Should we transit from private to AAP?

[Anonymous]

Class sizes are huge at many AAP centers; that would be a big change over private. My daughter's experience at a well-regarded Level 4 center was not good and made us leave FCPS altogether - overcrowded, lots of computer based learning, trailers, teaching that ranged from excellent to really terrible, really no language arts curriculum, major issues with bullying (see other recent threads on this).

I generally do not have good things to say about FCPS or AAP.

[Anonymous]

DC is at a center school. It’s not truly accelerated anymore, it’s more “rigor”, ie, worksheets with more word problems and less teacher involvement. The classrooms are large (~25 or more) so individual differentiation is limited if any at all. As you would expect, many of the kids are advanced in math, but the teacher is still required to follow the general curriculum for the grade. Those at the top of the class are usually coasting. There is very little hw (5 mins or less for DC) but it varies by teacher. You may want to consider upgrading to another private school instead of public, assuming cost is not an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went from AAP (mid-range school where there's only a few parents doing outside enrichment) to private (on the academically rigorous end of religious schools, so not a top private). Note the AAP program is only different from gen ed in math. The rest is the same with theoretical "extensions" for AAP kids. That really just means the teachers give them less help on projects. Comparison:

- by 6th grade AAP is only about 1/4 of a year ahead in math of the general math curriculum at our school. The top math scorers in our school - about 5% of kids - are in pre-algebra in 6th. Whether in pre-algebra or not about 10-15% of the entire class will go into Algebra 1 Honors in 7th, which is from what I see faster paced and more intense than the same class in FCPS. This is slightly less than overall percentages in FCPS, but the class is more intense. Our school uses a variant of Singapore math, and I've found that curriculum goes way more in depth than FCPS AAP math while going nearly as fast.

- science all the way through is much stronger, but most notably in elementary. They actually learn things which prepare them for high school science in the early years, versus cramming all their science learning in upper grades. The project based learning promises of public school are bogus OP. What that looks like is each group of kids in a class teaching themselves part of one of the standards in science or history, then presenting that to the whole class. Do you really want your kid taught half of science by her peers? Meanwhile in our private, science projects are labs from very early on that are taught by teachers and demonstrate meaningful concepts to the class. That's project based learning I can get behind. That said, a smallish private like ours will never ever offer the science opportunities of any FCPS high school. Or the tech or engineering opportunities for that matter.

- surprisingly I don't find the history curriculum at our school to be that much more organized or better than FCPS. The history and literature based homeschool curriculum I did for a few years as a kid was much better. I want history to provide the kids with meaningful facts and timelines early on so they have solid information to get into comparison and assessment later in their educations and I don't see that at our private our in public. Other privates probably do much better.

- language arts is so much head and shoulders above public it's not even funny. The kids actually learn how to write. They learn grammar and spelling. They learn how to structure a paragraph. They learn how to structure an essay. When they turn something in a live teacher gives feedback instead of meaningless peer review. Because the kids actually know the building blocks of language, when they do peer reviews they are often better than what I saw in public. In addition my kids are being taught presentation and public speaking skills. It shows - our school's debate team does very well at the local and national level.

In addition to the academics, at our private we don't have to worry about the county mucking with our boundaries for our school, spending money on a building before deciding what kind of school to even put there, adding 3 hour early dismissals to the school day after promising they wouldn't do that for another year, and all the other stunts FCPS pulls. Our private isn't in a constant war with the current administration's Dept. of Ed (whoever's fault you think that is), or ANY administration's Dept. of Ed. for that matter. They just...teach the children.

Which history curriculum did you use for homeschool? How does the private's English curriculum compare to what you used for homeschool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD learns best in environments with higher academic rigor, fast pacing, and complex problem-solving. She gets restless when the material moves too slowly or focuses too much on repetitive concepts or ‘small moments.’ As far as I understand, AAP’s structure — accelerated math, stronger peers, project-based inquiry, and higher cognitive expectations — aligns far better with how her mind naturally works.

Is my expectation correct/reasonable? So would we transfer from a cozy local private to AAP for 5th grade?

Any input is welcome, and appreciate

There are very few private schools in commutable distance from FC that are academically rigorous. I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe these schools as cozy. If you are in one of these schools, stay there. Most private schools charge for smaller class sizes, nicer facilities and cuddles.

The #1 advantage of AAP in FCPS is a better peer group. This dwarfs any benefits of acceleration. It's the peer group.

In high school years, no private is able to meaningfully match the breadth of activities and clubs offered by the best FCPS publics. For instance, the only private that reliable fields a team to Science Olympiad state competition is BASIS, and they haven't medaled recently. I haven't seen private students in district honors orchestras or in cyber patriot competitions. You will know best what your private offers or if there are benefits that outweigh rigor and breadth of extracurriculars.

To be fair, Science Olympiad is not the premier science competition for high school students. You should instead be looking at the number of students making it to AIME/USAPhO/USNCO nats/USABO semifinals/USACO silver. If a school is happy to brag about how their kids do in sports but not how they do in these competitions, that also says a lot.

[Anonymous]

I have experience with kids in AAP and a private. Private was lovely and did more projects/had smaller class size. Math in particular was slow/easy, and the peer group was not particularly advanced.

Peer group at AAP center is the biggest advantage. Curriculum is fine - fast-paced but otherwise similar to gen ed (like gen ed but with extras).

Class size will vary year to year, just like with any fcps class. It’s just based on numbers of kids enrolled in the grade.

