What has been your experience with your school's AART?

[Anonymous]

PPS He's in second grade.

[Anonymous]

AART teacher is involved from Kindergarten. Also the class teachers assess the kids and based on their assessment they are grouped. The kids have no knowledge that they are being grouped and sent to advanced level math or reading classes. The GBRS score with commentary is done by school pricipal, AART teacher, Counselor, Reading specialist, ESOL specialist and class teacher.

Even though the AART teacher is part-time, she will take notes about each student and evaluate them. I have observed that the teachers here are very good in terms of evaluating our kids. We should honestly take their point of view and guide our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most AARTs work part time, and meet once a month with each classroom for level 1 enrichment. The 2nd grade teachers identifies some kids for advanced work and the aart pulls them out once a week, usually for math (level 2)

Unless your kid is one identified for level 2 work, the aart will only have a cursory idea who they are, and the gbrs will likely be all 8, with some random writing sample.

Teachers are human, and their time is finite. Unless the 2nd grade teacher has identified a kid for level 2 services, or they are looking at some great scores, chances are they will spend a limited amount of time on each kid.

How do kids get identified for level 2 work? Usually they are the kids who have already mastered 2nd grade math in the beginning of the year.

Problem is, there are no individualized services for K and 1 st grade, so advancing ahead in math depends on after school programs like Kumon -- even when you start out with a kindergartner well ahead of his peers.

If your kid is the one who is tired after 7 hours of school and balks at extra math (and homework) after school, you will simply fall through the gbrs cracks, even with a smart kid.

My kid is lazy, won't do any homework, and has never (to my knowledge) been pulled out for extra time with the AART. GBRS 12, accepted into AAP.

Wont do any homework at all (or without prodding from PP?). If not submitting any homework I don't belivey he's accepted and gets 12 GBRS. I don't believe it.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't matter what you believe. I've tried many times and ways but he won't do the homework, and the teacher doesn't seem to care either. He has been accepted into AAP with a GBRS of 12 (and high scores).

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I never said that I expect him to excel in AAP with these poor homework skills. I am at my wit's end with this kid. I can only hope that the experiential method of teaching that they tout in AAP will do something to engage him more in his schoolwork. General ed is not working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My first experience with our school's AART was at the Info Night for AAP. She explained that she gives all 2nd grade teachers a folder for each student at the beginning of the year and asks them to put any really good work samples in it as the year goes along. When AAP screening time comes around, she uses that file to select work samples for the screening file. The school is required to submit 2, but if the parents don't add any she uses the file to submit the 4 optional work samples. That was very helpful because we hadn't saved any work samples at home. I was able to give the classroom teacher a heads up that we wouldn't be submitting work samples and she was prepared to select 6.

I was surprised when I saw my DD's screening file to see that she's receiving Level II services in Language Arts and Math. I wasn't aware of it and she doesn't seem to be. It must be happening in class because she's never mentioned being pulled out. I'm pretty sure the GBRS commentary was written by the classroom teacher. The examples used were things DD told me she had worked on with her teacher.

The AART is only at our school 2.5 days a week and there are dozens of kids getting Level II & III services.

I'm very surprised at this. I thought I had read somewhere in the packet that only a maximum of 2 work samples could be submitted by the school. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My first experience with our school's AART was at the Info Night for AAP. She explained that she gives all 2nd grade teachers a folder for each student at the beginning of the year and asks them to put any really good work samples in it as the year goes along. When AAP screening time comes around, she uses that file to select work samples for the screening file. The school is required to submit 2, but if the parents don't add any she uses the file to submit the 4 optional work samples. That was very helpful because we hadn't saved any work samples at home. I was able to give the classroom teacher a heads up that we wouldn't be submitting work samples and she was prepared to select 6.

I was surprised when I saw my DD's screening file to see that she's receiving Level II services in Language Arts and Math. I wasn't aware of it and she doesn't seem to be. It must be happening in class because she's never mentioned being pulled out. I'm pretty sure the GBRS commentary was written by the classroom teacher. The examples used were things DD told me she had worked on with her teacher.

The AART is only at our school 2.5 days a week and there are dozens of kids getting Level II & III services.

I'm very surprised at this. I thought I had read somewhere in the packet that only a maximum of 2 work samples could be submitted by the school. Period.

The way our AART explained it was that the school MUST submit 2 work samples and parents MAY submit an additional 4. If the parents submit less than 4 or don't submit any (we didn't), the AART fills in with what she has to get as close to the 6 total allowed as possible. I don't know if every AART follows that approach, but I appreciated that my kid's does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My first experience with our school's AART was at the Info Night for AAP. She explained that she gives all 2nd grade teachers a folder for each student at the beginning of the year and asks them to put any really good work samples in it as the year goes along. When AAP screening time comes around, she uses that file to select work samples for the screening file. The school is required to submit 2, but if the parents don't add any she uses the file to submit the 4 optional work samples. That was very helpful because we hadn't saved any work samples at home. I was able to give the classroom teacher a heads up that we wouldn't be submitting work samples and she was prepared to select 6.

I was surprised when I saw my DD's screening file to see that she's receiving Level II services in Language Arts and Math. I wasn't aware of it and she doesn't seem to be. It must be happening in class because she's never mentioned being pulled out. I'm pretty sure the GBRS commentary was written by the classroom teacher. The examples used were things DD told me she had worked on with her teacher.

The AART is only at our school 2.5 days a week and there are dozens of kids getting Level II & III services.

I'm very surprised at this. I thought I had read somewhere in the packet that only a maximum of 2 work samples could be submitted by the school. Period.

I have heard of a teacher (not at our school) submitting the family's work samples for them since the family was very busy.

[Anonymous]

Wow, you guys have AARTs and teachers that really care about presenting the best for their students. Our AART is uninvolved, and the school put really poor work samples in the file =( Count yourselves very lucky.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone ever heard of the local school screening committee not referring a kid's file on to the central screening committee? The parent information document says they can, but my school's AART said they don't. She sees it as the local committee's job to make sure each file (in-pool or parent referral) is as strong as they can make it. I can't see why the local committee would try to hold up a file since the parents can (and most likely would) just appeal to the central committee anyway. I'm just curious as to whether it's ever happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, I never said that I expect him to excel in AAP with these poor homework skills. I am at my wit's end with this kid. I can only hope that the experiential method of teaching that they tout in AAP will do something to engage him more in his schoolwork. General ed is not working.

You MAY find that AAP DOES work to help him do the homework. I had a Daughter the same way, and after she got into AAP, the work was more challenging and therefor more interesting to her and she does it. We still have our issues, but it is MUCH better!

[Anonymous]

Don't bother with AART other than getting GBRS.

[Anonymous]

Our AART was non reponsive at first....not sure if it is related, but she is enjoying the Porshe...and our kid got a 16 on the GBRS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our AART was non reponsive at first....not sure if it is related, but she is enjoying the Porshe...and our kid got a 16 on the GBRS

Not so funny the second time....

[Anonymous]

My child is shy and quiet.

Wondered how the AART could ever feel my child was gifted if they never spoke in class or volunteered anything. I even asked my child - do you ever talk or raise your hand when the AART is in the class - answer was always no. Felt that a low GBRS was in the cards and very little support for AAP was in the cards.

Once test scores came back and supported AAP, suddenly my child told me he was getting pulled out of class by the AART with other kids.

Got into AAP (we didn't do anything but fill out the patient questionnaire).