Hi, I have a 3 year old son with autism. We are moving to the Ft. Wayne area and were wondering what school districts were good. We are considering NWACS or SWACS which would be Cedar Canyon or Whispering Meadows. Pros? Cons? I grew up in Ft. Wayne but have lived in the Chicagoland area for the past 14 years so I'm a little rusty. :) Also, I've read people talking about lots of children's activities on the southwest side. I was wondering what these would be? The places I can think of would be the zoo, YMCA, Science Central, park district, what else? Thanks in advance!
Either of those choices would be good ones. I have a 10 year old son with Down syndrome and we live Southwest. He attends Haverhill Elementary - has a Special Needs program and is our neighborhood school. There are great things to do with kids in Fort Wayne just as you mentioned. The library sytem is also really good. As your son gets older we have a growing Special Olympics program that he could participate in.
Hope that helps!
Those are both the most desired school systems in Fort Wayne. I do know that Homestead ranks among the top 50 in Indiana. I forget what their number is, but it's good. They're a four star school, so I tend to like that one. But, my mom lives in C. School District (NW) and has a 14 and a 11 year old, and loves it.
Southwest, I know there are many many things you can do, and with downtown being kinda close, you can go to the Botanical Conservatory and Science Central fairly quickly. By the way, I have my little girl in Lafayette Meadows. It's out in the country SW, and I LOVE it! She has a great teacher, and they have so many activities there for kids to join if they want. I've heard great stuff about all the elementaries, but just first hand thought I would say how pleased I am with LM. I'm actually house hunting, and am only looking in the Lafayette Meadows area because of it.
I am new to the Fort Wayne area as well and live in the NWACS district. I also have a 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 year old and have been keeping busy at the Parkview YMCA, zoo (when it is open) and very nice library downtown. The schools in my area are great, but so are the ones in SWAC. I am not sure how the resource programs are in regards to you sons autism. I was a teacher and have worked for many years with Autistic children and know how important it is to have a great support system in the schools. I think either school system should be good for your needs. Good luck. Also, I am a member of a MOMs group which covers both the areas you are looking into. I can get more info to you by going through them if you like. Just let me know.
T.
Hi E., My name is S. C. and I am a grandmother of five. Your email caught my eye because I have a friend who has a granddaughter with Autism and she takes her to the Childrens Autism Center off of Illinois Rd in southwest Ft. Wayne. Her name is Diana Markins and she asked me to give you her email ~ ____@____.com and also her phone number ~ ###-###-#### and said to tell you to contact her if you had any questions and she would help you as much as she could. She also gave me the name Jill Forte and I think Jill is connected with the Autism Center but I'm not sure. Diana is a wonderful and very friendly person and I'm sure she could answer many questions for you. GOOD LUCK
Now for SWACS ~ my kids graduated from SW and I feel it is a very good school system and has continued to grow with the times. I don't know if you know where Homestead High School is but there is a brand new YMCA down the street on Aboite Center Rd that has only been open a couple of years and right next to it is a brand new childrens park.
Good Luck with your move and my email is ____@____.com so if you would like to keep in touch that would be great or if you would just like to let me know you finally got moved and settled. I don't know if you still have family here but if you do I'll bet they are very happy to have you moving back. GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING AND HAPPY MOVING. S.
