Daycare and Schools in Sharon MA (Boston: how much, school districts, cost of)

[littleimp]

Can anyone recommend Daycare for a toddler in Sharon, MA for a 2 year old. Any and all info appreciated. It looks like the only daycare center is Kindercare - not sure if that is right? Also, if anyone has any experiences with Kindercare either positive or negative I would be interested in hearing them.

I know Sharon schools are good - test score wise - but I am also interested in any experiences anyone has had with elementary school special ed. My son has a speech delay and in considering different towns I am trying to assess how good the support will be when he starts school.

Thanks in advance for any info!

[AandD]

The school's special ed is good, especially at the Pre-K level. I find the elementary level special ed program to be.... difficult. They are VERY rule-bound, and seemed to be in 'defensive' mode from the start. This tends to lay the framework for a contentious, rather than collaborative, relationship. I am comfortable that things will work out - but not sure how much pushing I will have to do in order to get a specific service that my son needs but the school is not equipped to provide (and would therefore have to contract out).

Kindercare is good - but they are reluctant to take on children with special needs and it required a LOT of reassurance on my part that my child with autism wouldn't be a disruptive force in their program. Once they met him and found him compliant Kindercare welcomed him and tell me often what a pleasure he is - but there was some definite reticience in the beginning. ***I found this REALLY amusing because I readily identified 2, perhaps, 3, undiagnosed children in the larger group of children.***

[Atlantica]

This is interesting. Last year, a school official from Sharon was on a Boston news station speaking out about the rising cost of special education and how it was a "budget buster" in his town and many others. Outside placements are extremely expensive. This was a very unusual occurance as this topic is rarely discussed openly and was NEVER brought up as a burden on school districts. Behind closed doors in meetings....yes but to the general public, it was a no no.

Time has changed and this is a common conversation. I mentioned this in another thread that many school districts, who previously were noted for their programs and generosity in regard to outside placement, have now been finding ways to provide a child with what the law requires, for less money. That often times means lumping kids with various disabilities or challenges into one classroom and labelling it "the least restrictive environment" to get around outside, specialized placements.