Can anyone here recommend a good middle school close to SOMA?
erins said:
susan1014 said:They have two different programs - Kinnelon campus focuses on behavior issues; Morristown does not. A few months ago I visited the Morristown campus and was told that my mild-mannered, high functioning kid with autism would be a good fit.
erins said:I was told that the Shepard School was more focused on behavioral issues (but this is second hand information)
Another school to consider is Shepard School in Kinnelon & Morristown. http://www.shepardschools.org/
Interesting to hear, since our Case Manager said "absolutely not" when I brought it up as a possibility...which may be his knowledge of the school, rather than its reality. Water under the bridge now, but irritating.
susan1014 said:
erins said:Interesting to hear, since our Case Manager said "absolutely not" when I brought it up as a possibility...which may be his knowledge of the school, rather than its reality. Water under the bridge now, but irritating.
susan1014 said:They have two different programs - Kinnelon campus focuses on behavior issues; Morristown does not. A few months ago I visited the Morristown campus and was told that my mild-mannered, high functioning kid with autism would be a good fit.
erins said:I was told that the Shepard School was more focused on behavioral issues (but this is second hand information)
Another school to consider is Shepard School in Kinnelon & Morristown. http://www.shepardschools.org/
Not surprising, my case manager didn't know about the school either...I found it on Google. The principal of the Morristown School grew up in Maplewood.
According to the website for the Morristown School "Shepard Schools have been certified by the College Board to offer Advanced Placement Courses in areas such as Literature and Composition, American History, and Physics."
Here's a school in Bergen County for grades 8-12: Homestead School. http://www.holmstead.org/ It describes itself as a "therapeutic high school educating grades 8-12, ages 13-18, from 60 towns within 6 New Jersey counties". The website has the course listing, college acceptances and the FAQ states 80% of students go on college.
This is so frustrating. The case mgr sends me an email saying she'll get in touch sometime next week to schedule and appointment for me to sign release forms for school records to go to OOD schools. Why wasn't that done weeks ago? Like there is all the time in the world.
@erins
The Shepherd School in Morristown sounds like it could be a good fit. Have to take a look at their website. Thanks for mentioning it.
NJRobyn said:
This is so frustrating. The case mgr sends me an email saying she'll get in touch sometime next week to schedule and appointment for me to sign release forms for school records to go to OOD schools. Why wasn't that done weeks ago? Like there is all the time in the world.
@erins
The Shepherd School in Morristown sounds like it could be a good fit. Have to take a look at their website. Thanks for mentioning it.
Unless they are pushing for the OOD placement, your case manager may have no incentive to rush things. In our district, some of the case managers are part-time hourly hires, who also have private therapeutic practices, and may well be on the classic August therapist vacations.
Track every correspondence, push for more aggressive timelines...if there is any sign they are lingering, then do everything by official letter to the Special Education department and keep on top of it.
Are you going to have your child start school and then move, or are you looking at home instruction while you finalize a placement? Hopefully you can make things move quickly once school is back in session. Once files are sent out, schools will quickly tell you if they want to schedule visits, so keep your schedules as flexible as possible to do all of your visits quickly to allow you to move toward a decisision.
@erins
Thank for the Holmstead School. It sounds very good. My son is going into 7th grade and is just turning 12 next week.
Something to keep in mind for the future.
@susan
This case mgr seems either totally disinterested or inexperienced/forgetful. Whatever she is -she has made it so my son will have to do home instruction or online school until a placement is found. Not what I want for him at all
My son went to Sage Day in Mahwah starting in 6th grade. We didn't get the approval for OOD until late August and had to tour, choose a school etc. He did home instruction for most of Sept. although honestly in many ways, it wasn't necessary. The school did a very nice job of having him start a little late. Not ideal, but in hindsight, wasn't anything to worry about. Sage Day Middle School was a very positive experience for my 2e son. Possibly not as academically rigorous as his IQ suggest he could do, but he got sooooo much out of it therapeutically, that I'm not that worried. I just hope the high school works out as well for him. Feel free to pm me if I can help at all.
You and your child will really have to visit the schools and get a feel for yourselves. We toured Calais and it was not good for us. My son couldn't wait to get out of there. They did't have the 2e program then, and administration may have changed, so maybe we would feel differently now. But this is mostly to say that you can collect lots of opinions, but in the end, you have to pick what will work best for your child and no one else's.
