Anyone with Special Ed Experience with Lovejoy? (Dallas, Garland: appointed, real estate)

[WorriedaboutLovejoy]

I have read the district is a spendthrift regarding special education and special education services. I wanted to hear from other parents if they had enrolled any children in the PPCD program and if they program helped their children educationally. Additionally, wanted to know if anyone had to overcome barriers to receiving any services under IDEA.

We have a good impression of the teachers, but so far the interaction has been not as impressive with the administration. We have numerous neighbors telling us the kindergarten thru sixth school grade classes are great.

[WorriedaboutLovejoy]

Anyone out there with experience that can speak up? Or everyone too tired and jaded about Lovejoy's overall unsatisfactory delivery of Special Ed. Or is everyone totally happy?

[FarNorthDallas]

I know a couple of kids who live in the Lovejoy district who have learning disabilities, but they both attend a private LD school in Dallas. One of the moms told me she knows her child would never get the right services in Lovejoy ISD and it disappointed her as they love the Fairview area.

[WorriedaboutLovejoy]

Thank you kindly for responding.

Can you recommend the private LD school in Dallas? We remain open minded, but our neighbors have provided disturbing comments that make us realized that there is anything but Exemplary below the surface.

We are disappointed to hear, yet appreciate you sharing about your friends. Others have been sharing privately and we now unfortunately can relate too well. Special needs children aren't throw away children and they too require education and related educational services. We think early help can mean better adults. It is troublesome that in this beautiful area with its lush green landscape filled with kind and warm neighborhoods, could exist schools that turn down helping learning disabled children. It is disheartening to hear about Lovejoy. It makes me wonder where my realtor got his information. How could he not know the things my neighbors know.

[ChristieP]

Shelton School in Dallas is excellent with LD kids. A friend's mom teaches there.
SHELTON SCHOOL & EVALUATION CENTER

[FarNorthDallas]

My son attended Shelton School for 6 years and it is an amazing place. There is also Winston School, Fairhill and Dallas Academy.

[Duke08]

My ld son had an incredible experience in Lovejoy ISD. I always had a positive relationship with his teachers and we worked together to implement stategies to help him achieve his potential. He did not recieve the services he needed when he transitioned into Allen. He graduated from Shelton and attended the college of his choice. He is thriving academically and socially.

[LISDBeacon]

Last year Lovejoy ISD was facing a $1.7 million dollar deficit, so the superintendent called together a committee to determine where cuts should be made. The only options presented to cut were staff, and teachers - not admin. In fact, more admin was hired in this same year.

Another post references Office of Civil Rights complaints against Lovejoy ISD and I can vouch for this. I attended one of the superintendent financial presentations in which the superintendent pulled out a cart full of binders. He explained that those binders were all concerning 6 OCR complaints against the district. He went on to explain how costly it was to the district to defend against these complaints. At least one of the parents who filed a complaint was sitting in the audience. When parents of special needs or learning difference kids reach the end of their rope with a district, some will file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, some will move.
The Lovejoy ISD superintendent directed the audience's attention away from administrative fiscal mismanagement seeking to blame the district financial woes on these parents and castigating parents for advocating for their children, rather than fixing the problems and helping these kids as the law requires. I think that's all that needs to be said.
Another thing you can do to verify is look at the check register and see how much is spent on attorneys to fight against special needs kids. Numbers don't lie.
Hope this helps. Many who sing the praises of the district have profitted greatly from the district and developing the Lovejoy area. Real Estate agents make their living selling homes and the higher the cost of the home the more money they make.
Don't take advice from anyone whose last name starts with 'P'.
Ask Duke08 if she's profitted greatly from real estate deals, jobs for friends and extended family, and contracts with Lovejoy ISD.

[Korel]

I have no experience with the Love Joy Schools.

I do have a child who is MR/Autistic. He is 32 years old now.

When he was in early childhood, age 4, we were in the Garland ISD. I can't compare with the others but the people in Garland were great. It's been 25 years since he was in Garland Schools so I only hope they were as good now as they were back then.

[ompcc]

We are Considering moving to lovejoy isd (lucas). currently in Wylie isd down the road. we have heard so many positives about lovejoy and yet so many negatives. we have one (elementary) child with some minor learning disabilities and our other child is very average & a social butterfly. We love the homes - lots and spread out homesites in lucas. Should we move to lucas to be in lovejoy isd or should we pick allen or McKinney??? Needing to get out of Wylie/Murphy ASAP
Also is there any great churches that are baptist or bible/fellowhip churches on the lucas/allen/fairview side of town???
THANKS :-)