Fairfax County (AAP) vs Prince William County (Gifted Kids) Program

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

Can anyone help me clear my mind on this issue that has kept me thinking for about 2 months now. I have a son who have been admitted to the Fairfax County Advanced Academic Program this year (3rd Grade). I received the admission letter when I was looking for a house in Prince William County to move with my family because the prices of houses are cheaper than Fairfax County. I called PWCPS to inquire about their Gifted Kids program and was told, students in that program are picked up from their regular schools to a different school once a week for a few hours and then brought back to their regular schools. This to me doesn't seem to be more intensive as compared to Fairfax county where they have specific schools for this program.

I am wondering if anyone in this forum has any experience with both school systems and would kindly share with me.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

The PWC method is more common across the country. FFX County is unusual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The PWC method is more common across the country. FFX County is unusual.

+1

When I was in elementary school, our GT program was a one-day-a-week program at a different school with all of the GT kids from all the elementary schools together. It didn't align with the curriculum.

Fairfax has an unusual GT program that is aligned with the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PWC method is more common across the country. FFX County is unusual.

+1

When I was in elementary school, our GT program was a one-day-a-week program at a different school with all of the GT kids from all the elementary schools together. It didn't align with the curriculum.

Fairfax has an unusual GT program that is aligned with the curriculum.

And AAP is not really a gifted program

[Anonymous]

My kid is a rising 4th grader and has been in the gifted program since 1st grade. They meet in a trailer behind the school for about 1 hour each week. The amount of specialized instruction increases as they move up to higher grades. I believe all gifted services in primary and middle school are held at the school. They are not shuttled around.

Here is the link for the PWC gifted program with detailed information. Good luck. We love the school my kid goes to.

https://www.pwcs.edu/UserFiles/Servers/Server_340140/File/Migration/Instructional%20Programs%20Curriculum/Gifted%20Program/Gifted%20Education%20Information%20Guide/English/Educational%20Services%20for%20Gifted%20Students.pdf

[Anonymous]

FCPS - Advanced program starts at 3rd grade and if you decide to go to a center school for AAP advanced classes and the AAP teachers rotate for the AAP kids to teach LA, Math Social St, and Science all day and every day until 6th grade. All students for the grade mix together for specials - art and gym and strings, chorus. Any student showing mastery of math can go to advance math classes even if not in AAP program. PW has one day when the kids are pulled out for advanced activities. I think that generates a more elitist sentiment because it is a change once a week. At FCPS, all the kids get a new classroom teacher for the year but the teacher is an AAP teacher.

[Anonymous]

My kid is in Loudoun County Futura program. Looks like this is similar to the Prince William County program. It is once a week pullout program at a different center. This is not aligned with the curriculum. Kids get to do challenging projects. The Fairfax AAP program is an enrichment program it is not a gifted program. Futura is a gifted program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in Loudoun County Futura program. Looks like this is similar to the Prince William County program. It is once a week pullout program at a different center. This is not aligned with the curriculum. Kids get to do challenging projects. The Fairfax AAP program is an enrichment program it is not a gifted program. Futura is a gifted program.

Don't be misled by the complainers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PWC method is more common across the country. FFX County is unusual.

+1

When I was in elementary school, our GT program was a one-day-a-week program at a different school with all of the GT kids from all the elementary schools together. It didn't align with the curriculum.

Fairfax has an unusual GT program that is aligned with the curriculum.

And AAP is not really a gifted program

Heeeeeere we go again.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in Loudoun County Futura program. Looks like this is similar to the Prince William County program. It is once a week pullout program at a different center. This is not aligned with the curriculum. Kids get to do challenging projects. The Fairfax AAP program is an [b]enrichment program it is not a gifted program[/b]. Futura is a gifted program.

Don't be misled by the complainers.

Actually you have the terminology confused here. The FFX AAP is not an enrichment program--it's a holistic curriculum that is advanced in some ways (deeper thinking, project-based, more complex texts and problems) and accelerated in others (math curriculum is covered at a faster rate so that students are taught above grade) and students take aptitude/IQ tests to qualify (along with other info) but it is no longer named a "Gifted" program due to distaste for that term and a focus more on labeling the curriculum--"advanced academics"--than the students "gifted and talented." At the highest level, kids are drawn from multiple elementary schools to attend an "AAP center" where all academics are taught in this way. Students can also receive different proportions of this advanced curriculum at their base schools.

