My understanding is that IDEA doesn't apply to private schools, so I don't know if you have a document comparable to an IEP that would transfer over, or if you'll have to go through the 60 day eligibility process at the beginning of the year. I would suggest calling Murch to find out what you need to do to make the process as seamless as possible.

My child has an IEP at Murch, and I'm pleased with the services. I'm a sped teacher myself, so I don't know if they're great or if I'm jaded because I've seen a lot of teachers over the years who don't do anything. Most sped teachers that I've encountered do or say whatever they need in the meetings to avoid a lawsuit. There's very little meat to what they're saying. At Murch, I feel like there's a genuine interest in my child, and they casually rattle off minute details that signify to me that they're actually doing the work. The sped staff isn't very large, but I don't know if that's a budget thing or based on them not having a lot of students with IEPs. I'm satisfied however with everyone that we've worked with: speech, sped teachers, counselor, and social worker.

Anonymous wrote:Lafayette is a mess. Especially in the self contained rooms, the teachers are new and clueless, almost as clueless as the principal. One teacher actually had to get moved out of the classroom for safety issues, and she was just moved up the stairs to the olders classrooms.

Go for Murch. More experience and less stupidity.

A child with dyslexia will not be anywhere near a self-contained classroom. Whatever is or isn’t happening in those classrooms won’t affect OPs child.

Lafayette is a mess. Especially in the self contained rooms, the teachers are new and clueless, almost as clueless as the principal. One teacher actually had to get moved out of the classroom for safety issues, and she was just moved up the stairs to the olders classrooms.

Go for Murch. More experience and less stupidity.

I've only heard good things about the team at Murch, but agree you should talk to the school directly about your individual needs.

Our experience at Lafayette has been mixed. You can email me at newbaby2006[at]gmail[dot]com if you want to talk off line. But I don't check that email often, so post here if you do email.

Call both schools and ask to speak with someone from the special education staff. These are very important issues, you will do much better hearing from the schools directly than from anonymous boards, even though this information can be helpful also. Not many people have a choice between these schools, so there will not likely be many people who can compare the two.

We are zoned for Murch but have a high waitlist number for Lafayette. We only entered the lottery in order to buy ourselves some more time to compare special education services at the two schools.

DD is in a private K and will enter first grade next fall at one of these two schools. She has dyslexia and inattentive ADHD (not hyperactive but super spacy), any experiences with special ed services at these two schools? DD will need specialized reading support services, as well as an overall strong classroom experience to keep her focused and on track.