ACPS Elementary School TAG - math question

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have experience with advancing a child beyond the elementary TAG math program in ACPS? Our DS is above grade level and the school has asked us several times what we plan to do with him next year since he's ready for 6th grade curriculum that they do not offer in house. We haven't had a TAG teacher in 3rd grade since the position is still vacant and we tried to create a workaround this year that created some gaps elsewhere and wasn't sufficient to meet the math needs. I'm not sure what our other options are within the bounds of ACPS.

[Anonymous]

So he’s entering 4th next year? Can he take math with the 5th grade TAG class (which would be 6th grade math?)

One of my daughters friends is in 5th grade TAG math and worked ahead (with teacher support) so he will go straight into Algebra in 6th grade.

Is he bored in math and really wanting to work ahead? Or can he do 4th grade TAG (which covers 2 years) and make sure he’s not missing anything with maybe some enrichment outside school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with advancing a child beyond the elementary TAG math program in ACPS? Our DS is above grade level and the school has asked us several times what we plan to do with him next year since he's ready for 6th grade curriculum that they do not offer in house. We haven't had a TAG teacher in 3rd grade since the position is still vacant and we tried to create a workaround this year that created some gaps elsewhere and wasn't sufficient to meet the math needs. I'm not sure what our other options are within the bounds of ACPS.

Shouldn't the school/the guidance counselor/central office be helping you with this? Shouldn't they know what your options are?

[Anonymous]

Why is 6th grade math not offered at your school through 5th grade TAG? The school guidance counselor should provide options. Maybe you can transfer to a school with a TAG teacher for 5th grade TAG or you could ask the school district to pay for a Fusion Academy course.

[Anonymous]

Don't expect ACPS to find a solution for you.

Look around for private tutors and classes now. It can take a while to find the right tutor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with advancing a child beyond the elementary TAG math program in ACPS? Our DS is above grade level and the school has asked us several times what we plan to do with him next year since he's ready for 6th grade curriculum that they do not offer in house. We haven't had a TAG teacher in 3rd grade since the position is still vacant and we tried to create a workaround this year that created some gaps elsewhere and wasn't sufficient to meet the math needs. I'm not sure what our other options are within the bounds of ACPS.

Shouldn't the school/the guidance counselor/central office be helping you with this? Shouldn't they know what your options are?

This was my thought as well. The fact that the administration, which is very strong otherwise, is asking us what we're going to do raises some flags for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is 6th grade math not offered at your school through 5th grade TAG? The school guidance counselor should provide options. Maybe you can transfer to a school with a TAG teacher for 5th grade TAG or you could ask the school district to pay for a Fusion Academy course.

This is a great question. I don't know. The TAG program will cover 4th/5th grade math with next year, which means all of the 5th graders in TAG need 6th grade math. We will probably try TAG math with his grade level. As the above poster mentioned, at least we can make sure that there aren't any gaps in his learning. We gave up on academic growth this year, aside from working with him at home, understanding that social growth post-pandemic school closures is just as important, if not more so. I am just concerned that we're about to give up another year of academic growth because ACPS isn't actually meeting every child where they're at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with advancing a child beyond the elementary TAG math program in ACPS? Our DS is above grade level and the school has asked us several times what we plan to do with him next year since he's ready for 6th grade curriculum that they do not offer in house. We haven't had a TAG teacher in 3rd grade since the position is still vacant and we tried to create a workaround this year that created some gaps elsewhere and wasn't sufficient to meet the math needs. I'm not sure what our other options are within the bounds of ACPS.

Shouldn't the school/the guidance counselor/central office be helping you with this? Shouldn't they know what your options are?

This was my thought as well. The fact that the administration, which is very strong otherwise, is asking us what we're going to do raises some flags for me.

Based on experience, I wouldn't count on you school administration to solve any of this. Especially since they are clearly expecting you to solve it. Your school should have a TAG parent liaison. Maybe they can help you navigate it.

The program isn't a priority for ACPS (and as others have posted on other threads, it's clear that ACPS is going to phase TAG out) but you could try the ACPS staffer in charge of it. Although I've heard from other parents that she often contradicts herself from parent to parent and from conversation to conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is 6th grade math not offered at your school through 5th grade TAG? The school guidance counselor should provide options. Maybe you can transfer to a school with a TAG teacher for 5th grade TAG or you could ask the school district to pay for a Fusion Academy course.