@carolanne
Thanks for the info on Sage. We will have to check it out. Our son is definitely not starting on time. I am waiting to hear what the school system will do as far as tutoring. He had gone to Silvergate Prep at the end of last year and it was a very good experience. I'd like them to send him there rather than at home tutoring for 10 hours a week. At least Silvergate felt like a class and being in school.
Btw...
Does anyone have a psychiatrist they trust and actually would recommend?
We need to find a new doctor.
We were supposed to go see Chapel Hill Academy but they came back and said our son wasn't a good fit for their program. A total disappointment. They didn't give me a reason for it not being a good match.
Now we have an appointment at Sage Day School in Mahwah on Monday. I hope it goes well. Our son has ADHD, Bipolar and I believe ODD. He is not an acting out/behaviorally challenged child at all in school.
I wish the public school had a program for a child like him. Teachers can be so damaging without even realizing it. Berating a child for being disorganized, forgetful or being too enthusiastic and calling out just gives the other kids in class "permission" to pick on that child. Wish schools taught their staff how to deal with special kids in class.
Anyway-I appreciate all the help and suggestions you have all given.
NJRobyn said:
We were supposed to go see Chapel Hill Academy but they came back and said our son wasn't a good fit for their program. A total disappointment. They didn't give me a reason for it not being a good match.
Did your current school district send your son's files to Chapel Hill? Have you ever seen his files and actually reviewed what is in it? You may want to do that...you don't want the school district sending information that misrepresents your child.
As an update to those who are following this: Our son, Jr. CKDH, is in District at the Middle School for 6th grade and happy. He has some academic support, but really is flourishing (so far) with the freedom and academic challenges. We have been told by many that many children with ADHD (and especially 2E) thrive in middle school and beyond because there is much more academic challenges, flexibility, movement from class to class with different teachers etc. - and more general variety that keeps them interested and engaged. Also there is no recess in the Middle School (which is generally a social challenge for these kids), and there is SO many more options for each class and support that it is hard to differentiate between classes with support, and not (so less stigma). He loves History, Gym (they change so he can get sweaty) , Science, Honors Math (it's the middle level), band classes etc. He also has made a great core group of friends with tight knit group of VERY polite and well rounded boys that have similar interest in video games, music, sports etc. Also their parents are nice and totally chill (which is a relief). The boys walk into town after school, he texts us how things are going and he feels like a big kid now. We are very hopeful and are keeping our fingers crossed! Who knows if it will last? Who knows how he feels when he is working on 2 hours of homework every night? But feeling so far very grateful for the support of our close friends and family... and especially our Lawyer 
@erins
That's a very good point. I have never looked at our son's file, so don'T know what is in it. I am going to ask the case mgr to see it. Thank you for the suggestion!
We went to Sage Day School in Mahwah yesterday. Very nice. People and children were friendly. The program seems to have a good balance between academics and therapy. Our son is there today for a trial day. Hoping all goes well. Only issue I can see is that it is about 45 min (with no traffic) away.
The case mgr has mentioned Mount Carmel Guild in West Orange and a soeci program in Roselle Park public schools. I looked at both on the web and they mention acting out students and behavior mod programs that are in place. I don't know if that is right for our son. He isn't acting out at all. Does anyone have info on either of these schos? The case mgr also has sent his records to Rutgers and Collier. Feedback on any of these is appreciated.
@ckdhaven-great news that your son is thriving!
I am trying to find more info on the conner ruling that had been mentioned...and also something called the Carter Mechanism that the NY Winston Prep campus mentioned on the website.
I can't find any websites that specifically refer to a 'Conner Ruling'
3. Conner ruling settlement -- based on a US Supreme court ruling
allowing parents to pursue the placement that they believe a child
needs, enroll the child, and then sue the District to get paid back for
the educational costs. If the case is good (and with proper lawyers and
a supportive receiving school), my understanding is that this tends to
lead to a settlement for much, but not all of the cost of the placement.
Obviously a big financial risk here, since parent pays first, then
litigates to get back some/all of costs.
