Longfellow MS - clarification

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My children are in HS now. Most kids at Longfellow were in AAP or Honors. When they were there, there was little difference between Honors and AAP. We found more discrepancy between individual teachers than Honors and AAP at taught. Longfellow does very well for students who are bright and toe the line. It does not do well for those students who have trouble fitting in or straddle different silos (eg AAP and ESOL or AAP and Special Ed).

I am wondering, for the special ed or non-AAP or non-honors type student, do they have a public school alternative to Longfellow? Isn't it zoned?

No other option besides Longfellow for us. I don't know what you mean by "Isn't it zoned?"

If a student lives in the Langley district and is AAP, they have the option of attending Longfellow/Kilmer or Cooper. However, if the student lies in McLean's District, Longfellow is the only game in town. I would also say the Cooper also does not have a great reputation with its 2E population either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My children are in HS now. Most kids at Longfellow were in AAP or Honors. When they were there, there was little difference between Honors and AAP. We found more discrepancy between individual teachers than Honors and AAP at taught. Longfellow does very well for students who are bright and toe the line. It does not do well for those students who have trouble fitting in or straddle different silos (eg AAP and ESOL or AAP and Special Ed).

I am wondering, for the special ed or non-AAP or non-honors type student, do they have a public school alternative to Longfellow? Isn't it zoned?

OP asked specifically about AAP, but most Longfellow students are Gen Ed students. Of the 1384 students, 741 are Gen Ed/non-AAP, 574 are AAP, and 69 are Special Ed. The AAP students will also comprise a smaller percentage of the total enrollment beginning in the fall of 2016 when FCPS opens an AAP center at Cooper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My children are in HS now. Most kids at Longfellow were in AAP or Honors. When they were there, there was little difference between Honors and AAP. We found more discrepancy between individual teachers than Honors and AAP at taught. Longfellow does very well for students who are bright and toe the line. It does not do well for those students who have trouble fitting in or straddle different silos (eg AAP and ESOL or AAP and Special Ed).

I am wondering, for the special ed or non-AAP or non-honors type student, do they have a public school alternative to Longfellow? Isn't it zoned?

OP asked specifically about AAP, but most Longfellow students are Gen Ed students. Of the 1384 students, 741 are Gen Ed/non-AAP, 574 are AAP, and 69 are Special Ed. The AAP students will also comprise a smaller percentage of the total enrollment beginning in the fall of 2016 when FCPS opens an AAP center at Cooper.

Exactly. Sicne when are gen ed students "honors" - when they are not, in reality? Is this the watering down of our system. Is this what makes Fairfax County so "great"? Because if that is the case, it is not. ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My children are in HS now. Most kids at Longfellow were in AAP or Honors. When they were there, there was little difference between Honors and AAP. We found more discrepancy between individual teachers than Honors and AAP at taught. Longfellow does very well for students who are bright and toe the line. It does not do well for those students who have trouble fitting in or straddle different silos (eg AAP and ESOL or AAP and Special Ed).

I am wondering, for the special ed or non-AAP or non-honors type student, do they have a public school alternative to Longfellow? Isn't it zoned?

OP asked specifically about AAP, but most Longfellow students are Gen Ed students. Of the 1384 students, 741 are Gen Ed/non-AAP, 574 are AAP, and 69 are Special Ed. The AAP students will also comprise a smaller percentage of the total enrollment beginning in the fall of 2016 when FCPS opens an AAP center at Cooper.

Exactly. Sicne when are gen ed students "honors" - when they are not, in reality? Is this the watering down of our system. Is this what makes Fairfax County so "great"? Because if that is the case, it is not. ?

Huh? No one besides, perhaps, the OP is calling the students "Honors students." They simply have made a decision at Longfellow to use the Honors curriculum for English, social studies and science as the standard offering. There may be other schools where it makes sense to use the standard curriculum in at least some of the classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My children are in HS now. Most kids at Longfellow were in AAP or Honors. When they were there, there was little difference between Honors and AAP. We found more discrepancy between individual teachers than Honors and AAP at taught. Longfellow does very well for students who are bright and toe the line. It does not do well for those students who have trouble fitting in or straddle different silos (eg AAP and ESOL or AAP and Special Ed).

I am wondering, for the special ed or non-AAP or non-honors type student, do they have a public school alternative to Longfellow? Isn't it zoned?

OP asked specifically about AAP, but most Longfellow students are Gen Ed students. Of the 1384 students, 741 are Gen Ed/non-AAP, 574 are AAP, and 69 are Special Ed. The AAP students will also comprise a smaller percentage of the total enrollment beginning in the fall of 2016 when FCPS opens an AAP center at Cooper.

Exactly. Sicne when are gen ed students "honors" - when they are not, in reality? Is this the watering down of our system. Is this what makes Fairfax County so "great"? Because if that is the case, it is not. ?

You seem to have an issue with Gen Ed students taking honors classes. Why is that? Do you feel that only AAP kids should be able to take honors or advanced classes? Plenty of Gen Ed kids take - and excel at - honors classes in middle school, and go on to excel in honors and AP classes in high school.

If you'd like to discuss "watering down," perhaps you should first take a good look at AAP and ask why on earth it's referred to (by some) as a "gifted" program.