GT/AAP Appeals

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the great information here..my anxiety started when my kid came back and told he that the kindergarten teacher picked his friends for advanced reading and not him, and when we knew his reading was almost at 1.5-2nd grade level..

We tried to work with the teacher to get some more appropriate stuff for him to do in school ( we can pretty much take his studies at home..so dont need the teacher to help him there)..but she kept insisting his is at grade level and went on to even say that we are over-estimating his abilities..

that's what triggered us this summer to get him tested.

We dont come from a great school district and I am desperate to get him into GT so that he has good peer's

[Anonymous]

You might have a great 1st and/or 2nd grade teacher, though, so don't worry about the K teacher. My dd's K teacher had her pulled out for extra work. Her 1st grade teacher never did. Her 2nd grade teacher had her pulled out for extra work. She got into the program. Really, what the K and 1st grade teacher thought of him/her doesn't usually matter. Second-grade teacher does.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the great information here..my anxiety started when my kid came back and told he that the kindergarten teacher picked his friends for advanced reading and not him, and when we knew his reading was almost at 1.5-2nd grade level..

We tried to work with the teacher to get some more appropriate stuff for him to do in school ( we can pretty much take his studies at home..so dont need the teacher to help him there)..but she kept insisting his is at grade level and went on to even say that we are over-estimating his abilities..

that's what triggered us this summer to get him tested.

We dont come from a great school district and I am desperate to get him into GT so that he has good peer's

[Anonymous]

My DC wasn't in ANY pull outs and in the middle groups, but is in the GT program. Sometimes the teachers just don't get some of these kids and don't know how to engage them.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the great information here..my anxiety started when my kid came back and told he that the kindergarten teacher picked his friends for advanced reading and not him, and when we knew his reading was almost at 1.5-2nd grade level..

There are a lot of things that teachers look at when evaluating reading. We noticed this with our kids. It is not just based on vocabulary but comprehension. There may be better readers in that class but in the next year your kids will jump up. It is hard to say at the k level where they will fall. That is why the testing is done later. Keep encouraging the reading and don't worry so much about the details and the progress will be noticed.

[Anonymous]

having just read the FCPS website on AAP I think you are right - it is for gifted and talented and academically advanced students.

The program name has changed from GT to AAP. Notsure why. The GT tag was becoming a bit of an "I am and you are not" kind of thing so they modified the program name to indicate more inclusion and less exclusivity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The program name has changed from GT to AAP. Not sure why.

http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/gt/pdfs/gtac/GTAC%202006-07%20Annual%20Report.pdf

During the course of the GTAC discussions this year, the question was raised about the name of the program itself. We know that the State of Virginia requires Fairfax County Public Schools to provide gifted services, but it does not designate the name of those services. Several choices were discussed and, while some members did not support a change, the majority of the Committee membership approved of a name change from Gifted and Talented Services to Advanced Academic Programs. It was felt by the Committee that this name change emphasizes efforts to put a label on the service being offered and recognizes the academic nature of the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The program name has changed from GT to AAP. Not sure why.

http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/gt/pdfs/gtac/GTAC%202006-07%20Annual%20Report.pdf

During the course of the GTAC discussions this year, the question was raised about the name of the program itself. We know that the State of Virginia requires Fairfax County Public Schools to provide gifted services, but it does not designate the name of those services. Several choices were discussed and, while some members did not support a change, the majority of the Committee membership approved of a name change from Gifted and Talented Services to Advanced Academic Programs. It was felt by the Committee that this name change emphasizes efforts to put a label on the service being offered and recognizes the academic nature of the program.

Thanks for posting this

[Anonymous]

I was informed at a countywide GT/AAP meeting that the change was instituted to emphasize the program's focus on academics. The coordinator mentioned that some parents were not able to understand while their musically or athletically "gifted" child was not admitted to the program. The program is designed for those who are academically gifted and advanced (working beyond their current grade level.)

[Anonymous]

The coordinator mentioned that some parents were not able to understand while their musically or athletically "gifted" child was not admitted to the program.

LOL! Yes, of course, why wouldn't you assume that your "athletically-gifted" child should be admitted to a gifted program IN THE SCHOOL and which has NO athletic component whatsoever?!

[Anonymous]

I completely agree.

I believe that every child has gifts and talents...but it makes sense to differentiate that the program is for those who are academically talented.

[Anonymous]

The name change also names/labels the service and not the child.

[Anonymous]

I'm very glad they changed the name to focus on the service - now if I could just get my rising 6th grader to call it AAP rather than the G/T as she's known it to be since 3rd grade...hopefully her younger sib will know it only as AAP.

[Anonymous]

I'm very glad they changed the name to focus on the service - now if I could just get my rising 6th grader to call it AAP rather than the G/T as she's known it to be since 3rd grade...hopefully her younger sib will know it only as AAP.

Surely your 6th grader is academically advanced enough to get a handle on the name change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm very glad they changed the name to focus on the service - now if I could just get my rising 6th grader to call it AAP rather than the G/T as she's known it to be since 3rd grade...hopefully her younger sib will know it only as AAP.

Surely your 6th grader is academically advanced enough to get a handle on the name change.

The teachers still call it GT.

[Anonymous]

The teachers still call it GT.

Kind of a blanket statement. At our school, the teachers call it AAP. And if I ever accidentally say GT, my daughter is quick to correct me!