AOPS - why didn't it work for you?

[Anonymous]

This academy has people in leadership positions when they lack the ability to manage people (part time staff)--There is no training, staff members are expected to figure things out on their own when it comes to student and parent questions, which is not helpful, leadership team lacks basic manners and ethics in talking to staff members. There is no room for growth into a full time role.

[Anonymous]

My kid has done both RSM (top and and middle tracks) and AoPS (Beast Academy books and in person instruction).

Our experience is that RSM caters to all levels and is zero screens. There is no textbook, just a workbook of problems (no explanations or examples) and worksheets of problems. There are some of what PPs might call “tricks” eg Calculate this answer in the easiest way. or, given this equation, solve the following related equations without calculation. But overall the math itself is what you would see at school. The kids are taught how to calculate and solve more effectively. As the kids get older they do input homework answers into an online portal, but the actual work is done on paper.

At AoPs they use a smart board in class and the homework is all on the online portal. The problems are NOT at all what you would see at school. Mine is in Math 3 now and a recent section asked about reflectional and rotation symmetry (Look at this shape. Which one square can you take away to make the shape be reflectionally or rotationally symmetrical)? Another example is 9x78+9x5-59-9. Solve easily using factors. Many problems are more like puzzles and just knowing the math doesn’t ensure you can actually get all the problems correct.

In school math they are doing problems like “Draw two rectangles showing 1/3 is equal to 2/6” or “Add $139.59+243.62. “

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This academy has people in leadership positions when they lack the ability to manage people (part time staff)--There is no training, staff members are expected to figure things out on their own when it comes to student and parent questions, which is not helpful, leadership team lacks basic manners and ethics in talking to staff members. There is no room for growth into a full time role.

In Saratoga?

[Anonymous]

The office staff is not the reason most people attend these programs. The Herndon/Reston RSM office staff is, to be frank, awful. They are slow to respond to emails. They send incorrect information, this happened regularly. They resist moving kids into higher level classes even when the teacher agrees that the student should be moved. DS individual teachers were great and we had no issues with the math competition program. DS was selected for the national program which is an online class and runs separately from the franchise locations. He very much enjoyed the RSM in person classes, although he found the regular class to be less engaging. He thrived in the local math competition class, loved that one. And he has been very happy with the national math competition classes.

We have experience with both AoPS and RSM. The AoPS class is more similar to RSMs math competition classes then RSM grade level classes. You have to have a student who is ready to learn material not being taught at school and at a fast pace to enjoy AoPS. RSM classes are geared towards kids who need some reinforcement of a bit more of a challenge in grade level work. The math competition program is more challenging and covers topics that your child is not likely to see in school immediately.

[Anonymous]

What I want to know is why neither RSM nor AoPS has a DC location. We prefer RSM but would do AoPS if they had a physical location in DC. I get that NoVa has larger critical mass of families likely to sign up for this programming, but there are definitely enough people in DC where they could keep one location busy. We are on Capitol Hill but would travel to NW for classes, as there are likely more families interested on that end of town. That would still be preferable to us to than trucking out to VA, especially if it was on a metro line, which would enable MS kids to go to class on their own some of the time.

[Anonymous]

I would never bring this up in real life so I will ask here. What are the make up of kids (racial / public vs private) at your AOPS and RSM campuses? I'm not in DC but we feel very much like outsiders. At RSM it is all Russian speaking parents with a few Indian families, mostly public school and some science magnets. At AOPS it's 100% Indian and Asian mostly public school. I don't even live in an area with signifiant Indian, Russian, and Asian populations so I think they are driving in other towns. TBH I always thought of AOPS as a nerdy white homeschool or science kids kind of franchise. I feel weird at pick up because at RSM all the parents talk to each other in Russian and talk to staff while I sit there like an idiot. Same in AOPS except in Chinese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I want to know is why neither RSM nor AoPS has a DC location. We prefer RSM but would do AoPS if they had a physical location in DC. I get that NoVa has larger critical mass of families likely to sign up for this programming, but there are definitely enough people in DC where they could keep one location busy. We are on Capitol Hill but would travel to NW for classes, as there are likely more families interested on that end of town. That would still be preferable to us to than trucking out to VA, especially if it was on a metro line, which would enable MS kids to go to class on their own some of the time.

we moved from AoPS because we didn't want to drive to Tysons and RSM had a location in the Reston/Herndon area. A 10 minute commute vs a 40 minute commute one way was a no brainer. I think AoPS is slow to open locations because they offer fewer classes and they have a smaller group of people to draw from because the classes tend to be geared to kids more advanced in math. RSM offers 3 levels of grade level classes plus course specific classes. It is easier to find enough kids to make a location viable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never bring this up in real life so I will ask here. What are the make up of kids (racial / public vs private) at your AOPS and RSM campuses? I'm not in DC but we feel very much like outsiders. At RSM it is all Russian speaking parents with a few Indian families, mostly public school and some science magnets. At AOPS it's 100% Indian and Asian mostly public school. I don't even live in an area with signifiant Indian, Russian, and Asian populations so I think they are driving in other towns. TBH I always thought of AOPS as a nerdy white homeschool or science kids kind of franchise. I feel weird at pick up because at RSM all the parents talk to each other in Russian and talk to staff while I sit there like an idiot. Same in AOPS except in Chinese.

