Hi ALL,
After 12 years abroad, we are seriously considering moving back to the USA. The travel opportunities and exposure to other cultures has been fabulous for our children, but we feel that, at least in our present post, the educational choices for our son are not right.
Many of you may know that he is 10 (soon to be 11), in 5th grade, bright but processes slowly. He has poor spatial awareness and a poor spatial memory. He is a gifted reader and comprehends above his age level (though at the moment he is finding A Tale of Two Cities very boring and slow moving). His grammar is faultless as his his spelling. He is into history, politics and geography. Generating ideas and quickness with math are two areas of significant difficulty. Socially he is shy, he finds entry into social situations difficult, he doesn’t always get it. He has improving, but generally poor coordination.
We are looking for a program that will teach to his strengths while remediating (as much as can be) his weaknesses; a program that is open to more alternative therapies, a program that has real content in its curriculum; a school where OT, Sp&L etc. are offered hand and hand w/the curriculum; a school that has a high percentage of graduates going on to college.
I know about Orion Academy in Ca for NLD kids…but it is for High School and I wonder about putting him in the NLD box….
The school we choose will be one of the primary factors we use to determine where to move. Career opportunity, cost of living, etc will also factor in—but for now, we want to zero in on the best school. We are open to all suggestions.
I think there are a few guides to LD schools, I will go through them, but I do want to hear what parents have to say. Any insight you can provide will be very much appreciated.
Many Thanks
Margo
Re: LD schools
Well, I’ll plug my son’s new school. He’ll be starting at The Shelton School next year. It is the largest LD school in the world (they say) and is located in Dallas, TX. There are about 770 students early-childhood to high school. Their web site is www.shelton.org.
It is a very comprehensive school. People move here to attend it. Bring your big checkbook though! Yet, everyone I talk to says it is well worth the money.
Re: LD schools
Some of the people involved in Orion Academy are starting a middle school next year (run on similar principles—it looks like from the website) in Oakland, CA. Now—it is incredibly expensive in Oakland, and the job market can be tricky depending on the field, but you might want to check it out. I found it through the NLDonline website
I have a friend with a true NLD kid that did a search recently in the Northeast. She found a school in Vermont (pine something) that she liked. I’ve also heard very good things about Forman in CT. Good luck with this - its a big task!