Looking for great special ed town in north shore for dyslexia. Can't afford Marblehead.

[Ninotchka P]

I've heard good things about Reading but it may be a stretch for you budget-wise.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by Parsec

I know a couple kids from Sudbury who attend Nashoba Learning Group, a private school in Bedford for autism. Sudbury also has to pay the tuition which is $100k/year per kid. It must be a state law for the town to foot the private school tuition, but I'm not familiar w/the details on how to get placed out of district.

School districts are required to provide an education to all students at no cost to the family. Parents and the school develop an IEP (Individualized Learning Plan) for the student. If services are available from the town, they will use those first. If not, then the district looks for alternatives.

For instance, my neighbor has two children that are deaf. The town could not provide them with the proper services so they both went to Newton North High School to the EDCO program offered there. LABBB is a program coordinated among Lexington, Arlington, Burlington, Bedford, and Belmont to provide education programs for special needs children to keep them in district.

The state has contracted with private schools and programs to provide the proper education if the district cannot provide it. The family has to work with the district to find the best fit. One just can't walk in and tell the district they want their child to go to a particular special ed school.

One important note - special ed programs are eligible for federal funding so districts will try to get some reimbursement.

[LKW01915]

You raise holy hell when your child is on an IEP that is supposed to give accommodations to your special needs kid but if it's not adequate or the school ignores the IEP (and lets a 1st grade teacher interpret "preferential seating" as NOT being front and center but drags your kid's desk into the hall where he sat for most of the year). If this continues, even when you've hired an educational advocate, and you live in a town that isn't Sudbury, you sue. That's how my son finally got an adequate (GREAT) education. It took years and but he's been attending Marblehead Schools since 6th grade. He's now in 11th. He doesn't have dyslexia or autism which Sudbury, I guess, felt was easier to send the 2 kids you know to a great private school rather than to hire teachers trained in educating autistic or dyslexic children which they must have decided would cost more than $100K/year/kid. Beverly would probably send the child to either The North Shore Academy (fancy name for the school in Peabody that is run by the North Shore Education Consortium) for grades K-6th or the "upper" school (can't remember the name) for kids in 6th-12th which is located in Beverly. They couldn't send my son because there are also laws about "inclusion" (but they tried). It's a battle in some school districts, not so in others. The law only requires a child to be educated in an "appropriate" manner, not an optimal one. To the person who asked, I would ask the school district your child is in now (but leaving) to what degree/severity is your child's dyslexia (they must have tested him) and ask what they would do if you weren't moving. If they say something like, "Well, he/she doesn't need a school like Landmark because...." then take note. The town you end up in may say the same. I don't know if you have other kids but Marblehead is a great school district. Yes, it's expensive but there ARE some homes (or townhouse or apartments) that you might be able to afford. Ismay not be as nice as the one you are leaving but believe me, Marblehead is all about the kids. Good luck!

[sal1181]

There are homes in Marblehead for under $500K. 61 Robert Rd looks like a great looking house for $489K