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My Son Is Graduating Highschool This Year. He Has An Iep. He Plays Football, Lacrosse And Wrestles. He Is A Good Athlete And Has To Work At His Studies In School. He Wants To Go Onto College And Is Not Sure Of His Major. Can Anyone Give Me Some Insight On Where To Start. He's Wants To Go To College But Many Schools Out There Want Only Academically GIFTED Students. Thanks
What about a community college to do the 'required classes' of all majors like General English/Writing and basic math. Then he can see how well he does. Maybe he should just take one class this summer after he graduates to see how he likes college. He may have to do college longer than average, taking less classes a term.
There is a school (college) for Learning disabled kids in Vermont not too far from me but I can't recall the name at the moment. If I find it, I will edit this post.
Start by scheduling a meeting with your son and his guidance counselor, who will know a lot about what schools may be a good match for your son, and what financial aid/scholarship programs he may qualify for.
Also, all students with a diagnosable disability also have to receive services from their college....just FYI. I would look at state schools or consider community college and then transfering
Most colleges are looking for well-rounded students, not necessarily academic superstars. Whatever accomodations/services are provided via his IEP will follow him to college, so he certainly shouldn't be afraid of giving it a try.
The Vermont school referenced by another poster is Landmark College, and it's designed specifically for LD students. (It's also VERY expensive.)
Community college is definitely a good place to start, but there's no reason your son couldn't go right to a decent four-year college. Most important is to find a school where he'll be comfortable, and that has the programs (academic & social) that he's interested in.
If he DOES want to start out at a 4-year college, I'd recommend that you look for a *small* school -- not some behemoth state school with 40,000+ students. He'll get smaller classes, more personalized attention from the professors, and teachers who actually TEACH rather than do research.
[quote=squeezeboxgal;1780118]Most colleges are looking for well-rounded students, not necessarily academic superstars.
Where do you live, btw? Here, in Northern Virginia (oustside Wash, DC) our schools are soo competitive that students with a solid 'B' average are being turned down by state colleges (UVA, VA Tech, William & Mary). These are kids who have sports, and service and extra-curriculars out the "wazoo".
I'm concerned now, even though my oldest is only in 6th grade. He's dyslexic, but doesn't qualify for an IEP, since he doesn't meet their qualifiications or isn't failing school. He's in a private catholic prep school currenlty.
But, since he struggles w/ school in general, I am very concerned about his future. I have heard of a good school in Va called Christopher Newport in the Va Beach area, as well as a school in Phoenix, AZ (can't remember which one) who are more "sympathetic" to LD students.
How can any IEPs transfer to the college/university? Isn't the IEP a State regulation? Will it still "carry-over" even into other states (ie HS in one state and college in another state?)
Where do you live, btw? Here, in Northern Virginia (oustside Wash, DC) our schools are soo competitive that students with a solid 'B' average are being turned down by state colleges (UVA, VA Tech, William & Mary). These are kids who have sports, and service and extra-curriculars out the "wazoo".
I'm concerned now, even though my oldest is only in 6th grade. He's dyslexic, but doesn't qualify for an IEP, since he doesn't meet their qualifiications or isn't failing school. He's in a private catholic prep school currenlty.
But, since he struggles w/ school in general, I am very concerned about his future. I have heard of a good school in Va called Christopher Newport in the Va Beach area, as well as a school in Phoenix, AZ (can't remember which one) who are more "sympathetic" to LD students.
How can any IEPs transfer to the college/university? Isn't the IEP a State regulation? Will it still "carry-over" even into other states (ie HS in one state and college in another state?)
I used to work at a school in central Virginia, so am fairly familiar with the area. The colleges you cited (UVA, William & Mary, VA Tech) are highly competitive/highly selective schools. The original poster indicated that her son is doing OK in school, but that academics are difficult. Those colleges aren't going to be suitable options for him.
But, please, trust me -- there are literally HUNDREDS of other, smaller, less well-known, schools who are eager to enroll students who may not excel academically, but who are good, well-rounded kids. A high school guidance/college counselor would be a good resource to help in pinpointing those schools.
Christopher Newport would be an excellent choice -- several students who attended my Virginia school have gone there and been quite successful.
