Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
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Anonymous
| My daughter scored NNAT 140 and Cogat - non verbal - 150.But, her GBRS was only 10. I guess due to GBRS, she is ineligible. My primary language is not english and I need help in preparing appeal file.does WISC testing help in her case? |
Anonymous
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I would get the WISC. Is English her natvie language? If not, I would point that out on appeal. Even if it is, she is not in an English speaking home environment so her verbal scores might reasonably be lower.
Definitely appeal! |
Anonymous
Nope! The second grade teachers are "consulted" but the committee that put them together is the principal, asst. prin., counselor and the AART. I met with the AART who told me that and she told me that was the "rule" as to how they are supposed to be done, but she couldn't tell me if all schools follow the rule. |
Anonymous
Clearly test scores alone don't get a child into Level IV services no matter how good. Yet school support ALONE often does qualify a child for Level IV services. GBRS is a huge part of that school support. It would be naive to believe that the schools don't know the GBRS numbers which are typically accepted into the program. As for appeals, I have heard WISC testing can help. The appeal file needs to include NEW information. WISC is one way to do that. Best of luck to you! |
Anonymous
I don't understand how someone with these test scores did not get in. Clearly this child is gifted in at least some areas, regardless of what the GBRS says. If I were you I would definitely call George Mason ASAP and get a WISC done. Hopefully she will get in on an appeal. |
Anonymous
I guess I have a different (naive?) view of the process. I don't think it's like a college application process, where we are looking to select the most well-rounded applicants, and we want every aspect of the application to show how well this applicant will do at our school. I thought the point was to use a variety of measures, any one of which could demonstrated giftedness such that placement in the Center is necessary, and there is room for every child who meets the threshold, not a limited number of slots. So if a child scores in the 140's, that in itself demonstrates giftedness regardless of whether the teacher/AART has observed certain "gifted behaviors," and it warrants being found eligible for the Center. Why would the GBRS then disqualify that child? Part of the problem is the lack of transparency. We really have no idea what percentage of kids with X test scores and X GBRS scores are getting in or not getting in. And no one is going to provide us with a matrix that shows that. So most of our arguments are based on anecdotes and personal experience, which as we've seen, varies GREATLY from one school to another. My child's 2nd grade teacher was heavily involved in completing the GBRS, along with the AART, who knows my child quite well. The principal was not very involved, which is fine b/c our principal doesn't really know my child well. To the PP who's asking about the appeal, you need to make an appointment for the WISC immediately. Being ineligible with a 140 and 150 is kind of shocking to me and IMO it's certainly worth appealing. The appeal deadline is June 1st, and I don't think you will have time to have the testing done at George Mason now, so your best bet is probably to find a private psychologist who can turn it around quickly for you. Most of them are aware of the deadlines and will try to get you in and get the test scored quickly. The odds of success on appeal are greatly increased if you have solid WISC scores, and as a PP mentioned, you need some form of "new" information for the appeal. |
Anonymous
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Hi,
Can somebody tell me the difference between GT center full time level IV programs and local level IV programs? Do they follow the same curriculum? Which one is better the center or the local level IV? Thanks |
Anonymous
| The curriculum is defined by the county. So, in theory, there should be minimal differences between LLIV and the GTC. In practice, it depends on the child. LLIV means that the child does not change schools, which for some, is a big deal (for others, it is not). GTC should have a much bigger peer group (2-3 full classes vs 1 half full class). GTC probably will have a better PTA, because level IV parents seem to be more active. I would chose the GTC for my daughter. However, the local GTC is also our base school, so I did not have to. |
Anonymous
I am copying an email I received from someone on the AAPAC committee when I asked your question: === From 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. Many schools that offer Local Level IV services add students to the Level IV class in areas of academic strength through flexible grouping. This is an important avenue of access for students who have traditionally been underrepresented in advanced academic programs. === You may also find the materials shared at the School Board’s retreat last summer useful. It shows the number of Center-qualified students from each Local Level IV base school, and how many students that opted for the Center for staying at the base school for Local Level IV. http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/7f0976c2db2919ff8725732800681a69/e7a1a3f98c878a38872575ec006af975?OpenDocument http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/7f0976c2db2919ff8725732800681a69/e7a1a3f98c878a38872575ec006af975/$FILE/AttachmentA.pdf In my opinion, the Local Level IV program is a great program because it provides more students with access to the advanced academics curriculum. For students that are not quite at the Center-eligible level, it helps meet their needs by challenging them more than the general ed curriculum. For students that are Center-eligible, the Local Level IV program can work well if there are enough academic peers in the class. Ideally, it would be great to see at least two Local Level IV classes per grade, where the majority of students are Center-eligible. (This is particularly important for kids that are “way up there” re: eligibility.) This provides great groupings for students to be challenged by their peers. In my opinion, for students that are Center-eligible, the Local Level IV program does not work as well when there are only a few Center-eligible students in the class. They are likely not to be challenged as much, specifically due to the peer grouping. The great thing for parents is that there is a choice. It looks as though we will have transportation (thanks to the support of a majority of School Board members) so that all students can make that choice, and not just students that happen to not have Local Level IV at their base school. |
Anonymous
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Just curious, which schools offer Local Level IV?
Thanks. |
Anonymous
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http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/gt/centers.html
Click on the Local Level IV tab My DD is in a LLIV this year and we are moving her to a center next year. She is one of those quirky kids, so we are hoping the center will be a better fit. |
Anonymous
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Can someone explain the "quirky" thing? I have seen SO many references to people wanting to be in the GT Center b/c their kid is, as they describe it, quirky, and they want to be with the other quirky kids.
My DD has been in the Center for 2 yrs and I spend a fair amount of time at school, and I don't find the kids in the Center to be particularly "quirky." They are all really bright kids, but there aren't any "oddballs" - almost all of them seem quite well-adjusted, they have friends, they function well in the classroom and working in groups, they have sophisticated senses of humor, etc. It seems to me there are quirky kids in the base school as well. I also have a DS who will be in the Center next year. There are a lot of words I could use to describe my kids, but quirky would not come to mind for either of them. So why is quirkiness considered a GT thing? Does it just mean that GT kids are not fitting in well with their base school peers because they have different kinds of interests (I could see that being the case in some circumstances)? I almost feel like quirky is code for something else and I'm not picking up on it! |
Anonymous
Quirky - preference for reading Rick Riordan/Percy Jackson books, doing robotics, or playing chess vs. swooning over Hannah Montana 
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Anonymous
I'm 14:21 and my kids love doing all of the above (minus the robotics) - LOL! Now I have no idea if they're quirky or not!! |
Anonymous
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I'm 14:10. My DD is very definitely not into HM and much more into PJ and HP LOL! However, alas, that is not the quirky to which I refer.
She is a huge perfectionist, very emotionally intense and a big worrier. She carries a GAD diagnosis and has a 504 plan, but her teacher this year does NOT get her, even though these are not uncommon traits in gifted kids. She is friendly with but has no real friends amongst her classmates who will be with her for the next 3 years. Our LLIV GT kids are fairly isolated from the gen ed kids so no real opportunities to make friends there either. The teacher also told us privately (please don't rake me over the coals for this) that there is no one in her class at her level. So we are switching to the GT center in hopes of a better fit and more opportunities for friendships. |