my son is on his 2nd school field trip this week

[Jeannie in NJ]

my son is in a wonderful special ed. program. There are 9 students in the class with the same teacher and same 4 aides for the last 2 years. He loves it there. On Tues, they went on a boat to the backbay (we live on an island) . There were a couple of employees from the Bay Information center there to show them all kinds of critters that live in the bay. Ds had a great time. Today, they are going to the Boardwalk to play miniature golf and have pizza and ice cream.

 

His teacher keeps healthy snacks in her classroom (that she buys) in case the kids get hungry. My dd (homeschooled teen) will make oatmeal cookies for ds's class next week. In the summer, they have an enrichment class for the special ed. kids (shorter hours and less days) last year, they took care of the school's outdoor garden (a large one). The teacher brings in a cooler full of cold snacks and drinks for the summer heat. The bus picks up and drops off in front of our house. I am very pleased with this program. I don't know if this is the norm for special ed. classes as this is my only experience with one but they really take care of the kids. I had to pick ds up early one day and they were playing muliplication bingo (teacher asked if I could wait a little as ds was winning so I did and he won).

 

Oh, one of ds's aides lives across the street from us. When ds had surgery and missed a week of school, she brought over gifts from the other students.

[LibraryLover]

Often a community school works well. A lof of people would argue they can do all that and more and home, or that they don't need to do all that...or whatever the arugment for hsing is for a particular person.

 

My experience is that many schools work well, form good alliances with parents, become a relevant and caring part of our personal communites, and enrich our lives.

 

I think it's lovely you have a place that feels safe and welcoming. I had a similar experience when my children were young. I still have friends from those days.

Edited June 12, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Caroline]

Very nice. Thank you for posting this Jeannie. I love hearing good public school stories.

[TracyR]

I agree. Very nice. Its nice to hear of good public school stories. To bad they aren't more common.

I know the ps for special needs kids in Clymer, NY brings the kids to our YMCA for swimming. Amazingly enough even the Amish kids go swimming too! I've heard its a good program and it really seems to be. Wish our ps in our area was the same way. I've heard to many bad stories about it from others who send their kids to school. I think it just varies where you live.