What is it like being gen Ed at AAP center?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the AAP culture at our elementary school. I have 2 kids in AAP and many students seem to have outside academic enrichment so if your smart kid goes to math class, s/he is already behind since the majority of the class already knows the material.

I have a kindergarten child and considering switching her to private school because I hate this AAP culture. There are also so much emphasis on academic extracurriculars like chess, math, science Olympiad, spelling bee, etc.

I wonder if it is normal students and parents if kids are not in the AAP program.

Yes, the kids aren’t ‘gifted’, they are just ‘advanced’ in math because they have been taking Kumon classes, Mathnasium, Russian Math, Singapore Math, Beast, etc. as a way to get ahead of the curriculum. They have tutors and the Tutoring Club, so your smart, typical child is behind them. It’s a poor design. And parents are spending a lot of extra money on these tutoring programs.

So they’re advanced in math or whatever, they doesn’t mean FCPS should stop teaching them at school. Teachers are supposed to meet them where they are.

[Anonymous]

If Reid is really about “reimaging the future,” she will deconstruct the bloated, divisive, racist AAP program.

But, more likely, she will be about new slogans, not new approaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a healthy environment. One boy said to my DC that he’s too smart for his class and will be moving to AAP. This was 3rd grade.

Agreed. I have one in AAP and one in gen Ed. My only issue with gen Ed is that teachers are told not to teach the high kids as they will “get it in their own” so they don’t pull those kids for small groups very often. If that policy changed the “need” for AAP would be gone. All kids should be able to meet with the teacher as it builds relationships.

+1 People wouldn’t haggle for AAP if the Gen Ed classes weren’t so dumbed down.

+100, many of these kids are so low that we’re teaching them grade levels below. I would fight to get my on or above grade level student out as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the AAP culture at our elementary school. I have 2 kids in AAP and many students seem to have outside academic enrichment so if your smart kid goes to math class, s/he is already behind since the majority of the class already knows the material.

I have a kindergarten child and considering switching her to private school because I hate this AAP culture. There are also so much emphasis on academic extracurriculars like chess, math, science Olympiad, spelling bee, etc.

I wonder if it is normal students and parents if kids are not in the AAP program.

Our center school has ridiculous parents of kids in GE and AAP. It’s the area, not the program.

It's really not.

My kid was at Willow Springs. And the Gen Ed are treated like second class citizens. I even had one mom dissing the Gen Ed kids to my face b/c she thought my kid was AAP (but was not). They had different field trips. Even different 6th grade promotion ceremonies. It was ridiculous.

My kid took it in stride and is now in Honors and AP classes along side those same kids and had all A's last year.

^^Same.
My Gen Ed kid took Honors classes along side the AAP kids and she did better than most of them and got As.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a healthy environment. One boy said to my DC that he’s too smart for his class and will be moving to AAP. This was 3rd grade.

Agreed. I have one in AAP and one in gen Ed. My only issue with gen Ed is that teachers are told not to teach the high kids as they will “get it in their own” so they don’t pull those kids for small groups very often. If that policy changed the “need” for AAP would be gone. All kids should be able to meet with the teacher as it builds relationships.

+1 People wouldn’t haggle for AAP if the Gen Ed classes weren’t so dumbed down.

+1000^^

[Anonymous]

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. There are smart kids in Ged Ed as well as in AAP. Some parents just don’t want their kids to be put in a pressure cooker environment or be told that they are gifted.

I have kids in high school now. One did the AAP center for a while and hated it, and the other qualified but chose to stay at the base school. Both are happy and taking a mix of Gen Ed, honors, and AP classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sux, but once you get to 7th grade and can choose honors or regular, it starts to dissipate. By 9th it is over. My gen end kid did all 4 honors classes and got all As freshman year.

Just pay attention to which math course your kid gets out in, around 5th grade they start to differentiate and by 6th you’re either doing algebra in 7th, 8th or 9th grade. But algebra by 8th grade gets you to calculus by 12th grade and that’s all you need for top colleges.

AAP should be banned or go back to the old way, where kids didn’t switch schools in 3 to 6th. The center system creates an artificial system of have and have nots. It’s stupid.

Exactly this. FCPS has done a severe disservice to ALL its students by separating and labeling huge groups of kids - most of whom are more academically alike than they are different. Center schools are particularly insidious and my kids dreaded attending theirs. Thank God for high school.

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it varies by AAP center? My kid's center school has 1 AAP class out 5 in their grade. Hard to imagine that is having much of an effect on general education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it varies by AAP center? My kid's center school has 1 AAP class out 5 in their grade. Hard to imagine that is having much of an effect on general education.

It probably depends on the center. The center in our pyramid has a pretty bad reputation, so not many kids leave. I think our base has more level IV/III advanced classed than the center has level IV classes in DD's grade

[Anonymous]

AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a healthy environment. One boy said to my DC that he’s too smart for his class and will be moving to AAP. This was 3rd grade.

Agreed. I have one in AAP and one in gen Ed. My only issue with gen Ed is that teachers are told not to teach the high kids as they will “get it in their own” so they don’t pull those kids for small groups very often. If that policy changed the “need” for AAP would be gone. All kids should be able to meet with the teacher as it builds relationships.

+1 People wouldn’t haggle for AAP if the Gen Ed classes weren’t so dumbed down.

+1 THIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a healthy environment. One boy said to my DC that he’s too smart for his class and will be moving to AAP. This was 3rd grade.

Agreed. I have one in AAP and one in gen Ed. My only issue with gen Ed is that teachers are told not to teach the high kids as they will “get it in their own” so they don’t pull those kids for small groups very often. If that policy changed the “need” for AAP would be gone. All kids should be able to meet with the teacher as it builds relationships.

+1 People wouldn’t haggle for AAP if the Gen Ed classes weren’t so dumbed down.

+1 THIS

ours aren’t. What is dad is that it seems very school dependent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the AAP culture at our elementary school. I have 2 kids in AAP and many students seem to have outside academic enrichment so if your smart kid goes to math class, s/he is already behind since the majority of the class already knows the material.

I have a kindergarten child and considering switching her to private school because I hate this AAP culture. There are also so much emphasis on academic extracurriculars like chess, math, science Olympiad, spelling bee, etc.

I wonder if it is normal students and parents if kids are not in the AAP program.

Yes, the kids aren’t ‘gifted’, they are just ‘advanced’ in math because they have been taking Kumon classes, Mathnasium, Russian Math, Singapore Math, Beast, etc. as a way to get ahead of the curriculum. They have tutors and the Tutoring Club, so your smart, typical child is behind them. It’s a poor design. And parents are spending a lot of extra money on these tutoring programs.

So parents want more acceleration, then give them more acceleration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Yes. My kid can attend a better middle school due to AAP. Way less problems, drugs, behavior issues. More academic focus and kids on the right track. Thank God for AAP!