Tell me about the schools in Herndon/Chantilly - Crossfield, Oak Hill, Navy, Fox Mill, Lees Corner

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Navy AAP 5th grader, has done 2 assigned book club, is asked to read 10 books each quarter, teacher would sit next to individual student to discuss/assist ( observed when volunteered outside classroom). Teachers assigns writing/report/vocabularies etc and math practice nearly everyday. AAP and Gen Ed students mixed in specials but not LA Arts and Math ( not all students are in advanced LA Arts and Advanced Math, a couple of more advanced join AAP 6th grader for math). Don’t know about pre Covid, but the policy is 2 AAP class teachers teach both classes in case one has to take sick leave, the same may apply for Gen Ed classes.

I call BS. There is no way they are asked to read 10 grade level appropriate or advanced level books each quarter. That is more than one per week. While many kids can certainly read that many books, there is no way the teacher is asking them all to do so.

DP

I'm the navy parent who wrote about supplementation.

Yes, they are asked, but not required to read 40 books in a year. This was covered on the back to school nite (that occured on a morning before school started). The teachers (Brown/Trench) said that most kids complete this.

More likely then not, the books are not full novels the way we think of them (Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and the like) and more like books like I Survive series or the Tales of a Fifth Grade Knight or President of the Whole Fifth Grade. Novels but shorter novels that are meant to be accessible to kids in upper ES. Which is not to down play reading those books, they are good, age appropriate reads, and far more manageable then thinking that the kids are reading 40 books like the Percy Jackson series.

But I think it is kind of crazy to ask kids to read 40 books and not to read books that are interesting to them and challenge them. It feels like Teachers are pushing quantity over interest. DS reads the I Survive books and similar length books at school. He is currently working through the Hardy Boys series at home. He gets different things out of each type of book. I prefer the Hardy Boys or the Front Desk series because I think they help him realize that he can read and enjoy longer books. I like the I Survive Books because they introduce him to interesting historical scenarios and lead to conversations about how he might handle challenging events. I far prefer the reading method in his fifth grade class because it simply encourages reading and is not setting a numerical goal which then encourages kids to read shorter books.

Precisely. Encouraging quantity over quality is extraordinarily problematic. An AAP fifth grader should be reading books much more challenging than the I Survived series or other such novellas.

My AAP fifth grader is currently reading Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, which has conjured an interest in learning more about the Holocaust and the plight of Jews in Amsterdam. She is now voraciously researching these spin-off topics. I strongly prefer she read the way she currently is-- challenging herself and following her interests-- than to read a large number of books far below her reading level merely to reach some arbitrary goal a teacher has set. In fact, should a teacher ever criticize the small number of books my daughter has read in a prescribed amount of time, we would need to have words.

Finally, a parent who is clued in and gets it! I find AAP at Navy emphasizes quantity over quality a lot. I really wish they would follow best practices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Navy AAP 5th grader, has done 2 assigned book club, is asked to read 10 books each quarter, teacher would sit next to individual student to discuss/assist ( observed when volunteered outside classroom). Teachers assigns writing/report/vocabularies etc and math practice nearly everyday. AAP and Gen Ed students mixed in specials but not LA Arts and Math ( not all students are in advanced LA Arts and Advanced Math, a couple of more advanced join AAP 6th grader for math). Don’t know about pre Covid, but the policy is 2 AAP class teachers teach both classes in case one has to take sick leave, the same may apply for Gen Ed classes.

I call BS. There is no way they are asked to read 10 grade level appropriate or advanced level books each quarter. That is more than one per week. While many kids can certainly read that many books, there is no way the teacher is asking them all to do so.

DP

I'm the navy parent who wrote about supplementation.

Yes, they are asked, but not required to read 40 books in a year. This was covered on the back to school nite (that occured on a morning before school started). The teachers (Brown/Trench) said that most kids complete this.

Brown is new to 5th AAP this year. I’m curious how she knows what most AAP kids do. She taught 6th advanced math last year for PBL and apparently assigned inappropriate amounts of packets upon packets of math homework.

