Anonymous wrote:Ohh look another marshall sucks vs madison pyramid thread. Hint they are both the same.

Hint, Kilmer feeds to both and Langley, too, so exit the thread if you are clueless.

Ohh look another marshall sucks vs madison pyramid thread. Hint they are both the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DS is not on a sensitive side, far from it. But I don't want him to be bullied, especially by adults. Looks like private school is becoming a reality in 2015-2016 school year.

Consider The New School of Northern VA. They do a great job with academics, and also with kids with SN. The way they teach there seems to work for all kids, and the SN aren't as pronounced. My first son is learning disabled and did well there - didn't need accommodations either due to the way they taught. They have small classes, are very hands-on, and very interactive.

OP here. I've heard about this school. I am not clear what kind of specialists they have. In particular, DS needs dyslexia and OT.

They don't but I believe you can bring in your own. They have such a wide range of tools, etc. easy to work with

What do you mean, "you can bring your own"? You bring your own specialist to the school or will the school provide one? I too have a dyslexic child and he's been working with a reading specialist at his ES but no way I am hiring someone. I simply can't afford one.

The PP is talking about the New School, which is a private school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DS is not on a sensitive side, far from it. But I don't want him to be bullied, especially by adults. Looks like private school is becoming a reality in 2015-2016 school year.

Consider The New School of Northern VA. They do a great job with academics, and also with kids with SN. The way they teach there seems to work for all kids, and the SN aren't as pronounced. My first son is learning disabled and did well there - didn't need accommodations either due to the way they taught. They have small classes, are very hands-on, and very interactive.

OP here. I've heard about this school. I am not clear what kind of specialists they have. In particular, DS needs dyslexia and OT.

They don't but I believe you can bring in your own. They have such a wide range of tools, etc. easy to work with

What do you mean, "you can bring your own"? You bring your own specialist to the school or will the school provide one? I too have a dyslexic child and he's been working with a reading specialist at his ES but no way I am hiring someone. I simply can't afford one.

I'll bet some things have changed recently. Most current parents I've talked to seem very happy -- well, as happy as a middle school parent can be. It's a tough time for kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Kilmer is a great school. Putting the kids in houses helps. There are some fantastic teachers and kids there. Very nice environment.

The "houses" equal tracking. It sounds faintly Harry Potter-like, but the kids and parents know which are the AAP houses, which is the one for the low-performers, and which ones are randomly comprised of kids in the middle.

You don't have any idea what you're talking about. There are AAP kids in every house.

Maybe that's changed, which is certainly possible given how principles Kilmer has churned through (Farmer, Hernandez, some forgotten acting principal, Tyson, Clendaniel as acting, and now the new guy) in recent years.

Principles, and principals.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Kilmer is a great school. Putting the kids in houses helps. There are some fantastic teachers and kids there. Very nice environment.

The "houses" equal tracking. It sounds faintly Harry Potter-like, but the kids and parents know which are the AAP houses, which is the one for the low-performers, and which ones are randomly comprised of kids in the middle.

You don't have any idea what you're talking about. There are AAP kids in every house.

Maybe that's changed, which is certainly possible given how principles Kilmer has churned through (Farmer, Hernandez, some forgotten acting principal, Tyson, Clendaniel as acting, and now the new guy) in recent years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Kilmer is a great school. Putting the kids in houses helps. There are some fantastic teachers and kids there. Very nice environment.

The "houses" equal tracking. It sounds faintly Harry Potter-like, but the kids and parents know which are the AAP houses, which is the one for the low-performers, and which ones are randomly comprised of kids in the middle.

You don't have any idea what you're talking about. There are AAP kids in every house.

Anonymous wrote:I think Kilmer is a great school. Putting the kids in houses helps. There are some fantastic teachers and kids there. Very nice environment.

The "houses" equal tracking. It sounds faintly Harry Potter-like, but the kids and parents know which are the AAP houses, which is the one for the low-performers, and which ones are randomly comprised of kids in the middle.

I think Kilmer is a great school. Putting the kids in houses helps. There are some fantastic teachers and kids there. Very nice environment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DS is not on a sensitive side, far from it. But I don't want him to be bullied, especially by adults. Looks like private school is becoming a reality in 2015-2016 school year.

Consider The New School of Northern VA. They do a great job with academics, and also with kids with SN. The way they teach there seems to work for all kids, and the SN aren't as pronounced. My first son is learning disabled and did well there - didn't need accommodations either due to the way they taught. They have small classes, are very hands-on, and very interactive.

OP here. I've heard about this school. I am not clear what kind of specialists they have. In particular, DS needs dyslexia and OT.

They don't but I believe you can bring in your own. They have such a wide range of tools, etc. easy to work with

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kilmer is excellent and much better than thoreau. Look at the TJ stats. A lot of bitter haters on here.

http://vienna.patch.com/groups/schools/p/kilmer-remains-top-feeder-school-for-tj

I don't like when people keep mentioning TJ. Not everyone wants to go to TJ!!

OP: I don't get it either. Our cluster HS is GCM so if he goes there, I won't be disappointed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DS is not on a sensitive side, far from it. But I don't want him to be bullied, especially by adults. Looks like private school is becoming a reality in 2015-2016 school year.

Consider The New School of Northern VA. They do a great job with academics, and also with kids with SN. The way they teach there seems to work for all kids, and the SN aren't as pronounced. My first son is learning disabled and did well there - didn't need accommodations either due to the way they taught. They have small classes, are very hands-on, and very interactive.

OP here. I've heard about this school. I am not clear what kind of specialists they have. In particular, DS needs dyslexia and OT.

Anonymous wrote:Kilmer is excellent and much better than thoreau. Look at the TJ stats. A lot of bitter haters on here.

http://vienna.patch.com/groups/schools/p/kilmer-remains-top-feeder-school-for-tj

I don't like when people keep mentioning TJ. Not everyone wants to go to TJ!!

OP, I dont' have a kid at Kilmer (have one at another MS) but would advise you to schedule a tour of the school and a talk with whatever counselor would be assigned to help your son with his special needs. Of course any school is going to try to sell itself to you, so you have to be prepared with some tough questions for them and be ready for a sales pitch -- but that is going to happen anywhere. It does help to visit in person and get a look at the school-- does it seem that classrooms are crowded? Do you notice whether there seems to be enough equipment in the science classroom, enough computers, or are the computers very outdated, is there pure chaos in the hallways between classes or not, do you hear teachers raising voices?....It's only a snapshot and you might hit a time in a loud, crowded school where things happen to be calm for the hour you're visiting, or you might hit a time in a well-regulated school when things happen to be "off" for the hour you're visiting. But visit anyway.

And try to find some way to talk to parents in person -- boards like this can help somewhat but you really need to talk to some folks who have kids at Kilmer now, this year, or who have sent a couple of kids through the school in very recent years. Is your son's special need something for which there are, for instance, parent support groups or associations? If so -- there might be some way to use those groups to link up with parents who have had kids with this same need go through MS, if not at Kilmer, at least where they can tell you about how MS worked for their kid.....