I have a DC currently at Belvedere and he has a great teacher. I think he's learning a lot. He's not overwhelmed, but he is being challenged. I know of a couple parent's who weren't happy, one because they thought the pace was too fast and another because they didn't like their DC's teacher's teaching style. I don't have any experience with Glasgow, but so far I'm happy with Belvedere. |
You should also consider the logistics as far as how close the center is to your house, how long your DC's bus ride will be, especially if you're happy with you base school these things are worth factoring in. |
+1 Another issue may be bell schedules. The center school may have a different bell schedule than the base school. |
AAP eligibility is good until eighth grade, so you can always change your mind. Might be worth it to go this year and then change back if it is not what you had thought. |
Or you can always wait until middle school and switch. A number of kids in my son's class did this so they'd be more challenged for high school and yet still attend the same elementary and middle school as their friends. It's worth noting that none struggled in the slightest since they were smart kids, nor did they regret not going in elementary school. |
In 7th grade, the curriculum for AAP and honors courses (non-AAP for smart kids) is identical. We discovered this when our AAP kid and his honors best friend compared notes: same homework, same text books, same pacing, everything. AAP in elementary is great for kids who need the extra stimulation, but my experience as a mom of both AAP and gen-ed kids is that it all evens out in middle and high. My single gen-ed child far surpassed his brothers! |
At our middle school, AAP center and honors were not the same. They read different works of literature in English and different source materials in history and civics. The literature read in English was much more advanced and dealt with more complex themes. Long term assignments in social studies had more requirements and were graded on a more difficult scale. |
Not our experience at all. DC is in a center and taking Algebra I and it is not the same as the math honors at his friend's MS. Because of the kids (who had to qualify via SOl scores and Iowa test scores), the AAP teacher can go faster and deal with tougher material. Open honors lets anyone in who wants to be there. |
Interesting -- FCPS has a document posted on their website outlining the differences between AAP and honors at the middle school level --
http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/pdfs/AAPforMSdiagram.pdf |
This showcases how your center school was likely one "in name only" as compared to the other centers that have marked differences between AAP and honors. |
Why did the wrong quote come up? Try again:
Sorry, PPs! ![]() |