AAPAC report to Fairfax County School Board

[Anonymous]

Schools with less than 25 or 30 students found eligible for level IV services each year could consolidate these students into centers, but schools that have enough students to make a good class could have local level IV. There is the argument, though, that socially it is best to have at least two classes. If you start adding noneligible to LLIV that opens the door to complaints of dilution in LLIV and unfairness to those noneligible in center schools. It should be consistent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools with less than 25 or 30 students found eligible for level IV services each year could consolidate these students into centers, but schools that have enough students to make a good class could have local level IV. There is the argument, though, that socially it is best to have at least two classes. If you start adding noneligible to LLIV that opens the door to complaints of dilution in LLIV and unfairness to those noneligible in center schools. It should be consistent.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Differentiation has been "out" for a long time because of fear it could look like segregation and because of the big push since the eighties for mainstreaming following IDEA. We've gone too far in the everyone together all the time direction. We need to find a flexible middle path.

Thank you for this explanation. I wouldn't want to stereotype and assume that slower-paced classes would be filled with ESOL learners, students from minority groups, and students with certain types of disabilities, but if somehow that were the case due to lack of opportunities, social injustice, etc., that would be unfortunate and undesirable. Would a good middle ground for elementary schools be to have an Honors class in addition to AAP (center or LLIV), like in middle school? At least then, with enough classes at a school, there wouldn't be just one "lowest" class that no one would want to be in.

[Anonymous]

No, but there could be differentiation like math and reading group. Aap eligible have been found to need specially designed instruction; hence they get a self contained class. Kids who are not eligible or have not been found to need this, hence they get a gen Ed. Honors is middle school gets around this via open enrollment. Tracking is not coming back or the entire system will open itself up to discrimination and lawsuits.

[Anonymous]

There are many children with IEPs (learning issues, behavioral issues) in the AAP classes. The SN kids are not segregated into the general ed classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are many children with IEPs (learning issues, behavioral issues) in the AAP classes. The SN kids are not segregated into the general ed classes.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many children with IEPs (learning issues, behavioral issues) in the AAP classes. The SN kids are not segregated into the general ed classes.

+1

Just curious- are you saying that a lot of AAP students have SN? or a mix of SN and AAP kids in level IV schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, but there could be differentiation like math and reading group. Aap eligible have been found to need specially designed instruction; hence they get a self contained class. Kids who are not eligible or have not been found to need this, hence they get a gen Ed. Honors is middle school gets around this via open enrollment. Tracking is not coming back or the entire system will open itself up to discrimination and lawsuits.

Oh, okay, the Honors in middle school is open enrollment. Could this work for elementary school? Or everyone would enroll their kid? What keeps everyone from enrolling in Honors in middle school? Fear of bad grades or by that stage genuinely understanding what level is most appropriate for your child?

[Anonymous]

Aap is already segregated from Gen. Ed and low leaners, so I say let's just segregate Gen. Ed the way we have do so aap centers, only seems fair for all to be segregated by intellect, nit just the select few aap kids.

[Anonymous]

And, in later elementary grades, would tracking based on SOL scores still be an opening for charges of discrimination?

[Anonymous]

Or by NNAT and CogAT for lower grades, SOL for higher grades? NNAT would not exclude nonnative English speakers.

[Anonymous]

NNAT and CogAt supposedly get at a different type/level of thinking than the SOLs. There's a big difference between a high achieving student and a gifted learner. So maybe honors in ES might work. The problem is that it's not good for the lower achieving students to be grouped with only lower achieving students.

Of course theire are children with SN at all levels. What I was saying is that in the education field "tracking" is a bad word.

[Anonymous]

*there

[Anonymous]

What kids at all levels would benefit from are more opportunities to be creative, to problem solve and to work on multi-step projects.

At our base school where the major focus is mastering SOL facts my children never had any opportunities to do any of the above in K-2. I know that's not the same at some other schools -- many of which happen to have a greater percentage of native English speakers/ higher SES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kids at all levels would benefit from are more opportunities to be creative, to problem solve and to work on multi-step projects.

At our base school where the major focus is mastering SOL facts my children never had any opportunities to do any of the above in K-2. I know that's not the same at some other schools -- many of which happen to have a greater percentage of native English speakers/ higher SES.

I believe this is why they are applying the AAP curriculum in some clusters to the entire population. The theory is that if it works for the AAP kids, then it could also work for the general education kids. Anyone have any experience with this in their school? I believe it is the McLean schools.