AAP Teachers-share your thoughts...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP teachers have to have specific certifications that GE do not. So a principal hires specific teachers with specific certifications to teach AAP
http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/pdfs/presentations/AAPCombinedEndorsementBrochure.pdf

Plenty of AAP teachers have no "AAP" certification at all. They're just supposed to get it within a certain amount of years.

two

I thought it was five. And they can cycle them in and out and they get 2 or whatever the amount is each time they are cycled into AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP teachers have to have specific certifications that GE do not. So a principal hires specific teachers with specific certifications to teach AAP
http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/pdfs/presentations/AAPCombinedEndorsementBrochure.pdf

Plenty of AAP teachers have no "AAP" certification at all. They're just supposed to get it within a certain amount of years.

two

I thought it was five. And they can cycle them in and out and they get 2 or whatever the amount is each time they are cycled into AAP.

In one of the presentations FCPS gave when they were discussing expanding AAP to more schools, a slide was presented that showed the number of teachers who taught AAP that had the certification. The number was shockingly low - some schools only had approximately 25% of the teachers with the certification. Someone posted it on this site. From the comments from the teachers about the low percentage, they noted that the certification really isn't that significant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP is now so selective that many teachers have their cert before applying. Our center school they all have their certifications and two years is not a long time to have to obtain it while your working

"So selective"? You're kidding, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP is now so selective that many teachers have their cert before applying. Our center school they all have their certifications and two years is not a long time to have to obtain it while your working

"So selective"? You're kidding, right?

She is talking about getting a teaching appointment in AAP, not how hard it is for a student to get into AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP is now so selective that many teachers have their cert before applying. Our center school they all have their certifications and two years is not a long time to have to obtain it while your working

And we GE parents are helping to pay for it!

[Anonymous]

yes - and you are also paying for remedial teaching for students who are below grade level. It is the duty of FCPS to teach every student at their level....sorry 'bout that. Hope your child doesn't ever need anything special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP is now so selective that many teachers have their cert before applying. Our center school they all have their certifications and two years is not a long time to have to obtain it while your working

"So selective"? You're kidding, right?

I think pp was referencing the teachers, not the students. I do know DC's fifth grade AAP teacher had her AAP certification before she was hired.

[Anonymous]

Hey parents! Let the teachers speak. That's what the thread asks for (pushy parents)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yes - and you are also paying for remedial teaching for students who are below grade level. It is the duty of FCPS to teach every student at their level....sorry 'bout that. Hope your child doesn't ever need anything special.

The vast majority of kids in AAP do not "need anything special". It's the kids who can't learn in a regular classroom (at both ends of the spectrum) who "need" a different learning environment, not the kid who does well on tests but is otherwise average. Many parents resent paying for one group of average students to get more than all the other average children, in addition to the bogus labels that go along with it. Sorry 'bout that, but that's the truth and it needs to be said loud and clear.

[Anonymous]

Which schools have smaller center classrooms than general ed classrooms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yes - and you are also paying for remedial teaching for students who are below grade level. It is the duty of FCPS to teach every student at their level....sorry 'bout that. Hope your child doesn't ever need anything special.

The vast majority of kids in AAP do not "need anything special". It's the kids who can't learn in a regular classroom (at both ends of the spectrum) who "need" a different learning environment, not the kid who does well on tests but is otherwise average. Many parents resent paying for one group of average students to get more than all the other average children, in addition to the bogus labels that go along with it. Sorry 'bout that, but that's the truth and it needs to be said loud and clear.

Well said. You hit the "nail on the head".

[Anonymous]

Actual AAP teacher here.... I've taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grade AAP at two different center schools for 10 years, and taught general ed for 10 years before that. I have my GT endorsement and have taken literally hundreds of hours of AAP professional development trainings over the years. I'd like to clarify some misconceptions.....

AAP teachers are required to obtain a GT endorsement within 5 years of teaching AAP. To get the endorsement they take the equivalent of four graduate level courses. One of the courses is about the social/emotional needs of gifted children, which are generally different than their on-grade level peers..... Having taught both for a number of years I can tell you that overall, most gifted kids DO have different social and emotional needs. Their intelligence and emotional maturity are often not aligned. It's so important for teachers to understand how to help gifted kids themselves and meet their emotional needs. That being said, it is difficult for principals to hire teachers who already have their endorsement, since most start it after they are hired in AAP. In my school, besides myself, I think that two AAP teachers have their full endorsement, 4-5 are working on it, and 3 are brand new teachers who haven't started the endorsement yet. In addition to the endorsement though, we all attend monthly AAP trainings on Mondays and we all take full-day (sometimes multiple day) trainings on specific AAP strategies, i.e. Jason Project, DBQ, Socratic Seminar, William and Mary language arts and social studies, M3 math, etc.