In sum, we felt AAP center was better choice, but it’s a shame that curriculum is so blah — there is so much more the kids are capable of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I think a lot of this hinges on what OP means by a "local and cozy" private. It could amount to nothing more than a school who uses Singapore math workbooks and calls it a math curriculum to a school that places students in top math competitions worldwide ... we just don't have any idea of what the OP means when she is describing her private.

In general, some of the top public schools [even at the elementary and middle school levels] at FCPS are much better than anything a private school can ever offer. (In the commutable DC area.)

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is at a center school. It’s not truly accelerated anymore, it’s more “rigor”, ie, worksheets with more word problems and less teacher involvement. The classrooms are large (~25 or more) so individual differentiation is limited if any at all. As you would expect, many of the kids are advanced in math, but the teacher is still required to follow the general curriculum for the grade. Those at the top of the class are usually coasting. There is very little hw (5 mins or less for DC) but it varies by teacher. You may want to consider upgrading to another private school instead of public, assuming cost is not an issue.

Truthfully, it all depends on the teacher which is impossible to predict. My DC is also at a center. Last year was a breeze, not much acceleration. The teacher this year is providing much more content via acceleration (she quickly goes through the required content and then has time for her own more difficult content) and there is much more focus on writing. Multiple kids are struggling, in a good way. I'm very pleased with the rigor this year, but who knows if it will continue next year and beyond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is at a center school. It’s not truly accelerated anymore, it’s more “rigor”, ie, worksheets with more word problems and less teacher involvement. The classrooms are large (~25 or more) so individual differentiation is limited if any at all. As you would expect, many of the kids are advanced in math, but the teacher is still required to follow the general curriculum for the grade. Those at the top of the class are usually coasting. There is very little hw (5 mins or less for DC) but it varies by teacher. You may want to consider upgrading to another private school instead of public, assuming cost is not an issue.

And where is the private that provide “acceleration” and “ individual differentiation” without costing $60k per year and commute hassle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD learns best in environments with higher academic rigor, fast pacing, and complex problem-solving. She gets restless when the material moves too slowly or focuses too much on repetitive concepts or ‘small moments.’ As far as I understand, AAP’s structure — accelerated math, stronger peers, project-based inquiry, and higher cognitive expectations — aligns far better with how her mind naturally works.

Is my expectation correct/reasonable? So would we transfer from a cozy local private to AAP for 5th grade?

Any input is welcome, and appreciate

There are very few private schools in commutable distance from FC that are academically rigorous. I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe these schools as cozy. If you are in one of these schools, stay there. Most private schools charge for smaller class sizes, nicer facilities and cuddles.

The #1 advantage of AAP in FCPS is a better peer group. This dwarfs any benefits of acceleration. It's the peer group.

In high school years, no private is able to meaningfully match the breadth of activities and clubs offered by the best FCPS publics. For instance, the only private that reliable fields a team to Science Olympiad state competition is BASIS, and they haven't medaled recently. I haven't seen private students in district honors orchestras or in cyber patriot competitions. You will know best what your private offers or if there are benefits that outweigh rigor and breadth of extracurriculars.

To be fair, Science Olympiad is not the premier science competition for high school students. You should instead be looking at the number of students making it to AIME/USAPhO/USNCO nats/USABO semifinals/USACO silver. If a school is happy to brag about how their kids do in sports but not how they do in these competitions, that also says a lot.

These are good but they are single subject competitions.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Wow, I’m overwhelmed by all the helpful and kind responses. Truly graceful.

My DD is in a competitive private (smaller than public schools of course, but not tiny or catholic), it’s k-8, so at certain point, she needs to make decision.

She’s very good at logic, pattern recognition, math problems, solving puzzles, etc. she loves math. her school math is not on her level at all, she complains about how boring that is constantly, and she studies advanced/accelerated stuff on her own. My concerns are, first, she might lose interest of learning math at school; 2nd, studying math without peer environment and school support is not ideal for long term?

She also loves hands-on stuff (like engineering, animation, circuit, robotics) . Why I’m considering AAP as a realistic option for her, is because on paper, she seems a good fit for AAP track.

Financially, we’re ok with either choice.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Since this is a pretty big decision for us, so I would to share a little more.

We are in haycock -Longfellow-McLean pyramid. And everyone I encountered said g positive things about our private school. However liked I shared earlier, on paper, my DD seems a very typical STEM kid, even for reading, she likes fast paced, complex logic, rules-based books. Her recent fav books are Percy Jackson, explorer academy, Benedict society, etc. she doesn’t like books which require deep emotional inference, character driven, heavy metaphors, or a lot of moral ambiguity.

She likes challenges, has a lot of friends at school, I just think maybe a different school might suit her better for the future 8-10years.

If any private school in this area a stronger candidate than AAP for her, we are totally open too, please let us know For her, challenging math, hands-on /project-based curriculum, strong peers are the most important factors.

Thank you again!

[Anonymous]

Your kids should definitely aim to TJ, and you already live in TJ biggest feeder pyramid.
Why do you make it complicated?

[Anonymous]

The privates that send the most to TJ is Nysmith, if that helps… and it still alot less compare to Longfellow, the MS where you zone too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kids should definitely aim to TJ, and you already live in TJ biggest feeder pyramid.
Why do you make it complicated?

NP.

Students from private schools can sit for the entrance exam (such as it is). They can and do gain admission to TJ.

In my son’s class (2028), there were 8 BASIS students admitted. Homeschooled students are also admitted, if they qualify.

The PP’s post wrongly implies only public school students are eligible for TJ.

[Anonymous]

Getting into AAP in 5th in a competitive pyramid is not guaranteed. I'm sure your kid is advanced, but the AAP application process is a "holistic" process based on a portfolio of factors--think of it like college admissions where you are applying after the main admissions cycle.