I have a daughter with Down Syndrome who recieves special education services. She does well academically she is in a typical kindergarten (middle/high reading group and is working on numbers) and I want her to continue to have good opportunities. I see her in the regular classroom with supports and not in a segregated classroom, for her whole academic career. It is sometimes challenging for people to see beyond disability and see how well our children can really do, they tend to base it on what they think they know about a group of people rather than seeing the individual. My son the "typical" kid is the child that is a handful! :) Our current school district seems good (Roseville) but we are contemplating moving. I am thinking about Mahtomedi or possibly St. Francis, but am looking for advise. I know some districts can be really good with typical ed, but really poor with special education, so I am looking for advise. Thanks much!
I have heard good things about the sped programs in Mounds View. I have worked in the St. Anthony-New Brighton district and know first hand that they have a good program for speds. They are also ranked very high in schools in Minnesota for their regular ed programming.
I am responding mostly on hear-say, but I live in the Anoka-Hennepin District (Andover schools) and have heard many negatives about St. Francis. Many families from St. Francis are on waiting lists to get into Andover. From what I can tell they may be struggling financially and the community has failed to passed multiple referendums- I would definitely do your research on this district... But then again, maybe they have a fantastic spec. ed. program...??
I am a mom and teacher living in the Andover area. I can say that we are very happy with the Anoka Hennepin schools but really avoided anything in St Francis when we moved to the area. It does not have a great reputation.
Hi K.,
I am also a mom of a child with some special needs and I used to be a teacher - so I can give you a little insight into a couple of schools I know pretty well. Mahtomedi is an outstanding school district for kids who will be on 4 year college bound - it's on par with many of the private schools for AP and other advanced course offerings and has great programs and community support. Not so great in the areas of special ed though. sorry.
I don't know much about St. Francis but I can tell you that the Mounds View school district is a first choice for many parents of mixed ability children. The district has the best spec. ed services I have ever experienced and there are 2 separate high schools so your "typical" kid would have a lot of choices too. Both of the high schools are very highly ranked every year and have good programs and athletics. They also have aggressive open enrollment so you can almost always pick any of the schools in the district as long as you are a resident.
I hope that helps.
~N.
White Bear Lake is a great place and our experience with the schools has been good. We homeschool now, but before that our son received special services for LD at the local elementary school and they were always helpful and encouraging. We have another son with FASD and I love White Bear because it's a safe place where he can bike himself to activities, ice cream, the library, fishing, etc. safely w/o supervision.
SAHM of seven
