Local v Center? What are your considerations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We chose center over local bc my kid was being bullied for acceleration at local. Either school was a drive bc of FCPS boundaries.

My kid wasn't being bullied, but they did have a hard time fitting in at the base school. The center has been a huge improvement socially - they've found their people.

And yes, FCPS boundaries are weird. Our center is only 2 min further than our base (both walkable).

[Anonymous]

We chose because our local was switching to cluster model. We also have older kids and understand that friendships change/people move around. In other words, we knew our kid would be fine socially (he is) and didn’t want to essentially give up the benefits of Level IV by sticking with cluster model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every child, AAP or GenEd is doing Benchmark. AAP might have more in depth learning or writing expectations, but they are still doing what everyone else is doing. Adv Math is offered at the majority of schools. I would find out if they have a designated class or cluster model. If they have a designated class, I would keep local. AAP is nothing like it was even last year.

Yes, between Benchmark and the watering down of the advanced math standards there's a substantial change between 2023-2024 and currently in how an AAP education looks.

[Anonymous]

Is the center really that much more academically rigorous? I recognize that this probably varies by school so what can we look for to help make these choices?

[Anonymous]

Center for better peer group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the center really that much more academically rigorous? I recognize that this probably varies by school so what can we look for to help make these choices?

For some schools, probably not. In our case, absolutely. Honestly, all the discussion here led to low expectations, and I've been very pleasantly surprised. Our base school still doesn't have a local program, so our choice was easy, but I don't think a cluster model there would be comparable to the dedicated classrooms at the center.

I would look for the number of AAP classes at each school. I would look for dedicated classroom vs cluster model. I would look for the certifications and tenure of the AAP teachers at each school. And then just go to the orientations and listen to what they have to say about their programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need to choose between the center and the local school. I plan to make my decision after attending both orientations. However, the FCPS school profile information makes me lean toward the center. The number of full-time AAP students at my child’s local school is quite low (less than 5% of the total students), indicating that there are more principal placed students.

Which schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to choose between the center and the local school. I plan to make my decision after attending both orientations. However, the FCPS school profile information makes me lean toward the center. The number of full-time AAP students at my child’s local school is quite low (less than 5% of the total students), indicating that there are more principal placed students.

Which schools?

Daniels Run (Local) and Mosaic (center)

[Anonymous]

We are choosing local because our local program has Spanish Immersion

[Anonymous]

Do not split up siblings, putting them in different schools. To be honest I would not even put one in AAP and when one is not. Not in elementary school, not even in the same school. I'm not setting-up the dynamic of one being the smart one. They aren't that different. This is elementary school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We chose center over local bc my kid was being bullied for acceleration at local. Either school was a drive bc of FCPS boundaries.

My kid wasn't being bullied, but they did have a hard time fitting in at the base school. The center has been a huge improvement socially - they've found their people.

And yes, FCPS boundaries are weird. Our center is only 2 min further than our base (both walkable).

Flint Hill to Louise Archer?

[Anonymous]

Our local school was cluster model despite having over 40 level iv identified kids going into 3rd grade. As a teacher, I know that differentiation is the absolute most time intensive, challenging part of my job. Adding another level to the classroom was going to make it harder, not easier, to meet the capabilities of all kids.

Had the base school done 2 self contained classrooms, we probably would have stayed there. The center is very isolating, socially. Friends are fairly spread out, to the point classmates are in different little leagues or soccer programs. Families all get together for dinner before the school talent show at the base school, but we aren't there anymore. Just weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are choosing local because our local program has Spanish Immersion

Same. I also don't want to split up my kids.

[Anonymous]

All schools will have
LLIV soon. People will decide to stay at their base more. It’s just easier sometimes for the family

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All schools will have
LLIV soon. People will decide to stay at their base more. It’s just easier sometimes for the family

I think centers will be a thing of the past soon or they will limit bussing, which they should.