I'm having SEVERE anxiety over sending son to private school

Ask some specific questions.

Ask what would happen if you come late, for instance. Did you discuss the pick up problem with them? Perhaps there is a teacher that is near by who you can pay to take him home or to provide transport. A friend of mine did this in public school. Since the school will want your child as a student they are likely to work with you.

Also make sure your kid can play with kids from his usual class on weekends, but perhaps your child will make new friends.
Also with everyone with difficulties I think your child may relax in school (and at home). (Many kids are relieved to be in a special school.)
I’m sure your child will be happy to be learning.

Think of the anxiety you will be avoiding. Many private schools do a really good job teaching reading without all the hassles of public school (is he getting accommodations? Is his IEP ok? etc etc etc).

I think your concerns are valid but I do think things wil be better after things have started. You have some “newness” anxiety for want of a better word.

—des

Thank you. I know I should relax but I think part of the anxiety comes from public school registration being next Tuesday and I need to figure out what I’m doing for sure.

I told him that we would still ask his friends over and that he would make new friends too. They also go on field trips about every 2 weeks.

I’ll update when I find out what’s going to happen.

If you have definitely decided onb the private school, do it, and try not to look back.

If you are still waffling on the decision, you can register for the public school and later withdraw. Not terribly nice but sometimes you have to hedge your bets.

I know exactly what you mean about the anxiety. I am faced with a similar situation. My son was identifed with an LD at the end of the past school year. I had such a terrible year with the public school system last year, that I have very little faith that they will provide my son with the tools that he needs to learn. After agonizing for weeks, yesterday I finally made the descision to put him in private school. When I first mentioned the possiblity of private school to my son, he did not like it. He said that he wanted to stay at his school with his friends. I told him that he could make new friends, and that he would really learn to read, and would be able to read anything that he laid his eyes on without even asking me what it says. After our talk a light seemed to pop on, and yesterday he told me “mommy, I think I’ll be okay at the new school. I was so happy to hear that.

So I’m going to tell you….what a coworker told me to give me that extra encouragement that I needed. You know what you have to do for the sake of your child….put the fear aside and do it. He’ll thank you later.

Good Luck to you and your son. :wink:

If this is a private special ed. school then it may be the best thing you have ever done for him

We pulled our son out of the school he had been in for PreK-3rd grade to go to a special private school . It has literally changed his life. I was anxious about him making new friends etc,but I’ve found that a school that caters to LD kids is on the ball about social issues as well.

Plus - there is no way he was going to preserve his self esteem in a maintream setting if he couldn’t keep up academically. This effected everthing for him and I’m sure his friendships would have suffered.

Even though we moved to a new town to be closer to his private school we ‘ve been able to maintain relationships with old friends, but he has made many new friends too. .

Most importantly he is getting the remediation he needed with an intensity that no amount tutoring could equal. Its the only way to close the gap for many kids.

My only concern would be if you are putting him in a regular ed. private. Then you have to be sure that they are equpped to help him. We came out of a mainstream private school and they are not mandated to provide services or accomodations to an LD child if they do not receive any federal money. Your initial post isn’t clear so I wanted to mention this.

I’m sorry I didn’t make myself clear. It is a private school for children with learning disabilities. I think he’s ok with it. When we talk about it he doesn’t seem mad anymore (except about having to wear khaki pants and a collard shirt..lol). I think he’s going to love it there and it will build his self esteem. The director said he’ll have to go one year maybe two but after he’s done there he can go back to his regular school. He will be in middle school then. This is a great board and there is so much support here. Thanks to all of you!

In that case - congratulations!!!

If the school is good at what they do you are about to have a sense of relief you can’t imagine. All of a sudden you aren’t fighting for what your child needs, your child doesn’t feel isolated , dumb, or anxious about being the only one who learns differently.

This allows learning to take place and of course success begets success. Change can be difficult , but I’m willing to bet that by March you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!