Why is the GT program in APS so anemic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

The allocation by MS is a recent change to the admissions process. Prior to that, kids were all competing against each other and APS had a max # of admissions. They weren’t evaluated separately. They didn’t always have the max # each year, it depended on the applicants.

The PP point was your kids maybe were prepared by APS standard in MS (and you enriched in elementary which I suspect was a larger part), they just had to compete against other APS MS students for the APS TJ slots. So you really don’t know if the preparation was really that good or just TJ is good at leveling from a diverse income class (which I’m sure they are). Fewer parents enrich in APS at all; that’s why all the AOPS etc are not in Arlington, so you had little competition. APS parents are known as more chill, more sports focused that Fairfax where you have TJ prep academies like Sunshine.

But it sounds like the PPs kids did well at TJ so maybe they were prepared after all

Yes, prepared by parents who paid for outside enrichment! APS middle school is famous for being about social emotional development and little academics. TJ as a school with multiple feeder middle schools has to be capable to level out incoming classes, so with their advanced elementary math (likely already middle school level) it’s no wonder they were fine.

[Anonymous]

Back in the day APS had a summer laureate program for elementary kids. It was by teacher recommendation and it was good. We also supplemented with math books that were of interest to our kids -as I mentioned earlier they were both math oriented - we didn’t go above and beyond to enroll them in expensive programs. In MS they got additional math work and participated in the Hopkins program. Their middle school was not anemic, it actually helped to build their skills and increase their love for math. So their APS experience (and the kids’ own drive coupled with love for learning) all contributed to being prepared for TJ and beyond.

[Anonymous]

I find it interesting that so many parents think it is the school’s job to meet every need of their child. If my kid was doing well in school but had a specific interest, I would be the one exploring and growing that, be it in math or gardening or recycling or chemistry. I don’t expect the school to solve everything for my kid, gifted or struggling. If my kid is having difficulty in a math concept, I’ll get a tutor or buy a workbook and practice with them at home because I understand that I am a partner in my child’s education and a school with 25 kids is not a setting where every need of every child can be met.

Stop complaining and start doing. If you’re on this forum it’s likely you can afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that so many parents think it is the school’s job to meet every need of their child. If my kid was doing well in school but had a specific interest, I would be the one exploring and growing that, be it in math or gardening or recycling or chemistry. I don’t expect the school to solve everything for my kid, gifted or struggling. If my kid is having difficulty in a math concept, I’ll get a tutor or buy a workbook and practice with them at home because I understand that I am a partner in my child’s education and a school with 25 kids is not a setting where every need of every child can be met.

Stop complaining and start doing. If you’re on this forum it’s likely you can afford it.

Well, the state of Virginia certainly expects the school to help! Virginia schools are required to have a gifted program (and all schools in the US are required to offer special education services, obviously).

If APS just said "no, we do not have a gifted program," obviously I wouldn't be complaining about the gifted program. But they do have one, and it could be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

The allocation by MS is a recent change to the admissions process. Prior to that, kids were all competing against each other and APS had a max # of admissions. They weren’t evaluated separately. They didn’t always have the max # each year, it depended on the applicants.

The PP point was your kids maybe were prepared by APS standard in MS (and you enriched in elementary which I suspect was a larger part), they just had to compete against other APS MS students for the APS TJ slots. So you really don’t know if the preparation was really that good or just TJ is good at leveling from a diverse income class (which I’m sure they are). Fewer parents enrich in APS at all; that’s why all the AOPS etc are not in Arlington, so you had little competition. APS parents are known as more chill, more sports focused that Fairfax where you have TJ prep academies like Sunshine.

It wasn’t a separate pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

The allocation by MS is a recent change to the admissions process. Prior to that, kids were all competing against each other and APS had a max # of admissions. They weren’t evaluated separately. They didn’t always have the max # each year, it depended on the applicants.

The PP point was your kids maybe were prepared by APS standard in MS (and you enriched in elementary which I suspect was a larger part), they just had to compete against other APS MS students for the APS TJ slots. So you really don’t know if the preparation was really that good or just TJ is good at leveling from a diverse income class (which I’m sure they are). Fewer parents enrich in APS at all; that’s why all the AOPS etc are not in Arlington, so you had little competition. APS parents are known as more chill, more sports focused that Fairfax where you have TJ prep academies like Sunshine.

