Best Long Island School Districts for Special Education (Islip, East Meadow: environment, work)

[teacherktee]

I'm a teacher for children with Autism. I teach a kindergarten 6:1:2 ABA class in the Lawrence Public Schools. I must say that having worked in various places in my career, I am very impressed with all that Lawrence offers. My students all receive the necessary services, including OT, PT, Speech, 1:1 aides, mainstreaming opportunities, consult with a district BCBA and doctorate of behavior psychology, home ABA hours, and parent training hours.

There is a 1:1 ratio in my classroom, which provides me with ample opportunity to complete an intense amount of 1:1 ABA instruction, as well as providing me with an opportunity to mainstream my students into the general education population when they are ready. The inclusion and mainstreaming is done systematically in order to achieve the most success.

Excellent school district for children on the spectrum.

Something worth considering.

[sharon s]

I have also heard that Lawrence is an excellent district for children on the spectrum.Do you know if they take kids from other districts?I know alot of kids in that district go to private school.Any info would be very helpful.

[mommytochris]

Originally Posted by sharon s

Thany You for that information. Where is Premm?I am definitly going to look there.My district is ready to send my son out. Now I need to find a great place for him.

Sorry for the delay in responding. Premm Learning Center is in Oakdale and it is part of Eastern Suffolk Boces. I cannot say how much I love the teachers and the Principal there!
Premm Learning Center (Eastern Suffolk BOCES)

[mommytochris]

Originally Posted by iluvmycuties

I worked for Western Suffolk BOCES as a SpEd teacher. I am not there anymore b/c I could not handle how the children were grouped together. I had classes with children who had Down Syndrome, ADHD , psychological issues, Muscular Dystrophy, and "general" SpEd issues. I will say that this kind of classroom is more the norm than atypical for BOCES. Due to the multitude of classifications, I found it extremely difficult to create programs for the class as a whole. It almost felt like babysitting, to be quite honest with you. There are certain classes for specific diagnoses; however, on the whole, you get more of a hodge-podge b/c the program does not want to create a classroom for 2-3 children of the same age with a certain diagnosis; rather, the school will take the minority, who are the same age, and throw them together. While I am sure there are a lot of children and parents who have benefitted from BOCES as a universal aid, I think the particulars within the BOCES programs need to completey reassessed and restructured. Again, I do NOT want to take away from the positivies that other parents have taken from BOCES...this is what I have to say after working there for over 5 years.

I have not had that experience. My son's district placement was more like that. In my situation the principal at my son's school seems to have a lot of input on the class groupings. So he definitely fills classes with children who have similar issues but contrasts it with those who balance each other. For example my son is extremely overwhelming to other children sometimes. BUT that can be used to bring another child out of his/her shell while teaching my son to be less impulsive. If he is grouped with a child with severe sendory issues like his last placement the class is a nightmare for him with both children setting each other off.

With that said I don't disgree with your opinion since this exact thing was what we dealt with in district. My advice to any parent is to tour and go with your gut. Request a profile of the class you are considering. It will show you the children, their disabilities and the IQs of who will be in the class with your child of course minus the identifying/personal specifics for confidentiality. So at least you will know if the placement is appropriate.

[JD54]

I live in the Longwood school district and my Child is a toddler and is receiving OT, PT, Speech and special instruction in a classroom setting. I do not have any complaints to date and the coodinator provided by the county has been great to work with. We were receiving these services in Brooklyn before moving to the Island a few months ago and we are very pleased with the results. Longwood was very quick in transferring all of the information and getting the services started.

[lmanu]

Hi Everyone,
I am new to this thread. My son is 4yrs. old with PDD NOS and is currently in the Nassau BOCES Children's Readiness Center in Bellmore. I can't tell you how pleased we are with the program, which is a full day ABA program. Our son has made tremendous progress in language, motor skills and social skills. The staff is amazing and so dedicated to the needs of the children. We initially hesitated about sending him there, due to some negative comments we heard about BOCES in general, but decided to go with it because it is a full day pragram and they seem to specialize in ASD. All of the parents I have spoken to are also quite pleased with the program and the staff and the PTA is quite strong.

I am wondering if anyone has any information on the Port Washington School District for special education. Does anyone have any experience with this district? I know it is rated highly for regular education but know very little about their special education services. I would appreciate any info anyone has. We are considering moving there.TIA

[sharon s]

I have heard mixed things about Port Washington.I know a few families who have taken their children out of the district because they were not happy with the special ed.My sister lives there and has two children who are typical in the elementary.The school is fair, really nothing to speak of.I think Port has a good reputation but there seem to be alot of problems there.I would look in Lawrence, Half Hollow Hills,and I heard Northport but I do not know this for sure.

[lilspeech]

Does anyone know if you move to a new school district, is your child evaluated again or do they take what your previous district recommends? I'm considering moving but I'm concerned that my child will go from getting services (3x Speech, 2x PT) to none and from an intergrated class to non intergrated.

[okaydorothy]

When we moved, there was no interuption in services. He was getting speech thru Pat/Med and we moved to Longwood and there was no interuption and he did not have to get re evulated.

good luck
dorothy

[mommytochris]

Originally Posted by lilspeech

Does anyone know if you move to a new school district, is your child evaluated again or do they take what your previous district recommends? I'm considering moving but I'm concerned that my child will go from getting services (3x Speech, 2x PT) to none and from an intergrated class to non intergrated.

according to the law there should be a continuation of services of the IEP from the old school district.