Are you in AAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP. I was having a frustrating day yesterday. My son's best friend is so smart and of course everyone knows it. He should be at a center and is going. The difference is when they play, they play like kids and don't stress over AAP. My son is proud over his friend's academic accomplishments because he's won awards. He knows they each have different strengths.

Some other friends keep bringing up AAP as somethings stressful, not knowing if they got in or if they didn't and specifically talking about levels. It's too much for kids to be worrying about on a hot July afternoon.

You must live in the TJ Mania zone.

Haha We do!

[Anonymous]

really happy to be moving into one of the "normal people" zones, even though older DC is headed to AAP center. Was aiming to avoid the insanity when we bought in a good but not hyper competitive school zone and one that was not a center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP. I was having a frustrating day yesterday. My son's best friend is so smart and of course everyone knows it. He should be at a center and is going. The difference is when they play, they play like kids and don't stress over AAP. My son is proud over his friend's academic accomplishments because he's won awards. He knows they each have different strengths.

Some other friends keep bringing up AAP as somethings stressful, not knowing if they got in or if they didn't and specifically talking about levels. It's too much for kids to be worrying about on a hot July afternoon.

You might be reading too much into the simple questions. My DD's friends are asking each other to try and figure out if they'll be in class together, not for any other reason.

The friends you mention who are bringing it up as being stressful is a different story. I don't know why the parents would have that kind of conversation with their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

Nor do yours. In fact, it sounds as if your kids are the least representative of all.

Yes, let's ignore the needs of kids with LDs as they are the least representative.
'
It's only illegal.

Clearly, YOU weren't in any gifted program as your reading and logic skills are seriously lacking. You know that is NOT what the poster was saying so you went for a cheap shot. Really crappy PP.

OP! Unfortunately, the kids do talk. As a PP mentioned, different schools etc are really hard to ignore. It's fine. They move on pretty quickly. My kid was accepted into AAP and we stayed at level 4 local, and the kids notice THAT. You just have to be the one to send the right message to your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

Nor do yours. In fact, it sounds as if your kids are the least representative of all.

Yes, let's ignore the needs of kids with LDs as they are the least representative.
'
It's only illegal.

Clearly, YOU weren't in any gifted program as your reading and logic skills are seriously lacking. You know that is NOT what the poster was saying so you went for a cheap shot. Really crappy PP.

OP! Unfortunately, the kids do talk. As a PP mentioned, different schools etc are really hard to ignore. It's fine. They move on pretty quickly. My kid was accepted into AAP and we stayed at level 4 local, and the kids notice THAT. You just have to be the one to send the right message to your kid.

That is EXACTLY what the PP stated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

NP here. It is good your child's needs were met. I know a couple of other brilliant children with disabilities who were served very well by AAP. That said, I think they would be even better served if AAP was still an actual gifted program. As PPs have noted, too many kids of similar abilities arbitrarily consigned to in GE, too many prepped and parentally pushed children getting a better education than their intellectual peers simply because mom and dad know how to work the system. Too many gifted SES kids dropping through the cracks, while well-heeled parents brag that their non-gifted child still needs AAP. Too much entitlement, not enough equity. The current method for separating kids into AAP and GE is a scam.

There is no scam, myth, or conspiracy with AAP. It is actually a very transparent, thorough, and fair screening system. I guarantee you, if parent referral or appeals options were taken away, parents would complain that the system is terrible because it is all based on test scores and one score on one day (or 2 NNAT and CoGAT) does not give a complete picture - and DCUM would be full of these complainers. Likewise, if the the required test scores were raised, parents of children who just missed the benchmark would complain that their children are NO DIFFERENT than the kids who made the benchmark. If Centers were eliminated, parents would complain about preferential treatment for Local level IV students in their school. FCPS tries to be as inclusive as possible and we live in a highly educated area.

The 'stress' really is parent driven. AAP is not that big of a deal. I tell my kids - yeah, you do well with an accelerated academic curriculum, good for you, big deal. There are kids in Gen Ed and/or AAP that can speak 3 languages, or are brilliantly artistic or are incredible athletes. The fact that you are academically gifted is great and all, but success is more determined by a positive attitude, a spirit of gratitude, hard work, determination and the way in which you approach challenges. No way do my kids think they are superior for being in AAP. And if they were in Gen Ed, I would be saying the exact same thing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

Nor do yours. In fact, it sounds as if your kids are the least representative of all.