This is a great question. I don't know. The TAG program will cover 4th/5th grade math with next year, which means all of the 5th graders in TAG need 6th grade math. We will probably try TAG math with his grade level. As the above poster mentioned, at least we can make sure that there aren't any gaps in his learning. We gave up on academic growth this year, aside from working with him at home, understanding that social growth post-pandemic school closures is just as important, if not more so. I am just concerned that we're about to give up another year of academic growth because ACPS isn't actually meeting every child where they're at. [/quote

So they offer 4th TAG but not 5th? Weird. Our 5th grade TAG was strong—they covered the sixth curriculum and then some. We switched to private and entered 7th grade math. Child does love math though

[Anonymous]

OP what school is this? I'm asking as a parent of a rising k.

Do they differentiate learning at all in the younger grades? Or tier classes by abilities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP what school is this? I'm asking as a parent of a rising k.

Do they differentiate learning at all in the younger grades? Or tier classes by abilities?

I'm not the OP and can only speak to our experiences at George Mason. In kinder, there was differentiated learning. Mainly in reading.

There is no tiering of classes by abilities at any grade. There is the rapidly fading TAG program but I wouldn't count on that being around for a rising Kinder.

Once you get into the upper elementary years, it depends on who you get for a teacher. There are teachers who won't help kids who are ahead or behind because they say it isn't equitable. That's been going on at GM for a bunch of years. I don't know if that happens at other schools. The current and last principal don't/didn't seem to have a problem with that approach. My kids never had homework and after kinder, work was never sent home so there is really no sense of what they are working on. And it's hard to pry information out of kids at that age.

You really need to figure out teachers who still differentiate and do what it takes to get your kid in their class. Start cultivating relationships in central office now. Don't be shy, with ACPS (and likely all school districts) the more you are plugged into sports, PTA, Alexandria politics..you can get special treatment of all kinds.

[Anonymous]

To get your K child included in GIA, I think you need to show scores to from a standardized test like Stanford-Binet/WISC/Woodcock and Johnson/NNAT. ACPS conducts NNAT on all first graders and students are usually placed in the Spring of their first grade year. For lower elementary, there is pull-out differentiation if the school has dedicated TAG staff. For 4th and 5th grade, if a school has dedicated TAG staff, differentiated instruction in math and language arts is also pull out. If the TAG positions are vacant, it is up to the classroom teacher. Maybe classroom teachers do not differentiate in the name of equity but I doubt that is actually an endorsed approach. Maybe classroom teachers just don’t have the time or energy to differentiate but that’s different than the school refusing to provide appropriate instruction because it is inequitable. Personally, I think it is not acceptable to not provide differentiated instruction for students who are behind in math and language arts but it does not need to be done by the classroom teacher but rather, a specialist. It may be an unmet need in schools that cannot fill a specialist position where the teacher has expertise in TAG instruction and also speaks Spanish/Arabic/Amharic for instance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP what school is this? I'm asking as a parent of a rising k.

Do they differentiate learning at all in the younger grades? Or tier classes by abilities?

I'm not the OP and can only speak to our experiences at George Mason. In kinder, there was differentiated learning. Mainly in reading.

There is no tiering of classes by abilities at any grade. There is the rapidly fading TAG program but I wouldn't count on that being around for a rising Kinder.

Once you get into the upper elementary years, it depends on who you get for a teacher. There are teachers who won't help kids who are ahead or behind because they say it isn't equitable. That's been going on at GM for a bunch of years. I don't know if that happens at other schools. The current and last principal don't/didn't seem to have a problem with that approach. My kids never had homework and after kinder, work was never sent home so there is really no sense of what they are working on. And it's hard to pry information out of kids at that age.

You really need to figure out teachers who still differentiate and do what it takes to get your kid in their class. Start cultivating relationships in central office now. Don't be shy, with ACPS (and likely all school districts) the more you are plugged into sports, PTA, Alexandria politics..you can get special treatment of all kinds.

But don't do any of this loudly or publicly. ACPS doesn't like to be questioned even in the mildest terms and if you speak out, it will negatively impact you and your child.