Hello, can you please help me to understand the different private school options for a 6yo who has a learning challenge. He’s well behaved but has some sort of memory issue and potentially dyslexia. Neuropsychologist report was inconclusive so far
Are their consultants who specialize in helping families to identify the best fit amongst the SN schools, is so is there a consultant you’d recommend?
Thanks
Windward, Gaynor, Gateway seem to be the top choices among people I know who have LD kids.
Thanks, also Churchill, do you know if those are the only four? I need to find out what grade each starts at, I know Windward is second grade but Gaynor starts earlier. Any thoughts on the pros and cons of each one? Thank you
Gaynor I found is very wealthy and self-congratulatory. My SN kid did nicely there but it was one big eye roll experience for us as parents. Lots of nonsense. Maybe try Windward, Mary McDowell, Churchill? I think Gateway might have the same elitist crowd as Gaynor from what I have heard.
Thanks. Do you know what kind of SN they specialize in addressing? I’m not sure where to start with all this 😔
Has your current school suggested a SN school? Is DC struggling? Just curious. I am dyslexic (and not a "mild" case) and attended mainstream private schools. I did receive tutoring in elementary school and a few special accommodations throughout school (like time and half for tests), but I always had straight As and graduated from a top 20 college in 3 years. My private elementary school initially suggested my parents look at SN schools when I was diagnosed, but my parents advocated for me as they didn't see the need if my grades were still top of my class. If I was struggling though, they would have moved me.
Yes the school he‘s in flagged this for us. Plus his learning style is different to his older siblings. We don’t yet know if we can make do with extra tutoring or if we should move him altogether. I’m glad you’re doing so well now!
If you decide to leave, the school should help you with exmissions to the right place for him. Mainstreams have relationships with all the SN schools and should know where your DC will be a good fit
OP they haven‘t been that helpful so that’s why I’m asking for advice here. Thanks
You might google Sarah Birnbaum, who is a schools consultant (schools and other things I think?)
Thanks. I just looked her up and she has a great background for this.
Join the Brooklyn Special Kids group. It's really helpful, tons of answers and info. It's not Brooklyn specific so much, the schools, doctors, etc are all over the city so you will get recommendations outside of Brooklyn.
Thanks so much. How would I join?
@Anonymous You request to join and they email back asking you to say why you are joining.
@Anon You want this https://groups.io/g/BrooklynSpecialKids rather than the facebook group, I think? (If anyone has a legacy yahoo group or other weird old listserv in their life, groups.io is very good at moving them to a good new system. You can read the posts in a browser like here or ask to have a digest emailed to you. Thumbs up.)
Even though YBM is generally awful, their Special Needs board is actually quite helpful and the parents there are nice! I'd post there too.
Thanks
Yes
Windward I believe is more for straight dyslexia. Gaynor also does some processing / speech language delay issues. Again - I'm not delighted with nor advocating for Gaynor but im sure you will find plenty of people who will.
Isn't Churchill for dyslexia also?
Not sure. Also the JCC on the UWS is running virtual parent support groups for parents like us. That's where I found out where to go / apply.
What is the JCC
Who did your neuropsychology testing? Did you have it? If yes, the NP if you went to a good one will tell you which schools. If not go to David Salsberg, he does the testing and he's plugged into the schools. Also if not you can't even apply to SN privates without a NP.
OP yes he’s our NP but he didn‘t see anything conclusive in his evaluation so we‘re lost right now
@Anonymous If the NP doesn't have any suggestions, it seems like it's premature to change schools, maybe focus on what extra support the school and you can give, like tutors?
Parents League has school advisors that are knowledgeable about this!
https://www.parentsleague.org/advisory-services/special-needs-schools
The best place to get advice as to where your DC should apply is from your neuropsychologist. Even if the report was inconclusive. If you have a good school-savvy NP then you don't need consulting but you should just apply widely. The main schools for language-based LDs are listed above. The only school I would strongly strongly caution against is Gateway. And if you end up there be incredibly wary of the toxic administration. It's not that it's an elitist school it's that it's a toxic leadership where the 10 percent of the wealthy parents are literally and physically fawned over (as in at school events the wealthiest families have administration staff come up and hug them and only them) and the rest of the parents (including normal, successful UMC families) are treated very poorly if the school is not a perfect fit for their child. This is especially true if your child starts at Gateway anytime before 3rd grade or so as 3rd grade is when the slots become competitive. What happens is in the early years is that they take kids they know will eventually have to be counseled because they need to fill their seats. When they counsel out they do so in a punitive way and in many many documented cases they decided 'suddenly' mid year that the child is 'inappropriately' placed. And the families then have a kid at home for a half year with no private options. If you do not believe this you can speak with the city's top pediatric psychiatrists and psychologists who have had to deal with the Gateway toxic environment. Even the city's so-called #1 neuropsych will privately rage about Gateway's toxicity with parents. So enter at your peril. The other schools are normal.
And again I don't mean that should you only get a seat at Gateway you decline. Just be aware that the first time a single *word* is said that your DC may not be a perfect fit then you run run run and find a new school immediately even if Gateway says "wait and see." Don't wait and see. Again, if you don't believe me ask around the SN community. GL!