We're at a competitive center school and lots of kids did not get in. We're in 6th now. We enrolled in Mathnasium and are ahead of the 6th grade AAP kids now.
If you did not get into full time AAP, the only thing you are getting behind on is Math, so sign up for additional math enrichment and your kid will be with or ahead of the AAP kids. |
Yup. Support at home and enrichment |
I agree that this works; it's just a shame that the schools don't/won't/can't do their job for these kids. |
Damn. You really typed that. This is DCUM right here. Need to make a tshirt out of it. Jeff could make real buckets of money. |
That's great that you, as an adult, are in 6th grade, are enrolled in Mathnasium, and are working ahead of 6th grade AAP. It's a little weird that you are giving advice to another adult about how they can get ahead if they didn't get into AAP. Your CHILD is in 6th grade. "We" are not. Your CHILD is enrolled at Mathnasium. "We" are not. The other poster's CHILD did not get into AAP. The parent is not eligible. It would be helpful to learn appropriate pronouns and/or to cut the cord before your child goes to secondary school. All of the "we" statements are alarming. |
Get over yourself and go to another forum if you are not actually interested in contributing to the discussion aside from trolling. |
DP and I get both sides. When you supplement your kid it is a lot of work and so you do feel like you're contributing. But at the same time, PP is right that parents should view what their kids are doing as the kid's acheivement, not the parent's. |
Let's be real. A poor kid from a disadvantaged area that scores in the 92nd percentile probably has more potential and ability than a high SES kid that scores in the 97th percentile. This is one area where the FCPS model makes a lot of sense. And I say that as a rich mom with privileged kids. |
Yes, I thought the same. Kind of like somebody who has to point out an etiquette error looking worse than the original "offender." |
I use "we" as a gender neutral thing, not referring to myself. Kinda like how some people use the pronoun "they" or "them" even if it's just referring to themselves and not a group of people. Sorry that offends you though. ![]() |
Why do you think this? I mean, assuming the high SES kid wasn't heavily prepped, etc. |
Right? Our family is likely considered high SES compared to the average in Fairfax, and I wouldn't even know where to begin with test prep. We simply have no time for that with 3 kids and 2 jobs. To those saying it's outrageous to suggest kids at McLean schools with high test scores and abilities are at a disadvantage by not having access to AAP, I guess until you experience it firsthand, you won't believe it. But it's truly unfair for loads of kids to come to your neighborhood school, to get the most highly qualified teachers in the grade, to have a cohort of motivated, engaged peers with a challenging curriculum, and to see that your kid with at least as high scores and capability as those kids (and probably higher than some), is stuck is a class with kids ranging from the high 90s percentile all the way down to zero, those learning how to speak English, those with learning disabilities and emotional disregulation, and so on. And your child accessing a challenging curriculum is at the complete mercy of the individual teacher and school. Some years they might have a teacher that has the ability and bandwidth to differentiate, or an AART who is committed to regular pullouts for those kids, and other years none of that may happen. |
It's more complicated than that. The FCPS model assumes all of these: High SES kids prep and are heavily enriched. Low SES kids don't prep and aren't heavily enriched. Parents of low SES kids either don't prioritize education or can't help their kids. Kids who are just a hair above the FARMS line should be viewed as the same as kids who are wealthy. Kids who are black or hispanic, even if their parents have college degrees and their families are UMC should still be viewed as very disadvantaged. All kids at Title I schools are disadvantaged. All kids at affluent schools are privileged. It's even possible to prep an average kid to a very high NNAT or CogAT score. Kids at high SES schools who are above grade level and have high test scores don't need access to advanced curricula. It's not a good model. If you absolutely knew that the 92nd percentile kid received no prep and has minimal enrichment, while the other kid is getting private tutoring, then I would agree with you. But we don't know that and can't assume any of that. I can't for the life of me understand why FCPS gatekeeps advanced materials from kids who are above grade level in all metrics and who want the challenge. It should be a no brainer that any kid who demonstrates through achievement tests that they are above grade level in math and/or reading or who scores above whatever CogAT threshold should be given a real opportunity to access advanced coursework. |
"We" are a family, you are a dickhead. -Signed, everybody. |
I completely agree and find it disheartening and infuriating. I wish I could afford to go private. |