after elementary?)

9:17, it totally depends on the need and the child. I found them very accommodating but our needs were academic and emotional. It would at least be worth an inquiry. Bond mill is a public es friends are thrilled with. I think Bowie has a few too. Berwyn heights and up have happy parents but when last I heard UP class size was very big. Maybe staff at Francis Fuchs know who seems most on top of the transition to
mainstream k? Or who has very good learning specialists.

I don't know the school myself but I have heard good things about University Park Elementary School. It's public. I think if you live in University Park and some areas in College Park, and maybe even some areas of Hyattsville (???) you can go there.

Do they take kids with special needs? Are they able to put some accommodations in place?

I think has greatly improved in the current school structure...my nonreading kid was greatly supported with an individual plan...they don't have a lot of extra staff so at some points I hired specialized tutors (who sometimes saw my child at school during the school day) and they worked very closely with the tutor. They use an orton gillingham based reading/writing program for the younger grades now (wilson fundations) which I think is very helpful. However, since they don't have a large amount of staff, they can only do some extra individual pull out work with my student so most has to come from me or a tutor.

When I got testing done with suggested accommodations, those things were already in place at school before I got the testing - so I thought that was a good sign. And, my child reads now but it took many grades to get to fluency. However, for a parent who's not concerned or who thinks these things will magically fix by just attending school, they can't offer enough intervention to totally remediate kids with substantial issues...there has to be a cooperation between school, home and professional support services. But since my child only has language based learning issues, nobody I knew was having a good time in public PG schools with that issue - though I hear that can be on a school by school basis.

For speech, they can receive speech services at school, but from speech therapists you pay privately for. One of mine has done this too. In kindergarten at least the teachers know some basic ASL signs. Might be worth checking out if they would admit him. Probably depends on his level of need.

Anonymous wrote:Friends Community School in College Park is very nurturing. I don't know how they handle challenges like speech delays, but it can't hurt to call and ask.

http://www.friendscommunityschool.org/aboutFCS/about_fcs_admissions.shtml

They don't handle things like that very well. They don't put any pressure on the kid but I've known kids who were pulled out in 3-5 grade and unable to read. Why? Because the approach was pretty hands off and they believed the kids would read when they were ready.

Anonymous wrote:Where in PG are you?

I'm actually posting this for a friend who basically is willing to re-locate with in PG.

Friends Community School in College Park is very nurturing. I don't know how they handle challenges like speech delays, but it can't hurt to call and ask.

http://www.friendscommunityschool.org/aboutFCS/about_fcs_admissions.shtml

Where in PG are you?

ISO a kindergarten in PG for a child with a speech delay. Suggestions for public school or private schools would be helpful. Thank you.