What is the curricular difference between Level IV and GTC in Fairfax?

[Anonymous]

Thanks in advance for any information. I'm new to the area and having difficulty navigating the options...though I do have a couple more years to go.

Also, has anyone had to choose between Great Falls Elementary and a GTC? Which way did you go?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks in advance for any information. I'm new to the area and having difficulty navigating the options...though I do have a couple more years to go.

Also, has anyone had to choose between Great Falls Elementary and a GTC? Which way did you go?

Per the FCPS website:

http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/gt/faqs.html

How does Local Level IV differ from the Full-time AAP Center?

The teachers in both settings are trained in gifted education and teach the same advanced academic curriculum to students who are ready for a highly challenging instructional program in the four core subject areas. The main difference is in the make-up of the class. All of the students in a full-time AAP center-based class have been identified as center-eligible by a central selection committee and will be coming from several neighborhood schools to comprise the center class. In a Local Level IV classroom, the students are a mix of students who are center-eligible and high achieving students who are capable of working at advanced levels, all enrolled in their local school.

To see historical (which is obviously not a guaranteed predictor of the future) information re: the number of AAP center-eligible students enrolled at Centers vs. Local Level IV over the past two academic years, see the materials posted on BoardDocs as part of the July 18, 2009 School Board retreat:

http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/7f0976c2db2919ff8725732800681a69/e7a1a3f98c878a38872575ec006af975/$FILE/AttachmentA.pdf

[Anonymous]

OP to PP: thanks for this. But does anyone have experience with both? And, if I decide on Level IV, am I in any way limiting my child's future options? For example, what if he excels and wants to apply to Thomas Jefferson? Is he less likely to get in coming from a Level IV setting?

TIA!

[Anonymous]

In general, Center classes will be more challenging than Local Level IV classes. Parents who decide not to send their children to the Center but who want to ensure that their child is making more academic progress can always supplement the Local Level IV classes in key subjects, including but not limited to math.

[Anonymous]

By "supplement," do you mean hire private tutors or arrange classes elsewhere?

[Anonymous]

One cheap and convenient way to supplement is for a parent to teach his or her child at home. This is probably the most common form of supplementation at the elementary school level. Parents in the home-schooling community even have a name for it - I think they call is "after schooling" or something similar.

Another method is to sign a student up for after-school and/or summer programs in subjects that interest them. Parents have always signed their kids up for music and athletic programs outside of school. Sometimes PTAs sponsor co-curricular programs in foreign languages, chess, science and other subjects. And every year, it seems like there are more academic programs offered during the summer and during the school year, both in the form of live group classes and online.