LLIV Middle Schools that are turning into Centers

[Anonymous]

I have questions for those who have seen LLIV middle schools turn into centers (or up for vote to turn into centers).

-How do the cohorts work in the LLIV? Are there specific core courses that are only for AAP kids? Is it AAP English (is this different from Honors English)? Does Honors = AAP?

-If your middle school is turning into a center, how long has your middle school had LLIV? Wondering how long it takes from building a LLIV to becoming a center.

-Did your middle school add more offerings for after school activities when it started the LLIV program?

I saw on the AAPAC paper published in May 2015 that our base middle school is being considered as a future center so I wanted to see how close/far it's going to be from happening.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

[Anonymous]

OP, this is going to differ based on the individual school's vision and leadership. Here is what I can offer about DC's experience:


-How do the cohorts work in the LLIV? Are there specific core courses that are only for AAP kids? Is it AAP English (is this different from Honors English)? Does Honors = AAP?
All students in the program are found eligible for LLIV services. (In our experience, this upset some parents of principal placed students who thought their kids should be able to stay in the program.) Students are in LLIV-specific classes for English, history, and science; math is based on placement and, for DC, was a mix of LLIV students and others. The classes are coded as "Honors" on the report card, but the instruction is different from that in the honors courses. Older DC went through a few years ago in gen ed and honors classes and had a very different experience than younger DC is having now. At our school, the LLIV classes also have a cross-curricular component.

-If your middle school is turning into a center, how long has your middle school had LLIV? Wondering how long it takes from building a LLIV to becoming a center.
This is year three.

-Did your middle school add more offerings for after school activities when it started the LLIV program?
Yes. More competitions and tech clubs. Older DC was involved in the after school program and it had much to offer then, but there is more now. The principal said they would bring what the students/community wanted, and IMO, they have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

What does that mean? Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run are the three big TJ feeders, but of course they are already centers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

What does that mean? Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run are the three big TJ feeders, but of course they are already centers.

Cooper, Thoreau and I can't remember the third one on the list- further out west from the first two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

What does that mean? Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run are the three big TJ feeders, but of course they are already centers.

Cooper, Thoreau and I can't remember the third one on the list- further out west from the first two.

You probably mean Franklin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

What does that mean? Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run are the three big TJ feeders, but of course they are already centers.

Cooper, Thoreau and I can't remember the third one on the list- further out west from the first two.

You probably mean Franklin.

We have a 6th grader with Franklin base/ Carson Center, and have been told by the ES Carson will be an option for 2016-2017.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is going to differ based on the individual school's vision and leadership. Here is what I can offer about DC's experience:


-How do the cohorts work in the LLIV? Are there specific core courses that are only for AAP kids? Is it AAP English (is this different from Honors English)? Does Honors = AAP?
All students in the program are found eligible for LLIV services. (In our experience, this upset some parents of principal placed students who thought their kids should be able to stay in the program.) Students are in LLIV-specific classes for English, history, and science; math is based on placement and, for DC, was a mix of LLIV students and others. The classes are coded as "Honors" on the report card, but the instruction is different from that in the honors courses. Older DC went through a few years ago in gen ed and honors classes and had a very different experience than younger DC is having now. At our school, the LLIV classes also have a cross-curricular component.

-If your middle school is turning into a center, how long has your middle school had LLIV? Wondering how long it takes from building a LLIV to becoming a center.
This is year three.

-Did your middle school add more offerings for after school activities when it started the LLIV program?
Yes. More competitions and tech clubs. Older DC was involved in the after school program and it had much to offer then, but there is more now. The principal said they would bring what the students/community wanted, and IMO, they have.

OP here. Thank you so much for this very helpful info.
I do agree that the base school's vision and leadership will be a factor.
Seeing that Cooper is being considered to go from LLIV to a center, I did look at Cooper to see what their offerings and it's very different from our base school.
Our base school just does not have the infrastructure for AAP- the course selections, the after school activities, etc. I've got an a middle school kid in honors at our base school and from what I've seen from the culture, not sure how much they've done to move towards a LLIV. I wonder if they can go from zero to LLIV to a center in 3 years?

I did see from the AAPAC document that 17% of students "stay at local" and 83% go to the center. Are they counting the kids who take all honors courses as the ones who "stay at local"? I know that the course selections in our base middle school only have 2 choices: Gen Ed and Honors. There is no area on the form for LLIV eligibility like they do at Cooper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

What does that mean? Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run are the three big TJ feeders, but of course they are already centers.

Cooper, Thoreau and I can't remember the third one on the list- further out west from the first two.

You probably mean Franklin.

We have a 6th grader with Franklin base/ Carson Center, and have been told by the ES Carson will be an option for 2016-2017.

We were told the same thing about Longfellow as an option for 2016-17 too with Cooper as our base. I think they should stay true to that at this point. Finding out in Feb 2016 for the Fall is absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

What does that mean? Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run are the three big TJ feeders, but of course they are already centers.

Cooper, Thoreau and I can't remember the third one on the list- further out west from the first two.

You probably mean Franklin.

We have a 6th grader with Franklin base/ Carson Center, and have been told by the ES Carson will be an option for 2016-2017.

We were told the same thing about Longfellow as an option for 2016-17 too with Cooper as our base. I think they should stay true to that at this point. Finding out in Feb 2016 for the Fall is absurd.