Our RSM location in Herndon/Reston is mainly Asian but a a strong mix of white families, call it 30% with a quick scan of the crowd, and a smattering of Black and Hispanic kids. we heard Russian being spoken a good amount and DC had several friends who attended who were white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never bring this up in real life so I will ask here. What are the make up of kids (racial / public vs private) at your AOPS and RSM campuses? I'm not in DC but we feel very much like outsiders. At RSM it is all Russian speaking parents with a few Indian families, mostly public school and some science magnets. At AOPS it's 100% Indian and Asian mostly public school. I don't even live in an area with signifiant Indian, Russian, and Asian populations so I think they are driving in other towns. TBH I always thought of AOPS as a nerdy white homeschool or science kids kind of franchise. I feel weird at pick up because at RSM all the parents talk to each other in Russian and talk to staff while I sit there like an idiot. Same in AOPS except in Chinese.

People outside those ethnic groups take the online classes and/or buy workbooks for study at home. AOPS is popular with homeschoolers, you just won't encounter them in the wild.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never bring this up in real life so I will ask here. What are the make up of kids (racial / public vs private) at your AOPS and RSM campuses? I'm not in DC but we feel very much like outsiders. At RSM it is all Russian speaking parents with a few Indian families, mostly public school and some science magnets. At AOPS it's 100% Indian and Asian mostly public school. I don't even live in an area with signifiant Indian, Russian, and Asian populations so I think they are driving in other towns. TBH I always thought of AOPS as a nerdy white homeschool or science kids kind of franchise. I feel weird at pick up because at RSM all the parents talk to each other in Russian and talk to staff while I sit there like an idiot. Same in AOPS except in Chinese.

People outside those ethnic groups take the online classes and/or buy workbooks for study at home. AOPS is popular with homeschoolers, you just won't encounter them in the wild.

My kids online class through RSM is 99% Asian, I think there are 2 non-Asian kids in the class. The in-person class was far more diverse then the online class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never bring this up in real life so I will ask here. What are the make up of kids (racial / public vs private) at your AOPS and RSM campuses? I'm not in DC but we feel very much like outsiders. At RSM it is all Russian speaking parents with a few Indian families, mostly public school and some science magnets. At AOPS it's 100% Indian and Asian mostly public school. I don't even live in an area with signifiant Indian, Russian, and Asian populations so I think they are driving in other towns. TBH I always thought of AOPS as a nerdy white homeschool or science kids kind of franchise. I feel weird at pick up because at RSM all the parents talk to each other in Russian and talk to staff while I sit there like an idiot. Same in AOPS except in Chinese.

People outside those ethnic groups take the online classes and/or buy workbooks for study at home. AOPS is popular with homeschoolers, you just won't encounter them in the wild.

My kids online class through RSM is 99% Asian, I think there are 2 non-Asian kids in the class. The in-person class was far more diverse then the online class.

RSM offers online only classes?

[Anonymous]

For people who have done more than one option - workbook, online platform, in-person: Is in-person worth the steep upcharge from books only or online only? I see it's less than 2 hours of instruction time in person per week and I don't know what happens there. Is it teaching and explanation, doing problems? I also see good reviews for just the online portal. I don't know what that's called, but the all-online version with the embedded video explanations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never bring this up in real life so I will ask here. What are the make up of kids (racial / public vs private) at your AOPS and RSM campuses? I'm not in DC but we feel very much like outsiders. At RSM it is all Russian speaking parents with a few Indian families, mostly public school and some science magnets. At AOPS it's 100% Indian and Asian mostly public school. I don't even live in an area with signifiant Indian, Russian, and Asian populations so I think they are driving in other towns. TBH I always thought of AOPS as a nerdy white homeschool or science kids kind of franchise. I feel weird at pick up because at RSM all the parents talk to each other in Russian and talk to staff while I sit there like an idiot. Same in AOPS except in Chinese.

People outside those ethnic groups take the online classes and/or buy workbooks for study at home. AOPS is popular with homeschoolers, you just won't encounter them in the wild.

My kids online class through RSM is 99% Asian, I think there are 2 non-Asian kids in the class. The in-person class was far more diverse then the online class.

RSM offers online only classes?

I believe so. I thought they had an online campus for all of their classes.

He is in the national math competition program and those are all online classes. They accept a limited number of students per grade so the classes are online because the kids are scattered across the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For people who have done more than one option - workbook, online platform, in-person: Is in-person worth the steep upcharge from books only or online only? I see it's less than 2 hours of instruction time in person per week and I don't know what happens there. Is it teaching and explanation, doing problems? I also see good reviews for just the online portal. I don't know what that's called, but the all-online version with the embedded video explanations.

RSM’s class has time for teaching, problem solving, and kids discussing how they solved the problems. Plus there is homework and I believe they review the homework as well.

[Anonymous]

https://www.mathschool.com/rsm-online-math?location=Online

Link to RSM’s online classes.