The IEP, while written by school personnel, is based on federal law, and students with qualifying disabilities are protected by those same federal laws. Therefore, the accomodations they receive in lower grades follow them to college. And, yes, an IEP written in one state follows the child where ever he/she goes. The exception is that schools who do not accept federal funding do not have to follow the IEP, so your Catholic school may be exempt.
Since your son doesn't quality for an IEP, I suggest contacting your local school district about having him evaluated for a "504" program. This is something designed for students who don't have a qualifying disability, but who still need accomodations (e.g. extended time for standardized tests like the SAT). My current school enrolled a boy last year who was dyslexic and had a 504, and we were able to give him the assistance he needed to do well in his classes.
Most colleges are looking for well-rounded students, not necessarily academic superstars.
Where do you live, btw? Here, in Northern Virginia (oustside Wash, DC) our schools are soo competitive that students with a solid 'B' average are being turned down by state colleges (UVA, VA Tech, William & Mary). These are kids who have sports, and service and extra-curriculars out the "wazoo".
I'm concerned now, even though my oldest is only in 6th grade. He's dyslexic, but doesn't qualify for an IEP, since he doesn't meet their qualifiications or isn't failing school. He's in a private catholic prep school currenlty.
But, since he struggles w/ school in general, I am very concerned about his future. I have heard of a good school in Va called Christopher Newport in the Va Beach area, as well as a school in Phoenix, AZ (can't remember which one) who are more "sympathetic" to LD students.
How can any IEPs transfer to the college/university? Isn't the IEP a State regulation? Will it still "carry-over" even into other states (ie HS in one state and college in another state?)
Many colleges might also do their own evaluation to determine services, but many will take the IEP. Also, IEP's don't necessarily transfer. I work with many children who tranfer schools and have to get a new IEP. As the other poster suggested, try a 504 evaluation. However, I notice that you have him in a private school. Private schools are not mandated to get him services, so you would be surprised that public schools are often better at providing services because they are mandated to. Also, if you truly feel like you aren't getting the attention you need for him, consider an outside eval that might help to pursuade the school.
Good info above. I'm a school counselor who works at a school with a high percentage of SpEd students, many of whom successfully go on to higher ed.
In MN at least, IEPs do "transfer" to many higher ed institutions. Our local community college, for example, is great about providing the accomodations and extra help those students need. Most CC's also have an "open admissions" policy, so this is a good option for students who may not necessarily have top notch GPA's and/or ACT/SAT scores (most don't require ACT/SAT for admission, but they may ask a student to take some kind of standardized test for placement purposes.)
As also mentioned above, most SpEd students tend to do better in a smaller, more "intimate" college enviornment where their instructors can get to know them and their needs. If a student ultimately wants a 4-year degree, CC is a good place for them to get the "hang" of college and then transfer on 4-year institution with greater success (plus it saves money too!) One of my former (IEP) students is now in her second year at the CC mentioned above and she's actually doing BETTER in college than she did in HS! Now that she has a decent GPA and proven success in college under her belt, she's going to transfer to a 4-year school next year (she probably wouldn't have been accepted there straight out of HS.)
Of course many students who struggle academically may find that a 2 year (or shorter) program in a specific career field (i.e., carpentry or x-ray tech or even things like wildland firefighting) is a better option for them. Another former IEP student of mine is doing an underwater welding program! I always teased him about making the basket weavers jealous, ha ha.
I would recommend visiting some schools just to "see what's out there". Many schools have "open house" days where prospective students and parents can take a tour, see what programs/sports/clubs the school offers, talk to instructors, etc. This would be a great way for him to get some career ideas too!
I think an important thing to remember is once a student gets to college (IEP or not), he/she has to learn to advocate for him/herself. The help is there, but it's the student's responsibility to ask for it and to get connected to the available resources. Sometimes the "hand holding" that goes on in HS (especially when kids are juniors and seniors) ultimately does students a disservice once they get into the "real" world.
Last edited by MidniteBreeze; 10-20-2007 at 11:48 AM..
Many colleges might also do their own evaluation to determine services, but many will take the IEP. Also, IEP's don't necessarily transfer. I work with many children who tranfer schools and have to get a new IEP.
Every time a Special Ed students changes school districts, a new IEP needs to be done. Although the provision of services is federally mandated, every district has its own forms, and programs and services may be somewhat different.
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