We found the private pretty much only gave As and not a lot of feedback or constructive criticism on how to improve/do better even when it was obvious it wasn’t A work (incomplete sentences, first letters of sentences not capitalized, no punctuation at ends of sentences etc).

Some teachers are better than others ofc.

Is it possible that the private gave "A" grades on some other criteria than the public school uses?

PP, I will say this. I feel like MCPS is listening and they have more resources, more people to help. But you do have to be the squeaky wheel.

Siena was sort of like, yeah yeah, we know what we’re doing but when when it was all said and done, my kid was no better off, no further along, and our bank accounts were drained.

We moved back to MCPS because it was time and kid wanted out. Siena is too small and doesn’t have real sports programs or enough clubs. If your kid wants anything like a typical high school experience, they just can’t offer it. They’ll tell you they can and they will try, but they can’t. They can’t compete with the best Catholics or the other smaller privates either. The best teachers keep leaving too.

OP- thank you for posting. My child spends similar and currently in 7th at maybe the same school yours was at- but maybe the other one lol. Definitely some helpful tips here. We are starting to decide if we stay for high school or go back to mcps

Anonymous wrote:PP, I think I love you. I have asked for many of these accommodations you mention. She has some of them, we’ve been told no on some and I asked for HIAT. They told me HIAT wouldn’t come in until she started regularly using the accommodations she has (having things read to her, speech to text and text to speech). Even though she routinely used these things at Siena, she is hesitant to use them in public. I asked for Learning Ally (wanted them to pay instead of me) and they offered bookshare. LA is so much better imo

I will keep fighting. Thanks for letting me know I’m on the right track. Solidarity!

When you say, "we've been told no on some.... they told me HIAT wouldn't come until she started using accommodations....," who is the "we"? Did the "no" happen at an IEP team meeting, or is it an individual case manager who is saying no to your requests outside of a formal IEP team meeting?

I encourage you to keep fighting, but I will say I did not ever get MCPS to pay for Learning Ally, but the rest of it is definitely possible.

Resource is a study hall period
Takes the place of an elective

PP, I think I love you. I have asked for many of these accommodations you mention. She has some of them, we’ve been told no on some and I asked for HIAT. They told me HIAT wouldn’t come in until she started regularly using the accommodations she has (having things read to her, speech to text and text to speech). Even though she routinely used these things at Siena, she is hesitant to use them in public. I asked for Learning Ally (wanted them to pay instead of me) and they offered bookshare. LA is so much better imo

I will keep fighting. Thanks for letting me know I’m on the right track. Solidarity!

What is resource?

My DC went to Siena in ES. We pulled him at MS because he had an opportunity to go to a MCPS MS magnet in his area of interest. He has a language processing disorder (not technically dyslexia, but reading disorder NOS was diagnosed), but he also had ADHD, so being at a school that was structured to allow him to go deeper into things was helpful to the ADHD side of him, but MCPS sucks at language special instruction and dyslexia (which is why we placed him at Siena in ES) although in recent years they are trying to do more but I think it might not reach the high school level yet. Check with MoCo Decoding Dyslexia for more comparative experiences in MCPS.

My DC clearly learned to read at Siena, but what I didn't realize when I pulled him at the end of ES was that there is a lot of upper level reading, grammar and writing instruction that is still happening in MS and HS that he probably needed. He can decode, but he doesn't love to read and basically won't do it, which was a disaster in HS. I don't think that was Siena's fault, and more homework wouldn't have helped. There are also some kids whose dyslexia is such that they will never become fluent readers because it just takes so much cognitive energy. These students really have to learn how to use accommodations to get through written material.

The magnet program clearly benefited DC in terms of math and science - but for that, he would have gotten depressed and failed out much earlier. Our experience in MCPS was terrible in terms of IEP compliance, both in MS and HS. Every year there were teachers who were non-compliant and IEP teams that made illegal decisions. Things got better when I indicated that I would take legal action and documented in writing each failure to provide accommodations. Curiously, my kid initially didn't want me to do it, but once he saw that I viewed the failure to accommodate disability as the serious civil rights violation that it is, he actually started using his extra time.

In MCPS, there is a team called HIAT - High Incidence Assisted Technology - you should call an IEP meeting ASAP to capture the difficulty that your DD is having and insist that HIAT participate to assist the school team (technically they only assist the school team) in exploring what kinds of assistive technology your DD should have. Ask for this:

1) qualified for Bookshare so she can have all books and textbooks on audio. The readers are getting better.

2) Once you are qualified for Bookshare, you can also purchase Learning Ally for about $150. This gives her access to lots of books by audio with good reading voices.

3) Copies of class notes for all classes -- this means BOTH access to the teacher copy of any whiteboard presentation which she can then download and access for review at home, PLUS permission to use her iPhone or iPad to take pictures of whiteboards in class and use a note taking device like Notability which records the lecture and transcribes and allows her to take notes of some sort which she can then tap to hear what was being said later. (BTW, there is no expectation of privacy in a public school classroom, so recording the classroom is not forbidden from a privacy perspective, especially if DC keeps the recording and transcript private for her own use for studying.)

