The two biggest advantages of PUSD are its size and reputation. Because of its size, more options are available. My son was originally evaluated by DMUSD when he was three years old. He was assigned to one of their two preschool ASD classrooms and mastered their token system (with which I didn't ideologically agree) in less than a week. Clearly, he wasn't challenged. Very shortly thereafter, we moved to PUSD where there were 15 preschool ASD classrooms. More choices means better stratification according to your child's needs. After two years in the same preschool ASD classroom, my son is now in his second year in an Academic ASD K-2 classroom and doing great. "Academic" denotes that the curriculum is identical to the mainstream curriculum with shared lunch and recess. The only real difference is the lower student to teacher ratio. Because of PUSD's reputation, teachers want to work for PUSD and stay. The team in my son's preschool ASD classroom had worked together for at least 7 years. They were all VERY experienced. DMUSD had newer classrooms but also newer teachers (not to mention a weird privacy policy). I've also looked into the SDUHSD. They appear to be more equipped with alternatives for typical kids unsuccessful in mainstream than for kids with special needs. All that being said, a parent must always advocate for their child but also be realistic in their expectations for that child. Poway's program is meant to provide ASD students with the tools needed to succeed. That may not include mainstreaming early on. I've seen parents of my son's classmates go against the teacher's recommendation and push their kids into situations for which they weren't equipped. I get that an ASD diagnosis is devastating but childhood is short. Children should be happy and supported.

Hello! I'm in Poway.......

I'm not sure about all their programs in the district but I can tell you Poway likes to have separate ASD classes. They are open to mainstreaming your child if there are absolutely no behavioral problems.

I am not that happy with their program but my view is jaded because I went through some huge BS with them. However, now that I have an advocate and I know they are doing everything they can to aid us, I am fairly happy.

They do intergrate with general education only for a portion of the day. However, it's really silly how they calculate integration/mainstreaming. They count morning, recess and lunch as mainstreaming. They also count library visits also as a mainstream opportunity. My son had something like 60% mainstream/integration but if you looked at how often he would integrate in a classroom setting, it did not reflect 60% to say the least.

I don't know how Poway ranks for Special Education but I don't think their stellar reputation transfers over to special education. That's my opinion though.

Did you post on Facebook Poway mom's page?

I asked if you posted on Facebook because there was a mom who posted something almost identical the day I found your question. LOL. Here is a Facebook group that might be beneficial. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/SanDiegoDS/?ref...).

I have been with Poway School District for 5 years. My son is 8 years old (3rd grade). There is a lot of great things about the Poway school District but I also think it's very overrated. You also have to know that Poway's reputation doesn't always reflect Special Education. That's just my opinion though.

What I really don't like about Poway is that they seem to separate the ASD kids with typical peers. They ALL have this notion that it would be too hard for them to follow a typical classroom so they just don't try. Instead they make these ASD classes for them which really separates them from typical peers. I don't care where a child is placed on the spectrum, segregating any child with any sort of disability gives a clear and loud message to not only the child itself but more importantly to typical peers that because of their differences, they don't belong. That they are not part of a community that everyone else belongs to. I actually had to fight to get my child out of the ASD class. It took about a year and I had to get an advocate, an outside psychologist and an attorney involved. So.....yah, I don't think too highly with the district. :) But you could probably say that about any public school district. If you think that any school district has your child's best interest at heart as it's number 1 priority, think again. There is so much political bs involved.

My personal opinion on separate ASD classes is that it has it's pros and cons. The pros being that kids get more 1 on 1 time and help. One of the biggest con's is that they use the label of Autism as a scapegoat. It is expected that children on the spectrum will have learning difficulties so the standard is much lower than a mainstream setting. When problems have come up, they seem to brush it off as "typical" learning difficulties and there isn't much to do. This just irritates me so much.

However, I've seen kids excell tremendously in ASD classes that had wonderful teachers and those kids integrated with normal classrooms eventually.

I hear Carlsbad, Del Mar school district are excellent too. I would imagine they are just as good if not better than Poway. I would look into charter schools too. I hear they are good and set up very differently than traditional school settings. Most of them have a waitlists to get in which that in itself is a good indication that they are good.

Hi, my family is also planning to move to PUSD. Can you tell me a little more about the "Academic ASD K-2 classroom"? How do you get qualify? My son is 6 now and will be attending 1st Grade next year. We are currently living in Seattle, WA. Do you have list of schools that are equipped with "Academic ASD K-2 classroom"? Thank you for your input.

Thanks so much! I agree with the pros & cons you brought up. I appreciate your feedback :)