Looking For A Private Therapuetic School

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My daughter, age 13 with mood disorder (big swings, big meltdowns) and "other" problems is not working out in public school. Any thoughts on boarding schools with good therapeutic programs, social skills and the ability to tailor a curriculum to a girl with towering abilities and disabilities?

She needs the security and support the private school cannot give and we cannot sustain.

We are in MA (So MA 766 approval is a plus), but will go anywhere.

Grant.

Frankllin Acadamy in East Haddam, CT

Allen Institute in Rhode Island

Chapel Haven in New Haven, CT

You may be able to make the school district pay for part of the costs.

if i remember correctly, chapel haven is really only for those who are at least 18, and focuses on life skills~with a tiny bit of academics

Oh they'll pay alright!



Franklin does not take kids who have these kinds of behavior issues, I am told. But I will ask our consultant again. Had not heard of allen Inst.

THANKS!

G.

I'm glad to hear you are so optimistic about paying.

Recently we got fed up with the lack of a coherent transitional plan for my son who is a HS Junior. The school has been pushing him along academically, but has done nothing to help him/us get him ready for post HS life.

After a 5 month battle to get him the accomodations he deserved for trhe SATs in which I had to take over for the school and get things done, we decided to hire an attorney to look over his situation. They were stunned at the things the school should have been offering my son and were not. We are now trying to rectify that and a large part of that is going to be NOT graduating him when he meets the academic requirements in June of '08 and having them pay for a program for him, and also job coachin this summer and some more extensive nueropsychological screening. The lawyer thinks things will go well but my stomach is in knots.

I'm not being optimistic. I know they will pay.

We live on a small island off of the East Coast. Many of the homes are in the $2-$4 million dollar range. Many are worth much more. So our tax base is substantial. Lots of money.

The distance from the mainland means the island is unspoiled by the real world. It also means we have no easy access to teachers or services in other communities. The school system has a tough time bringing talent here (Who can afford the $1 million+ homes? Not teachers.) And providing services for kids with severe needs is difficult and costly. I fly off for social skills with my daughter once a week.

The school system has practically begged us to find a school we like and they will pay for it. They just do not have the staff or tools to help our daughter and they recognize the drain on resources for her is substantial. We have over a dozen kids in out-of-district placements totaling over $100,000 per year each. This has raised the per-pupil cost of running the school system to around $18K per child.

Our massive tax base means we can afford it. I can't recall a town meeting request for the school that was ever turned down.

G.

Perhaps you would consider adopting my son and I?