Proposed Policy Change For Students wishing to enroll in an AP world language course within FCPS (for comment)

[Anonymous]

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is committed to fostering comprehensive language proficiency and cultural understanding among its students.

Doesn't seem like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so only students who start a language in middle school are eligible for AP. Stinks for kids at middle schools that only offer one or two languages. Guess you can only do spanish.

A student who waits until high school to start learning a language is going to have a real bad time regardless.

The first opportunity to take a language is in 8th grade. How much different is 9th?

Incorrect. I'm a MS teacher and we have plenty of 7th graders taking a language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so only students who start a language in middle school are eligible for AP. Stinks for kids at middle schools that only offer one or two languages. Guess you can only do spanish.

A student who waits until high school to start learning a language is going to have a real bad time regardless.

The first opportunity to take a language is in 8th grade. How much different is 9th?

Incorrect. I'm a MS teacher and we have plenty of 7th graders taking a language.

The question to ask is if this will only apply starting to incoming 7th graders, as other students have programmed their electives to take languages in High School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so only students who start a language in middle school are eligible for AP. Stinks for kids at middle schools that only offer one or two languages. Guess you can only do spanish.

A student who waits until high school to start learning a language is going to have a real bad time regardless.

You are wrong! My kid was so sick of ES “Spanish” (ridiculous in itself but that’s another topic) they are currently in an AP world language as a Senior and have done great all four years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so only students who start a language in middle school are eligible for AP. Stinks for kids at middle schools that only offer one or two languages. Guess you can only do spanish.

A student who waits until high school to start learning a language is going to have a real bad time regardless.

The first opportunity to take a language is in 8th grade. How much different is 9th?

Incorrect. I'm a MS teacher and we have plenty of 7th graders taking a language.

Most MS offer fewer language choices than high school, to get the 4 years + AP, restricts the students language choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so only students who start a language in middle school are eligible for AP. Stinks for kids at middle schools that only offer one or two languages. Guess you can only do spanish.

A student who waits until high school to start learning a language is going to have a real bad time regardless.

The first opportunity to take a language is in 8th grade. How much different is 9th?

Incorrect. I'm a MS teacher and we have plenty of 7th graders taking a language.

Our middle school only lets 7th graders take part 1 of a language.

[Anonymous]

MS that have a language immersion program feed into them might offer the language to 7th graders. I believe that Carson offers Japanese for language immersion and non-immersion kids in 7th grade. The 8th grade catalogue online wasn’t working, I clicked on world languages and 8th grade and all 4 languages offered came up blank so I could not see if there is an offering for Japanese for 8th graders.

I am not sure if it is possible for a kid who did well in part A of Japanese to join the LI kids in 8th grade or not. Or maybe a student who did well in Japanese A would be allowed to take the LI Japanese for 7th graders? My child is in the JI program but I don’t pretend that he is fluent or that much further ahead of a non-JI kid taking part A in 7th grade. I would imagine that he has a head start in that he knows the alphabets and some kanji and that he is used to hearing Japanese so it is easier to follow the Teacher. I know that they have not studied grammar and have mostly focused on math and science so their vocabulary isn’t exactly normal. I could see kids from Part A of Japanese being able to do well in LI Japanese as 8th graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so only students who start a language in middle school are eligible for AP. Stinks for kids at middle schools that only offer one or two languages. Guess you can only do spanish.

A student who waits until high school to start learning a language is going to have a real bad time regardless.

The first opportunity to take a language is in 8th grade. How much different is 9th?

Incorrect. I'm a MS teacher and we have plenty of 7th graders taking a language.

Our middle school only lets 7th graders take part 1 of a language.

Same. The slow pace of that option led my kids to take the full year in 8th instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is committed to fostering comprehensive language proficiency and cultural understanding among its students.

Doesn't seem like it.

Agree.

Seems like exactly the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so only students who start a language in middle school are eligible for AP. Stinks for kids at middle schools that only offer one or two languages. Guess you can only do spanish.

A student who waits until high school to start learning a language is going to have a real bad time regardless.

The first opportunity to take a language is in 8th grade. How much different is 9th?

Incorrect. I'm a MS teacher and we have plenty of 7th graders taking a language.

Our middle school only lets 7th graders take part 1 of a language.

Same. The slow pace of that option led my kids to take the full year in 8th instead.

It's not really a full high school class in 7th grade. My kid has a 99.9% in Spanish in 8th and hasn't done any homework and we speak no other languages at home other than English. I don't really understand the need for a part 1 in 7th.

[Anonymous]

So if you want to be admitted to UVA or WM, from FCPS, start your language in 8th grade

[Anonymous]

Do UVA and WM require an AP language?

[Anonymous]

Gotta love how FCPS makes a policy about an AP course but can't get their act together to offer the same language offerings across all middle schools.

[Anonymous]

This is just crap! When is this so called proposal suppose to be “voted” on or discussed? I skimmed through Board meetings points but could have missed it. My kid had planed on taking AP Latin next year -senior. It would be his 4th year and that’s the only class offered after Latin1-3 at the HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, so only students who start a language in middle school are eligible for AP. Stinks for kids at middle schools that only offer one or two languages. Guess you can only do spanish.

A student who waits until high school to start learning a language is going to have a real bad time regardless.

You are wrong! My kid was so sick of ES “Spanish” (ridiculous in itself but that’s another topic) they are currently in an AP world language as a Senior and have done great all four years.

If they are only doing school "Spanish", it's the same ridiculousness in HS. AP has nothing to do with fluency.
World Language education n schools is a joke.
Immigrant children and children around the world have stronger English than AP grads have second language.