We had Brown a few years ago for math and the homework was ridiculous. I am all for some daily math homework but 40 problems of the same genre is not necessary. I would often draw a line after about 20 and say my kid wasn't doing them.

+1 Navy has a problem with excessive, inappropriate homework assignments in upper grades. Hope the new principal fixes this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Navy AAP 5th grader, has done 2 assigned book club, is asked to read 10 books each quarter, teacher would sit next to individual student to discuss/assist ( observed when volunteered outside classroom). Teachers assigns writing/report/vocabularies etc and math practice nearly everyday. AAP and Gen Ed students mixed in specials but not LA Arts and Math ( not all students are in advanced LA Arts and Advanced Math, a couple of more advanced join AAP 6th grader for math). Don’t know about pre Covid, but the policy is 2 AAP class teachers teach both classes in case one has to take sick leave, the same may apply for Gen Ed classes.

I call BS. There is no way they are asked to read 10 grade level appropriate or advanced level books each quarter. That is more than one per week. While many kids can certainly read that many books, there is no way the teacher is asking them all to do so.

DP

I'm the navy parent who wrote about supplementation.

Yes, they are asked, but not required to read 40 books in a year. This was covered on the back to school nite (that occured on a morning before school started). The teachers (Brown/Trench) said that most kids complete this.

Brown is new to 5th AAP this year. I’m curious how she knows what most AAP kids do. She taught 6th advanced math last year for PBL and apparently assigned inappropriate amounts of packets upon packets of math homework.

We had Brown a few years ago for math and the homework was ridiculous. I am all for some daily math homework but 40 problems of the same genre is not necessary. I would often draw a line after about 20 and say my kid wasn't doing them.

+1 Navy has a problem with excessive, inappropriate homework assignments in upper grades. Hope the new principal fixes this.

Really? I don't think there's enough for 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Navy AAP 5th grader, has done 2 assigned book club, is asked to read 10 books each quarter, teacher would sit next to individual student to discuss/assist ( observed when volunteered outside classroom). Teachers assigns writing/report/vocabularies etc and math practice nearly everyday. AAP and Gen Ed students mixed in specials but not LA Arts and Math ( not all students are in advanced LA Arts and Advanced Math, a couple of more advanced join AAP 6th grader for math). Don’t know about pre Covid, but the policy is 2 AAP class teachers teach both classes in case one has to take sick leave, the same may apply for Gen Ed classes.

I call BS. There is no way they are asked to read 10 grade level appropriate or advanced level books each quarter. That is more than one per week. While many kids can certainly read that many books, there is no way the teacher is asking them all to do so.

DP

I'm the navy parent who wrote about supplementation.

Yes, they are asked, but not required to read 40 books in a year. This was covered on the back to school nite (that occured on a morning before school started). The teachers (Brown/Trench) said that most kids complete this.

Brown is new to 5th AAP this year. I’m curious how she knows what most AAP kids do. She taught 6th advanced math last year for PBL and apparently assigned inappropriate amounts of packets upon packets of math homework.

We had Brown a few years ago for math and the homework was ridiculous. I am all for some daily math homework but 40 problems of the same genre is not necessary. I would often draw a line after about 20 and say my kid wasn't doing them.

+1 Navy has a problem with excessive, inappropriate homework assignments in upper grades. Hope the new principal fixes this.

Really? I don't think there's enough for 5th.

AAP or PBL?

[Anonymous]

Fox Mill doesn’t have the AAP/GE divide. But JI (Japanese Immersion) / GE groups don’t mix well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fox Mill doesn’t have the AAP/GE divide. But JI (Japanese Immersion) / GE groups don’t mix well.

Doesn’t Fox Mill now have local level IV? How’s that working?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fox Mill doesn’t have the AAP/GE divide. But JI (Japanese Immersion) / GE groups don’t mix well.

Doesn’t Fox Mill now have local level IV? How’s that working?

