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Old 02-25-2021, 03:49 PM
 
2 posts, read 6,433 times
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We are relocating from our rented apartment in Newton and looking for a place to settle down. In terms of owing a home we are absolutely priced-out from Newton, so we have to look somewhere on the southern side.


My child is on special education and Newton Public Schools did an absolutely incredible job for him and it's sad to change the school, but there is not much we can do.


Currently looking for houses in Sharon, Westwood, Walpole, and Canton (maybe Natick, but prob priced out from there as well ) which are kind of "affordable" and have reasonable school systems. The Norwood system is kind of lacking, which is sad because I absolutely love dense suburban areas with early 1900s buildings.



Anyone has experience dealing with Special Ed / EIP in these school systems? There are some negative reviews for Sharon Schools but the data is scarce.


Another important factor for us is access to commuter rail as driving daily to Boston is not my cup of tea. But again, everything is bearable if the school is good.
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Old 02-26-2021, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,525 posts, read 13,902,353 times
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Not sure what your child's needs are, but I can tell you different school systems can be better/worse depending upon what your child's diagnosis is. If you're comfortable offering that information it may be helpful.

I don't have any firsthand experience with the school systems you mention, but I can share some second hand experiences.

I have a cousin with two adopted daughters. They adopted them from Russia and they were very mistreated and malnourished at the Russian orphanage that left them with some serious mental/emotional disabilities. They had an absolutely horrible time with the Sharon school system and needed to file for a hearing with the Bureau of SPED Appeals in order to get them an appropriate outplacement.

My brother lives in Canton and his oldest child has NVLD. The Canton schools according to him were late recognizing it, resistant to making accomodations for my nephew, and again my brother had to file for a hearing in order to get his son's outplacement funded.

Last, I want to share I have a friend/client who lives in Westwood with two young sons who are on the spectrum. She raves about the SPED department in the town and thinks very highly of it.

If you look at the stories I'm sharing here there's a common thread . . . towns will fight you tooth and nail if you ask for an outplacement. If you have a high functioning kid, then there are some public school systems that will do a great job for them.
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Old 02-26-2021, 08:35 PM
 
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Thanks for the information. Much appreciated!




My child is on the spectrum, it's not that bad as I could be, be the child needs classroom support.


I've heard exactly the same thoughts on Sharon schools and I did see a lawsuit from somebody for mistreating their child's EIP, which doesn't look great. So Sharon is ruled out, which is a pity because there are some nice houses there.


Do you have anything on Natick schools?
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Old 02-27-2021, 08:18 AM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,525 posts, read 13,902,353 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Unsettled7-Anybody View Post
Thanks for the information. Much appreciated!




My child is on the spectrum, it's not that bad as I could be, be the child needs classroom support.


I've heard exactly the same thoughts on Sharon schools and I did see a lawsuit from somebody for mistreating their child's EIP, which doesn't look great. So Sharon is ruled out, which is a pity because there are some nice houses there.


Do you have anything on Natick schools?
I only know families with neurotypical kids in Natick. The feedback I hear from them is great although my experience is that a great school system for NT kids doesn't mean it's a great school system for ASD kids.

Sharon does have nice houses but the lower prices are somewhat offset by the higher tax rate in the town. My oldest son is on the spectrum and we're in Needham. We've often explored the thought of moving to a different town to either have an easier time getting an outplacement or better in school services. We've polled our SPED advocate, ABA providers, etc. several times on where we should move to and the feedback I'm getting from them is that Westwood has great in school services. We've settled on the decision that our kid is definitely an outplacement kid and no school system will have the resources to meet FAPE for him in house. So, we just ended up staying here in Needham. I know some families here with higher functioning ASD kids and they love the services here although the cost of housing here is higher than Westwood.
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