I am trying to find out what school would be best for my child to go to school either in JC or Post and wanted to get some feedback on everyones preference and past experiences withe different schools. My son will be entering Kindergarten this year and I am interested in finding a school that would really help with his languge and speech, one that is good in dealing with special needs is a definite plus.

What school does you child go to. What grades what do you like/dislike about it. 

My kiddos went to Ware. I have one with classical autism and one with higher functioning autism (close to asperger's) and ADHD. They handled their issues fairly well. It is no secret that I questioned my son's intellectual ability as opposed to what was printed on his report card, but I think that is just one of those things you have to be right on top of. My daughter excelled in all areas except social which she received social work for. The speech therapist is no longer there (last year was her last at Ware) but she did wonderful things for my kiddos. The school NEVER pushed me to turn to meds. I made it clear we don't medicate unless we feel there were not other options. We made the decision to medicate my son for aggression, but my daughter, they just accomodated her little fidgety habits. :) That, in my mind was a plus. I think understanding that there are other ways to reach kiddos rather than insisting on meds is a real asset. 

The first time we were here, she went to Ware...we LOVED it!!! Now she is in high school, but so far so good! :o) 

What school are u guys supposed to go to?? I work in the district and I think u willl find pros and cons with any school. The key is to know ur rights so that u can help ur child get the best services possible. The school I work at has an excellent speech and language theraist and the special ed services are amazing bc we keep trying and don't give up!! 

Mami, I can tell you right off the bat that Ware is not accepting any new transfers (that includes students that live off base). I was trying to transfer my daughters from Custer Hill to Ware and I was told that they are so full that they aren't even accepting all of the transfers that attended last year. Which kind of sucks because my daughter really needs the kind if specialized care that I know Ware offers. 

What school are u guys supposed to go to?? I work in the district and I think u willl find pros and cons with any school. The key is to know ur rights so that u can help ur child get the best services possible. The school I work at has an excellent speech and language theraist and the special ed services are amazing bc we keep trying and don't give up!!

Amanda, since you work in the district maybe you can offer some advice. My daughter is exhibiting some severe behavioral issues, she is seeing a play therapist as well as being evaluated by the Developmental Pediatrics Dept at KU, her diagnosis is pending. Being that I am a single mom and a Soldier, I have already gone to the school that they will be attending and spoke to the principal stressing the need for my child to have an IEP in place immendiately when school starts. I was pretty much blown off, and told that they will determine after 6-12 weeks who needs one and that they will add her to the list of children that need to be watched. Being that I am full of resources and support from various agencies on post, I know that the school can do an IEP prior to school starting, but they keep blowing me off. I cannot keep missing work because the school chooses to suspend my daughter for behaviors that may be related to what her diagnosis could be. Any ideas on how to handle this? Not just Amanda, anyone that can help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 

Call families together and see if there is an educational advocate that can help represent you also letting the school know that you are going to contact the director of special education and get informaion on who to contact as to what rights you have might speed up the process.

families together 233-4777 m-f 

What school are u guys supposed to go to??

Homeschool for us is Eisenhower. But one of my biggest things is I need SAS. I am a single parent and I need before and after school care. Lots of schools have afterschool programs but I need both. What school do you work at Amanda? Can you share pros/cons that you know of area schools. You can private message me if you want. 

Mami, I can tell you right off the bat that Ware is not accepting any new transfers (that includes students that live off base). I was trying to transfer my daughters from Custer Hill to Ware and I was told that they are so full that they aren't even accepting all of the transfers that attended last year. Which kind of sucks because my daughter really needs the kind if specialized care that I know Ware offers.

That sucks. I was seriously thinking about Ware as I have heard a few good things about them with special needs. But like with anything you hear the good and bad with every place. Some may or may not be true and you are going based on the opinions of others. I guess that I will just have to wait, see how things go and hope for the best. 

