[busibee23]

My husband accepted a transfer to Mohegan Sun from Twin River Casino just about 2 months ago and we are now considering moving closer with gas prices rising and the distance driven each work day (130 miles round trip each day). We are looking to rent, but really need to find a public school that excels in Special Education. My daughter is primarily ADHD with social anxiety and does not deal well with such major changes. Any suggestions would be fantastic! We are not looking to move until as close to the end of school as possible, so that we can try and keep her in her current program. She will be going into 8th grade next year, and currently is in a 12:1:1 program, with an IEP. Her current setup is a team of 4 teachers that teach 6-8 grade, and she has had them for almost the last 2 years. We are not looking for that necessarily since in another year she will be in High School, but just giving as much information as possible.

[willow wind]

This is a really tough question to answer for two reasons- you have a child with special needs and you are moving into an area where there is not a whole lot of rental housing in the areas with better schools.

The cities of Norwich to the north of Mohegan Sun and New London to the south have lots of rental possibilities. However, their schools tend to under perform. Norwich Free Academy, which is the city of Norwich high school, performs well however.

Mohegan Sun is in the Uncasville section of the town of Montville which is an OK school system, but not as highly rated as some others. Many of the small towns surrounding Montville do not have their own high school. Instead their students usually go to East Lyme or Norwich high school. For example, of the towns adjacent to Montville ; Salem sends its students to East Lyme High, Bozrah gets to choose between East Lyme or Norwich Free, Preston goes to Norwich Free, etc.

Keep in mind also, that this is not a heavily developed area. Even the larger towns are small in population. That can limit what they offer for individualized programs.

IMHO , East Lyme is the best school district in the general Mohegan Sun area. I would call the school, describe your situation and see what they offer. Then call the city of Norwich school system and see how they can help you.

You will not find apartment house type rentals in East Lyme. You will find some single family homes, some condominiums and a few two family homes.
Norwich has more options. But Norwich is small city and the central part of it has typical, run down, urban issues.

Another possibility is the town of Colchester to the north ( a further commute but not really far). Again, not a lot of rentals, but an OK school system. You would also need to discuss directly as to your child's needs.


Good luck

[busibee23]

I have looked at ads online for places in Willimantic as well as Wilton, Groton, Baltic, and others. I had heard that Norwich Free was a good school but that they are going through cuts just like lots of schools, and their Special Education department has received the brunt of that (which makes me very leary). Prior to moving to RI 5 years ago, my daughter was accustom to a school system that had 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school and 1 high school (of which had graduating classes of 100-130), and now shes in a district that has 6-7 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and a high school (of which has graduating classes 3 times the size).

We are willing to search, and if we have to be 15-20 minutes from his work, that is fine! He is now just over an hour each way (so even though hes scheduled 8 hours or so, he is usually gone 12).

[willow wind]

Take out a map---- Wilton is on the opposite side of the state from Montville- it's hours away. Baltic is part of the town of Sprague ( total pop. 2,000) and its students go to Norwich.

Groton has tons of rentals,many of them newer and lovely, but it's schools do not perform as well as East Lyme.

I forgot to mention the town of Waterford, just to the south of Montville. Very pleasant town, good schools, not much for rent-- but there are some condos and single family homes. This could also be a possibility.

[busibee23]

This is what I get for just relying on the ads on Craigslist being under the right category! Glad you told me and THANK YOU, I had been figuring when it said Eastern CT, it had to be a short distance from Mohegan.

[Angelic_Avalon]

Just keep looking on craiglist. I'm sure you will find something

[JayCT]

You do need to be careful when an ad say eastern Connecticut. Thompson is in eastern Connecticut yet it is 45 minutes from Mohegan Sun. I agree with Willow, East Lyme and Waterford have some of the better schools in this area so you should start there. Jay

[busibee23]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will definitely be looking for suitable residence in those areas and then will call the districts as well. Her current school district is not high on ratings BUT they treat her right and have her best interest at heart, so school ratings are not my highest priority (although it MIGHT help). As people have told me, and as I sort of thought...just because a district is good does not mean the Special Education department is anything to sneeze at. I absolutely appreciate all the suggestions and thoughts, as I certainly would have no idea where to start otherwise