Asperger's - High school in Atlanta area? (Roswell, Peachtree City: private school, university)

[bodracir]

Hi - My girlfriend and I are moving to Atlanta (from Los Angeles) in a few months. Her 15-year old son has Asperger's Syndrome and one of our priorities for our decision where to live is finding a high school that will allow him to continue making progress with his social interactions and also academically (his IQ is in the mid-80s). Do you have any specific high school recommendations?

In addition, I wonder if you have any positive/negative opinions regarding Cross Keys HS and Lakeside HS (I need to be not too far from Emory University).

Thank you!

Bod

[lastminutemom]

A couple of things. GA is notoriously bad for special ed, with less than 50 percent of students with IEPs graduating. If your girlfriend's son is in a good situation in California, might you consider a long distance relationship while he finishes high school? What is your vision for his future? What kind of instructional strategies are working for him now? With his IQ, is he mostly in a self contained situation or is he mainstreamed some?

Cross Keys is almost exclusively children of recent immigrants and immigrants. While it has its successes, it is generally not a school anyone actually chooses because they want to be there. It just won an "Access" award from the College Board for AP participation and it has some wonderful teachers. I happen to like the principal very much, but this is a school whose focus is on english language learners. Lakeside is really two schools -- one that is very good and strong for high achieving children and another that is average or worse for those who are not. I know nothing about their special ed department.

I am not a fan of DeKalb County Schools (Lakeside and Cross Keys are both in DeKalb) for a variety of reasons. They are broke but so are most school systems. There have a terrible time attracting and keeping top leadership in the schools.

You might research City of Decatur High School (Decatur has its own school system). However, make sure that children with his needs aren't sent off to a DeKalb school to have them met. Grady High School in Atlanta is also a possiblity.

I strongly recommed that you or your GF contact this organization and get their recommendations.
The Autism Society of America-Greater Georgia Chapter - Home (http://www.asaga.com/web/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 - broken link)

Finally, it is essential that this young man come with a GREAT IEP. GA has gone to a response to intervention system that stinks, in my opinion. Even with an IEP, systems may drag their feet, so he needs to come with one that covers everything you think he needs. The system is entitled to disagree, but most won't, at least not in the beginning.

Good luck.

[bodracir]

lastminutemom - Thank you so much for your reply (I actually submitted the question because I saw a response you gave to a similar topic about three years ago. I am glad you are still monitoring these boards.)

Regarding Cross Keys, I asked about it because the child is Hispanic. Although I value diversity enormously and always try to open his mind to relating to people with different backgrounds, I also have seen him struggle before, especially because of his difficulty making new friends. In particular, at a school where he was the minority among the minorities (with demographics very similar to most Atlanta's schools) kids started calling him the "Mexican retard". We really want to prevent something like this from happening again, which is why we though Cross Keys could be a good school, at least in terms of its demographics. Knowing this, would you still recommend we check City of Decatur HS or Grady HS?

You ask good questions in the first paragraph of your post. My girlfriend should be more qualified to respond to them, but I can tell you he is not in a self-contained situation. A couple of years ago the educational plan was to start mainstreaming him and the goal was for him to take only regular classes. (I really question the validity of his IQ score.) However, that was when we moved and he entered the school I mentioned above and started struggling. My GF finally found a school that focuses only on special needs children, where he is now, and he seems to be thriving. We would love to send him to Cumberland Academy, but tuition is above $18,000/year and I do not think we can afford that right now (being newcomers from California, we apparently are not eligible for the Georgia scholarship for special needs children.)

Thanks for your suggestion to contact the Autism Society of America. That is definitely a great idea and we will do it. We are somewhat pressed on time because we are actually traveling to Atlanta this weekend to find a place. I am moving to Atlanta next month and they will be catching up with me towards the end of the year, but we need to decide in which area to live within the next few days.

I appreciate your help and any further advice you can give us.

Thank you!

[lastminutemom]

Hi.

Grady is fairly diverse-- so that shouldn't be a problem.

Why don't you contact the principal at Cross Keys and ask if you can get an appointment when you are here with her or their lead teacher for special ed and see what they say.

When you speak with them, ask them to be brutally honest... if this was your child, do you think your school would be a good fit. Lakeside is also diverse, though again, I might ask to speak with the head of special ed before making a decision.

The most important thing is to start making sure his IEP is in great order. Every service he may need, every strategy you need, has to be listed.

This needs to include testing accomodations as (like California) we have a graduation exam that he will have to pass to earn a diploma here.

If after a year, if you come with an IEP and he is enrolled by the end of September, you will be eligible for the SB 10 vouchers (scholarships). Keep in mind that the highest I have seen is in the 10 K range for a child with significant physical and mental limitations. He must spend an entire year in a GA public school to be eligible.

[Mattie]

My son came to GA with an IEP. He was originally diagnosed in NJ, but we spent three years in FL before coming here. We had no trouble at all getting the IEP accepted, and the services in our No. Fulton school have met his needs. His was a learning disability, but I know of a boy with Down's syndrome who had also done very well in the No. Fulton public school system.

I have no doubt, after reading some horror stories, that school systems vary widely in their accommodations. The commute to Emory from No. Fulton would not be pretty, but I can't fault them for their special ed programs.

[Divine Shadow]

My son also has asperger. but he is attending a private school, The Bedford School located between Fairburn and Peachtree City (south of ATL). We moved from FL to enroll him there. They have done wonders with him.

-a|ex

[capoeira]

Be aware of the Georgia High School graduation test. There are 5 tests,very challenging for special ed students. I also suggest contacting Parkview High in Lilburn and compare it to the options in DeKalb county.

[MollySwitz]

Originally Posted by Divine Shadow

My son also has asperger. but he is attending a private school, The Bedford School located between Fairburn and Peachtree City (south of ATL). We moved from FL to enroll him there. They have done wonders with him.

-a|ex

After seeing your post I am looking into this school for my 8 year old with Asperger's-ADHD. We have looked at two other schools but both seemed to address only one issue.

[roxyrn]

We enrolled our son last week in Roswell High School. There are things on the IEP that they simply do not provide (they are not federally mandated but New York state did). We are fine with it so far and the staff were very nice, upfront and flexible.

[SchoolYourWay]

Georgia does have a Special Needs Scholarship Program that will assist in funding a private school alternative up to $13,500 a year for eligible students. The child, however, must have been enrolled in a Georgia public school during the previous year.