What are true criteria to get into full-time FCPS?
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Anonymous
| Our 4th grader is in private school and we wanted to transfer him to public for 5th grade. We just got the decision tonight that he wasn't accepted. His current private school is known for being academically strong and he does well at school. We already tried to apply FCPS full-time AAP last two years and he didn't get in. He had high WISC score. Not sure what was wrong and it's quite frustrating. |
Anonymous
| I was told you have to show why his needs can't be met in a regular classroom. Is he asking for more work, learning deeply about some subject in his free time, etc.? |
Anonymous
| How much is his WISC score? |
Anonymous
| Which school is your neighborhood school? |
Anonymous
| You need to tell them what is missing in the regular classroom that your child needs. But it’s hard to do since they are not in the school. So find out what’s missing and why does your child need the center school , it could be telling them the difference between the local school and the center . We really don’t know. It seems math is the only accelerated portion so maybe focus on that in the appeal. Why are you moving from private to public ? Maybe explain that to them |
Anonymous
| The “true criteria” is different for each school. In the schools that have a very high percentage of college educated parents and whose children are very well prepared, the bar is higher- as there are enough students locally to accommodate for above average students. |
Anonymous
How about there is nothing wrong. You have a bright kid who is getting his needs met in a general education classroom at a private school. And he can continue to thrive in a general education classroom in FCPS. Some of you are so wound up in this narrative that your child is going to harmed if they’re not in an AAP class. It’s so wrong and bordering on entitled and gross. I can only imagine the stress you’re putting on your kid whether you think you are or not. Just stop. |
Anonymous
|
The only "true criteria" is that over half of the members of a panel of random teachers, AARTs, principals, school counselors, etc. decide to admit your kid.
If your kid has a high WISC score and appears to be above grade level in both math and reading, but keeps getting rejected, then it's likely that you're doing or saying something in your referral that is alienating the AAP selection panel members. Maybe you're coming across as arrogant or presumptive, or you're giving the vibe that regular FCPS isn't "good enough" for your kid. I'm sure there are some other trigger words that make the panel inclined toward rejection, but I've heard that you should never say that your kid is "bored" as a reason that they need AAP. |
Anonymous
| They don't like private school people who give the impression their kid is too special for public gen ed. It was offputting to them that you keep applying and then sending your kid back to private. |
Anonymous
Not OP. I think it's a bit more complicated than that. OP didn't say how high the WISC was, so we don't know if OP's kid is merely bright or is beyond that. We also don't know how well OP's kid's needs are being met in the private. That being said, I had one of those bright gen ed kids who would have been in the top half of the AAP classroom, had she been admitted. She was even at a Title I school, so had less of a peer group, less attention, frequently didn't even have a reading group (there were insufficient above grade level readers at her school). She still got perfect scores on nearly every SOL, easily handled Algebra I in 7th, got 5s on tons of APs, and is a NMSF. Very, very few kids are "harmed" by not being in AAP. Ironically, AAP is set up to select the kids who will bloom wherever they're planted (except, obviously, my DD) and not necessarily the kids who need the extra push to do well. If a kid is motivated and uses their free time constructively, they'll be fine in gen ed. |
Anonymous
Thanks! In the previous appeals, we said that he learned deeply into some subjects on his own, like Dinasaus, marine creatures, etc. He doesn't ask for more work when he is not challenged in school. He will just disengage or get distracted easily |
Anonymous
His WISC score is 129 last year and 124 the year before. |
Anonymous
His WISC score is 129 this year and 124 last year |
Anonymous
Louis Archer |
Anonymous
When my kids were in 2nd grade, the cutoff was 132. |