Special-education private schools
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When it comes to special education, it’s not hard to find fault with the NYC public school system. But my issue this week is the City’s private schools.
Last spring, my husband and I waited anxiously for callbacks from the “Ivy League” special education schools that we fell in love with during our September tours, where we saw small classes of kindergarteners with autism sweetly and successfully reading books, doing math and maneuvering their little bodies into yoga poses like cats and candles and tables. We checked our answering machine hourly, hoping that Brooks would get one of their three or four open spots — and that we would somehow figure out how to pay the tuition.
This spring, I’ve been watching families from Brooks’s old preschool go through the same process. I’m glad to report that those who’ve secured private school placements do seem to be having an easier time with DOE funding than our contemporaries did last year (simply put, if the DOE admits that they have no appropriate public education for your child, they need to bear part or all of the cost of an alternative private setting). Of course, overall, getting that funding is still a tremendously difficult and stressful endeavor. And one particular practice within private schools greatly disturbs me.
What I’m referring to is the ubiquitous non-refundable deposit to hold the spot, which is often at least $5,000. Did I mention that it’s non-refundable? In our experience, admissions directors were not completely unreasonable — you could often negotiate stretching the deadline date, but there was no negotiating the eventual delivery of that jaw-droppingly large check.
Is there something I’m not getting here? These schools have mile-long waiting lists, so there wouldn’t be a problem filling the spot and getting the tuition from another family. And I’m not unsympathetic to the schools’ need to handpick students so that they can build appropriate classes, and that last-minute changes generate extra paperwork. But not $5,000 worth.
One exception to the general craziness: Gillen Brewer was very open to negotiating a fee that my husband and I could afford, and making that amount refundable if a better option for Brooks came along. They fully understood that as special education parents, we were looking into many options, both public and private, and that admissions dates were all over the map. That was a refreshing approach, but entirely unique.
I’m told that this is how it works in all New York City private schools, that the parents are wealthy, and the schools do it simply because they can. But to do it with special education? It seems to me that the schools are taking advantage of the very population they claim to serve.
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The whole system stinks. I, frankly, have more bad things to say about the B.O.E. It is, after all, the mediocrity and laziness regarding special ed. within the system that spawned these schools back in the ’70s. Would that the NYC Board of Ed. had diversified its special education back in those years when state monies were available, the same monies that support the publicly-funded private schools.
There is no place for so many types of children within the current set-up. How many high-functioning special ed. kids do you think are really served in a class of 25 kids, half of them special ed, with 2 teachers? Right now, you’re lucky enough to have your child in Intensive K. But many, many bright kids with various learning impairments, both autistic and otherwise, are not served by Nest, which is not prepared to serve any child with a learning disability. Thank God, it serves the children it does.
But, until the Board of Ed. has decent and realistic options for a full range of special education children, don’t be so quick to bash the private, or non-public schools. Yes, some of their attitudes and practices could also stand revision, for sure. But for some, they are the only option, no matter how difficult the process is and whether they can afford any of it.
Comment by Susan — May 21, 2009 @ 9:32 am
Marni,
I don’t know which schools you dealt with and which you didn’t, or whether you ventured out of Manhattan. I do agree that the private schools are annoyingly difficult to deal with–what about the hefty application fees, too? And the attitude of some that you are trying to get your kid into Harvard Law.
However, I feel that your blog has presented too unequivocally positive view of Nest, without acknowledging its problems, chief of which is how few children are served by its approach. Most bright and learning-impaired children are not well-served by the B.O.E.
It seems further imbalanced for your only post on private or non-public alternatives to public school focus on a negative aspect. It would have been more useful to analyze how well these schools do their job.
Peace, Susan
Comment by Susan — May 21, 2009 @ 9:52 am
I concur re: Gillen Brewer - we had a great experience with that school. Our son was accepted there before we had a decision re: ASD NEST, and they allowed us to place a reduced deposit. After we decided to go with NEST, they also refunded our deposit when our son’s spot was filled with a child from the waiting list. I only have good things to say about GB and the staff there.
Comment by Tania — May 21, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Susan,
I don’t understand the willingness to bash the DOE. I am no fool and know there are some lousy schools but do you really believe that every school in NYC is horrible?
Comment by em — May 21, 2009 @ 1:30 pm
Susan,
I disagree. Marni writes from a personal perspective and since her son doesn’t go to a private school, her experience is with the private school application process, which is why that is what she focused on in her “only” post on the private schools. She also goes out of her way to say that the NEST program isn’t perfect - it serves far too few children - but that it has been as close to a perfect fit for her family as she could ever hoped.
Marni is not a reporter, but a parent writing about her personal experiences in New York with a son in the public schools special ed. system. If you want balanced reporting, a column is not the place to look, although I do think she always makes an effort to acknowledge the fact that her family’s experiences are not universal.
Comment by Anonymous — May 21, 2009 @ 4:43 pm
Our son was accepted to The Aaron School while we were still waiting to hear back from NEST, and they very kindly agreed to waive the deposit until we found out whether or not he’d been accepted. (He was, and the program has been an excellent fit for him).
As I understand it, private schools build these non-refundable deposits into their operating budgets.
Comment by Margot — May 21, 2009 @ 7:25 pm