Level IV center schools in Fairfax County question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not so sure about that. I have never heard of non-eligible kids being placed in the GT center to balance out class sizes. I think they shift the class sizes around in other ways, but I don't think they move children from the base school into the GT classes in a GT Center school. (I know it's done at local Level IV schools, but they often don't have enough kids to make up a full GT class.)

This is absolutely done in GT centers. It probably isn't as prevalent, but it is done.

It is rarely done at GT centers. It is frequently done at Local Level IV base schools. Spend some time reviewing the statistics re: GT Center eligibility and where kids go and it is easy to see where the "weak" GT centers and Local Level IV programs are.

[Anonymous]

I'm 9:43. I was speaking only from my own limited experience - we are at Louise Archer, and they do not pull kids from the base school into the GT Center. The GT Center is very solid and has at least 3 full classes per grade, so there's no need to add children to fill classes. I personally have never heard of this practice at the other Centers either, but obviously some other posters are aware of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not so sure about that. I have never heard of non-eligible kids being placed in the GT center to balance out class sizes. I think they shift the class sizes around in other ways, but I don't think they move children from the base school into the GT classes in a GT Center school. (I know it's done at local Level IV schools, but they often don't have enough kids to make up a full GT class.)

This is absolutely done in GT centers. It probably isn't as prevalent, but it is done.

It is rarely done at GT centers. It is frequently done at Local Level IV base schools. Spend some time reviewing the statistics re: GT Center eligibility and where kids go and it is easy to see where the "weak" GT centers and Local Level IV programs are.

I know it is not done at Canterbury Woods.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP who posted about kids being pulled into GT center from the base school. I know for a fact it is done at Mantua and at least two other GT centers. Generally the smaller ones. LA is NOT a small GT Center and is considered one of the best in the county. CW is also considered a strong center. But there are other centers in other parts of the county that don't pull enough kids for two full GT center classes per grade and they will round out from the base school. Or the base school classes may be overcrowded, so the principal decides to pull a few kids into the center. An elementary principal has wide discretion in how they allocate students within their schools as long as overall they meet the ratios.

Sorry OP! Didn't realize an off comment would create such a tangent. My only point was that not all GT Centers are terrific and not all base school LLIVs are mediocre. You have to look at the specific school, and even the specific year, and make the right decision for your kid and your family.

[Anonymous]

Sorry OP! Didn't realize an off comment would create such a tangent.

I don't think it's a tangent at all. OP asked about the Centers generally, how the classes are filled, how the spots are allocated, how the composition of the classes in the Centers may differ from Level IV classes at non-center schools, etc. I think your comment was totally relevant and will be helpful to the OP in evaluating her options. It added something that I never knew about to the discussion.

[Anonymous]

OP here!

I wish we lived in Fairfax so these were some of my options. We don't have nearly the choices you guys do.

I really appreciate hearing about how these center school get filled, and how Fairfax was able to guarantee a spot to all who qualify. I definitely understand it now.

Let's say you have 67 kids who qualify in a particular school and grade level, and 28 is your student cap. If you say you will have 2 teachers assigned to teach that grade, you can take about 56 kids. In some school districts, the answer would be to just not let 11 kids attend the program; they'd have to go to their base school. And there'd be a lottery for which kids get in.

But in Fairfax it seems, they'd be more likely either to enlarge each class (up to a point) if necessary, or even to add a third teacher and have smaller class sizes, maybe even bring in some extra kids from the base school, who maybe didn't qualify but were pretty close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Sorry OP! Didn't realize an off comment would create such a tangent.

I don't think it's a tangent at all. OP asked about the Centers generally, how the classes are filled, how the spots are allocated, how the composition of the classes in the Centers may differ from Level IV classes at non-center schools, etc. I think your comment was totally relevant and will be helpful to the OP in evaluating her options. It added something that I never knew about to the discussion.

ITA. Thanks to all for sharing this important information! It's not like parents are going to learn about this through the FCPS web site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But in Fairfax it seems, they'd be more likely either to enlarge each class (up to a point) if necessary, or even to add a third teacher and have smaller class sizes, maybe even bring in some extra kids from the base school, who maybe didn't qualify but were pretty close.

They may enlarge each class to go up to 34 kids in each class, or they might create a split/combo class between two grades, depending upon what the student population is for the GT-center classes for another grade.