My daughter is dyslexic and is currently in the 5th grade. She has been in the CUSD School District IEP program since 2nd grade. She has been improving due to our research in finding an appropriate education therapist as well as transferring to an program at West Valley Elementary. She is doing well in science and has mainstreamed to Math. Her main problems are with Language Arts. We have plans for her to work with her education therapist over the summer as well to prepare for 6th grade.
I am very concerned about sending her to Kennedy Middle School as it is the school for my address. I have heard that Kennedy is very demanding and does not focus on writing skills which my daughter needs. Placing her in this competitive environment when she is starting to do really well may affect her self esteem and I am very concerned.
I am looking into Cupertino Middle School as an option and was wondering if anyone has a child in the 6th grade that have learning difficulties and is doing well at this schoo. Any thoughts on Kennedy for children with learning difficulties would be appreciated as well.
Thank everyone for the responses and references. I have an IEP scheduled for next week and I want to be prepared. I know that I live in an highly regarded school district, but it is still difficult to know the best choices for my daughter.
I have a granddaughter with the same problem. She is supposed to go to Kennedy next year also. I do not see much improvement over her since she moved her a year ago. I am very concerned at her age. She is smart and comprehends well when someone reads to her, but she just does not read very well at all. I would appreciate any advice you get so I can get it too.
Hi, I'm N. and live in San Diego but will be moving into the Cupertino School District in June. My son, 8 years, has a sensory processing disorder, and has an IEP which focuses on improving his writing. I have been researching schools for the move--we could move anywhere from Palo Alto to Los Gatos in geographical range--and I found McAuliffe Elementary in Cupertino. It's an alternative school, still public, and I think it goes to 8th grade. It seems to be the answer to my prayers, with small group size and hands on learning, optional testing and still producing the top students at the high school level. Entry is by lottery and parent participation is required. I think you might want to look into McAuliffe as an alternative to mainstream junior high. Secondly I need your help. Our Occupational Therapist just recommended that we find an educational therapist when we move. You said you have one and I have never heard of one until this week. Do you like yours? How did you find your educational therapist? Please let me know. N.
Hi, I do have one child who was on an IEP at Kennedy and one child who will be going there next year who is GATE. If you haven't had your IEP exit meeting or transition meeting with your current school and Kennedy yet, I would suggest it. The new principal at Kennedy is great and she was a special education instructor before becoming and administrator. Ms. Nicole Johnston is the Principal, and my friend who has a daughter on an IEP who will be starting this coming fall at Kennedy just had her IEP meeting with both her elementary school and the staff from Kennedy, including Ms. Johnston. She said it was the easiest IEP meeting she has ever had. Ms. Johnston basically asked my friend what she would like to see provided for her daughter as far as where she should be placed/what type of learning environment and resources and so my friend told her and she said ok. Having a principal who was a special education teacher I think really makes a difference on how an IEP can go and how much support you are able to receive. I definitely suggest going and talking to Ms. Johnston and the counselors. If you have a last name with a letter in the alphabet M - Z you will have Ms. Williams and she is really easy to work with and she really helped us with making sure that accomodations that were documented were being implemented in the main stream classrooms for our child.
There is going to be a shift this coming year in what schools in the district will be offering what special day classes and resources too. Kennedy wasn't as demanding as 4th and 5th grade for my son, and he really enjoyed the classes and staff members there. 8th grade is tougher than 6th and 7th, but that's because they were trying to get the students ready for the academics at Monta Vista.
Hope this helps.
I forwarded your request to a friend with a daughter at Cupertino Middle School with dyslexia. You've got some information already but more doesn't hurt... hope you get some good info from her response:
I am very pleased at how Cupertino Middle School has helped my daughter with her learning needs. I would guess that the same program would exist at Kennedy.
In 6th grade, she didn't get electives, instead she got Learning Skills. Basically, it is a class she had at 7th period that had teachers and aids that would help her with any homework questions and gave her a head start on homework. The teachers there are in contact with her teachers and know what she is doing in school. Also, if she did poorly on a test or needed more time to take tests, she would have a chance to finish or correct her answers before she got a final grade. She was also in a special Language Arts class and this year has mainstreamed. Also, now in 7th grade she gets one elective, so she doesn't feel totally left out.
I would suggest contacting Kennedy's Special Ed dept and ask questions. I have to admit that it was a rough transition to middle school because the two schools didn't communicate as I had thought, and we were receiving Mainstream and Special Ed information and were very confused because they conflicted. I ended up having a meeting with the principal.
I don't know if you have thought about private schools? but Los Altos Christian school has a lot of support for dyslexic children - they run the Slingerland program throughout the school.
Alternatively you may consider some back up with a tutor should you not be able to change public schools - Wunderling learning center - Ruthie Wunderling has a great PACE program and also assists dyslexic children.
I have a dyslexic son - 10 year old - so I know how an academic environment can stress these children.
Does your daughter have an IEP in place? You can address which school she should attend through the Least Restrictive Environment portion of that document. My hearing impaired daughter goes to Monta Vista (the high school that the kids from Kennedy go to) which is probably one of the most competitive public high schools in California. The key (which you probably already know) is to work closely with all of your child's teachers (and by closely sometimes this means e-mail a couple of times per week) and to make sure she is getting enough of the right kid of support and tutoring through their Learning Skills and sheltered class programs. My daughter is now a junior and is doing very well, though the transitions both to sixth and ninth grades were an absolute nightmare because the expectations are both different and substantially higher than the level below. Unfortunately, we had just moved to Cupertino when she started 9th grade, so she did not attend Kennedy so I can't tell you anything about it as a school.
Dear D.,
I teach an afterschool program for Kennedy every year, and have come to meet many of the staff. One was a lady who worked with kids who needed extra help. I recommend you call the school and speak with them directly. The number is ###-###-####, and talk to Sharon Curb at ext. 103. Tell her that A. Papangellin told you to talk to her. She can help you learn what really goes on there - she's great and explain that your daughter is dyslexic. She will be able to help you learn ifKennedy would be a good fit. I have a nephew and niece who are both dyslexic, and you are on the right track so far. Just call the school to learn how they work with dyslexia and kids who are dyslexic.
A. Papangellin
Golf Instructor, Deep Cliff Golf Course
Cupertino, CA
###-###-####
