Random School Question

[monsterz]

We are seriously considering moving to MA in the coming months.  I am about to expand my job search to include Boston!

The thing I am most concerned about if we move is finding a good school with support services for our son.   He will be going into 1st grade and has an IEP.  
Other things we would be looking for is a relatively walkable neighborhood if we have to forgo this for the school we would.  

[drloretta]

I'm in Stoughton. The school system is meh. Neighboring towns of Sharon and Canton have better ratings. I'm looking to send DD to a parochial school in Norwood and it seems to have a good support system in place (special ed, gifted, IEP), esp for a parochial school. Others can give you a better idea of what's closer to the city.

[mswax]

We are in the 'burbs (metrowest) in an area with some REALLY great public school systems, but from what I hear, in all of them you still need to do a bit pf pushing as the parent to be sure your child is getting all the services he/she needs.

I will say that one thing our school system does REALLY well is they have a program called "pre-first," which is a full year of full-day school between kindergarten and first grade for kids who just need a little more time to ready to learn and function at the pace that is required these days. It is more for the social/emotional skills than for the academics, and it sounds like that might be something your son could benefit from.

Please PM me if you want more details.

[soxin2]

What areas are you considering?

City?
Burbs?
North?
South?

Have a specific town/city or commute in mind?

[compassrose]

I have two friends who are special ed teachers north of the river. PM me if you'd like to be put in touch. They are both at private schools, but are familiar with what's going on in the area.

[liveintheville]

We're in Somerville. Very walkable. Our schools have a bad rep but I've found them to be great. Over 50% do not speak English as a first language so the test numbers are skewed. My son has an IEP. They've all been great to work with. My kids are in a bilingual program, Spanish immersion, and we've been really happy with it.

[lizlemon19]

How old is your child?

Any certain area you are looking into?

[monsterz]

May 12, 2015 8:46:44 GMT -5 soxin2 said:

What areas are you considering?

City?
Burbs?
North?
South?

Have a specific town/city or commute in mind?

Probably North,  Metrowest or Burbs based on where a job for me would be.    We don't want horribly long commutes.  H would likely end up working at a hospital in the city and I would either be in the City, Cambridge or Waltham based on job posting I am seeing.  

 

[monsterz]

May 12, 2015 10:47:36 GMT -5 lizlemon19 said:

How old is your child?

Any certain area you are looking into?

My son is 6 will be 7 in October. 

[5kcandlesinthewind]

May 12, 2015 12:42:50 GMT -5 monsterz said:

May 12, 2015 8:46:44 GMT -5 soxin2 said:

What areas are you considering?

City?
Burbs?
North?
South?

Have a specific town/city or commute in mind?

Probably North,  Metrowest or Burbs based on where a job for me would be.    We don't want horribly long commutes.  H would likely end up working at a hospital in the city and I would either be in the City, Cambridge or Waltham based on job posting I am seeing.  

 

Given this, I'd look into Belmont, Arlington, and Newton. I don't know what your budget looks like, but those are all pretty easy (all things considered) commutes to downtown, Cambridge or Waltham. I know Belmont and Newton have good schools, I am not 100% sure on Arlington, though I suspect they're pretty good.  Melrose is another option - it's a little north of the city, but the orange line and commuter rails are right there.

[soxin2]

Depending on budget, I've heard good things about Sudbury and most of "the Ws" (a conglomerate nickname given by a friend to Weston/Wellesley/Watertown)

[lizlemon19]

May 12, 2015 12:43:15 GMT -5 monsterz said:

May 12, 2015 10:47:36 GMT -5 lizlemon19 said:

How old is your child?

Any certain area you are looking into?

My son is 6 will be 7 in October. 

I have a 7yo son!
I live in Central MA now, grew up South of Boston. I am a social worker, so if you ever need ideas of counseling or supportive services, let me know. I can even access Waitlists. The good news is I think MA has good mental health and social services.

If they are in your price range, I think the previous posters gave good ideas on towns. Basically the further from the city, the lower the COL.

[LoveTrains]

Keep in mind that a 10 mile commute can be "horribly long" in the Boston area. It all depends on where you are and where you need to go.