Yes, let's ignore the needs of kids with LDs as they are the least representative.

It's only illegal.

Um, no one said anything about ignoring kids with LDs. We're talking about the hugely bloated AAP program which sees fit to divide kids into two groups, in which the vast majority of kids in both groups are extremely similar. It's only the outliers, on both ends of the spectrum, who truly need intervention and specialized teaching methods. It's moronic to claim that this program is actually serving a purpose, other than to create an us and them mentality amongst the kids and parents of FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

NP here. It is good your child's needs were met. I know a couple of other brilliant children with disabilities who were served very well by AAP. That said, I think they would be even better served if AAP was still an actual gifted program. As PPs have noted, too many kids of similar abilities arbitrarily consigned to in GE, too many prepped and parentally pushed children getting a better education than their intellectual peers simply because mom and dad know how to work the system. Too many gifted SES kids dropping through the cracks, while well-heeled parents brag that their non-gifted child still needs AAP. Too much entitlement, not enough equity. The current method for separating kids into AAP and GE is a scam.

There is no scam, myth, or conspiracy with AAP. It is actually a very transparent, thorough, and fair screening system. I guarantee you, if parent referral or appeals options were taken away, parents would complain that the system is terrible because it is all based on test scores and one score on one day (or 2 NNAT and CoGAT) does not give a complete picture - and DCUM would be full of these complainers. Likewise, if the the required test scores were raised, parents of children who just missed the benchmark would complain that their children are NO DIFFERENT than the kids who made the benchmark. If Centers were eliminated, parents would complain about preferential treatment for Local level IV students in their school. FCPS tries to be as inclusive as possible and we live in a highly educated area.

The 'stress' really is parent driven. AAP is not that big of a deal. I tell my kids - yeah, you do well with an accelerated academic curriculum, good for you, big deal. There are kids in Gen Ed and/or AAP that can speak 3 languages, or are brilliantly artistic or are incredible athletes. The fact that you are academically gifted is great and all, but success is more determined by a positive attitude, a spirit of gratitude, hard work, determination and the way in which you approach challenges. No way do my kids think they are superior for being in AAP. And if they were in Gen Ed, I would be saying the exact same thing!

It would be great if more AAP parents were like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

NP here. It is good your child's needs were met. I know a couple of other brilliant children with disabilities who were served very well by AAP. That said, I think they would be even better served if AAP was still an actual gifted program. As PPs have noted, too many kids of similar abilities arbitrarily consigned to in GE, too many prepped and parentally pushed children getting a better education than their intellectual peers simply because mom and dad know how to work the system. Too many gifted SES kids dropping through the cracks, while well-heeled parents brag that their non-gifted child still needs AAP. Too much entitlement, not enough equity. The current method for separating kids into AAP and GE is a scam.

There is no scam, myth, or conspiracy with AAP. It is actually a very transparent, thorough, and fair screening system. I guarantee you, if parent referral or appeals options were taken away, parents would complain that the system is terrible because it is all based on test scores and one score on one day (or 2 NNAT and CoGAT) does not give a complete picture - and DCUM would be full of these complainers. Likewise, if the the required test scores were raised, parents of children who just missed the benchmark would complain that their children are NO DIFFERENT than the kids who made the benchmark. If Centers were eliminated, parents would complain about preferential treatment for Local level IV students in their school. FCPS tries to be as inclusive as possible and we live in a highly educated area.

The 'stress' really is parent driven. AAP is not that big of a deal. I tell my kids - yeah, you do well with an accelerated academic curriculum, good for you, big deal. There are kids in Gen Ed and/or AAP that can speak 3 languages, or are brilliantly artistic or are incredible athletes. The fact that you are academically gifted is great and all, but success is more determined by a positive attitude, a spirit of gratitude, hard work, determination and the way in which you approach challenges. No way do my kids think they are superior for being in AAP. And if they were in Gen Ed, I would be saying the exact same thing!

It would be great if more AAP parents were like you.