The Prince William program and Loudoun Futura (and other pullout programs) are enrichment programs. They often occur once a week and pose challenging problems to enrich the standard curriculum for students also identified via aptitude/IQ tests (along with other info). Some enrichment programs call the identified students "gifted." Educational research suggests that a holistic curriulum like Fairfax's is a more appropriate, rigorous and effective support for students with high aptitude than a pull-out program like Futura or Prince William. But pull-out programs are far more common as they are easier to implement (adding on a brief program rather than altering a whole curriculum and busing students to different schools).

[Anonymous]

I agree that the holistic curriculum is more ideal. I think the issue with whether FFX AAP is a gifted program is due to the quadrupling in size over the last 15 years, and the subsequent lowering of standards. Many on this forum seem to be arguing that AAP is only slightly more advanced than gen ed and has been watered down.

[Anonymous]

Are you trying to decide whether to move at all? Whether to move to the place you were looking at in PWC vs move somewhere in Fairfax? Do you have other children who may not go to AAP if you stay in Fairfax Co?

Schools should play a role in where you're looking to move, but I would pay more attention to specific schools rather than general county programs.

[Anonymous]

I'd be much more concerned with your commute to work and any other home life concerns than I would be with AAP vs. PWC gifted. If your son is doing well in school now, it's likely that he'll bloom wherever he's planted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the holistic curriculum is more ideal. I think the issue with whether FFX AAP is a gifted program is due to the quadrupling in size over the last 15 years, and the subsequent lowering of standards. Many on this forum seem to be arguing that AAP is only slightly more advanced than gen ed and has been watered down.

The IQ entry in the pool for the centers has stayed roughly at 132 for a long time (before and during the past 15 years), 130 is the threshold designated gifted by most programs. Parents can appeal, but, it's a fairly small amount--and the average score in the centers remains well over 132 (there was an evaluation done a couple years ago that included identification stats/processes--and most appeals either are 1-2 points away or include a private IQ test that put child near or above threshold). Whether the curricula has been watered down or not is a matter of opinion, but the entry requirements and profile of identified students of any center are similar to other high quality gifted programs.

The DC metro area attracts a lot of high aptitude people and the long history of strong AAP program brings people with kids likely to qualify to FCPS, so the percentage of kids meeting that IQ criteria has grown. However, much of the "watering down" complaints conflate the local aap programs with the centers. THe local aap programs represent the majority of the growth in AAP. Principals have discretion to include non-AAP identified students in the local programs and there is wide variability in how they do so. These local programs serve a wide variety of functions in a school besides meeting the needs of high aptitude students and though they follow the same curriculum, the enacted experience is shaped to meet students where they are at and in ways they need. Parents who thought they could get a true gifted program without the hassle of leaving their base school for the center may be disappointed. Having had kids in both a center program and the local level, the difference in depth and acceleration is night and day--with the center much more complex and faster--with a higher ceiling--kids can accelerate years ahead in math, given much more complex writing and reading problems, and have a community of kids who also like to work in these ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the holistic curriculum is more ideal. I think the issue with whether FFX AAP is a gifted program is due to the quadrupling in size over the last 15 years, and the subsequent lowering of standards. Many on this forum seem to be arguing that AAP is only slightly more advanced than gen ed and has been watered down.

The IQ entry in the pool for the centers has stayed roughly at 132 for a long time (before and during the past 15 years), 130 is the threshold designated gifted by most programs. Parents can appeal, but, it's a fairly small amount--and the average score in the centers remains well over 132 (there was an evaluation done a couple years ago that included identification stats/processes--and most appeals either are 1-2 points away or include a private IQ test that put child near or above threshold). Whether the curricula has been watered down or not is a matter of opinion, but the entry requirements and profile of identified students of any center are similar to other high quality gifted programs.

Parents can refer their children with scores less than 132. About 20% of FCPS kids are in AAP Level IV. Only about 10% are in the pool, so at least half of the kids in AAP were not in pool and did not have a score above 132. I know anecdata is not data, but all of the kids I know in AAP had scores around 120. Parents at my bus stop are overly open about their kids' scores. Someone should do a FOIA on the admission scores, so we could lay to rest the argument of what the median scores are for AAP students.