Anonymous wrote:We are fortunate to have both of these schools as options for our DC for next September. We are torn. Cost is one consideration. We love that Lab has a vibrant community, a lot of research-based and cutting edge methods, and it also has the reputation of being “The” private school in the DC area for students with dyslexia. Lab accepted DC right away, and has been proactive about reaching out and answering questions, putting us in touch with other parents and resources.

We like Siena’s smaller size, more intimate setting, and less institutional approach to learning. They put a lot of effort into working with DC during the admissions process, with multiple day-long visits over multiple days, to make sure it was the “right fit.” Not sure if the quick acceptance vs slower more cautious acceptance is better? DC likes both schools; but they are quite different. DC is in mid-elementary and has a variety of learning disabilities (moderate to severe dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, working memory and auditory processing delays). Also some speech and OT needs. We are not sure if long-term SN school is the right approach for the next 8-9 years. But after the last two years in public, DC is not meeting IEP goals and needs some intense remediation. But then we would love to get him back into public school. Would appreciate any tips or advice.

Anonymous wrote:Another question for actual Lab/Siena parents. Realistically, do the schools intend to keep kids through 12th (Lab) and 8th (Siena) and work to that end? Or is the goal to remediate back out to mainstream public/private? I honestly don’t think we can afford keeping our DC at Lab school for more than a couple years. So we need to focus on remediation and working skills to get back to mainstream by middle school if possible.

Anonymous wrote:Oakwood family here! Our DC was admitted to Oakwood, Lab, and Sienna NoVA and we chose Oakwood. In our experience, Oakwood excels at remediating dyslexia and has a very systematic approach. Dyscalculia is more challenging to address and their approach varies more from teacher to teacher. ADHD is tolerated but here also, the approach to addressing the impact of ADHD on learning varies from teacher to teacher. I do wish the approach to ADHD was strengths-based. Perhaps this is what Lab is getting at with their emphasis on how special each student is?

Socially, Oakwood is a very welcoming school with an emphasis on kindness. The class size is a max of 12 so individual students do have an impact on the dynamic but so far, my child has always been in classes where the kids are all friends and there are no cliques or excluded students. The small class sizes are critical for learning, so there is really no way around this if your child needs the level of personal attention that most dyslexic kids need.

Logistics are a hugely important part of this decision. Not only do you need to get your child to and from school each day, but you also need to transport them to see their friends outside of school. We had not been part of a school that draws from a large geographic area before and I hadn’t really considered the impact on my child’s friendships until we got there. In retrospect, I’m relieved that I didn’t put my kid into a situation where their best friend lives an hour away.

Anonymous wrote:DC at Lab and while reading has been pretty well remediated (still very slow reading but amazing to see how fluent from moderate to significant until 3/4 grade), they haven’t been great on the dysgraphia and output side and often teach “down” to the kids. Also DC really dislikes the social atmosphere and the over the top “we’re so special” special Ed-ness of the school. Significant number of kids with behavior issues. But each kid and their needs are very different so need to gauge trade offs.