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Looking for good special education services in Fairfield country, CT.
My son was put on autism spectrum and currently goes through Birth to Three services in Stamford. When he hits 3 we will have to, either, stay in Stamford and go to Apples Program or move. I was thinking about towns around Stamford because I work in NY - Ridgefield, Brookfield, New Fairfield, Fairfield, Trumbull, Fairfield, Monroe, Newtown .... and anything else in that affordability range. Commuting does not matter as long as I can get something good for him. All those, mentioned above, supposedly have great public schools but no information on performance of special education departments. I would think if 1 out of 68 kids is put on spectrum in US, states will work harder to help families to make a choice but I could not find any information...
I would very much appreciate if any of you had any experience and would like to share some insights on special education services within public ed. system here. Please email me privately if you do not want to discuss it in public.
We have started calling towns but many administrators are on vacation until September.
Unlike NY, most Connecticut districts start in late August, not after Labor Day. So you might be able to contact those administrators next week. Good luck
I know Brookfield practices the Inclusion model with students that require it. Monroe I know hires Analytical Behavioral Therapist for autistic children in their school programs. Outside of that not much in terms of educational program's. Know The Seed Center is the huge autism program in FC and the shoreline.
I am from Stamford and I moved to Trumbull. I have many friends and even my sister-in-law all moved from Stamford to either Trumbull or Fairfield because of the Special Education in those towns. I am not sure about specifics but they always tell me that special education is far better in Fairfield and Trumbull than in Stamford.
Trumbull also has a school entirely for Special Education.
Out of the towns you mention, I would say to look at Trumbull for special education.
I live in New Fairfield and while it's a great town, we are currently experiencing major issues w/ the district's new special education supervisor. She came to our district (I believe last year) after being let go from another district somewhere else in the state. Why our district hired her is beyond me because the current complaints seem to be identical to the complaints parents had in the other district, and our district is now paying the price . . . I have no specific examples to offer as my children are not in the program and so I can't give you the first-hand experience you're looking for. I can say though based on a recent BOE meeting I attended, the main gripes among the special ed parents were (1) education plans were not being followed; (2) a sense of hostility towards the parents of special education students; and (3) unwarranted use of "time out" rooms when their children act up. The special education parents seriously seemed to be on the verge of revolt and ready to take down the Board that night, and I imagine a number of board members will be voted out come November following that meeting. Anyway, during the course of the meeting I learned for the first time that some NF students are actually attending Trumbull schools for its special education program. And when I tell you that Trumbull is a hike for a New Fairfield student to travel to, believe me it is a HIKE. Also, I was always under the impression that Newtown and Brookfield had well-regarded special ed programs too. After the meeting and speaking to some parents afterwards, I learned (per the special ed parents) that this is not true -- like New Fairfield, their programs have slipped in recent years as well, and this is why parents are opting for Trumbull which is much farther than Brookfield/Newtown would be. I will end by saying that I did get a little bit of a sense of "mob mentality" amongst the parents that night. I know they're angry, but I think they might be *too* angry now to even try to work with the new supervisor to effect positive change. I think a decision has been made to fight and resist this new supervisor until she is gone... I got the real sense they've dug their heels in and that the writing is on the wall. Regular school program in NF is great, but for you that means nothing and so if I were you I'd avoid the town until they get this figured out. Look at Trumbull. Hope this helps.
Last edited by Lalalally; 08-21-2015 at 03:32 PM..
New Fairfield is a PPT program while there is IEP program's at other school's. Trumbull does a PPS what that is not sure another name for PPT??? Trumbull does have an awesome special ed pre school set up though.
I am looking into Trumbull, Ridgefield, Fairfield, Monroe and Brookfield. I did not contact Wilton yet.
I have read newspaper about New Fairfield Spec.Ed administrator - she came from Meriden with very bad news following her. I am not even sure how the board hired her...
@ Sasha - check out this thread and a parent's detailed experience regarding Brookfield special ed from last year. You may want to focus on the other towns that are on your short list. Best CT School Districts for Special Ed
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