chapel hill or wake county schools? (school district, university, law)

[abg]

We're thinking of relocating to the area. One of my children struggles in school. How does the Chapel Hill schools address struggling students? How does the Wake County Schools address struggling students? Any opinions on which school district is better overall?

[leighbhe]

hi!

I used to work in disability services for students at NC state university, so I am wondering (and you don't have to answer) if your child has a diagnosis (let's say a diagnosed learning disability) or not. If there is a documented diagnosis, the school system (where ever you are) is required to do an IEP, and have steps in place to make your child's education on an equal level as the other students. Meaning, your child may require accommodations in order to be on that level playing field.

Let me see if I can shed some light for you....in chapel hill, there are chapel hill/carrboro city schools and then there are orange county schools (chapel hill and carrboro are in orange county). I think the chapel hill city schools have a stronger reputation, they also have more money, thus more equipment, nicer schools. The school district is much smaller than wake county, and therefore there is more variety of schools in wake county.

Wake county schools vary more than chapel hill ones only because it is so much bigger! there are certain areas of wake county schools that have a better reputation than other areas, but I really do think it is a subjective thing. I know people who have one child in a montessori school and their other child in public school because that is just what works for them.

Also, there are (if it is of interest to you) other schools in the area that are very good at working with students who "struggle" in school, carolina friends school (private, quaker, in durham) and the Hill center (hillcenter.org) also in durham that provides school as well as tutoring for students with learning disabilities and/or adhd

I could go on and on. Please feel free to contact me privately or send me a pm. I know this is a hard choice to make, but I don't know if I can just answer if one school district is better than the other for a student who struggles in school. Both have unique qualities.

Leigh

[abg]

Thanks for answering Leigh. My child does not have a diagnosis of LD. So my question is do these schools have steps in place for dealing with a child who falls between the cracks? He doesn't struggle enough to test for special education. And yet there is a real concern that regular education isn't quite enough. I did check out the website for the Hill Center (if we ever did get a diagnosis) and Hopewell Academy.

[leighbhe]

Hi

I my experience (now, this is just me, okay!!!) but traditional public schools seem to follow the letter of the law regarding disabilities and IEP's. In other words, he would probably receive better services if he did have a diagnosis. They have to, based on where their money comes from, they have to follow state and federal guidelines for IEP's. Now, private and charter schools do not have to follow those guidelines, which can be good and bad. Good because they tend to help all students regardless of a diagnosis of a learning disability, bad because they may not have all of the steps in place for helping the different needs of the students.

I tend to believe that in public school if he does not have the label and an IEP, then he will not get services on a regular basis. In other words, you may find a teacher here and there who will help him, but I don't think it will be as consistent as if when he had a diagnosis.

If public school is your only option, my thought would be go ahead with it, but also look into tutoring (like at the hill center, or some place else) to help him keep up.

Let me know if you have more questions.

Leigh

[Jovigirl]

My son has PDD-NOS he recieves an abundance of services here on long island, are the services there comparable in the wake county area? I cant have his services cut in half he would regress greatly I believe.