+100. Kids are scheduled to do MS visits in about 3 weeks, and register for classes shortly after that-- if Franklin was going to become a Center, they are out of time to make the change. There has been zero info given to parents to suggest that Carson won't be an option (including no community meetings, etc), and teachers are saying that Franklin kids can go to Carson. We feel safe in making plans to send DC to Carson next year. Also, Franklin had less than 10 level IV kids last year (their first year) and about 20 this year. Seems safe to say they are just not ready for the 150 plus AAP Level IV kids a grade that would transfer in. Personally, I think they will do Thoreau and Cooper first-- especially since there would need to be at least some rezoning and reassignment of teachers. Also, I had heard Cooper had started with community meetings, and Thoreau will have excess capacity after the renovation. Since my 6th grader is my youngest DC, it looks like we are just getting in under the wire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

What does that mean? Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run are the three big TJ feeders, but of course they are already centers.

Cooper, Thoreau and I can't remember the third one on the list- further out west from the first two.

You probably mean Franklin.

We have a 6th grader with Franklin base/ Carson Center, and have been told by the ES Carson will be an option for 2016-2017.

We were told the same thing about Longfellow as an option for 2016-17 too with Cooper as our base. I think they should stay true to that at this point. Finding out in Feb 2016 for the Fall is absurd.

I agree, but I think Cooper should still be named a center as opposed to LLIV. Offering choice to students for next year and honoring the school as a center for those who make the choice to go - and I think there will be many - should both be able to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Also, Franklin had less than 10 level IV kids last year (their first year) and about 20 this year. Seems safe to say they are just not ready for the 150 plus AAP Level IV kids a grade that would transfer in.

I don't think this number is correct. Franklin has listed 235 LIV students from 2014-15, and that number should hold fairly steady for this year. No way there are only 20 in the school this year, and certainly not 10 last year. Not sure where you are getting your information from (I got mine from the FCPS Dashboard), but there are well over 20 LIV kids at Franklin. My son is in classes with all LIV kids, many of whom came up from his ES AAP program (that was all LIV students). It's serving as a center program for all intents and purposes. I'm not sure that I'd want all of the students back from Carson that are there from Franklin - that might overcrowd the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

What does that mean? Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run are the three big TJ feeders, but of course they are already centers.

Cooper, Thoreau and I can't remember the third one on the list- further out west from the first two.

You probably mean Franklin.

We have a 6th grader with Franklin base/ Carson Center, and have been told by the ES Carson will be an option for 2016-2017.

We were told the same thing about Longfellow as an option for 2016-17 too with Cooper as our base. I think they should stay true to that at this point. Finding out in Feb 2016 for the Fall is absurd.

[b] I agree, but I think Cooper should still be named a center as opposed to LLIV. Offering choice to students for next year and honoring the school as a center for those who make the choice to go - and I think there will be many - should both be able to happen.

[b]

This is not the choice on the table. Only two options were given for Cooper-either becoming a center in Fall of 2016 or Fall of 2017. If it stays local level IV, many will still choose to go over Kilmer and Longfellow anyhow, so they should keep it as is for now and change in 2017. My DC prefers Longfellow and should not be told at this point that it is a no go-meetings have started as well as elective fairs. This year's 5th graders would have a whole year and a half to prepare for the Cooper center for 2017. 'nuff said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Also, Franklin had less than 10 level IV kids last year (their first year) and about 20 this year. Seems safe to say they are just not ready for the 150 plus AAP Level IV kids a grade that would transfer in.

I don't think this number is correct. Franklin has listed 235 LIV students from 2014-15, and that number should hold fairly steady for this year. No way there are only 20 in the school this year, and certainly not 10 last year. Not sure where you are getting your information from (I got mine from the FCPS Dashboard), but there are well over 20 LIV kids at Franklin. My son is in classes with all LIV kids, many of whom came up from his ES AAP program (that was all LIV students). It's serving as a center program for all intents and purposes. I'm not sure that I'd want all of the students back from Carson that are there from Franklin - that might overcrowd the school.

Same for Cooper once it absorbs all of the Kilmer and Longfellow kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Either fall of 2016 or fall of 2017 for the "big" three.

What does that mean? Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run are the three big TJ feeders, but of course they are already centers.

Cooper, Thoreau and I can't remember the third one on the list- further out west from the first two.

You probably mean Franklin.

We have a 6th grader with Franklin base/ Carson Center, and have been told by the ES Carson will be an option for 2016-2017.

We were told the same thing about Longfellow as an option for 2016-17 too with Cooper as our base. I think they should stay true to that at this point. Finding out in Feb 2016 for the Fall is absurd.

[b] I agree, but I think Cooper should still be named a center as opposed to LLIV. Offering choice to students for next year and honoring the school as a center for those who make the choice to go - and I think there will be many - should both be able to happen.

[b]

This is not the choice on the table. Only two options were given for Cooper-either becoming a center in Fall of 2016 or Fall of 2017. If it stays local level IV, many will still choose to go over Kilmer and Longfellow anyhow, so they should keep it as is for now and change in 2017. My DC prefers Longfellow and should not be told at this point that it is a no go-meetings have started as well as elective fairs. This year's 5th graders would have a whole year and a half to prepare for the Cooper center for 2017. 'nuff said.

But why not make it a center but still allow choice the first year?