Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's very hard to advise you not knowing your location. Those posters saying to go back to daycare probably live in a high quality IB area and aren't realizing that many of us do not. I would join those who suggest you think more carefully about your plan for K and above, which is a lot of years. Do you like the school overall, other than this class? Would you be fine with leaving and lotterying again for something else, knowing you may end up at your IB school? Have you spoken to the principal, not just the teachers, about your predicament? There is also a poster comparing their experience at their DCPS to yours; each school is SO different.

OP. Yes, I recognize we are not in the same boat as those with a great IB K option. We do not feel great about our IB option. At the same time, this discussion has revealed how much this school is probably not the best fit for our kid (we really really love the community and maybe that has blinded me too much to the bad fit) so maybe it is just best for us to move on and try to find a new school for K.

If you're pretty sure, then yes do it. You may well get something else for K that works better. K seems to be a decent year for lottery.

I would say one more thing, which is that kids with IEPs should have push-in services if needed. Did you never get that opportunity? No, I don't know much about it but my daughter's classmate had an aide because of this who spent a lot of the day with her, and her needs were not very severe. For the future you may want to learn more about this option. It's SO hard with a PK3 kid because you're also learning the ropes of what school is and is not and how to advocate for your child.

I second this. I was surprised when my DS got something like 10 hrs of push-in special ed for his incoming K IEP, but it turned out to be one of the factors that helped him transition successfully. It just puts another person in the classroom who can help the kid get into the grove and understand how school works.

As for the 1:1 aide, DCPS is pretty chary about those - I think you'd need to make a big stink to get one. I know that some charters are more generous. It can make the difference between the kid going to an autism classroom and being able to stay in general ed. But it doesn't sound like OP's child has that level of needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's very hard to advise you not knowing your location. Those posters saying to go back to daycare probably live in a high quality IB area and aren't realizing that many of us do not. I would join those who suggest you think more carefully about your plan for K and above, which is a lot of years. Do you like the school overall, other than this class? Would you be fine with leaving and lotterying again for something else, knowing you may end up at your IB school? Have you spoken to the principal, not just the teachers, about your predicament? There is also a poster comparing their experience at their DCPS to yours; each school is SO different.

OP. Yes, I recognize we are not in the same boat as those with a great IB K option. We do not feel great about our IB option. At the same time, this discussion has revealed how much this school is probably not the best fit for our kid (we really really love the community and maybe that has blinded me too much to the bad fit) so maybe it is just best for us to move on and try to find a new school for K.

Can I ask why? You might be surprised!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your son have an IEP? Is he receiving services? He’ll be too old to get them outside of DCPS at PK4.

Yes, he does and we are okay with this because honestly, the school services are pretty bad (and to answer PP questions about IDEA compliance- we have zero faith in their process so don't think a convo about more services will be fruitful). We got him some outside private services to make up for lack at school-another reason why this is a big financial stretch.

If you have such low confidence of the services you are getting for PreK3 at a HRCS - you may want to find another school that is a better fit for your family. If the school does a poor job with communication and commitment for children with 504s or IEPs in early childhood - what do you think your experience will be in elementary when you have an identified learning disability?

Agreed. Although, our DCPS was absolutely terrible about the issues our PK3er was having -- it wasn't until I pulled him out and went through the central office to get the IEP that things started shaping up. When we went back at K with a strong IEP, everything worked out fine (so far).

Anonymous wrote:Does your son have an IEP? Is he receiving services? He’ll be too old to get them outside of DCPS at PK4.

Isn't DCPS doing equitable services for private schools anymore? At the very least, this allows you to keep the IEP when you transition back to DCPS after PK4. That's what we did.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, reach out to the Early Stages program at DCPS and see if they can help you. They can place you at a DCPS school with the appropriate supports.

Keep in mind that if you leave your charter, then you may have to move to a desirable school district to get the right school for your child. You might have to anyway. Our HRCS is terrible with SPED. Nothing short of horrific. In hindsight, I wish we just moved to the suburbs to a great school district.

I had to change my schedule to pick up my kids after school. Aftercare uses the lowest of the low providers. Mostly untrained young 20 somethings with no clue how to interact with kids, let alone any sort of special needs. See if you and your husband can work it out so one of you goes in really early so you get out in time to pick up the kids after school. The other parent handles the morning routine, then goes to work and stays later.

If this absolutely isn't possible, then reach out to some local colleges with education programs and see if you can find a babysitter studying a related field. You might be able to try care.com too and specify what type of background you're looking for.

Also try the special needs forum here. You might get more targeted advice.