Fox Mill is using the cluster method. My kid is in JI and in a class that did not have access to LLIV so I cant say how it is going. Right now, the kids in 4th and 3rd have LLIV, the kids in 5th and 6th do not. As I understand it, the 5th and 6th grade Teachers are actually using the LLIV curriculum with their kids even if there is not formal LLIV but it is hard to know how things are different.

Advanced Math does divide the kids into math based groups in 5th grade but it has been that way while we have been at Fox Mill. It doesn't sound like a new thing.

There is a JI/Gen Ed divide in the sense that the kids don't mix in specials until 6th grade. I don't get why they have not come up with a way of having a mix in specials before then but they don't. I have not heard much that sounds negative because of the split. Mu kid participates in Rec Sports and Scouts and has hung out with Fox Mill kids in JI and Gen Ed in those and there doesn't seem to be any tension or issues between the kids. At least, I have not seen anything. I wouldn't be surprised that there are some kids where the divide is seen as problematic but we have not seen it. Friends with kids in MS and HS said that they saw the Fox Mill kids hang out as a group in MS and HS so it doesn't sound like there is animosity between the groups but I have limited perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Navy AAP 5th grader, has done 2 assigned book club, is asked to read 10 books each quarter, teacher would sit next to individual student to discuss/assist ( observed when volunteered outside classroom). Teachers assigns writing/report/vocabularies etc and math practice nearly everyday. AAP and Gen Ed students mixed in specials but not LA Arts and Math ( not all students are in advanced LA Arts and Advanced Math, a couple of more advanced join AAP 6th grader for math). Don’t know about pre Covid, but the policy is 2 AAP class teachers teach both classes in case one has to take sick leave, the same may apply for Gen Ed classes.

I call BS. There is no way they are asked to read 10 grade level appropriate or advanced level books each quarter. That is more than one per week. While many kids can certainly read that many books, there is no way the teacher is asking them all to do so.

DP

I'm the navy parent who wrote about supplementation.

Yes, they are asked, but not required to read 40 books in a year. This was covered on the back to school nite (that occured on a morning before school started). The teachers (Brown/Trench) said that most kids complete this.

Brown is new to 5th AAP this year. I’m curious how she knows what most AAP kids do. She taught 6th advanced math last year for PBL and apparently assigned inappropriate amounts of packets upon packets of math homework.

We had Brown a few years ago for math and the homework was ridiculous. I am all for some daily math homework but 40 problems of the same genre is not necessary. I would often draw a line after about 20 and say my kid wasn't doing them.

+1 Navy has a problem with excessive, inappropriate homework assignments in upper grades. Hope the new principal fixes this.

Really? I don't think there's enough for 5th.

AAP or PBL?

AAP

It's in part why we supplement because my kid needs reinforcement.

[Anonymous]

Lees Corner has beautiful teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lees Corner has beautiful teachers.

This isn't a beauty pageant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lees Corner has beautiful teachers.

That’s a very odd comment.

[Anonymous]

I know this is an old thread but seems like a good place to ask.

A very small percentage of Oak Hill Elementary kids go to Carson, rest go to Franklin. I saw comments that seem to suggest those are only AAP kids from Oak Hill. Is that true? Or do the kids in the northern part Oak Hill boundary area, which is assigned to Carson, go there of regardless of their AAP status?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is an old thread but seems like a good place to ask.

A very small percentage of Oak Hill Elementary kids go to Carson, rest go to Franklin. I saw comments that seem to suggest those are only AAP kids from Oak Hill. Is that true? Or do the kids in the northern part Oak Hill boundary area, which is assigned to Carson, go there of regardless of their AAP status?

If you are in this boundary, you go to Carson:


https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/boundary-maps/Carson_MS_2.pdf

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the quick.

Thats unfortunate. Ridiculous that kids from that neighborhood don't get to move on to Franklin with like 93% of their classmates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the quick.

Thats unfortunate. Ridiculous that kids from that neighborhood don't get to move on to Franklin with like 93% of their classmates.

Agree. Common sense. This was requested during the South Lakes boundary change. It makes sense. I think the issue was that they were taking so many kids away from Westfield and sending them to South Lakes that they didn't want to take any more from Westfield.