Mami, I know. I hear excellent things about Ware. I was really hoping that they could get my daughters in because I know that they are better equipped to deal with what is going on with my youngest. But I have the support of a few amazing organizations on Fort Riley that are going to help me out in dealing with the school, and vocalizing exactly what it is that my daughter needs. A nice lady that I met with yesterday even offered to go with me to meet with the school/my daughter's teacher. The main thing is like Amanda said, you need to ensure that you know your child's rights. I can already tell you that this particular school that I am dealing with is blowing me off, which is not only wrong because it's just rude but they are taking advantage of the fact that I am not an expert on the laws regarding situations like this. It is extremely helpful to know exactly what the schools have to do by law.
Keep in mind too Mami, that you have to do a transfer request and that you will most likely not know the outcome of the request until right before school starts. I was told that the transfer has to be approved by the child's current school, it goes to the school you are requesting to be transferred to, and then finally it goes to the school district. It must be approved at all three places. I know that Ware is very well equipped to deal with special needs of children, but I also know that if one school in the district has it and the school that your child goes to doesn't offer it that the law states that they have to make it available at that school. This year I will make it my personal mission to ensure that Custer Hill does that for my daughter. I would think that meeting children's needs goes hand in hand with the No Child Left Behind Program, and I fully intend to do whatever I have to do as a parent to make sure the school does what they need to do. It might take some work, but our children are the future of our nation and they deserve the best. I refuse to be brushed off because I am not fully educated on the rights of my children when it comes to their education. 

By the way, if you would like the contact information for the lady that is helping me deal with the school, please send me a message and I will give you her information. I already feel much more confident in dealing with the school because she set me straight on a lot of things that they are doing wrong and has offered to help me in any way that she can. 

And p.s. about SAS, you should go ahead and do the registration process with them because they fill up quickly. They have an orientation meeting on August 2nd from 1730-1930 at SAS where they give you all the paperwork, informational briefings, a tour of the facility, and they let you know what you will be paying as far as fees. Also, their telephone number is 239-9220 so you can call them if you need any more information. I don't think you have to attend the meeting, you can still pick up the paperwork anytime if you walk in. 

And p.s. about SAS, you should go ahead and do the registration process with them because they fill up quickly.

Thanks for all the info Jewelz that def helps. He is all already enrolled and setup for SAS so that part is covered. Just gotta get the school thing figured out. I heard registration is pretty crazy and you are right you won't know what school they are going to until right before. Hope everything goes smoothly though. And good luck to you as well :) 

I work at washington elementary. The principal could be right but what I would do is explain to the teacher what is going on with ur child. Once u get a diagnosis from ku, that will help u get an iep faster. Just bc u don't have an iep doesn't mean that the teacher can't do interventions such as a behavior plan. Speech is something that seems pretty easy to start...all that needs to happen at my school is either the teacher or parent talks to the speech person and they will just listen to them to determine if they need further evaluation. Did ur child attend any sort of preschool program? 

Oh and washington does have before and afterschool programs but u do have to request a transfer 

Amanda, my child isnt experiencing speech problems. They are behavioral and I cannot believe that the school is dismissing my daughter's behavior. I am telling them what is going on with her because I believe that a mother knows her child best, and has probably the best assessment of what is going on in their lives. I dont need school people to tell me that they will watch her. i need to know that they will support me, and not kick her out of school every chance they get until i get a diagnosis from KU. Who knows how long KU will take to diagnose her. Like I said, I am a single parent and a Soldier and I dont have the option of picking her up every day because she is misbehaving 

Chapman has a bus that goes to Junction City...It's an amazing school :) js. I'm went there last year. 

u do have to request a transfer

How does the whole transfer process work. Do I have to register my child at their home school first or should I call the school I would like him to go to first? Sorry this is my first time going through this and it's all confusing for me. I know it's crunch time this week and I'm trying to get prepared. His physical and shot records are all up to date just need to get him registered and try to get in a transfer still. 

I would probably call the district, which the number is 785-717-4000. I would let them know that you are interesting in transferring your child to "blank" school and were wondering how you would go about that. I "think" you have to get ahold of the school that you want ur child to go to but I'm not sure. I do know that the principal of the school you want them to go to; has to accept the transfer which is why you want to get them done early. Do you know where you want ur child to go? 

the boys and girls club in JC offers before and after school care as well as a summer program. it doesnt seem to be very well advertised. My daughter went to custer hill last year (do not recommend) and this year she is going off post. She used SAS which I loved, but today she started at the B&G club and I think she will really enjoy it.