They try to start with your neighborhood school - and move to other schools nearby. It is not like you can pick the school you want your child to attend - but they will work with you on an appropriate placement to get the services your child requires. Good luck!

I second all of this advice. Early Stages is a great resource that can absolutely help.

Actually, Early Stages has a HORRIBLE reputation in DCPS. I’ve been a DCPS Sped teacher for 15 years in WOTP and we cringe at the ieps that come out of there. Most of the people working there have never actually been in a school or have any idea how PreK works in schools. Just go in with eyes wide open and be ready to fight for what your kid actually needs rather than what they think the Dcps programs are like.

But since the child already has an IEP through a DCPCS - can Early Stages take that IEP as an input for placement? I know it is a different LSAT - but given where the parent is in the placement cycle, I would assume Early Stages might start there as opposed to starting with their own evaluation.

IMO - it is worth a call to Early Stages to learn more.

When you move from one LEA to another, the new school has 30 days to review, re-evaluate (if they deem it necessary) and draft a new IEP. During the 30 day period, they are required to follow the old one.

Early stages should take the existing IEP and use it to help with placement. Placement will also certainly be at your IB school unless a) it is "full" with 3+ students with IEPs or b) the child's disability and IEP requires 20+ hours of specialized education and support per week, suggesting a full or part-time self-contained classroom.

Part B above does not sound like it would apply to the OP's child.

Why not wait and see how the next school year goes and reassess as you go along? No point losing a seat when he may have an entirely different experience with another teacher.

I'm going to go against the grain on this one.

I pulled my son from public PK3 because he wasn't ready yet.

We put him in school for PK4 and he was more than ready.

He now has a 504 but didn't then.

His change in maturity from Pk3 to PK4 was huge.

Your son should not have been in aftercare. Find another option for him and I would bet he will be more than ready for school.

Also, if it's a truly highly regarded charter (ITS, YuYing, CapCity, etc.) lightning won't likely strike twice. If you are okay with moving to get a better school, then, sure, pull him, but start looking for that house in Fairfax or MoCo now.

As a kid with special needs, it may take years for him to get an appropriate level of services. Better to keep going now rather than pull him and start the clock in another school district years down the line.

Once you've decided, OP, I would be interested to know what you ended up with, and what helped you make that decision (if you don't mind sharing).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, reach out to the Early Stages program at DCPS and see if they can help you. They can place you at a DCPS school with the appropriate supports.

Keep in mind that if you leave your charter, then you may have to move to a desirable school district to get the right school for your child. You might have to anyway. Our HRCS is terrible with SPED. Nothing short of horrific. In hindsight, I wish we just moved to the suburbs to a great school district.

I had to change my schedule to pick up my kids after school. Aftercare uses the lowest of the low providers. Mostly untrained young 20 somethings with no clue how to interact with kids, let alone any sort of special needs. See if you and your husband can work it out so one of you goes in really early so you get out in time to pick up the kids after school. The other parent handles the morning routine, then goes to work and stays later.

If this absolutely isn't possible, then reach out to some local colleges with education programs and see if you can find a babysitter studying a related field. You might be able to try care.com too and specify what type of background you're looking for.

Also try the special needs forum here. You might get more targeted advice.

They try to start with your neighborhood school - and move to other schools nearby. It is not like you can pick the school you want your child to attend - but they will work with you on an appropriate placement to get the services your child requires. Good luck!

I second all of this advice. Early Stages is a great resource that can absolutely help.

Actually, Early Stages has a HORRIBLE reputation in DCPS. I’ve been a DCPS Sped teacher for 15 years in WOTP and we cringe at the ieps that come out of there. Most of the people working there have never actually been in a school or have any idea how PreK works in schools. Just go in with eyes wide open and be ready to fight for what your kid actually needs rather than what they think the Dcps programs are like.

But since the child already has an IEP through a DCPCS - can Early Stages take that IEP as an input for placement? I know it is a different LSAT - but given where the parent is in the placement cycle, I would assume Early Stages might start there as opposed to starting with their own evaluation.

IMO - it is worth a call to Early Stages to learn more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, reach out to the Early Stages program at DCPS and see if they can help you. They can place you at a DCPS school with the appropriate supports.

Keep in mind that if you leave your charter, then you may have to move to a desirable school district to get the right school for your child. You might have to anyway. Our HRCS is terrible with SPED. Nothing short of horrific. In hindsight, I wish we just moved to the suburbs to a great school district.

