would you move

[dogmom]

If it was a job I wanted and I think I would enjoy, yes. And I NEVER liked the idea of Southern California. I love New England, but I know I lot of people in my industry that have moved to San Diego and gush about it. If it would enable you to retire at a decent age, yes.

[ett]

I wouldn't for various reasons. I like living in the northeast, and have family close by. DH and I have no family on the west cost. I have a child receiving services in school, so I would be very hesitant to move to CA giving all that I hear about the schools there. I know there's always private but as a PP mentioned in an earlier post, private schools are not required to provide accommodations. Of course, there are specialized private schools but then you are dependent on living close by or spending more time commuting to school.

[essnce629]

As a parent who has kids who get language services weekly with most scores much higher than that, I just can’t believe it.


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Los Angeles public independent charter here and my DS2 has been getting weekly language services at school with scores much higher than that also. In fact, the speech therapist has actually questioned why he's still getting services but DS2's teacher and I still agree there's room for improvement.

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[essnce629]

This just floors me - esp when some of our school libraries are a similar size to some towns' public library. So much of what I hear about CA schools just baffles me.

Again, it totally depends on the school. My DS1 started off at our local public elementary school that did have a large library and computer lab. We were not happy and have now been at our independent charter for 9 years. Our school does NOT have a big library, but each classroom has their own in class library with lots of books divided up by reading level, which to me is better since the kids pick books based on their individual reading levels. Also, our school is 1 block from a public library and our 4th and 5th classes take weekly walking trips to the public library to get more books (plus lots of parents go after school with their kids). We don't have a freestanding computer lab but we have computer carts that contain 22 Mac computers that the 3-5 grade teachers can use in class anytime without having to take their kids to a separate lab.

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[carolinacool]

Actually, the cut off language scores isn’t just CA, many states have criteria of standard scores below 77. The federal government has NEVER fully funded IDEA, states and local districts have to follow the law without funding promised by the feds.

Yep. And I live in N.C., although no one is raving about our school system, either.

[niccig]

Los Angeles public independent charter here and my DS2 has been getting weekly language services at school with scores much higher than that also. In fact, the speech therapist has actually questioned why he's still getting services but DS2's teacher and I still agree there's room for improvement.

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If a child is scoring above 85, they are within average range for their age and there is no disability to remediate. I have had parents want services when everything is in average range to help their child get further ahead. That’s the role of a teacher or a tutor, not a SLP. It’s a violation of federal and state law to remove a child from instructional time for special education when there is no proof a disability is present (test scores, Lang sample, observations). We get audited by the state and must have proof there’s a disability that’s impacting access to the curriculum.

The 77-84 range is the issue. In Private practice those children would qualify for services, but possibly not in schools. It’s not just test scores though, we look at Lang samples, observations etc. I’ve had higher test scores but observations show student can’t access curriculum, so they are eligible for services. If everything is within average, they’re not eligible as no disability.


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[bisous]

This just floors me - esp when some of our school libraries are a similar size to some towns' public library. So much of what I hear about CA schools just baffles me.

OP no one can really decide for you. I was in favor until I heard the target location. COL, traffic & schools are 3 huge quality of life issues for me and I could not uproot my life w/o assurances in this dept

It floors me too. I just can't believe that they would make the decision to remove the libraries. I mean what could possibly have a bigger impact on children's learning than access to books? We have a beautiful city library that I take my (relatively privileged) children to regularly but what about the kids that DON'T have rides to the library? It makes me super ragey. I think CA has a problem with funding but they also sometimes make really bad decisions. Don't get me started on the textbook racket that operates here in this state! Anyway, rant over. But suffice it to say that what my sister experiences on the East Coast in VA is nothing like what we have here. It doesn't mean we have bad schools, or that I don't love living here but it is something to consider!

I must say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE living in Southern California. Others have mentioned that they prioritize traffic and schools. I guess I prioritize weather and beauty. You can live the good life all year round. To me it has many of the trappings of paradise! And maybe its because my bio Dad lives in SD (so we would visit him twice a year and he always had fun outings for us) but I think San Diego is FUN! It has museums (Balboa Park), and nature, and the beach, and sporting events. It maybe be conservative (which isn't a bad thing to me but YMMV) but my stepmom is super liberal and lives in SD so it can't be too bad, right? Anyway, OP can you visit? I find it hard to believe that anyone visiting Poway (or Rancho Bernardo) won't just love it.

[niccig]

As a parent who has kids who get language services weekly with most scores much higher than that, I just can’t believe it.


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Don’t move! We had friends move from a very high performing district (one of best in state) with oodles of resources to a nearby district with less impressive stats but a much better reputation for special education. There’s also variability within a school district. A friend had her son at my residential school that DS attended and is one of the better schools in our small district and had difficulties, but less issues at his new school which doesn’t rate as high. It’s all about staff at individual school site.


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[Kindra178]

If a child is scoring above 85, they are within average range for their age and there is no disability to remediate. I have had parents want services when everything is in average range to help their child get further ahead. That’s the role of a teacher or a tutor, not a SLP. It’s a violation of federal and state law to remove a child from instructional time for special education when there is no proof a disability is present (test scores, Lang sample, observations). We get audited by the state and must have proof there’s a disability that’s impacting access to the curriculum.

The 77-84 range is the issue. In Private practice those children would qualify for services, but possibly not in schools. It’s not just test scores though, we look at Lang samples, observations etc. I’ve had higher test scores but observations show student can’t access curriculum, so they are eligible for services. If everything is within average, they’re not eligible as no disability.


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One 84 on a subtest gets my kids services. Is an 86 really average? Those kids are super behind, struggling in school. Hw takes them forever.

A teacher or a tutor is not able to help like a slp can, they are simply not qualified.


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[niccig]

One 84 on a subtest gets my kids services.


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States are so different!! I do think it’s due to funding. More stringent criteria, less students are eligible so less money to spend.


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