APS is failing my gifted child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is OP saying they are at Taylor, or is that someone else responding?

Someone else I think. We are from Taylor but I’m like 90% sure most of the parents aren’t from Harvard… maybe some UVA but all I’ve met are from UmD and Penn State etc

[Anonymous]

NP I went to magnet programs and totally get the benefits of differentiation, but I don't understand why people here are so opposed to the push-in/equity model. Where APS might fall short is not the delivery model, but the rigor of what's provided.

Honestly, I would probably move to FCPS if it weren't so depressingly suburban. Instead, we drive to Fairfax once a week for Beast Academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: you may want to check these
https://taylor.apsva.us/programsandservices/gifted-services/updates-from-rtg/

Take a look at those Advanced Academics Newsletters
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o33ttRdVaN2N2YGaOe6rKkucjIMTvJPu/view?usp=sharing

music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydhOJROs22c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtsWcNiIoPM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3Tc6Ad2BFs

art
https://www.apsva.us/post/aps-announces-the-2024-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-literary-and-visual-arts-contest-winners/
https://www.instagram.com/apsvirginia/p/CnPnSPhO-MF/

I also heard that APS elementary school teams won first place in the Virginia Science Olympiad, defeating teams from FCPS. These may indicate APS does not always fail gifted kids in ES? You may want to reach out to your school to explore available opportunities.

Are you kidding me? We did science Olympiad last year and it’s a joke. Parent volunteers and the kids spending the whole time working on nonsense like a rubber band car.

I think that's the problem. A lot of the people posting negatively about gifted here are low IQ when it comes to gifted curriculum. They don't understand the struggle that these kids have every day and why school becomes miserable. For example, how about we sit you gifted classroom deniers in a classroom and have you read about the alphabet and how to count on your fingers for a week straight, 3-5 hours a day. See if you don't go crazy even with your adult ADHD coping mechanisms. That's comparable to how some of these kids feel every day. They're basically trapped in a prison cell and ignored for 8 hours a day.

It's different teaching and learning and not just making some lesson a little bit harder. Most gen ed teachers are absolutely not qualified to teach these kids and there are no specialists willing to put in the work; perhaps because they're not qualified as well? You probably have a half dozen to a dozen sped teachers and counselors to babysit a handful of kids who actually need it but NO gifted teachers... Why?? Every kid is entitled to an appropriate education taught (near or) at their level.

Plus, as was mentioned, these gifted kids are forced to do the sped level general ed work before they're "allowed" to do the sped+ extra work as some perverse form of reward. The worst part is, the gen ed kids plateau under the APS model as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

This seems odd. My now 4th grader definitely came home with more complex spelling lists in third grade. My K kid was the one coming home with 2-3 letter sight word lists. Have you asked the teacher about the curriculum and differentiation?

There is no differentiation. They’ve said there’s differentiation since K but there is not. They say they group gifted kids together but they don’t. I saw the spelling test myself. I’ve given up on any changes internal to the school. The gifted coordinator supposedly gives worksheets to the teachers, but the gifted kids don’t get them and are stuck learning 2-letter words with the kids who can’t read.

So I’m looking for other specific options where I’ll pay to move or pay for private. But I don’t want to move for more of the same!

The gifted coordinator gives worksheets to teachers? That's just, wow. Wow.

. Yes because for “equity” reasons those worksheets should be for everyone, not just the gifted kids. So the gifted kids get nothing while helping the ESL kids next to them.

The crazy conclusion of this scenario is the gifted kids either finish these worksheets in just a few minutes and/or refuse to do them, and the not-so-gifted-or-even-close kids, thinking this is some type of reward for smart kids, happily grab the worksheets and take up the teacher's time even here by ending up not being smart enough to even do them and asking for help. Or, as PP said, I guess they don't even get them. Yes, these things really do happen. In APS schools. Very often. As in all the time.

[Anonymous]

APS is failing our children, including my son who is at the opposite end of the spectrum of the OP. He reads at a 2nd grade level in 4th. This is due to many things but one of them I believe is along the lines of the OPs premise of equality. He doesn't get grades other than a "Satisfactory" thinks he's doing fine. He doesn't get homework because that would be unfair. He would be motivated by an F and quite frankly needs to see an F. We bought our home in Arlington in the mid 2000s thinking it was worth overpaying for great schools and now regret our decision because APS schools have been completely invaded by wokeism nonsense. Everyone is not equal and kids need to learn this.

And I know DCUM will come at me calling me all kinds of names and telling me to be a better parent but I promise you, this is not it.

[Anonymous]

Private. School.

[Anonymous]

You sound like a really bad parent. Put your child in private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

This seems odd. My now 4th grader definitely came home with more complex spelling lists in third grade. My K kid was the one coming home with 2-3 letter sight word lists. Have you asked the teacher about the curriculum and differentiation?

There is no differentiation. They’ve said there’s differentiation since K but there is not. They say they group gifted kids together but they don’t. I saw the spelling test myself. I’ve given up on any changes internal to the school. The gifted coordinator supposedly gives worksheets to the teachers, but the gifted kids don’t get them and are stuck learning 2-letter words with the kids who can’t read.

So I’m looking for other specific options where I’ll pay to move or pay for private. But I don’t want to move for more of the same!

The gifted coordinator gives worksheets to teachers? That's just, wow. Wow.

. Yes because for “equity” reasons those worksheets should be for everyone, not just the gifted kids. So the gifted kids get nothing while helping the ESL kids next to them.

