Public vs. Private School for Learning Differences
Parent Q&A
Our daughter was diagnosed with ADHD at the end of first grade. We put her on Adderal, which helped tremendously, and go her weekly tutoring. She continued to have problems, so in sixth grade we had a neuropsych exam at UC that showed elements of LD as well as slow processing. She was in private school from pre-K through 8th grade, and is now at Berkeley High.
Private schools are under no requirement to accommodate, and have limited resources to do so. Even if your child is accepted, he may not get much help. While I think we did OK at our kid's private school, other parents whose kids have ADHD were deeply dissatisfied. If you go with public schooling, you can use some of the money saved for tutoring, which has helped us a lot. On the flip side, private-school small class size and personal attention can be helpful. It may boil down to which private versus which public school you're looking at. My kid's public-school teachers are every bit as dedicated and individually supportive as the private-school ones were. There are private schools focused on kids with learning issues, locally including Raskob (https://www.raskobinstitute.org/).
Re IEPs: we thought our daughter qualified for an IEP, but we ended up with a 504. I had also read what various websites said was the law, but Berkeley schools at this point operate under a newer, perfectly legal achievement-based standard, and our kid simply wasn't that far behind even though she was achieving well below her IQ-based capacity. In an ideal world, smart kids with learning issues would get instruction that addresses both the smarts and the disabilities, but public schools really don't have the resources. Public schools are required to educate kids with a huge range of profound disabilities, and that sets the level for special ed. So far we have been fine with a 504, though now that we aren't paying tuition we plan to increase the tutoring. We haven't gotten any financial support for outside tutoring, and frankly, if your son is not profoundly disabled, he isn't likely to be deemed eligible.
Applying for an IEP entails doing a new set of tests much like the neuropsych evaluation you have already gotten, though they will use different tests, and will base their decision on the tests they administer. Our kid looked less disabled based on their tests compared to the neuropsych evaluation. The IEP meeting will be stacked against you, in that there will be five or six of them and maybe two of you attending the meeting, and they are a lot more experienced at this than you are. If you go this route, pay attention to the various time-lines and all the other bureaucratic details.
A good resource regarding legal issues is the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (https://dredf.org/). Another good resource is WrightsLaw, https://www.wrightslaw.com/. I strongly recommend subscribing to Attention Research Update, http://www.helpforadd.com, which summarizes current ADHD research in clear terms -- free, and no ads.
hi there, my son just began public middle school in Berkeley and also has dyslexia. We thought he would be going to a private middle school and applied to several (that were not focused on learning disabilities) and they did not accept him. I think it was an eye-opener for me. It may be hard to find a place in a mainstream school. However, so far our son loves his public middle school and sees his educational therapist twice a week after school (not in school). There are schools in the Bay Area that specialize in dyslexia, including Raskob in Oakland, the Sterne School in SF, and the Charles Armstrong School on the Peninsula. Good luck!
I want to chime in about private middle school vs. public middle school for a kid with learning differences. My son with severe ADD (no hyperactivity but serious attention deficit including executive function) was not accepted at any of the private middle schools we applied to, including some of those recommended to you. So he instead attended a Berkeley public middle school, Willard, armed with a 504 plan as recommended by his developmental pediatrician. He had an absolutely wonderful experience. Even though he was transitioning from a tiny K-6 private school, and he knew almost no one at the new middle school, he adjusted quickly and had a surge in learning and academic skills during his two years there. Almost all of his teachers were very receptive to the idea of learning differences and supportive of him as well as all the kids, de-emphasizing busy work and instead focusing on whether they were learning the material. Because of the much larger student body, my child was able to find like-minded souls who he has remained friends with into high school. And by the way, in 6th grade most public middle schools do not have multiple teachers with multiple classrooms. At least in Berkeley and Oakland (and probably others) 6th graders have only 2 teachers and are fairly isolated from the 7th and 8th graders, with the intention of transitioning them from elementary school to middle school.
Good luck! Middle school can be fun!
Hi Natasha, I'm not seeing the issue related to discrimination in your letter. I'm sorry you're going thru this stress, but the 2 private catholic HS your ex is probably hoping for are St Mary's and Bishop O'Dowd, both of which are great schools at least on a par with BHS, if not better and way less chaotic than BHS (and they're not hugely religious btw). I well understand the IEP concern, but I am letting you know that I have close friends with kids in both of these schools with IEPs, who are thriving. St Mary's in particular is excellent for kids with learning challenges. That school had orientations but has not actually started. I don't understand the situation re enrollment, but rather than hoping for an outcome that sounds like it's not going to happen - enrolling at BHS, which the judge ruled against - why not call St Mary's and BOD and see what you can do to help your child be admitted and enrolled and start school soon? I'm sure the enrollment is in the works. The person to focus on is your youngster. Let him get excited about his cool new HS, whichever one it is, and just support him in this new and slightly scary adventure. If the minor's counsel is ignoring you - then she is probably well aware of the situation and believes that it is fully in your child's best interest not to start at one school and then switch to another.
This sounds frustrating, but keep in mind that a week or two delay in starting HS is probably not the end of the world. It sounds like you need your own legal support. I recommend reaching out to the Bar Association's lawyers referral service: https://www.acbanet.org/need-a-lawyer/ -- if that isn't the right fit for you right now,
KALW's your legal rights https://www.kalw.org/show/your-legal-rights takes calls and might be able to point you in the right direction, or Berkeley Public Library's "Lawyers in the Library" program also takes questions: https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/events/lawyers-library -- both of those programs ought to be able to help you understand your rights and options.
How frustrating and heart breaking- I know how hard it is to get an IEP. Private schools do not have the resources to administer recommendations in an IEP. It would depend on what services your child was getting and what the private school says they can offer. Most private schools do not offer services- the public school is bound by law to administer these services. Make sure these private schools have a copy of the IEP- not sure if your ex has been transparent about your sons needs to them. Often private schools will say they can manage a high functioning kid but will miss something big because they have a marketing person as assistant principle not knowing about special needs or anything about education- only suited for enrollment really… anyways… if your kid only needs extra attention maybe private would work? But even then- there are social ramifications with other families- a status thing if your kid is different. Or if your kid lashes out when challenged- not sure what his needs are. Public schools are forgiving of differences and bound by law to deliver. If by chance you do try private fur a semester or two and it doesn’t work out- you should be able to pick up IEP when you return to public.
Btw- Im wondering what your local district has to say about this? Your son is truant and your husband being a person on the IEP team should have sense to know this is a legal matter he is not following the recommendations by the IEP team and making executive decisions without the other oatebt. You have shared custody I’m assuming so he has to get your consent to switch things around.
I would approach the new school’s special ed about what is going on- so you go on record for trying. And of course contact your sons district- report your ex husband in a non accusatory way but say you are stuck- that you feel a bit lost without the IEP teams advice about high school.
By the way, in Novato there is a place called Matrix Network- a non- profit place with info for parents about IEP’s special Ed law. They have volunteers to talk to that are experienced and workshops etc…