Underwhelmed by AAP

[Anonymous]

Not to mention we don't all pay the same in property taxes-at our center, kids attend that live in an area with lower home values and therefore lower taxes-so if anything, AAP is providing them with the opportunity to attend a stronger educational program than what they would otherwise get at their base school.

[Anonymous]

My DC has been in AAP since 3rd and is now in 6th. She has had new teachers 3 out of 4 years. We've been very happy with her teachers, though. Frankly, one of her worst teachers was a former AART.

I think AAP starts to show it's value in 5th and 6th grades. I didn't find 3rd and 4th to be very different from the base school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention we don't all pay the same in property taxes-at our center, kids attend that live in an area with lower home values and therefore lower taxes-so if anything, AAP is providing them with the opportunity to attend a stronger educational program than what they would otherwise get at their base school.

PP, you should watch out. This is an insidious way by which the government is paying reparations. Your property taxes are subsidizing poorer kids. Atrocious!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not at all surprised. I have heard that AAP will be having more and more non-AAP trained teachers taking over the classrooms.

I really hope this is not the case.

AAP as a whole is a ridiculous program that has been allowed to grow unchecked for years. At the rate it's going, in a few years, schools will be half AAP kids. Really? Whatever happened to the top 3-5%? Frankly, I couldn't care less if AAP kids get a (gasp) non-AAP teacher. I'm concerned about the rest of the students and what kind of teachers and education they're getting. We all pay the same amount in taxes, and our kids should all be receiving equal educational opportunities. I also think Gen Ed kids whose base schools are centers should be allowed to transfer to a non-center school if they prefer, just as AAP kids have the option of attending a Center. The farther away from this nonsense, the better.

Sorry buddy but that is just not realistic. Firstly, life is not fair..simple. Secondly, not all kids have the same intellect. Just like there is differentiated learning for children with disabilities, there is differentiated learning for children that are "gifted" or academically advanced. It would not be fair for those kids to be thrown into a classroom full of kids who are taught the same way.

Lets be realistic here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not at all surprised. I have heard that AAP will be having more and more non-AAP trained teachers taking over the classrooms.

I really hope this is not the case.

AAP as a whole is a ridiculous program that has been allowed to grow unchecked for years. At the rate it's going, in a few years, schools will be half AAP kids. Really? Whatever happened to the top 3-5%? Frankly, I couldn't care less if AAP kids get a (gasp) non-AAP teacher. I'm concerned about the rest of the students and what kind of teachers and education they're getting. We all pay the same amount in taxes, and our kids should all be receiving equal educational opportunities. I also think Gen Ed kids whose base schools are centers should be allowed to transfer to a non-center school if they prefer, just as AAP kids have the option of attending a Center. The farther away from this nonsense, the better.

Sorry buddy but that is just not realistic. Firstly, life is not fair..simple. Secondly, not all kids have the same intellect. Just like there is differentiated learning for children with disabilities, there is differentiated learning for children that are "gifted" or academically advanced. It would not be fair for those kids to be thrown into a classroom full of kids who are taught the same way.

Lets be realistic here!

Sorry buddy, but AAP is not a "gifted" program. If it was, there would be far fewer kids in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not at all surprised. I have heard that AAP will be having more and more non-AAP trained teachers taking over the classrooms.

I really hope this is not the case.

AAP as a whole is a ridiculous program that has been allowed to grow unchecked for years. At the rate it's going, in a few years, schools will be half AAP kids. Really? Whatever happened to the top 3-5%? Frankly, I couldn't care less if AAP kids get a (gasp) non-AAP teacher. I'm concerned about the rest of the students and what kind of teachers and education they're getting. We all pay the same amount in taxes, and our kids should all be receiving equal educational opportunities. I also think Gen Ed kids whose base schools are centers should be allowed to transfer to a non-center school if they prefer, just as AAP kids have the option of attending a Center. The farther away from this nonsense, the better.

Sorry buddy but that is just not realistic. Firstly, life is not fair..simple. Secondly, not all kids have the same intellect. Just like there is differentiated learning for children with disabilities, there is differentiated learning for children that are "gifted" or academically advanced. It would not be fair for those kids to be thrown into a classroom full of kids who are taught the same way.

Lets be realistic here!

Sorry buddy, but AAP is not a "gifted" program. If it was, there would be far fewer kids in it.

it's an advanced academic program. That's what the state requires school districts to accommodate: advanced learners. Given the demographics in FCPS, 18% isn't so outlandish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention we don't all pay the same in property taxes-at our center, kids attend that live in an area with lower home values and therefore lower taxes-so if anything, AAP is providing them with the opportunity to attend a stronger educational program than what they would otherwise get at their base school.

I am happily married without any domestic violence at home. Frankly we have never called the police home. My neighbors though had the police come in more than 10 times last year. It is unbelievable that we pay the same amount of taxes to support the police - we have never had to use them!

