Special Education in Bergen County (Union, Ridgewood: house, school districts, garden)

[emmiesmother]

I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on the Special Education programs within the northern Bergen County public schools. I am looking to move and have a 5 year old daughter diagnosed with PDD. She is very mild and her current IEP states that she can go mainstream, and be resourced out for her therapies. My main concern is class size, student / teacher ratio and the quality of services available. Of course, also, how easy is the Child Study Team to work with...? I would appreciate any information to help with my decision on where to look to move. Thanks!

[akitasun]

Hello Emmiesmother,

I guess we are in a real similiar situation. I to am looking to move to NorthWest Bergen or Essex, Union or Morris County. I also have a 5yr old son who has mild PDD NOS. He to is currently fully mainstremed in kindergarden and gets pull outs for services.

I spoke with the Bergen County coordinator of region 5 in Bergen County as well as many parents of septa groups, parent advocates and school officials. From my discussions there always seems to be certain towns that always come up as being consistently good regarding spe services. This is not to say that there aren't parents who are unhappy with their school districts. There is no perfect school district.
For what is worth hear is my list. No particular order.

1) Ridgewood (Offers many services), from what I am told its better to in a bigger district than smaller.

2) Oradell ( the Reginal 5 coordinator says she luvs the spe superintendant he really does a good job)

3) Wyckoff (the reginal 5 coordinator says they do a good job as well).

Other school districts in other counties to consider are:

1) Millburn/Shorthills
2) New Providence
3) Chatham

You also may want to consider the pie program which are school districts which share programs among each other. Some people like this concept other don't it depends on what your child needs (towns in the pie programs are closter, demarest, harrington park, norvale, etc.) I have the site if you need it. Also there is a valley program which is basically the same concept as the pie program, I can't remeber the towns in this program. I also have the site for this as well.

I have done alot of research on this subject matter so if you need more info please private message me. Regarding class size it depends on the student body numbers and class size can change from year to year.

My advice to you is to concentrate on the quality of services and the options a school district can give you not just for elementary but also for middle and high school. Not all school districts have the ability to give a options (such as out district students, a real inclusion class, etc) if needed.

Also its important to get a fair spe superindentant.


Good luck

[olgamc]

hi, sorry, but you really seem to know what you are talking about... My son was diagnosed with mild autism, that is to say, ntaht he has some deviations, but otherwise very high functioning. I enrolled him in local early learning center ( unfortunatley no chance to move at the moment, stuck in Cliffside Park) Not really happy with what they are doing. How do I go about finding an appropriate placement and having the agree? I think he should be mainstreamed, maybe with a shado and get pulled out for services...

[Kevin1975]

We just switched my 5 year old, autistic son to the Valley Program, which is in Harrington Park. The school has a very good reputation. My wife works in the field working with special needs kids as a therapist so she really did her homework in selecting that school. He was previously attending a school in the Westwood district, but we had a lot of problems and we had to fight for everything. Alpine has a good reputation also, but there is a waiting list and its very expensive. The Valley Program has the kids in a dyad, however our son needs and has it in his IEP that he needs 1 on 1 attention.

[olgamc]

Thanks! how did you get to see the Valley program? I takled to them and they said it has to be arranged through the district. And they so far refuse anything...

[olgamc]

Thanks! how did you get to see the Valley program? I talked to them and they said it has to be arranged through the district. And they so far refuse anything...

[drelee]

Hello,

Came across your posting and am looking for advice, help, info. I have a 3.5 yr old speech delayed child who's enrolled in the public school system (early intervention) program for special needs children. As a parent who wants the best for my child, in the hopes they'll mainstream as seamlessly as possible - i am wondering how i can go about taking him out of my residential school district and enrolling him in a district that has the best teachers, speech therapists, sp services, funds, etc.

I'm in bergen county next to ft.lee...any recommendations? And how do I go about starting the process of switching school districts?

thanks so much!

Originally Posted by akitasun

Hello Emmiesmother,

I guess we are in a real similiar situation. I to am looking to move to NorthWest Bergen or Essex, Union or Morris County. I also have a 5yr old son who has mild PDD NOS. He to is currently fully mainstremed in kindergarden and gets pull outs for services.

I spoke with the Bergen County coordinator of region 5 in Bergen County as well as many parents of septa groups, parent advocates and school officials. From my discussions there always seems to be certain towns that always come up as being consistently good regarding spe services. This is not to say that there aren't parents who are unhappy with their school districts. There is no perfect school district.
For what is worth hear is my list. No particular order.

1) Ridgewood (Offers many services), from what I am told its better to in a bigger district than smaller.

2) Oradell ( the Reginal 5 coordinator says she luvs the spe superintendant he really does a good job)

3) Wyckoff (the reginal 5 coordinator says they do a good job as well).

Other school districts in other counties to consider are:

1) Millburn/Shorthills
2) New Providence
3) Chatham

You also may want to consider the pie program which are school districts which share programs among each other. Some people like this concept other don't it depends on what your child needs (towns in the pie programs are closter, demarest, harrington park, norvale, etc.) I have the site if you need it. Also there is a valley program which is basically the same concept as the pie program, I can't remeber the towns in this program. I also have the site for this as well.

I have done alot of research on this subject matter so if you need more info please private message me. Regarding class size it depends on the student body numbers and class size can change from year to year.

My advice to you is to concentrate on the quality of services and the options a school district can give you not just for elementary but also for middle and high school. Not all school districts have the ability to give a options (such as out district students, a real inclusion class, etc) if needed.

Also its important to get a fair spe superindentant.


Good luck

[MommyKag]

If youre looking to move to Morris County, there is no better than Chester School District

[lzy]

Hello came across this chain and was wondering if you could help me figure out which town in Bergen country i known for its IEP Programme and inclusive programme. I have a 9 year old boy who is struggling in the school and being bullied and we just sold our house and trying to be in the right town for him. We have the following as our options. I see Ridgewood as top on this email in 2008 and Oradell second. I want to be in Oradell and wondering if it is still a good place for me to find a home.
thank you in advance