The crazy conclusion of this scenario is the gifted kids either finish these worksheets in just a few minutes and/or refuse to do them, and the not-so-gifted-or-even-close kids, thinking this is some type of reward for smart kids, happily grab the worksheets and take up the teacher's time even here by ending up not being smart enough to even do them and asking for help. Or, as PP said, I guess they don't even get them. Yes, these things really do happen. In APS schools. Very often. As in all the time.

Um, what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: you may want to check these
https://taylor.apsva.us/programsandservices/gifted-services/updates-from-rtg/

Take a look at those Advanced Academics Newsletters
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o33ttRdVaN2N2YGaOe6rKkucjIMTvJPu/view?usp=sharing

music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydhOJROs22c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtsWcNiIoPM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3Tc6Ad2BFs

art
https://www.apsva.us/post/aps-announces-the-2024-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-literary-and-visual-arts-contest-winners/
https://www.instagram.com/apsvirginia/p/CnPnSPhO-MF/

I also heard that APS elementary school teams won first place in the Virginia Science Olympiad, defeating teams from FCPS. These may indicate APS does not always fail gifted kids in ES? You may want to reach out to your school to explore available opportunities.

Are you kidding me? We did science Olympiad last year and it’s a joke. Parent volunteers and the kids spending the whole time working on nonsense like a rubber band car.

I think that's the problem. A lot of the people posting negatively about gifted here are low IQ when it comes to gifted curriculum. They don't understand the struggle that these kids have every day and why school becomes miserable. For example, how about we sit you gifted classroom deniers in a classroom and have you read about the alphabet and how to count on your fingers for a week straight, 3-5 hours a day. See if you don't go crazy even with your adult ADHD coping mechanisms. That's comparable to how some of these kids feel every day. They're basically trapped in a prison cell and ignored for 8 hours a day.

It's different teaching and learning and not just making some lesson a little bit harder. Most gen ed teachers are absolutely not qualified to teach these kids and there are no specialists willing to put in the work; perhaps because they're not qualified as well? You probably have a half dozen to a dozen sped teachers and counselors to babysit a handful of kids who actually need it but NO gifted teachers... Why?? Every kid is entitled to an appropriate education taught (near or) at their level.

Plus, as was mentioned, these gifted kids are forced to do the sped level general ed work before they're "allowed" to do the sped+ extra work as some perverse form of reward. The worst part is, the gen ed kids plateau under the APS model as well.

Read your post. You sound entitled, superior, and frankly, crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is OP saying they are at Taylor, or is that someone else responding?

Someone else I think. We are from Taylor but I’m like 90% sure most of the parents aren’t from Harvard… maybe some UVA but all I’ve met are from UmD and Penn State etc

How do you even know where the other parents in your kid's elementary school went to college? This comes up in casual conversation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is OP saying they are at Taylor, or is that someone else responding?

Someone else I think. We are from Taylor but I’m like 90% sure most of the parents aren’t from Harvard… maybe some UVA but all I’ve met are from UmD and Penn State etc

How do you even know where the other parents in your kid's elementary school went to college? This comes up in casual conversation?

Not from Taylor. But yes, parents talk about where they grew up and went to school all the time. It's a normal part of conversation.

[Anonymous]

Third grade is when my son‘s teachers really started increasing the differentiation for him. He’s always written more than other kids read more books been paired with the other very smart kids to work on projects. He’s in middle school And didn’t have access to intensified classes last year, but it has been an improvement this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is OP saying they are at Taylor, or is that someone else responding?

Someone else I think. We are from Taylor but I’m like 90% sure most of the parents aren’t from Harvard… maybe some UVA but all I’ve met are from UmD and Penn State etc

I’ve been there a long time and those Penn Staters went to HLS. And you are an a**hat who failed the social skills of elementary school. Apparently all the Maryland people are in YOUR class and bought $2m homes with their sh*t degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is OP saying they are at Taylor, or is that someone else responding?

Someone else I think. We are from Taylor but I’m like 90% sure most of the parents aren’t from Harvard… maybe some UVA but all I’ve met are from UmD and Penn State etc

How do you even know where the other parents in your kid's elementary school went to college? This comes up in casual conversation?

Not from Taylor. But yes, parents talk about where they grew up and went to school all the time. It's a normal part of conversation.

Not PP, but this has never come up in conversation for me except when discussing college football (and that doesn’t happen very often). Running through a list of all of DC’s friends’ parents, and I only can think of two that I know where they went to college!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is OP saying they are at Taylor, or is that someone else responding?

Someone else I think. We are from Taylor but I’m like 90% sure most of the parents aren’t from Harvard… maybe some UVA but all I’ve met are from UmD and Penn State etc

I’ve been there a long time and those Penn Staters went to HLS. And you are an a**hat who failed the social skills of elementary school. Apparently all the Maryland people are in YOUR class and bought $2m homes with their sh*t degree.

I mean going to Ivy League is not the only way to wealth. Many are lobbyists, or in sales, some did go to law schools like GWU. Maryland is a wealthy state — if you went to Maryland it’s high likelihood your parents are pretty well off compared to random State U.

Being gifted and academic doesn’t necessarily translate to being earning a lot of money; this discussion is about meeting the academic needs of children, and the PP was asserting that everyone in Arlington had rich Ivy League parents so why do you think your snowflake is special. My point was many parents in APS can be rich without being academic or gifted, so that’s a bad proxy for if there kids are likely gifted.