It's nice that you don't make a big deal about AAP for your kids. But throwing your hands up and saying we can't change AAP or make the standards higher because people would complain is a cop-out acceptable only to folks comfortable with the inequitable status quo. A program that was designed to meet the needs of "gifted" kids has been turned into something that primarily rewards high SES households where parents have the means to enrich their kids. That's not what I'm paying taxes for and I'd wager plenty of other FFX residents feel the same way. A public system needs to meet the needs of all kids and not the better prepared more than others. If FCPS is going to segregate kids by academic potential they need to find a better way to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

NP here. It is good your child's needs were met. I know a couple of other brilliant children with disabilities who were served very well by AAP. That said, I think they would be even better served if AAP was still an actual gifted program. As PPs have noted, too many kids of similar abilities arbitrarily consigned to in GE, too many prepped and parentally pushed children getting a better education than their intellectual peers simply because mom and dad know how to work the system. Too many gifted SES kids dropping through the cracks, while well-heeled parents brag that their non-gifted child still needs AAP. Too much entitlement, not enough equity. The current method for separating kids into AAP and GE is a scam.

There is no scam, myth, or conspiracy with AAP. It is actually a very transparent, thorough, and fair screening system. I guarantee you, if parent referral or appeals options were taken away, parents would complain that the system is terrible because it is all based on test scores and one score on one day (or 2 NNAT and CoGAT) does not give a complete picture - and DCUM would be full of these complainers. Likewise, if the the required test scores were raised, parents of children who just missed the benchmark would complain that their children are NO DIFFERENT than the kids who made the benchmark. If Centers were eliminated, parents would complain about preferential treatment for Local level IV students in their school. FCPS tries to be as inclusive as possible and we live in a highly educated area.

The 'stress' really is parent driven. AAP is not that big of a deal. I tell my kids - yeah, you do well with an accelerated academic curriculum, good for you, big deal. There are kids in Gen Ed and/or AAP that can speak 3 languages, or are brilliantly artistic or are incredible athletes. The fact that you are academically gifted is great and all, but success is more determined by a positive attitude, a spirit of gratitude, hard work, determination and the way in which you approach challenges. No way do my kids think they are superior for being in AAP. And if they were in Gen Ed, I would be saying the exact same thing!

OP again. This is a great approach and how I handle it with my oldest when the "smart" topic comes up. His friend is accelerating at math but he has this great skill in a particular sport and instrument, etc. We don't know yet if AAP will be the right program for his younger sister so hopefully this approach will help in the long run. Thanks to all. Being a parent is hard sometimes for all of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're talking about the hugely bloated AAP program which sees fit to divide kids into two groups, in which the vast majority of kids in both groups are extremely similar. It's only the outliers, on both ends of the spectrum, who truly need intervention and specialized teaching methods. It's moronic to claim that this program is actually serving a purpose, other than to create an us and them mentality amongst the kids and parents of FCPS.

It's a feeder system to TJ and artificially skews the demand curve.

Solution? Close TJ. AAP mania solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

NP here. It is good your child's needs were met. I know a couple of other brilliant children with disabilities who were served very well by AAP. That said, I think they would be even better served if AAP was still an actual gifted program. As PPs have noted, too many kids of similar abilities arbitrarily consigned to in GE, too many prepped and parentally pushed children getting a better education than their intellectual peers simply because mom and dad know how to work the system. Too many gifted SES kids dropping through the cracks, while well-heeled parents brag that their non-gifted child still needs AAP. Too much entitlement, not enough equity. The current method for separating kids into AAP and GE is a scam.

There is no scam, myth, or conspiracy with AAP. It is actually a very transparent, thorough, and fair screening system. I guarantee you, if parent referral or appeals options were taken away, parents would complain that the system is terrible because it is all based on test scores and one score on one day (or 2 NNAT and CoGAT) does not give a complete picture - and DCUM would be full of these complainers. Likewise, if the the required test scores were raised, parents of children who just missed the benchmark would complain that their children are NO DIFFERENT than the kids who made the benchmark. If Centers were eliminated, parents would complain about preferential treatment for Local level IV students in their school. FCPS tries to be as inclusive as possible and we live in a highly educated area.

