District 20 vs 49 for Special Needs Students? (Colorado Springs, Boulder: to rent, house, neighborhood)

[blascomom]

My family and I are relocating from Tampa, Florida to Colorado Springs very soon. We have a special needs child (she suffered a brain injury at birth) and we are looking for the best school with the best/most programs -- as the school will determine where the house is. For instance, there is one school in Dade City that has a mini-petting farm of sorts, with lambs and ducks and that sort of thing for the children to tend to as a form of therapy. That would be great.

The schools here in Tampa are woefully inadequate, and for some reason, "they" decided since she was labled as trainable and not teachable, that no one should bother teaching her to read.

Does anyone have any personal information about the programs in D-20 versus D-49, and more specifically, do you have information concerning one school over another?

I know my post is kind of generic, but any information you can give will help me to narrow my focus.

Thanks a bunch!

[bashep]

hey there- I would suggest you to go www.greatschools.net and see what they have there. People can post on that website and you could probably get your answer quicker there. I am familiar w/ both of those districts and have never heard anything bad about them in that respect. I would also try to interview the special departments on the phone too and see what your feelings is from them that way. let me know if I can help! bashep

[Micktooth]

We moved to CO last year and we have an 11yo daughter with special needs. I'm sorry to hear about the "labeling". We moved from New Orleans where it was just as bad if not worse than Tampa. We love the services available to us here. However, we live up in Boulder county. We have some some great resources online. You might want to check out a site called "Parent to Parent" of Colorado. They have great message boards that my wife uses all the time. I'm sure someone can help you. You will love Colorado and wonder like we have why you didn't move here sooner.

[autism166]

Blascomom, colorado prety much lacks all services for disabled children. I have personal involvement with pueblo west and Trinidad. Heard many horror stories. Education is not on colorados priority list. Parks, roads and recreation only. Anyway this may be of help
http://www.autismkey.com/best_states_for_autism.htm>
http://www.autismkey.com/best_states_for_autism.htm

[homefinder]

You may have already found your answer from some of the other sites that have been suggested but I thought I would chime in. I have some friends with a special needs child that bought a home in D49 last year. They have mentioned to me that D20 has a much better program. Not sure of the details there but they were pretty upset with D49.

[Topaz]

I live in District 49 and they have horrible overcrowding and underfunding problems, so I'm not sure if any individual child can get sufficient attention. On the other hand, teachers from District 49 have told me that the reputation of District 20 is that the teachers are arrogant and disrespectful toward parents because they think their school district is perfect and are not interested in parent feedback. I would interview specific teachers and see which vibe you like best.

[froggin4colorado]

Been in D20, have had friends who have worked in D20 in sped- they won't go back. I wouldn't take a job in D20 in the sped department- no support. Don't forget the lawsuit against them a little while ago.
I have my own opinions about sped programs in the area- but most everyone is convinced that D20 is the best. haha

[ksenn]

Im also moving to Colo Spgs this summer and was told the same thing from several parents who are in D20..that it is better than 49 or anywhere else. However, I do believe that its about the actual school itself when it really comes down to it. Some schools in some districts are good, while others arent. An old friend lives in Briargate and I thought..great, I will live by her and then read the reviews from parents about her local school..they were horrible. Not all schools in D-20 are highly liked.

Its the same thing here in Fairfax County in NoVa. Some of the schools are great for kids with special needs, some are horrible. You just have to find the "right" one for your child. I swear I spend almost a year talking to parents and researching online before we chose a location to rent for just a year. Here I am less than one year later having to do the same thing for my child. Its sad that school systems in the country cant be more universal and that IDEA and all the regulations have so much wiggle room between states and even cities.

Its frustrating as a parent with a child with special needs because it makes finding a home and moving such a pain. You want the best for your child but if you "pick" the wrong neighborhood you put your child at risk and have to fight for everything your child is entitled to.

Froggin...since your opinions are different...which one do you think is better for kids with special needs?

(We have already lived in Colo Spgs about 6 years ago, so I do know a little about the school systems even though my kids werent school age at the time. We lived down on the south side..near Fountain by Fort Carson)

[Roxann]

We moved here to Colorado Springs approx 1 1/2 yrs ago Remington Elementary in D49 was great, We hate Horizon Middle School, and Sand Creek High School Our daughter has ADD and they pretty much do not know how to handle her or bother to try they want us to handle it all but she is there at school I would think they would like to help her. Our son is very intelligent and is basically bored at school and doesn't want to go, they don't try to involve children enough, stimulate them enough. One teacher my daughter has doesn't even teach he has the assignments written on the board and the text available and that's it, he doesn't instruct or say anything. This is at Horizon middle school that I am talking about, mostly. At Sand Creek high school, they are over crowded and can't really keep track of the kids at all. My son skips out a lot and I discipline him at home but they do nothing about it at school. In another state they gave the kids incentive to go to school if they missed less than 3 classes per semester they were not required to take the midterm or final exams as long as their grades were up. It worked great for my son. He was an A student before we moved here, now he has d's.
Find out all you can about the schools. Good Luck.

[mcdanip]

Hi there - I have to put in my 2 cents! I have 2 boys who are both special needs - my oldest is 22 (now) youngest is 19 and has Down Syndrome. We have always been in D49 and I have never once had a complaint about the special needs programs. Even tho the oldest was high maintenance - it was the youngest that we watched. He had been main streamed from day one. The teachers are very open about any problem you may have concerning the educational program. My youngest is still in school until he turns 21 - he goes to school for one day right now and works at Goodwill the other 4 days. As I stated I have had no problems with D49 at all.

Originally Posted by blascomom

My family and I are relocating from Tampa, Florida to Colorado Springs very soon. We have a special needs child (she suffered a brain injury at birth) and we are looking for the best school with the best/most programs -- as the school will determine where the house is. For instance, there is one school in Dade City that has a mini-petting farm of sorts, with lambs and ducks and that sort of thing for the children to tend to as a form of therapy. That would be great.

The schools here in Tampa are woefully inadequate, and for some reason, "they" decided since she was labled as trainable and not teachable, that no one should bother teaching her to read.

Does anyone have any personal information about the programs in D-20 versus D-49, and more specifically, do you have information concerning one school over another?

I know my post is kind of generic, but any information you can give will help me to narrow my focus.

Thanks a bunch!