I had to change my schedule to pick up my kids after school. Aftercare uses the lowest of the low providers. Mostly untrained young 20 somethings with no clue how to interact with kids, let alone any sort of special needs. See if you and your husband can work it out so one of you goes in really early so you get out in time to pick up the kids after school. The other parent handles the morning routine, then goes to work and stays later.

If this absolutely isn't possible, then reach out to some local colleges with education programs and see if you can find a babysitter studying a related field. You might be able to try care.com too and specify what type of background you're looking for.

Also try the special needs forum here. You might get more targeted advice.

They try to start with your neighborhood school - and move to other schools nearby. It is not like you can pick the school you want your child to attend - but they will work with you on an appropriate placement to get the services your child requires. Good luck!

I second all of this advice. Early Stages is a great resource that can absolutely help.

Actually, Early Stages has a HORRIBLE reputation in DCPS. I’ve been a DCPS Sped teacher for 15 years in WOTP and we cringe at the ieps that come out of there. Most of the people working there have never actually been in a school or have any idea how PreK works in schools. Just go in with eyes wide open and be ready to fight for what your kid actually needs rather than what they think the Dcps programs are like.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, reach out to the Early Stages program at DCPS and see if they can help you. They can place you at a DCPS school with the appropriate supports.

Keep in mind that if you leave your charter, then you may have to move to a desirable school district to get the right school for your child. You might have to anyway. Our HRCS is terrible with SPED. Nothing short of horrific. In hindsight, I wish we just moved to the suburbs to a great school district.

I had to change my schedule to pick up my kids after school. Aftercare uses the lowest of the low providers. Mostly untrained young 20 somethings with no clue how to interact with kids, let alone any sort of special needs. See if you and your husband can work it out so one of you goes in really early so you get out in time to pick up the kids after school. The other parent handles the morning routine, then goes to work and stays later.

If this absolutely isn't possible, then reach out to some local colleges with education programs and see if you can find a babysitter studying a related field. You might be able to try care.com too and specify what type of background you're looking for.

Also try the special needs forum here. You might get more targeted advice.

They try to start with your neighborhood school - and move to other schools nearby. It is not like you can pick the school you want your child to attend - but they will work with you on an appropriate placement to get the services your child requires. Good luck!

I second all of this advice. Early Stages is a great resource that can absolutely help.

Anonymous wrote:OP, reach out to the Early Stages program at DCPS and see if they can help you. They can place you at a DCPS school with the appropriate supports.

Keep in mind that if you leave your charter, then you may have to move to a desirable school district to get the right school for your child. You might have to anyway. Our HRCS is terrible with SPED. Nothing short of horrific. In hindsight, I wish we just moved to the suburbs to a great school district.

I had to change my schedule to pick up my kids after school. Aftercare uses the lowest of the low providers. Mostly untrained young 20 somethings with no clue how to interact with kids, let alone any sort of special needs. See if you and your husband can work it out so one of you goes in really early so you get out in time to pick up the kids after school. The other parent handles the morning routine, then goes to work and stays later.

If this absolutely isn't possible, then reach out to some local colleges with education programs and see if you can find a babysitter studying a related field. You might be able to try care.com too and specify what type of background you're looking for.

Also try the special needs forum here. You might get more targeted advice.

They try to start with your neighborhood school - and move to other schools nearby. It is not like you can pick the school you want your child to attend - but they will work with you on an appropriate placement to get the services your child requires. Good luck!

Pretty sure they cap class size at 16 for PK3 or they have to move up to 2 teachers and aides. Is this not true for charters? You may do better in dcps.

OP, reach out to the Early Stages program at DCPS and see if they can help you. They can place you at a DCPS school with the appropriate supports.

Keep in mind that if you leave your charter, then you may have to move to a desirable school district to get the right school for your child. You might have to anyway. Our HRCS is terrible with SPED. Nothing short of horrific. In hindsight, I wish we just moved to the suburbs to a great school district.

I had to change my schedule to pick up my kids after school. Aftercare uses the lowest of the low providers. Mostly untrained young 20 somethings with no clue how to interact with kids, let alone any sort of special needs. See if you and your husband can work it out so one of you goes in really early so you get out in time to pick up the kids after school. The other parent handles the morning routine, then goes to work and stays later.

If this absolutely isn't possible, then reach out to some local colleges with education programs and see if you can find a babysitter studying a related field. You might be able to try care.com too and specify what type of background you're looking for.

Also try the special needs forum here. You might get more targeted advice.

If your child has an IEP, I would reach out to child find [or what ever it is currently called] and see what type of placement they could offer outside of your charter.

It may not be in your neighborhood school.