Should we transit from private to AAP?
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Anonymous
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My DD learns best in environments with higher academic rigor, fast pacing, and complex problem-solving. She gets restless when the material moves too slowly or focuses too much on repetitive concepts or ‘small moments.’ As far as I understand, AAP’s structure — accelerated math, stronger peers, project-based inquiry, and higher cognitive expectations — aligns far better with how her mind naturally works.
Is my expectation correct/reasonable? So would we transfer from a cozy local private to AAP for 5th grade? Any input is welcome, and appreciate 
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Anonymous
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I don't know what you mean exactly by a "cozy local private" since all privates are "local" and "cozy". If you mean a very small Catholic school, then you should say so.
In very rare cases, such as when you're at a small local Catholic school with limited academic rigor or recognition, transferring from private to public can make sense. Most are choosing public AAP over *real* private school mainly because of the inability to take on the higher costs involved. |
Anonymous
| And also, if you're at those random Catholic schools, it'll be next to impossible to get into the AAP program at FCPS. Kids just aren't able to produce what's necessary to get through the holistic screening at FCPS. |
Anonymous
| Might as well stay at your private, its very difficult to get into AAP for 5th. |
Anonymous
+1 Unless you're already in a gifted/accelerated program at another public school, it's incredibly difficult to get into AAP. |
Anonymous
| We haven’t been impressed with AAP. It’s all smoke and mirrors so far. Nothing creative coming forth. The private is better. |
Anonymous
| Private school is usually always better, if you're actually going to a true private school. If you're at some random private/Catholic school that offers very little in terms of academics beyond noting that your kids go to "private school," then the FCPS AAP program is head and shoulders above those schools. |
Anonymous
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We went from AAP (mid-range school where there's only a few parents doing outside enrichment) to private (on the academically rigorous end of religious schools, so not a top private). Note the AAP program is only different from gen ed in math. The rest is the same with theoretical "extensions" for AAP kids. That really just means the teachers give them less help on projects. Comparison:
- by 6th grade AAP is only about 1/4 of a year ahead in math of the general math curriculum at our school. The top math scorers in our school - about 5% of kids - are in pre-algebra in 6th. Whether in pre-algebra or not about 10-15% of the entire class will go into Algebra 1 Honors in 7th, which is from what I see faster paced and more intense than the same class in FCPS. This is slightly less than overall percentages in FCPS, but the class is more intense. Our school uses a variant of Singapore math, and I've found that curriculum goes way more in depth than FCPS AAP math while going nearly as fast. - science all the way through is much stronger, but most notably in elementary. They actually learn things which prepare them for high school science in the early years, versus cramming all their science learning in upper grades. The project based learning promises of public school are bogus OP. What that looks like is each group of kids in a class teaching themselves part of one of the standards in science or history, then presenting that to the whole class. Do you really want your kid taught half of science by her peers? Meanwhile in our private, science projects are labs from very early on that are taught by teachers and demonstrate meaningful concepts to the class. That's project based learning I can get behind. That said, a smallish private like ours will never ever offer the science opportunities of any FCPS high school. Or the tech or engineering opportunities for that matter. - surprisingly I don't find the history curriculum at our school to be that much more organized or better than FCPS. The history and literature based homeschool curriculum I did for a few years as a kid was much better. I want history to provide the kids with meaningful facts and timelines early on so they have solid information to get into comparison and assessment later in their educations and I don't see that at our private our in public. Other privates probably do much better. - language arts is so much head and shoulders above public it's not even funny. The kids actually learn how to write. They learn grammar and spelling. They learn how to structure a paragraph. They learn how to structure an essay. When they turn something in a live teacher gives feedback instead of meaningless peer review. Because the kids actually know the building blocks of language, when they do peer reviews they are often better than what I saw in public. In addition my kids are being taught presentation and public speaking skills. It shows - our school's debate team does very well at the local and national level. In addition to the academics, at our private we don't have to worry about the county mucking with our boundaries for our school, spending money on a building before deciding what kind of school to even put there, adding 3 hour early dismissals to the school day after promising they wouldn't do that for another year, and all the other stunts FCPS pulls. Our private isn't in a constant war with the current administration's Dept. of Ed (whoever's fault you think that is), or ANY administration's Dept. of Ed. for that matter. They just...teach the children. |
Anonymous
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My experience was, Yes if you can get into AAP center at highly regarded pyramid (I can’t speak for other kind of setting). The cohort was very strong and that itself was enough for my kid to pull himself to the top. But! He is high achieving type of kid, and was very unmotivated because the old school unable to provide adequate support.
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Anonymous
There are very few private schools in commutable distance from FC that are academically rigorous. I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe these schools as cozy. If you are in one of these schools, stay there. Most private schools charge for smaller class sizes, nicer facilities and cuddles. The #1 advantage of AAP in FCPS is a better peer group. This dwarfs any benefits of acceleration. It's the peer group. In high school years, no private is able to meaningfully match the breadth of activities and clubs offered by the best FCPS publics. For instance, the only private that reliable fields a team to Science Olympiad state competition is BASIS, and they haven't medaled recently. I haven't seen private students in district honors orchestras or in cyber patriot competitions. You will know best what your private offers or if there are benefits that outweigh rigor and breadth of extracurriculars. |
Anonymous
Re: the bolded, you haven't been looking. I'm the PP at a mid-range private and we have kids at district honors orchestra every year. A lot? No, but we're a K-12 that's smaller than an FCPS middle school, much less an FCPS high school. |
Anonymous
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I think this varies widely by school it's hard to comment on most subjects. I agree with pp that what private schools are able to do in science in ES is SO much better than what is done in FCPS. I worked at a private school, but have my kids in public (AAP). The science curriculum is absolutely atrocious in FCPS.
The private schools that I had experience with had a lot of variability between teachers and curriculum (at the same school). So some teachers did an excellent job teaching writing, but other teachers in the same grade did not. One school didn't do a great job with writing until 6th grade and then exceeded what my kids have done in middle school in FCPS. Some teachers did an amazing job engaging kids in history, and some taught more by rote memorization. FCPS AAP math is better than what I saw in public school all the way around. Public school is much more anonymous, and you will get a lot less information about what happens in the classroom. You will also have no say over how your children are taught or who they are placed with. For some parents, I think that's a hard transition, but in the long run I think it's better for students for the parents to not be so involved. |
Anonymous
it is possible we are in different district pyramids. |
Anonymous
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Yeah, I think a lot of this hinges on what OP means by a "local and cozy" private. It could amount to nothing more than a school who uses Singapore math workbooks and calls it a math curriculum to a school that places students in top math competitions worldwide ... we just don't have any idea of what the OP means when she is describing her private.
In general, some of the top public schools [even at the elementary and middle school levels] at FCPS are much better than anything a private school can ever offer. (In the commutable DC area.) |
Anonymous
| No, absolutely not. AAP is not actually advanced, it is basically the general education curriculum with advanced math. |