Anonymous wrote:We are at Lee and I just met with the SPED director today to start the IEP process for my 4yr old. I can say that she's very responsive - our teacher sent a referral email and the director was ON IT even though next week is the last of the school year. She is even going to try to get the OT to do an observation next week if possible. I really like that they have OT in house and the SPED director and OT already know my kid because it's a small school and they are in all of the classrooms. I'm also a pro- Montessori person and I'm not fussed about test scores, for a number of reasons.

DCUM is so obsessed with middle school - it's a particularly hard time demographically for middle school right now, but for me, a school that is a good match for my particular kid is way more important than where he'll go to school in eight years. If my very smart but possibly neurodivergent spends those years at a school that aren't meeting his needs, Middle school will be a disaster wherever we are.


We bike to Lee from another neighborhood and it's fine but walking to school is amazing. I would reach out to Breakthrough and ask to have a conversation with their SPED director as an incoming family. If you are happy with how their approach to IEPs feels and are going to be walking distance, I would choose that. If you aren't satisfied and think Montessori is right for your kid, Lee is great.

I’d co-sign this. I have a kid with an IEP at Lee Brookland, and the SPED director is amazing and so responsive and engaged. One service my kid gets is OT, and the OT is also really good. Can’t speak directly to speech, but the speech pathologist is on staff, not a a contractor, and has been at the school for years. Obviously there can be turnover, but I’ve been super impressed and clearly it’s something the school as a whole prioritizes.

Hi, here to offer a different insight on ITDS as a parent of a child with an IEP. When my child was first set up with an IEP the support we received was excellent. After 1 semester that teacher left, the head of the SPED department left, and it was a nonstop roller coaster from there.

The admin who lead the SPED program are constantly changing, as are the instructors, and often the curriculum as a result of these changes. The school does not make sure they always have staff with a certain set of certifications so what they can offer varies.

My child had times where there was a full year of regression on paper but all year we had been told there was improvement. With the exception of a few great instructors (who were always changed out so we did have a long term benefit) over the years, I felt like no one cared. We left the school as have more than a few of our peers who have had kids there with IEPs. It is an inconsistent mess at best.

At the end of the day the worst part was that the teachers (in the regular classes) treated my kid like it was ok not to do the same work as the rest of the class and it became clear that there were many projects my child was excluded from. It was heartbreaking, especially because my child is more than capable.

If you know you will need SPED services long term I would not choose ITDS. If you think a year or so will be all you need, maybe you will get lucky.

That’s terrifying. Can you expand on what happened to the student at Breakthrough with the bad special ed experience? I’m going to take everyone’s advice and ask to speak to the sped coordinator next week. Thank you all so much!

I know of a student at Breakthrough with a horrible special education experience.

Our experience with IEPs and DCPS / DCPCS is sometimes it is year to year dependent.
We had situations where the OT went out on personal leave and there was a temporary person providing services that were not as consistent.
Or when the Special Education Teacher went out on maternity leave and the school DID NOT BACKFILL AT ALL!
Just stopped providing services.
Pick the place that checks the most boxes for you and plan on supplementing if you need to