4) extra time -- minimum 50% and if her dyslexia is severe 100%

5) ability to reschedule deadlines - because if you have 50% time on everything, then by definition you cannot meet all deadlines.

6) access to computer to write everything, predictive spellers, writing organizers and speech to text and text to speech.

Along with the above, HIAT can be scheduled to give her "special instruction" in how to use the technology effectively.

Do not let the school tell you any of this is not possible. My DC had all of the above as accommodations and used it all at various times but not all at once every day. HS was seriously depressing for us all - still lots of teachers who were very negative and discriminatory. Some good ones though. He made it through HS, but grades were not great. He did get accepted to college, where he struggled the 2nd year, but ultimately made it through (despite some Ds) and then found something he loved which didn't require tons of reading and paper-writing. He is doing very well and is on track to graduate and has excellent work experience that will carry him in to a stable career (knock on wood).

All that is a long way of saying - get tough with the school, hang in there, and be positive and encourage your kid. She doesn't have to have straight As to go to college. 9th and even 10th grade can be for focusing on learning how to use the tools that will help her learn. Abbreviate her schedule if necessary so she can do tutoring (and therapy if she is becoming anxious or depressed). Try to allow her to focus on classes and subjects she gets some enjoyment out of, i.e. don't force foreign languages longer than the minimum or find some alternatives like sign language. Focus on helping her learn in whatever way she can about stuff that she is truly interested in even if it is outside school.

We had a educational advocate who said early - when we were considering the math and science magnet - that parents are really focused on remediation, but that what carries a kid through life is supporting them in the things they love and are good at. It turned out to be very true for us.

And, before I get flamed, I've mentioned the magnet here. I know not everyone has that opportunity, but I am also a tutor and have seen all kinds of kids with dyslexia and dysgraphia, and what I said holds true whatever level your kid is at -- focus on getting through not on being perfect and use as many accommodations as she needs to learn as much as she can in whatever way she can.

I don’t believe I said her teachers don’t care. In fact, her teachers are all terrific except for the one where she is having the hardest time. The issue I have with the case manager is that she doesn’t seem to mention anything until I ask for it first or doesn’t know exactly what to offer; she is first or second year out of college herself. I would have liked someone with more experience, but wouldn’t we all, I guess.

PP, how should the reading assignments be modified??

And for the person who asked, DD went to Siena. Be sure you know what you’re getting into and what your kid needs. It’s a lot of money. Ask questions and demand answers. They give almost no homework which the kids love but it also doesn’t prepare them for much of anything.

Anonymous wrote:DD did really well the first six weeks or so (whatever we've had so far) of school. Now, she's tanking. She's trying; clearly, things are getting harder. I'm really upset and worried. She has an IEP. She had been at one of the much touted dyslexia schools in this area for middle school and we pulled for public now (now in MCPS). The middle school did not do right by her; she made very little progress there. The high school has actually been helpful in getting her what she needs (not everything but they are trying). So, what should be my next step? Ask to meet directly with the teachers? One teacher in particular doesn't seem to care whether she passes or not.

DD has dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, EF issues, poor processing...

She's starting with a tutor this week, but there's so many issues - reading fluency, comprehension, EF challenges. There's only so much she can accomplish in the time she has.

DD has gone from an A to a C in history, math and English in a flash. History and math are close to Ds.

Can you say which middle school? I have a DC with similar challenges and we are looking at specialized middle schools now.

One of my concerns is sending DC to a private specialized school that doesn’t actually provide them with the education and tools they will need to be successful in high school.

Anonymous wrote:What is APUSH?

AP US History. All the AP topics have loads of videos online. Many of them are relevant for students taking a non-AP course.

Every reading assignment should be modified. That is specialized instruction.

If she is not getting modified content- they are not providing her FAPE.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all.

She does have resource and a case manager, though she is very green and neither she nor I are big fans.

Her tutor is amazing and will probably continue the SIS program with her. Don’t believe she ever finished it bc she went to the SN school and frankly, I trusted them to remediate this. Oh, how they failed her. I don’t even understand how that can happen.

DD is an athlete so that is good and helps her tremendously. It’s been a godsend for her but she’s also terrified bc she knows if her grades don’t come up, she won’t be academically eligible to play and that would devastate her.

You all don’t seem to be big fans of a lot. You think her teachers don’t care and one in particular is indifferent to whether she fails and you don’t like the case manager. I would suggest that these are your best resources and maybe figure out how to work with them.

Also you are right that she will be cut from sports if she doesn’t meet the academic excellence standards and there is no probation for that. Those of us who have kids in MCPS sports see it every year. Kids just disappear from the team. It’s so hard to watch.

Uhhh...how much money do u have to throw at this? Something like fusion academy or homeschooling with an all day tutor to remediate core subjects; Or look to do a program like Edison center for vocational skills