As far as class sizes, that varies by center and by year. A few years ago, I had 22 in my AAP class, while the community classes had 24-25. Last year I had 29 In AAP, community had 18. This year, we all have 30-31 (AAP and community). Staffing is not as easy as many think and it really depends on enrollment in a given year.

The AAP classes should be following generally the same curriculum (except math, which is compacted, mostly a year above). However, AAP classes should be going more in depth, focusing on higher level thinking skills, and using strategies/programs such as Habits of Mind, Socratic Seminar, DBQ (document based questioning), etc. All AAP teachers have an AAP curriculum guide, which aligns AAP strategies with the general curriculum, and focuses on the higher level thinking skills.

There is a difference between a smart kid and a gifted learner. Not all gifted learners are star students. In fact, the opposite is often true. Many gifted children have attention issues, don't see the purpose in writing long answers, refuse to do homework, forget their materials, etc. Many of them don't know how to study....they never needed to before. On the other hand, many gifted learner are such perfectionists that they completely melt down when things aren't exactly right. They are highly anxious and worry about every last detail. Gifted kids can be highly motivated, but they can also be completely scattered and inattentive (think absent-minded professor). The key for the teachers and parents of gifted kids is to recognize those differences and help guide their gifted learners learn how to make the most of their giftedness
and learn how to handle the challenges that come with being gifted.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely fabulous post, 10:14! Thank you very much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actual AAP teacher here.... I've taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grade AAP at two different center schools for 10 years, and taught general ed for 10 years before that. I have my GT endorsement and have taken literally hundreds of hours of AAP professional development trainings over the years. I'd like to clarify some misconceptions.....

AAP teachers are required to obtain a GT endorsement within 5 years of teaching AAP. To get the endorsement they take the equivalent of four graduate level courses. One of the courses is about the social/emotional needs of gifted children, which are generally different than their on-grade level peers..... Having taught both for a number of years I can tell you that overall, most gifted kids DO have different social and emotional needs. Their intelligence and emotional maturity are often not aligned. It's so important for teachers to understand how to help gifted kids themselves and meet their emotional needs. That being said, it is difficult for principals to hire teachers who already have their endorsement, since most start it after they are hired in AAP. In my school, besides myself, I think that two AAP teachers have their full endorsement, 4-5 are working on it, and 3 are brand new teachers who haven't started the endorsement yet. In addition to the endorsement though, we all attend monthly AAP trainings on Mondays and we all take full-day (sometimes multiple day) trainings on specific AAP strategies, i.e. Jason Project, DBQ, Socratic Seminar, William and Mary language arts and social studies, M3 math, etc.

As far as class sizes, that varies by center and by year. A few years ago, I had 22 in my AAP class, while the community classes had 24-25. Last year I had 29 In AAP, community had 18. This year, we all have 30-31 (AAP and community). Staffing is not as easy as many think and it really depends on enrollment in a given year.

The AAP classes should be following generally the same curriculum (except math, which is compacted, mostly a year above). However, AAP classes should be going more in depth, focusing on higher level thinking skills, and using strategies/programs such as Habits of Mind, Socratic Seminar, DBQ (document based questioning), etc. All AAP teachers have an AAP curriculum guide, which aligns AAP strategies with the general curriculum, and focuses on the higher level thinking skills.

There is a difference between a smart kid and a gifted learner. Not all gifted learners are star students. In fact, the opposite is often true. Many gifted children have attention issues, don't see the purpose in writing long answers, refuse to do homework, forget their materials, etc. Many of them don't know how to study....they never needed to before. On the other hand, many gifted learner are such perfectionists that they completely melt down when things aren't exactly right. They are highly anxious and worry about every last detail. Gifted kids can be highly motivated, but they can also be completely scattered and inattentive (think absent-minded professor). The key for the teachers and parents of gifted kids is to recognize those differences and help guide their gifted learners learn how to make the most of their giftedness
and learn how to handle the challenges that come with being gifted.

But I'm curious... why are AAP classes filled with relatively average kids and maybe a handful of these truly "gifted" students? Why is General Ed being depleted of smart-but-average kids in order to fill the AAP classes? Why isn't the bar set higher on the NNAT and CogAT so as to screen for only the gifted learners who actually need a different classroom environment? I understand FCPS is required to provide an appropriate learning environment for every student... but what about those students who are placed in AAP but are not "gifted" and do not require a specialized classroom? Why are FCPS taxpayers paying for this? And finally, why isn't General Ed being beefed up in order to meet the needs of those students who are fully capable of higher-level work? I would really like to know the answers to these questions, and I'm sure there are many other parents who would too. FCPS is getting away with catering to a bloated group of students (and their parents) while ignoring the students in General Ed. I can't even imagine why, especially during this severe budget crisis, demands for more centers and more AAP teachers are even entertained.

[Anonymous]

Our AAP class is not filled with average kids. They are mostly kids like the teacher is describing.

PP, are you in the AAP class often to see firsthand how average all these AAP kids are at your school?