Hi All
This week we have looked at both Collier Middle School and Calais School. People we met at both we very nice. Both have nice facilities. Collier is on a gorgeous campus that is very large with 2 pools used during their extended year, outdoor tennis/basketball courts, and two school buildings (middle and high schools). Calais is also in a nice setting with outdoor space that has sports fields and a playground.
Calais is K-12+ (they take children up to 21 years old for post 12th grade programs). All the students are housed in 1 building. I think there are under 100 students total.
Before we started looking at schools, my son was adamant that he did not want to be in a mixed level class. Not sure where that came from, but it was his one request. Seems all of Calais classes are mixed level. He would have been in a class of ten 6/7 graders-evenly split. Also, they are not departmentalized. For my son that doesn't meet his LRE. He needs to change classes and mingle with as many other children as possible to help him become more social. I think they cater to a more needy group than Ben fits into. Also, their 2E program is not truly a 2E program. She explained that they use this to challenge children while building selF esteem. Students who are doing well in any subject area that can coincide with the project going on can participate. They just have to show the desire to do so. There is no real Academic criteria to enter this program.
They basically pull children out to work on one project which is the 2E program. Last year they did something with technology. The program is mostly for high school students which is considered grade 8 and up. This year it is a science project-she wasn't sure what exactly. She also was a bit sketchy on whether a middle schooler could participate. Regular science classes don't do full on labs. They do "experiments"-when I asked the difference she said it was less involved without a need for lab equipment.
No individual counseling is included automatically in the schedule. Counselors are on hand as needed. Group is done one time a week in each class. They have a Counseling Center which is run by a teacher with a Behavior Mod background. It is available for kids who need a break, a quiet place, etc.
Calais was ok. It wasn't a good fit for My son, but it wasn't bad.
Collier felt like a "regular" (hate that term) school when you walked in. People moving around in the halls and it just had that vibe. Not too quiet-not too loud. Middle School is departmentalized and no grade mixing. Many electives to choose from. Nice cafeteria (students can choose Foods as an elective and get to work in the cafeteria-learning to cook for a crowd). There are four sections of 7th grade so academically (even though they say they don't group homogeneously) they said they can meet the needs of all level learners.
Individual and group counseling each are once per week and extra time as needed.
We all got a great feel at Collier. Kids looked happy. My son starts on Tuesday-so wish us luck!
Sorry for the long post. If anyone wants more info on either school or Sage which we saw two weeks ago send me a .
Robyn
Hey folks.
Thanks for the well wishes erins and bklyngirl.
I was wondering if anyone has actually gotten together for coffee and comraderie? I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes it's hard to explain to friends and family how life is with a child who marched to the beat of a different drummer. They just don't get it-not that don't try. It's been very nice talking here with people who understand what I'm going through.
Regards
Robyn
I keep meaning to organize something, but have fallen down on the job.
So, here goes...day or evening? Coffee or something stronger? Let's pick a day between the Teachers Convention break and Halloween, and then we can figure out a place for a meet and greet.
Feel free to PM me, and I'll try to actually make it happen this time -- special needs parenting can be a very lonely place, and friends and family often don't get it. Special Ed PTA is important, but I too would love a place for more informal sharing.
luigi said:
The Craig School
In all the years I served as an LDTC (over 10 years), placing students and conducting IEPS, the Craig School seemed the most child-friendly and well-organized.
Thought this might be of interest to some on this thread. Contact foundation directly for more info:
"On behalf of the Innisfree Foundation, it is with great pleasure that I write to invite you to attend a free special education presentation for parents on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 6:30 PM at the Community Congregational Church on 200 Hartshorn Drive Short Hills, New Jersey. The presentation will be given by John Rue, the President and General Counsel of the Innisfree Foundation and will address the rights of children and their parents in special education.
Innisfree Foundation aims to assist New Jersey families, especially but not limited to the families of children with disabilities, to obtain the best possible school experience. Innisfree directly assists clients who meet its income criteria through its low bono and pro bono work, and also works on behalf of the state’s entire special education population through its participation in direct advocacy, amicus filings, impact litigation and test cases, and outreach via social media and provision of educational seminars."
Rentals
Sponsored Business
Promote your business here - Businesses get highlighted throughout the site and you can add a deal.
They have two different programs - Kinnelon campus focuses on behavior issues; Morristown does not. A few months ago I visited the Morristown campus and was told that my mild-mannered, high functioning kid with autism would be a good fit.