The 'stress' really is parent driven. AAP is not that big of a deal. I tell my kids - yeah, you do well with an accelerated academic curriculum, good for you, big deal. There are kids in Gen Ed and/or AAP that can speak 3 languages, or are brilliantly artistic or are incredible athletes. The fact that you are academically gifted is great and all, but success is more determined by a positive attitude, a spirit of gratitude, hard work, determination and the way in which you approach challenges. No way do my kids think they are superior for being in AAP. And if they were in Gen Ed, I would be saying the exact same thing!

It would be great if more AAP parents were like you.

It's nice that you don't make a big deal about AAP for your kids. But throwing your hands up and saying we can't change AAP or make the standards higher because people would complain is a cop-out acceptable only to folks comfortable with the inequitable status quo. A program that was designed to meet the needs of "gifted" kids has been turned into something that primarily rewards high SES households where parents have the means to enrich their kids. That's not what I'm paying taxes for and I'd wager plenty of other FFX residents feel the same way. A public system needs to meet the needs of all kids and not the better prepared more than others. If FCPS is going to segregate kids by academic potential they need to find a better way to do it.

AndI'm not paying taxes for every school to have a zillion athletic teams (plus a trainer), or for ESL services or immersion or the drama department. Every child is served by FCPS differently. You don't get to just fund the pieces that benefit your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

NP here. It is good your child's needs were met. I know a couple of other brilliant children with disabilities who were served very well by AAP. That said, I think they would be even better served if AAP was still an actual gifted program. As PPs have noted, too many kids of similar abilities arbitrarily consigned to in GE, too many prepped and parentally pushed children getting a better education than their intellectual peers simply because mom and dad know how to work the system. Too many gifted SES kids dropping through the cracks, while well-heeled parents brag that their non-gifted child still needs AAP. Too much entitlement, not enough equity. The current method for separating kids into AAP and GE is a scam.

There is no scam, myth, or conspiracy with AAP. It is actually a very transparent, thorough, and fair screening system. I guarantee you, if parent referral or appeals options were taken away, parents would complain that the system is terrible because it is all based on test scores and one score on one day (or 2 NNAT and CoGAT) does not give a complete picture - and DCUM would be full of these complainers. Likewise, if the the required test scores were raised, parents of children who just missed the benchmark would complain that their children are NO DIFFERENT than the kids who made the benchmark. If Centers were eliminated, parents would complain about preferential treatment for Local level IV students in their school. FCPS tries to be as inclusive as possible and we live in a highly educated area.

The 'stress' really is parent driven. AAP is not that big of a deal. I tell my kids - yeah, you do well with an accelerated academic curriculum, good for you, big deal. There are kids in Gen Ed and/or AAP that can speak 3 languages, or are brilliantly artistic or are incredible athletes. The fact that you are academically gifted is great and all, but success is more determined by a positive attitude, a spirit of gratitude, hard work, determination and the way in which you approach challenges. No way do my kids think they are superior for being in AAP. And if they were in Gen Ed, I would be saying the exact same thing!

It would be great if more AAP parents were like you.

It's nice that you don't make a big deal about AAP for your kids. But throwing your hands up and saying we can't change AAP or make the standards higher because people would complain is a cop-out acceptable only to folks comfortable with the inequitable status quo. A program that was designed to meet the needs of "gifted" kids has been turned into something that primarily rewards high SES households where parents have the means to enrich their kids. That's not what I'm paying taxes for and I'd wager plenty of other FFX residents feel the same way. A public system needs to meet the needs of all kids and not the better prepared more than others. If FCPS is going to segregate kids by academic potential they need to find a better way to do it.

AndI'm not paying taxes for every school to have a zillion athletic teams (plus a trainer), or for ESL services or immersion or the drama department. Every child is served by FCPS differently. You don't get to just fund the pieces that benefit your kid.

+ 1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

NP here. It is good your child's needs were met. I know a couple of other brilliant children with disabilities who were served very well by AAP. That said, I think they would be even better served if AAP was still an actual gifted program. As PPs have noted, too many kids of similar abilities arbitrarily consigned to in GE, too many prepped and parentally pushed children getting a better education than their intellectual peers simply because mom and dad know how to work the system. Too many gifted SES kids dropping through the cracks, while well-heeled parents brag that their non-gifted child still needs AAP. Too much entitlement, not enough equity. The current method for separating kids into AAP and GE is a scam.

