Catholic or public schools which are tolerant of mildly ADHD children (Dayton: hardwood floors, house)

[Irish40]

My husband and I are considering a job relo to Dayton from The suburbs of St. Paul, MN. Our older son is mildly ADHD and will be in 2nd grade in the fall. He went to pre-k and k in our well-regarded public schools. However, after he received a medical diagnosis of ADHD, I felt like that the school lowered expectations and had labeled him in a negative way. I went across the street and looked at our parish school which has been a blessing. He has flourished here. He excels in reading and spelling, is pretty average in math, and struggles somewhat expressing ideas in writing. He is well behaved. I was wondering if anyone might have recommendations. We are going to be in Dayton on Fri. and I have an appt. with the principal at Smith Elementary in Oakwood. She spoke with me yesterday, and I was very favorably impressed. Any other suggestions? Thank you.

[joe from dayton]

Oakwood has the best public school system in the area, and one of the best in the state. For Catholic schools, you might want to look at Holy Angels (which is about five or so minutes from Smith), which is off of Brown Street and in the middle of the University of Dayton's campus.

[Irish40]

Thank you for your response, Joe. I will contact HA after Easter Break.

[wrightflyer]

If you are dead set on a Catholic school over a public school (even region leader Oakwood), there is also St. Albert Catholic just across the southern Oakwood/Kettering border. Lot's of University of Dayton faculty and staff (UD is a catholic institution) send their kids to Holy Angels or St. Albert (among other Catholic schools).

Just keep in mind that if you pay for tuition at a parochial school plus live in Oakwood to watch out for the property taxes. Oakwood has great services and schools, but you do pay for them. Not sure what property taxes are like in Minnesota, but Oakwood is high for the Dayton region.

If you do go the Catholic school route, IMHO, Kettering, especially West Kettering (west of Far Hills Ave.), offers a good balance of property taxes, decent public schools (good for resale even if you do go private), and city services. Again, just another option outside Oakwood if you go private at St Albert or Holy Angles.

[Irish40]

Wrightflyer,
Thank you for responding. We live in a school district in MN which has the same rep as Oakwood, and the community is the same size. It is more of a suburban/exurban community, though. Our high school was ranked 158 on Newsweek's top 1000 list. FWIW.

Our son went to public school in K and to be honest, it was less than gratifying. He went to Catholic school this year and really thrived. Of course, I want to make sure we can sell a house if we have to leave. I appreciate the recommendation of West Kettering, too.

[Irish40]

Wrightflyer - Just wanted to thank you for your recommendation of West Kettering. Have been in Dayton a month now and was fairly surprised at what you got for the money in Oakwood. I was prepared for old and small but not for the amount of updating homes in our price range needed in addition to taxes. Most of the homes were between 7k and 9k with no end in sight, ie a levy is never turned down. Considering we are going to send our son to Holy Angels, I suggested we look at West Kettering. We are now under contract on a home which reminds my husband and me of my childhood home (and neighborhood.) It is 43-years-old so we are doing individual inspections. It has a new kitchen in addition to some bathroom updates and hardwood floors. Plus, Kettering sends a school bus to pick up Holy Angels kids. I also investigated the public schools and was pleased. The schools seem to be very good. It is just not as small and cozy like Oakwood which gives all of us moms the warm fuzzies, myself included. In the event our financial situation changed, I would be comfortable sending my kids to Kettering schools, though. Thanks again fir the rec.

[dxdtdemon]

Had I seen this thread earlier, I would've also recommended Kettering. I used to be a member of a local support group for people with ADHD and Asperger's and the way that Centerville and Oakwood do anything they can to force kids in the autism spectrum out of their school districts and the happy refuge that many of these children found in Kettering makes it a much better place. I have heard mostly positive things about the Catholic schools in the area in terms of spectral tolerance and hope that your son enjoy's his new school.

[TomJones123]

There's also St. Anthiony's in Linden Heights. Very good school.

St Anthony Catholic School Dayton, Ohio

[bam989863]

Holy Angels is an outstanding school. I think you definitely made a great decision.

[Irish40]

I certainly appreciate everyone's input. It takes effort to log on and offer assistance to someone you do not even know. I know we made a good decision all around. It is good to hear that the public schools are accepting of these kids. I have heard negative comments about one of the elementaries in Oakwood and its acceptance of chidren with ADHD from my son's Occupational Therapist. If HA is not a good fit, I know we have a suitable place to go. I have spoken with a woman who subs at Holy Angels and she said that kids with ADHD are accepted. The kids are even encouraged to discuss the challenges they face in the classroom setting. My son is looking forward to going back to school and meeting new friends. After just a month in Dayton, I cannot express how happy I am to be back in the lower Midwest. The people are really the best!