Anonymous wrote:We hired an educational consultant to explore public school options in the greater DMV area for our HFA child. Of all the money we've spent over the years on SN services, this was our greatest waste of time and money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: what's your IB school?

Our IB school is not a good option for a variety of reasons.

We are considering moving, though, to either the Oyster-Adams or Murch school districts (renting an apartment in bounds). DC is bilingual English/Spanish with Spanish as the 'first' language. I am also trying to find out whether those schools would be good at providing accommodations for a child with this profile. I have heard good things about Murch's SN programs. I'm not sure about Oyster's approach and need to find out more but am considering it because I believe that it would be helpful for DC to learn to read in Spanish due to it being the first language learned at home and also because Spanish is easier to read.

I'm becoming repetitive...but I have concerns about leaving the current school because I believe DC will be the 'problem child' in a traditional public school. But we are considering it since everyone is saying that kids with attention issues needs more structure....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: thanks very much for all of the useful the information that has been shared here.

07/05/2017 21:11. It's great that you have personal experience with a public Montessori school in DC. If you are still monitoring this thread, can I ask which public Montessori your child attended? If it is LAMB, I would love to talk with you further (offline). I can be reached at the following email address: casey20171915@outlook.com.

I am aware that it is hard to navigate the system in DC and that the choices are not always great. However, one thing we are considering is moving to the inbounds district of a highly regarded traditional public school that offers SN servcies. You all are convincing me more about the need for structure for this child which Montessori usually doesn't provide; however, I also have big doubts about whether a traditional public school will be able to handle this child without really hurting his self-esteem. Our public Montessori school is able to address kids with IEPs and they do have children with dyslexia and ADHD within the school. But I have my doubts, which you all have confirmed, about Montessori overall for this type of child.....

I'm 21:11. My child did attend LAMB but graduated 5th grade several years ago -- all of the staff DC worked with (special ed coordinator, learning specialists, OTs, psychologists, classroom teachers) are no longer there. Compared to some of the other Montessori charters it has a longer track record, which is good and they are not doctrinaire Montessorians -- they allow learning specialists in the classroom and did bring in certified reading specialists for kids who needed that. But it's also a dual language, so you definitely need think about whether achieving bi-literacy by 5th grade is an appropriate goal for a child with dyslexia.

For us it was a year to year decision; every December we'd re-evaluate whether we should stay or leave. If your only other option is to move, then take it year by year. But I would get an outside tutor and do outside testing on a regular basis to see what progress is, or isn't being made.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: thanks very much for all of the useful the information that has been shared here.

07/05/2017 21:11. It's great that you have personal experience with a public Montessori school in DC. If you are still monitoring this thread, can I ask which public Montessori your child attended? If it is LAMB, I would love to talk with you further (offline). I can be reached at the following email address: casey20171915@outlook.com.

I am aware that it is hard to navigate the system in DC and that the choices are not always great. However, one thing we are considering is moving to the inbounds district of a highly regarded traditional public school that offers SN servcies. You all are convincing me more about the need for structure for this child which Montessori usually doesn't provide; however, I also have big doubts about whether a traditional public school will be able to handle this child without really hurting his self-esteem. Our public Montessori school is able to address kids with IEPs and they do have children with dyslexia and ADHD within the school. But I have my doubts, which you all have confirmed, about Montessori overall for this type of child.....

I'm 21:11. My child did attend LAMB but graduated 5th grade several years ago -- all of the staff DC worked with (special ed coordinator, learning specialists, OTs, psychologists, classroom teachers) are no longer there. Compared to some of the other Montessori charters it has a longer track record, which is good and they are not doctrinaire Montessorians -- they allow learning specialists in the classroom and did bring in certified reading specialists for kids who needed that. But it's also a dual language, so you definitely need think about whether achieving bi-literacy by 5th grade is an appropriate goal for a child with dyslexia.

For us it was a year to year decision; every December we'd re-evaluate whether we should stay or leave. If your only other option is to move, then take it year by year. But I would get an outside tutor and do outside testing on a regular basis to see what progress is, or isn't being made.

Anonymous wrote:OP: what's your IB school?