Hi all

My wife and I have the option to move to LA with our respective jobs.

The major factor in deciding whether we go will be the impact on our oldest son. He is about to (in Sept.) go into Year 4 in the UK (he's 9 in Jan).

I have read with interest the thread on education and the US being 'a year behind' and whether UK expats put their kids into the equivalent educational year in the US - but we will potentially have the opposite problem to most of the posters on that thread, whereby even if our son would go into 3rd Grade, he would potentially still struggle with certain parts of the curriculum (esp. maths).

In the UK, whilst he gets support from the SEN co-ordinator, he is not quite far behind enough to warrant any further 'special attention' (in some aspects of his education he's probably still at KS1, others he just about scrapes into his current KS).

So, at last, to some questions!!

1) Does anyone have any experience of how US schools deal with / help children who are behind their peers (on a day to day level)? Or do they just get left behind then get kept back a year?
2) Do US Elementary schools have the equivalent to a SEN?
3) We would consider private education is this was the best solution, but it seems that as they are over-subscribed these schools centre around high achievement?

Thanks in advance for any advice or experiences.

There certainly are private schools that focus on those with ADD, dyslexia, and other learning difficulties. There is a very good and well-regarded once near where I live in NC.

To pbe1973: if you google The Good Schools Guide International website, you will find a helpful article entitled "Special Education Needs in the US: Overview".

Thanks pump62kin, I'll check it out

I'm guessing this depends on the public school district. I only have experience of the one we moved to a year ago. My 6 year old is getting what I can only describe as world class in-school support and because of this was not asked to repeat her first year. We chose the school district because of what we heard about the schools and it has paid off. We're in MA though, which tends to have better than average schools generally.

Good luck with your research.

Thanks Relo - that's really good to hear. Do you (or anyone) know what the situation is with keeping back a year in the US?

In the UK (as with our son) he may be a year or so behind in some subjects, but the ethos is to keep children with their age group.

Are they quite rigid in the US in that if you don't reach a certain level on all subjects you get kept back no matter what?

Thanks

Every school district will be different in the quality and what is offered, so general advice might not be that useful.

You probably want to focus on a couple of school districts in areas you can budget for as a starting point and ask them directly?

I expect it's state by state, but in Arizona the key grade is 3rd, and the subject is reading; if a child isn't reading at grade level by then, the child repeats the year. It's due to the switch at that age from 'learning to read' to 'reading to learn', and a child who's progressed up to 4th without having the basics down will be rapidly left behind.

It doesn't happen overnight; it's usually very clear if a child isn't going to be at grade for reading, and the school/ parents would have discussed the implications long before the summer tests are taken.

As for in-classroom differentiation, my daughter's school were very helpful when she arrived in 2nd grade largely unable to read (she'd been in a French-speaking village school in Switzerland, where they don't start academics until age 7, so all she knew were basic phonic sounds. In French). She was 18-24 months behind the others, but it didn't faze the school, who offered her one-on-one reading pullout for some months until she'd got the basics. She was then fully caught up by the end of 3rd grade.

Hello pbe1973 -- do you know which area of Los Angeles you would move to? If so, have a look at the website for the unified school district your son would enroll with.

Some of them will include Academic Instruction overviews at elementary school levels. You will also find links outlining the Essential Standards, including grades K to 6, which may prove helpful.

Hi Pump62kin - that's really useful - thanks again

Thanks Kodokan- sounds as if they might have it more together than over here!!

Within states the standards, and available budgets, often vary widely. Despite attempts to provide level funding and educational opportunity, as in Britain, there are schools in some areas which are in perpetual crisis management mode, trying to deal with a very difficult learning environment, and little or no support from parents.

Other schools, with different issues, and rather fewer of them, and lots of parental support, both moral and financial, can deliver an entirely different learning experience. It is possible to go from the catchment area for a dustbin school to the catchment are for one of the very best schools sometimes by doing little more than cross the street.

In short, you can't make a sweeping generalization across a whole state.

Thanks again Pulaski, starting to get a better picture!

I am a retired Special Education teacher.I taught in UK and USA for 30 years. I would put him in a regular class and see how he does. If the school has concerns about him they will ask to have him tested to see if he is eligible for an IEP individual education plan. The IEP then requires the school to provide support service in the LRE least restrictive environment. The IEP gives parents tremendous power, however it can be detrimental if the kid ends up in a pull out, LD learning disabled class as it can interfere with his peer interaction and self esteem. I would look for him to receive additional support in a regular class with some individual remedial help after school, or in place of a subject or study hall.
Once a kid starts to go to a pull out class then they tend to stay there. He will get passing grades, but he may not be learning very much. Teachers are usually busy keeping the paperwork right, while the aide works with the kids giving them work sheet and more work sheets and more work-busy-sheets.
About 20% of American kids have an IEP/ Special education. This is a very high number and in my opinion has many kids who do not belong there. A 'C' grade in USA is considered a failure, and A is easy to get . A lot of American kids are labeled ADD attention deficit disorder yet school demands a lot of sitting time, short or no recess, and more sitting, and then wonder why the kids fidget. US schools ( or parent )are quick to identify a kid as being behind peers when quite often it is just a developmental acquisition difference. Einstein would have been special ed in USA as he was slow to talk. US pushes academics very early, too early in my opinion.
If I had a kid with learning needs I would agree to have him/her tested, and then have the school provide one on one tutoring after school. I would reject a resource room unless the child needed a life skills curriculum.

Are you familiar with The Bell Curve? It's a very interesting read, and I suspect it explains a good bit about why 20% of American children are in special ed.