Tell me how AAP works at Chesterbrook Elementary

[Anonymous]

We are new to the school and DC will be starting 2nd.

I know about the testing, and I know the Center school is Haycock, but how does the local AAP work? Is there one local AAP class? Or is it spread out? Are lots of kids principal placed?

[Anonymous]

I don’t have current information, but I can tell you how it used to work.

Everyone is mixed in home room. Students go to specials and lunch based on their home room. Students move to different classrooms for the four core subjects. When we were there, there was generally two advanced classrooms for each subject. Students who qualified for level 3 AAP were in the AAP classroom for their strong subject(s). Students who were level IV, were in AAP for all four. The AAP curriculum for science and social studies was used in each class- Gen Ed and AAP. Math and Language Arts were smaller as the Special Ed teachers also had some students during those classes.

Chesterbrook has a large % of smart and well prepared students, some qualify for AAP and some don’t. It is hard to distinguish between the two sometimes. Plus, once they get to HS, they are all in the same classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are new to the school and DC will be starting 2nd.

I know about the testing, and I know the Center school is Haycock, but how does the local AAP work? Is there one local AAP class? Or is it spread out? Are lots of kids principal placed?

If your child is in second grade, Level IV wouldn’t start until third grade. There will be a parent information meeting in October where these specific questions can be answered by actual staff there at the school rather than parents on a anonymous forum.

[Anonymous]

I would like to hear more about how it works. I think parent insights are just as valuable as what the admin says.

[Anonymous]

Similar to previous posters, children identified as receiving Level IV AAP at Chesterbrook have their homeroom and specials classes with a mixed gen ed and AAP student bases. However, Level IV kids will have four subjects in AAP and those classes may be exclusively Level IV or also have some Level III or otherwise identified advanced kids in them.

If your child is advanced but not Level IV, it is possible, based on class size, that your child could be placed in a subject (say, math) with AAP one year and then the following year may not be in that AAP class if the AAP class is full. This has happened in the past, as more people enter AAP in grades 4-6. Therefore, the inclusion of kids who were previously taking AAP math, but who were not identified as AAP may need to move out due to overcrowding in the classroom.

Classes like PE, Chinese, etc. are with the homeroom class, not the AAP class.

When the AAP notices come out, some Level IV kids (unscientifically, about 5) choose to go to Haycock. The rest of the AAP kids receive full-time AAP classes at Chesterbrook. The difference between AAP at Chesterbrook and AAP at Haycock is that all classes at Haycock would be with AAP students, whereas only the four core subjects at Chesterbrook would be with AAP students (see above - Chinese, art, PE, etc. are not exclusively with AAP students).

The AART at Chesterbrook is fantastic. I encourage you to talk with her if you have any questions. She's a great resource.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Similar to previous posters, children identified as receiving Level IV AAP at Chesterbrook have their homeroom and specials classes with a mixed gen ed and AAP student bases. However, Level IV kids will have four subjects in AAP and those classes may be exclusively Level IV or also have some Level III or otherwise identified advanced kids in them.

If your child is advanced but not Level IV, it is possible, based on class size, that your child could be placed in a subject (say, math) with AAP one year and then the following year may not be in that AAP class if the AAP class is full. This has happened in the past, as more people enter AAP in grades 4-6. Therefore, the inclusion of kids who were previously taking AAP math, but who were not identified as AAP may need to move out due to overcrowding in the classroom.

Classes like PE, Chinese, etc. are with the homeroom class, not the AAP class.

When the AAP notices come out, some Level IV kids (unscientifically, about 5) choose to go to Haycock. The rest of the AAP kids receive full-time AAP classes at Chesterbrook. The difference between AAP at Chesterbrook and AAP at Haycock is that all classes at Haycock would be with AAP students, whereas only the four core subjects at Chesterbrook would be with AAP students (see above - Chinese, art, PE, etc. are not exclusively with AAP students).

The AART at Chesterbrook is fantastic. I encourage you to talk with her if you have any questions. She's a great resource.

that alone is reason to avoid the school if your child isnt in AAP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Similar to previous posters, children identified as receiving Level IV AAP at Chesterbrook have their homeroom and specials classes with a mixed gen ed and AAP student bases. However, Level IV kids will have four subjects in AAP and those classes may be exclusively Level IV or also have some Level III or otherwise identified advanced kids in them.

If your child is advanced but not Level IV, it is possible, based on class size, that your child could be placed in a subject (say, math) with AAP one year and then the following year may not be in that AAP class if the AAP class is full. This has happened in the past, as more people enter AAP in grades 4-6. Therefore, the inclusion of kids who were previously taking AAP math, but who were not identified as AAP may need to move out due to overcrowding in the classroom.

Classes like PE, Chinese, etc. are with the homeroom class, not the AAP class.

When the AAP notices come out, some Level IV kids (unscientifically, about 5) choose to go to Haycock. The rest of the AAP kids receive full-time AAP classes at Chesterbrook. The difference between AAP at Chesterbrook and AAP at Haycock is that all classes at Haycock would be with AAP students, whereas only the four core subjects at Chesterbrook would be with AAP students (see above - Chinese, art, PE, etc. are not exclusively with AAP students).

The AART at Chesterbrook is fantastic. I encourage you to talk with her if you have any questions. She's a great resource.

that alone is reason to avoid the school if your child isnt in AAP

Or simply buy a private diagnosis that identifies them as Level IV.

[Anonymous]

Chesterbrook's Level IV program is EXACTLY the same as any other level IV programming FCPS. The curriculum is EXACTLY then same. The only difference is homerooms. Chesterbrook (and any other school based level IV program) has home room, specials, recess, lunch, etc with Level IV and Gen Ed students. They switch to level IV classes for subjects. Center based programs are just Level IV students with other love IV students all day. They don't co-mingle with Gen-Ed students.