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of AAP teachers are new, but as with any teacher you have to give them a chance. We have an experienced AAP teacher and she's over the top with homework, projects etc. Pick you battles.

I'm curious to know how you know that the gen ed work is not much different than AAP work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And the AAP hate brigade comes out in full force on January 1. OP, a single year is not an adequate sample. Give it one more. We have had brilliant and indifferent teachers. It would be the same in GenEd. Some brilliant and some indifferent teachers. The AAP program is differentiated; it may not always translate into differentiated classroom experience.

OP, please listen to this post! Your child is halfway through the first year of AAP--and that's all. As others noted, too, you will see more of a difference especially in fifth and sixth grades. And there may be more difference in third than you realize; I thought things were pretty similar with what my child's friends at the base school were doing in third grade -- until I had a long talk with one of those kids and her mom (close friends) and realized that certainly in math, the AAP third graders were doing stuff far ahead of the base third graders that year, and that some of the English projects were more creative as well. So there may be differences you're not seeing. And we had both experienced and very new teachers in four years of elementary AAP at a center, and had overall good experiences; some of the less great experiences (meaning--duller classes) actually were with teachers who had been around longer but were more "done" and looking at retirement just ahead.

And OP, as always on DCUM, the AAP-haters have hijacked your question to whine on about AAP overall. I hope you can ignore them and focus on your own kid's particular experiences, and can give it time. And remember, not every AAP teacher in every year is going to be perfection or have ideal experience, just as every general ed teacher is not going to be like that either. Plus, your child probably has one main teacher in third, right? By fourth in our center, my kid had one main teacher but went to other teachers for all math and science, and by sixth he had four different teachers (homeroom/math/literature, science, writing, social studies). So your child soon may have more than one teacher and will end up having a variety of experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention we don't all pay the same in property taxes-at our center, kids attend that live in an area with lower home values and therefore lower taxes-so if anything, AAP is providing them with the opportunity to attend a stronger educational program than what they would otherwise get at their base school.

I didn't realize that FCPS doled out a different quality of education to base schools depending on the amount of taxes paid on the homes that feed into the base school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention we don't all pay the same in property taxes-at our center, kids attend that live in an area with lower home values and therefore lower taxes-so if anything, AAP is providing them with the opportunity to attend a stronger educational program than what they would otherwise get at their base school.

I am happily married without any domestic violence at home. Frankly we have never called the police home. My neighbors though had the police come in more than 10 times last year. It is unbelievable that we pay the same amount of taxes to support the police - we have never had to use them!

But do you use the Library more? Or perhaps the Parks and Rec Centers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention we don't all pay the same in property taxes-at our center, kids attend that live in an area with lower home values and therefore lower taxes-so if anything, AAP is providing them with the opportunity to attend a stronger educational program than what they would otherwise get at their base school.

I didn't realize that FCPS doled out a different quality of education to base schools depending on the amount of taxes paid on the homes that feed into the base school.

Actually, they put more resources in the schools that are less affluent (not just Title I). It has eased up since they made full day kindergarten for all, but there are still differences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the AAP hate brigade comes out in full force on January 1. OP, a single year is not an adequate sample. Give it one more. We have had brilliant and indifferent teachers. It would be the same in GenEd. Some brilliant and some indifferent teachers. The AAP program is differentiated; it may not always translate into differentiated classroom experience.

OP, please listen to this post! Your child is halfway through the first year of AAP--and that's all. As others noted, too, you will see more of a difference especially in fifth and sixth grades. And there may be more difference in third than you realize; I thought things were pretty similar with what my child's friends at the base school were doing in third grade -- until I had a long talk with one of those kids and her mom (close friends) and realized that certainly in math, the AAP third graders were doing stuff far ahead of the base third graders that year, and that some of the English projects were more creative as well. So there may be differences you're not seeing. And we had both experienced and very new teachers in four years of elementary AAP at a center, and had overall good experiences; some of the less great experiences (meaning--duller classes) actually were with teachers who had been around longer but were more "done" and looking at retirement just ahead.

And OP, as always on DCUM, the AAP-haters have hijacked your question to whine on about AAP overall. I hope you can ignore them and focus on your own kid's particular experiences, and can give it time. And remember, not every AAP teacher in every year is going to be perfection or have ideal experience, just as every general ed teacher is not going to be like that either. Plus, your child probably has one main teacher in third, right? By fourth in our center, my kid had one main teacher but went to other teachers for all math and science, and by sixth he had four different teachers (homeroom/math/literature, science, writing, social studies). So your child soon may have more than one teacher and will end up having a variety of experiences.

+1

[Anonymous]

Why is income redistribution a bad thing? My kid is getting a good education regardless of where she is....I will make sure of that. Others, maybe not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of AAP teachers are new, but as with any teacher you have to give them a chance. We have an experienced AAP teacher and she's over the top with homework, projects etc. Pick you battles.

I'm curious to know how you know that the gen ed work is not much different than AAP work?

OP: sibling is in general ed.