Dubard. Where else?

[bubbalicious]

So on another thread fred mentioned Dubard.

Let's talk resources. Where else is a program like Dubard? I saw a place in Stockton, CA but not sure if comparable.

We aren't looking to move but I can't help but look around. Dubard looks great but not sure I could go to MS.

[mamaturtle]

I am just curious.

The way Mrs. B described Dubard sounded a lot like what we have for DS and we are in NM.

Would an ASD class sponsored by a big university be the same?

I am not even sure if the district is paying the university or contributing towards the ASD class. There are several ASD classes across the state.

[mrsbuttinski]

MS is close to the bottom in terms of quality in education. If you don't get into Dubard, your child will have to settle for schools that are- as a group- performing worse than in most of the country. As I explained to Fred, most of these sort of university affiliated and funded schools no longer exist. A few that started as such, exist only because active parents have converted them to independent aka "private" schools.

Usually the level of speech is more likely to be found in schools for the deaf. It's rare for reading/written language disorder schools to have SLPs pushed into their classrooms. DS's reading school had a local district SLP pull out for NJ residents, but it wasn't pushed in or offered to all students.

[akafred]

It's very true MS schools suck. I don't know about for special ed specifically but in general. When I lived in Memphis (and keep in mind TN doesn't exactly rank near the top), MS was a haven for homeschooling families and those who sent their kids to private school in the city, because property taxes were lower and real estate was cheaper, largely because the schools suck.

I don't know the admissions process for DuBard at all. In my friend's case, she is apparently paying OOP for a couple of days worth of evaluations at the school this spring. As she put it, "if the testing goes the way I suspect and the school is as great as everyone says, we very well may be packing up and moving down there." Said friend just moved to Chicago over this past summer for a school there which apparently is educating the child but not helping with the apraxia issues. Now, auntie said they have a wait list already, so I don't know how that works or how she expects to get around it or whatever. In her case the thing holding her back from moving there a while ago was not wanting to live there haha. So yeah.

[mrsbuttinski]

Feb 26, 2015 16:32:21 GMT -5 mamaturtle said:

I am just curious.

The way Mrs. B described Dubard sounded a lot like what we have for DS and we are in NM.

Would an ASD class sponsored by a big university be the same?

I am not even sure if the district is paying the university or contributing towards the ASD class. There are several ASD classes across the state.

IN a lot of places, special classes are funded by a special education cooperative created by area school districts to improve quality/reduce costs by creating special classes and sharing the costs. Where I live, PA, these are called Intermediate Units. Funding for tech/trade high schools is funded similarly. 

In other states, Ohio, for instance, they have education waivers that allow parents to opt certain kids into special schools without the usual due process drama.

[mrsbuttinski]

From their website-

The enrollment program serves 80 students each year. Students range in age from three to 13 years and have a variety of severe language-speech disorders, including the written language disorder of dyslexia, and/or hearing impairments. Students may enter the full time program between the ages of three and nine.

Approximately 80-100 students are on the waiting list at any given time.

The DuBard School works with school districts and parents to design an Individual Education Plan (IEP) to meet comprehensive needs. Through collaborative efforts with area school districts, the DuBard School provides an option for services as stipulated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Students are placed in non-graded classes based on their readiness for the DuBard Association Method®. They progress through the curriculum at their own pace.

Classrooms are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of students and provide an effective instructional setting. Each classroom has an observation room for use by parents or university students. Acoustic treatment minimizes auditory distractions.`

Because the DuBard Association Method® is a multisensory approach, writing is a large component of the method. Classrooms are equipped with multiple chalk boards to accommodate small group work at the board.

Each class has a maximum of 10 students and is served by a speech-language pathologist, most of whom are also certified academic language therapists (CALTs) and a teacher assistant.

Students work to master the DuBard Association Method® curriculum building from single phonemes (sounds) to creating complex sentences, paragraphs and questions.

Math, science and social studies also are addressed through the techniques of the DuBard Association Method®.

Students’ progress is noted on the Individual Education Plan (IEP), semi-annual progress reports, and through comprehensive annual testing.

Students remain in the program until they have achieved the oral communication and academic skills necessary to be independent and successful in a general education school environment or until other educational services are needed.

All instructional staff are extensively trained in the DuBard Association Method®. The faculty and staff consist of nationally certified speech-language pathologists, certified teachers of the deaf, special educators and teaching assistants.

The administrative staff includes a development coordinator, finance and human resource coordinator, communications coordinator, assistant for operations and community relations, a data entry specialist, and a business and admissions assistant.

The curriculum is appropriate for children whose primary disability is an oral or written language disorder, a speech disorder, a hearing disorder, or a combination of conditions. The school is unable to meet the needs of some children due to their age or special needs.

In their FAQs, they mention that students typically attend for 2-8 years depending on the severity of their disability. I know DS's reading school kept kids 2-3 years in lower and middle school; some upper school students stayed a full 4 years. I know of kids who didn't respond well to Lewis and Orton who were asked to leave after 3 years.

So even if a kid overcame the 100 kids waitlist ahead of him, he would likely be looking for a new school in 4-5 years.

[akafred]

Yeah. I am not saying said friend will get her daughter enrolled for fall. Only what she is saying. It is entirely possible that she got on the wait list a year or two ago and her name just came to the top of the list which is why they are doing the testing. Or it is possible the wait list isn't "first come first served" but rather based on need. IDK. I don't want to sound like I'm saying she will or won't be accepted for fall, only what has been communicated to me.

This particular mom is a consultant and can work anywhere, so moving around isn't as much of a deterrent as it would be for me. (Leaving out the impact to the kid, of course).

[mrsbuttinski]

Feb 26, 2015 17:18:09 GMT -5 akafred said:

Yeah. I am not saying said friend will get her daughter enrolled for fall. Only what she is saying. It is entirely possible that she got on the wait list a year or two ago and her name just came to the top of the list which is why they are doing the testing. Or it is possible the wait list isn't "first come first served" but rather based on need. IDK. I don't want to sound like I'm saying she will or won't be accepted for fall, only what has been communicated to me.

This particular mom is a consultant and can work anywhere, so moving around isn't as much of a deterrent as it would be for me. (Leaving out the impact to the kid, of course).

Normally these are on a space available basis. They serve 80 kids in classes of 10 max, 3-13. I imagine the most spaces would be available for threes- probably 10 slots for threes and fours. There probably are very few slots of the next 3 or 4 age classes and then there are probably a few in each. Maybe not in the final year.

[bubbalicious]

Dubard, an anomaly.

DH and I were casually chatting about moving (not right now) and figuring out districts (which seems daunting). The conversation of Dubard seemed timely in my conversation but we wouldn't consider moving to MS (job r/t). Also been perusing local private options as well as the county's options.