Special Education Quality in Boston?? (Cambridge: rental, school districts, place to live)

[Skatergirl]

Any parents here with kids in spec. ed (autism) that can attest to the quality of services for their kid? How was the process to develop an IEP? Was it a battlefield or was staff helpful and knowledgeable? Don't know that exact area to be looking at yet as my husband has a [potential job on the horizon in Boston. We would absolutely seek out the school necessary first and find a place to live based on that information. Thanks for any input.

[AandD]

In general the climate is parent-friendly. There are areas to avoid, and areas preferred by special need families, but you can find several pockets of *very generous* SPED programs around Boston. I can't be more specific about the obstacles individual families faced because it depends on too many other factors. I can say that, overall, MA has one of the best climates for SPED, that I'm aware of, in the country.

[Skatergirl]

Would you be able to back up that statement about some of the best services in the county?? Do you have a child in spec. ed by chance? How could I find out about the areas in or around Boston with the best services?

If I may elaborate by "best services" I mean the ability for a school to educate my child with a staff trained by professionals in the field of autism. I wouldn't have to fight at every IEP meeting to get staff to recognize that "incidents" are not isolated and my dream would be a truly collaborative IEP team that wants my input on the development of an IEP for my child.

Thanks for your input.

[AandD]

Originally Posted by Skatergirl

Would you be able to back up that statement about some of the best services in the county??

Perhaps I could, but I'm not going to trot out the hundreds of bookmarks that led to my decision to relocate to Mass. And I did make the caveat 'that I'm aware of'. I am by no means an expert on the special education climate of each state. As a parent, I have spent hours upon hours researching school systems overall based on general listings of "the best states for SPED services", the general programs available, and overall perception from parents and advocates.

Do you have a child in spec. ed by chance?

Yes. Originally in Texas, now in Mass.

How could I find out about the areas in or around Boston with the best services?

Research online, question SPED directors, investigate the school system and town. There are some really quality districts around Boston, you'll have to pinpoint an area where you want to live and research each district in that area that you feel is commutable. For instance - my job in the northeast was originally in Providence, but I settled 30 minutes away in MA for the school system. My job is now in CT, but I still commute from MA because the CT education laws are not written to be SPED parent friendly (although CT school system is ranked #1 in the country for regualr ed).

If I may elaborate by "best services" I mean the ability for a school to educate my child with a staff trained by professionals in the field of autism. I wouldn't have to fight at every IEP meeting to get staff to recognize that "incidents" are not isolated and my dream would be a truly collaborative IEP team that wants my input on the development of an IEP for my child.

I'm not sure what you expect here. I can give you my personal experience, but YMMV. Overall, MA had a higher number of ABA therapists than many other states per capita a few years ago when I researched it. I had no issues with my IEP, and in fact would term it "a breeze" and walked away from my IEP shocked at what all the school district offered my son. But that was my experience. If you add in the experiences of other parents that I know, it would probably add to the percetion that MA is a great state for SPED. But I'm not sure that would mean that your experience is guaranteed to be "a breeze". It really depends on how prepared you are, what documentation you have, what your 'must haves' are, and where you are open to negotiation.

I loved being able to pick my childs district. I wish you the best in your search. If you look up some of my prior posts, I've written quite often on SPED in MA, and provided some other tips.

[kdjack]

I am also interested in this topic as my husband just had a 3rd interview in Cambridge and we are hoping to be relocating to the Boston area. My oldest has Asperger's Syndrome so I was trying to find schools with both gifted programs and Sped services where an IEP would be easy to put in place. I have checked several school district websites but found very little if any information about these programs or if they exist.

AandD, I did try to find some previous posts of yours, but only pulled up some in another thread where the discussion was the unwillingness of school districts to provide information to people who didn't already have a contract or rental agreement. Do you know of a specific website that deals with the quality of special ed in the Boston region? I've spent a lot of time scouring test scores and district websites, and even came across something that said there were no gifted programs in MA!

If anyone else has any experiences with this issue, or insight on how best to find this info, I'd greatly appreciate it. It's hard enough to figure out where the schools are decent, the commute not too long, and the housing affordable without being told that you can't have info until you decide to move there! Thanks!

[AandD]

I've referred to SPEDWatch and Common Bonds several times. (Common Bonds is a Yahoo group.) And honestly, it says quite a bit about the area that even those two resources are available!

I'm not sure about TAG programs. Neither of my kiddos would ever make it into TAG, so I've never even looked for it.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but you have to spend a lot of time googling (or is it binging now?) in order to pull out the information you need. Start playing with search times. "ABA classroom", "autism elementary _______ (insert your interest)", "gifted program", "exceptional learner", whatever...

I also spent a lot of time on GreatSchools.net narrowing down the district I wanted. I knew I wanted a wealthier district, a smaller district, an area with a good program but that wasn't a 'destination location' for autism families (wary of overtaxed resources). I looked at MCAS results, but didn't really give any attention to state rates of special education because I didn't feel like it measured the nuances I was interested in. I didn't want a school with a heavy focus on sports (large sports programs take large amounts of fiscal resources). I wanted a school that was ABA focused, not TEAACH, Sonrise, or some other homegrown program. And I culled from there. If a SPED director wouldn't talk to me, then I didn't look at that area, because I wasn't willing to take that sort of risk. I spoke to the SEPAC director or other members.

What's important to YOU? Start there and work outwards. For example, we don't get near the hours of OT and ST that I would like the school to provide. Could I have fought for it - yes. Was I willing to compromise on it in order to get at things higher on my priority list - YES.

My advice - take your job location, find your maximum commute, and research EVERY TOWN inside that commute, in every state. For me I spent hours looking at both MA and RI schools, for you that may be MA and NH.

Good Luck.

[kdjack]

Thanks AandD, it looks like it will be a long process but at least I know I'm headed in the right direction with things to look for.