East Bay charter or private school for ADHD first grader
Our 6 year old first grader is currently at Glenview Elementary. It's a fine school, but my wife and I are afraid the large class sizes and rigid structure are not a good fit for his ADHD. He's been getting in trouble the last two weeks by disrupting the class. And when he starts to get wound up it's hard to bring him back down. We've had to pick him up early a lot lately because it's too much for him to handle. Not to mention the teacher and his classmates.
So if we can't come up with a plan that works for him at Glenview, we may decide to pull him out. But we don't want to do so without being armed with good intel on schools that could be a good fit for him.
Academically he's right where he should be, so that's good. He just needs to be in the right environment. We're still learning what all he needs, but for now we're thinking small class size, less rigid learning environment. Teacher's who are experts in educating kids with ADHD and other learning barriers.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We're open to charter schools and maybe private.
Parent Replies
I really recommend you meet with his school to come up with an IEP before yanking him out and putting him in a charter school or private school, where he will not have access to the same resources! I think if you can be open-minded about the caliber of teachers in the public school system versus the private school system. You do know that public-school teachers are required to have more training and certification than private-school teachers, right? He may need an aide, he may need a quiet place in the classroom -- all of this is stuff that the school can be required to provide. I will say that I'm in the WCCUSD, and have heard that other school districts are not as responsive to IEP requests, but I have had such amazing support from my kids' school. It all depends on how willing you are to engage with the school and the teachers to come up with a plan.
Montessori Family School in El Cerrito can be really good for distractable kids. It isn't for all kids but it's worth a visit. My son is really distractable but being able to pick his lessons has helped keep him engaged. Some kids do great in the Montessori system and thrive when they are given the freedom to pick what they want to focus on and to take a break or do something simple and relaxing when they need some quiet time.
Some friends' kids go to Urban Montessori Charter, which has a lot less structure, but not sure about class sizes. Check it out.
Sorry to hear about your struggle. Sounds like Aurora school in upper Rockridge might be a good fit for your son. It's a small K-5 private school. Small mixed grade classes, low student to teacher ratio. My child started kindergarten at a different school (big class, overwhelming, getting in trouble for being a 5 year old) but it wasn't the right fit and none of us were happy. Luckily I found Aurora through Berkeley Parents Network, toured the school 2 weeks into the school year and fell in love with it. I am happy to talk more off-line. I know they have a rolling enrollment and open houses coming up. I highly recommend contacting the school for a tour and see if it's a good fit for your child. https://auroraschool.org
Hi there!
I feel compelled to reply to one of the responses posted here. Aurora school is NOT a good fit for any child with ADHD or learning disabilities. They do make the basic accommodations - sitting near the teacher, fidgets, etc - but they are not set up to support any alternative/visual learning that is needed for these children. The extent of their support for children with ADHD or learning disabilities is working with a specialist twice a week for 30 minutes. This deficit in their teaching will not be noticed in their kindergarten and 1st grade years at Aurora because the curriculum is not very demanding. Once these children reach higher grades, those needing extra support just fall farther and farther behind. By the time they reach the higher grades, these children are in a very bad situation and are so far off from grade level when entering middle school.
Aurora is great for children who are neurotypical - the community is wonderful. Their social/emotional foundation is incredible. We would have likely had a lovely experience there, had our child fit this.
Have you requested the school evaluate him? if not, do so to see if he qualifies for additional services (IEP) or accommodations (504). You have to be your child's advocate through this, but ther are a ton of resources online (try DREDF, understood.org, ADDitude magazine). As another poster mentioned, public schools are required to support/accommodate different learners whereas charter and private do not. Many private state quite openly that they are not equipped to support anyone with grade level deficiencies or behavioral challenges. That's said, a few have made that their specialty, but think they tend to stick with more mild/well managed cases. is he getting any additional supports (e.g. OT, medication). Those were game changers for us that helped my child be successful in the classroom environment.