It wasn’t a separate pool.

So there was a chance that zero APS students would be admitted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

The allocation by MS is a recent change to the admissions process. Prior to that, kids were all competing against each other and APS had a max # of admissions. They weren’t evaluated separately. They didn’t always have the max # each year, it depended on the applicants.

The PP point was your kids maybe were prepared by APS standard in MS (and you enriched in elementary which I suspect was a larger part), they just had to compete against other APS MS students for the APS TJ slots. So you really don’t know if the preparation was really that good or just TJ is good at leveling from a diverse income class (which I’m sure they are). Fewer parents enrich in APS at all; that’s why all the AOPS etc are not in Arlington, so you had little competition. APS parents are known as more chill, more sports focused that Fairfax where you have TJ prep academies like Sunshine.

It wasn’t a separate pool.

It is a separate pool. Kids in APS compete against kids in APS not kids in FCPS. There are a set number of seats that APS is allowed to fill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

The allocation by MS is a recent change to the admissions process. Prior to that, kids were all competing against each other and APS had a max # of admissions. They weren’t evaluated separately. They didn’t always have the max # each year, it depended on the applicants.

The PP point was your kids maybe were prepared by APS standard in MS (and you enriched in elementary which I suspect was a larger part), they just had to compete against other APS MS students for the APS TJ slots. So you really don’t know if the preparation was really that good or just TJ is good at leveling from a diverse income class (which I’m sure they are). Fewer parents enrich in APS at all; that’s why all the AOPS etc are not in Arlington, so you had little competition. APS parents are known as more chill, more sports focused that Fairfax where you have TJ prep academies like Sunshine.

It wasn’t a separate pool.

It is a separate pool. Kids in APS compete against kids in APS not kids in FCPS. There are a set number of seats that APS is allowed to fill.

Not a separate pool. There is a max number of seats but the TJ admissions office doesn’t have to fill them.

[Anonymous]

^There *was*

New admissions process does pool by MS for some of the seats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

NP here who also sent APS kids to TJ. They were as well prepared for TJ as the kids who came from the FCPS gifted program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

The allocation by MS is a recent change to the admissions process. Prior to that, kids were all competing against each other and APS had a max # of admissions. They weren’t evaluated separately. They didn’t always have the max # each year, it depended on the applicants.

The PP point was your kids maybe were prepared by APS standard in MS (and you enriched in elementary which I suspect was a larger part), they just had to compete against other APS MS students for the APS TJ slots. So you really don’t know if the preparation was really that good or just TJ is good at leveling from a diverse income class (which I’m sure they are). Fewer parents enrich in APS at all; that’s why all the AOPS etc are not in Arlington, so you had little competition. APS parents are known as more chill, more sports focused that Fairfax where you have TJ prep academies like Sunshine.

It wasn’t a separate pool.

It is a separate pool. Kids in APS compete against kids in APS not kids in FCPS. There are a set number of seats that APS is allowed to fill.

Not a separate pool. There is a max number of seats but the TJ admissions office doesn’t have to fill them.

So TJ admissions has said no APS kids were qualified, and APS was cool with that? Or is this some theoretical scenario?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that so many parents think it is the school’s job to meet every need of their child. If my kid was doing well in school but had a specific interest, I would be the one exploring and growing that, be it in math or gardening or recycling or chemistry. I don’t expect the school to solve everything for my kid, gifted or struggling. If my kid is having difficulty in a math concept, I’ll get a tutor or buy a workbook and practice with them at home because I understand that I am a partner in my child’s education and a school with 25 kids is not a setting where every need of every child can be met.

Stop complaining and start doing. If you’re on this forum it’s likely you can afford it.

Well, the state of Virginia certainly expects the school to help! Virginia schools are required to have a gifted program (and all schools in the US are required to offer special education services, obviously).

If APS just said "no, we do not have a gifted program," obviously I wouldn't be complaining about the gifted program. But they do have one, and it could be better.

When can a public school program NOT do better? Name one. APS doesn’t overpromise what its gifted program is. It’s a small program that mostly gives resources to teachers for students to have enrichment and clusters them together in classrooms for peer engagement. That’s pretty much it. If you want more then go where there is more. Or give your kid more at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

The allocation by MS is a recent change to the admissions process. Prior to that, kids were all competing against each other and APS had a max # of admissions. They weren’t evaluated separately. They didn’t always have the max # each year, it depended on the applicants.