There is no scam, myth, or conspiracy with AAP. It is actually a very transparent, thorough, and fair screening system. I guarantee you, if parent referral or appeals options were taken away, parents would complain that the system is terrible because it is all based on test scores and one score on one day (or 2 NNAT and CoGAT) does not give a complete picture - and DCUM would be full of these complainers. Likewise, if the the required test scores were raised, parents of children who just missed the benchmark would complain that their children are NO DIFFERENT than the kids who made the benchmark. If Centers were eliminated, parents would complain about preferential treatment for Local level IV students in their school. FCPS tries to be as inclusive as possible and we live in a highly educated area.

The 'stress' really is parent driven. AAP is not that big of a deal. I tell my kids - yeah, you do well with an accelerated academic curriculum, good for you, big deal. There are kids in Gen Ed and/or AAP that can speak 3 languages, or are brilliantly artistic or are incredible athletes. The fact that you are academically gifted is great and all, but success is more determined by a positive attitude, a spirit of gratitude, hard work, determination and the way in which you approach challenges. No way do my kids think they are superior for being in AAP. And if they were in Gen Ed, I would be saying the exact same thing!

It would be great if more AAP parents were like you.

It's nice that you don't make a big deal about AAP for your kids. But throwing your hands up and saying we can't change AAP or make the standards higher because people would complain is a cop-out acceptable only to folks comfortable with the inequitable status quo. A program that was designed to meet the needs of "gifted" kids has been turned into something that primarily rewards high SES households where parents have the means to enrich their kids. That's not what I'm paying taxes for and I'd wager plenty of other FFX residents feel the same way. A public system needs to meet the needs of all kids and not the better prepared more than others. If FCPS is going to segregate kids by academic potential they need to find a better way to do it.

AndI'm not paying taxes for every school to have a zillion athletic teams (plus a trainer), or for ESL services or immersion or the drama department. Every child is served by FCPS differently. [b]You don't get to just fund the pieces that benefit your kid.

+ 1000

PP here. I had kids in AAP so that's not the issue. Funny, how it's always the assumption that it's a GE parent complaining about AAP. I just don't think it's a fair program that serves the needs of the kids it's designed for. Too much spillover to kids who are above average bright (which ain't rare at all in these parts) and too many URM kids not identified and served. It's also damaging to neighborhood schools and communities.

Most parents of athletic kids, including myself, would happily pay a participation fee, so that is also a non-issue. Also, it's fairly difficult to excel in the athletic arena if you aren't any good. Unlike AAP if you get on the team but don't produce you'll find yourself on the bench or dropped. AAP is in and done, even if a kid can't handle the rigors without tutors. So no comparison really. Also, schools aren't in the business of providing athletic opportunities or acting. They are supposed to provide an appropriate education. The lions share of funding for sports at our school, theatre and other extracurriculars at our schools comes from fundraising.

And if you're begrudging dollars spent on ESL kids you should be ashamed of yourself or go live somewhere without the diversity.

[Anonymous]

PP here. I had kids in AAP so that's not the issue. Funny, how it's always the assumption that it's a GE parent complaining about AAP. I just don't think it's a fair program that serves the needs of the kids it's designed for. Too much spillover to kids who are above average bright (which ain't rare at all in these parts) and too many URM kids not identified and served. It's also damaging to neighborhood schools and communities.

Most parents of athletic kids, including myself, would happily pay a participation fee, so that is also a non-issue. Also, it's fairly difficult to excel in the athletic arena if you aren't any good. Unlike AAP if you get on the team but don't produce you'll find yourself on the bench or dropped. AAP is in and done, even if a kid can't handle the rigors without tutors. So no comparison really. Also, schools aren't in the business of providing athletic opportunities or acting. They are supposed to provide an appropriate education. The lions share of funding for sports at our school, theatre and other extracurriculars at our schools comes from fundraising.

And if you're begrudging dollars spent on ESL kids you should be ashamed of yourself or go live somewhere without the diversity.

The fact that you would even suggest PP was actually begrudging dollars spent on ESL shows you're either grasping at straws or missing the point.