The PP point was your kids maybe were prepared by APS standard in MS (and you enriched in elementary which I suspect was a larger part), they just had to compete against other APS MS students for the APS TJ slots. So you really don’t know if the preparation was really that good or just TJ is good at leveling from a diverse income class (which I’m sure they are). Fewer parents enrich in APS at all; that’s why all the AOPS etc are not in Arlington, so you had little competition. APS parents are known as more chill, more sports focused that Fairfax where you have TJ prep academies like Sunshine.

It wasn’t a separate pool.

It is a separate pool. Kids in APS compete against kids in APS not kids in FCPS. There are a set number of seats that APS is allowed to fill.

Not a separate pool. There is a max number of seats but the TJ admissions office doesn’t have to fill them.

So TJ admissions has said no APS kids were qualified, and APS was cool with that? Or is this some theoretical scenario?

No. There were plenty of kids who were qualified competing against FCPS kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

The allocation by MS is a recent change to the admissions process. Prior to that, kids were all competing against each other and APS had a max # of admissions. They weren’t evaluated separately. They didn’t always have the max # each year, it depended on the applicants.

The PP point was your kids maybe were prepared by APS standard in MS (and you enriched in elementary which I suspect was a larger part), they just had to compete against other APS MS students for the APS TJ slots. So you really don’t know if the preparation was really that good or just TJ is good at leveling from a diverse income class (which I’m sure they are). Fewer parents enrich in APS at all; that’s why all the AOPS etc are not in Arlington, so you had little competition. APS parents are known as more chill, more sports focused that Fairfax where you have TJ prep academies like Sunshine.

It wasn’t a separate pool.

It is a separate pool. Kids in APS compete against kids in APS not kids in FCPS. There are a set number of seats that APS is allowed to fill.

Not a separate pool. There is a max number of seats but the TJ admissions office doesn’t have to fill them.

So TJ admissions has said no APS kids were qualified, and APS was cool with that? Or is this some theoretical scenario?

No. There were plenty of kids who were qualified competing against FCPS kids.

You are delusional to think there weren’t more qualified students in FCPS available for those spots. It’s an APS pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster whose kids went to TJ. My point is APS did give my kids a solid MS experience, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the TJ cut -the elementary experience was not bad -but we did supplement because our kids were math oriented and we could afford to give them a little extra, not a lot, though, but enough they got into higher level classes in middle school. So, not a bad APS experience. Quite honestly, I felt that elementary was more about the social aspect of growing up than about a “rigorous academic” experience. I am glad we didn’t push them early in life, except support the areas they liked. Things seem more competitive now, though, good luck to all of you.

Arlington has a certain number of seats and those seats are filled by kids from Arlington MS. Your kids were competing with other Arlington kids, not FCPS or Loudoun MS kids. If they did well at TJ that is a different story but they did not have to compete against anyone other then APS MS kids for admission.

The allocation by MS is a recent change to the admissions process. Prior to that, kids were all competing against each other and APS had a max # of admissions. They weren’t evaluated separately. They didn’t always have the max # each year, it depended on the applicants.

The PP point was your kids maybe were prepared by APS standard in MS (and you enriched in elementary which I suspect was a larger part), they just had to compete against other APS MS students for the APS TJ slots. So you really don’t know if the preparation was really that good or just TJ is good at leveling from a diverse income class (which I’m sure they are). Fewer parents enrich in APS at all; that’s why all the AOPS etc are not in Arlington, so you had little competition. APS parents are known as more chill, more sports focused that Fairfax where you have TJ prep academies like Sunshine.

It wasn’t a separate pool.

It is a separate pool. Kids in APS compete against kids in APS not kids in FCPS. There are a set number of seats that APS is allowed to fill.

Not a separate pool. There is a max number of seats but the TJ admissions office doesn’t have to fill them.

So TJ admissions has said no APS kids were qualified, and APS was cool with that? Or is this some theoretical scenario?

No. There were plenty of kids who were qualified competing against FCPS kids.

You are delusional to think there weren’t more qualified students in FCPS available for those spots. It’s an APS pool.

Why do you think there aren't some APS kids just as qualified as Fairfax kids? It sounds delusional to think otherwise