Any Differentiation in K - 2nd?

[Anonymous]

Our DC will be new to FCPS next year, entering first grade. I know it might vary school-by-school and teacher-by-teacher (we will be in Vienna area), but generally speaking, is there any potential for differentiation in FCPS in the early years? For example, how does the system handle the situation where some children enter K struggling with learning their letter sounds, and others are reading several grade levels ahead? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

In my experience there is no differentiation in K. They teach what the kids are supposed to know, and if you already know it, then you just already know it. For 1st grade they come up with different reading groups based on the DRA.

[Anonymous]

We see differentiation in reading groups in 1st grade. We have not seen any differentiation in other areas (such as math).

[Anonymous]

We have a son in K in Vienna. Our school has reading groups based on ability in K.

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot, PPs -- very helpful to know.

[Anonymous]

Our FCPS elementary school differentiates for reading, starting in K, and for math, spelling, language arts, and reading starting in 1st.

Within their classroom, there are 3 different spelling groups that get different words each week.
They switch classes for math and language arts/reading. There are 4 1st grade teachers and 4 levels for each.
Within their language arts group they further differentiate for reading. I don't know about other groups, but in the top LA group, there are 4 reading levels.

[Anonymous]

We are in an elementary in Vienna, and they definitely divide up the kids into reading groups in Kindergarten based on reading level. Math tends to be all the same. In first grade, in addition to differentiated reading groups, they would give pretests before each math unit, and divide the kids up that way, with the students moving around to different teachers, depending on what group they were in. 2nd grade was the same as first with possible "tracking" for science (was never clear on this).

There is some pull-out in K, 1, and 2 for Junior Great Books and some AAP (advanced academic) for math and other subjects. When chosen for AAP pull-out, they send a note home to the parents.

[Anonymous]

We are in Fairfax and like the PP we differentiate for reading and math starting in 1st grade.

[Anonymous]

Kings Park school also does some differentiation in K-2nd. Reading groups based on level starting in K.
My child was in a pull out math group in K with a few others who were showing a strong interest in Math.
By 2nd, as mentioned above, they tested the children before every new math unit, then divided them into eight different sections.
A good teacher is aware of the abilities and strengths of every child in the class and assigns appropriate work to each. I saw a lot of this going on when my child was at Kings Park. I volunteered in a 2nd grade class that had kids reading chapter books as well as kids who were working on letter sounds- the teacher had about 6 different spelling lists each week which managed to cover the range of just what each student needed to be challanged.

[Anonymous]

Do be aware that the teacher can only teach to a certain DRA level...after that you would have to work with your child. Hopefully, you will have a teacher like ours who works with us on what we're doing on our own at home.

[Anonymous]

I'm impressed and encouraged to hear these experiences with differentiation in FCPS. We are not seeing any meaningful differentiation in our DC's private kindergarten. He's not super gifted or anything, but he happens to be a strong chapter book-level reader and I feel like he was allowed to just "coast along" while the class reviewed letter sounds, learned about blends, etc. We're looking for something more next year, possibly in FCPS. Thanks for all the input.

[Anonymous]

I called the FCPS central resource sponsor listed on the GT website a few weeks ago. We are starting K next year and I am concerned about what a pp mention - my DD being allowed to just coast through some of the areas like reading and math. She is a fluent reader (currently reading the Junie B. series) and can do simple addition/subtraction/multiplication in her head. I don't think she's a genius by far, but I would like her challenged at the appropriate level when she hits K (unlike she is at our preschool).

The resource sponsor POC told me that if the K teacher does not seem to be differentiated then to contact the resource sponsor at the school for assistance. If that doesn't seem to help, then contact her again.

Hope that helps.

[Anonymous]

Definitely varies by school and teacher. We have seen lots of differentiation in all subject areas, especially for one of my children. I think the more advanced your child is the more efforts will be made to differentiate.

[Anonymous]

My kids are in K and 2nd, so that's the class environment I'm seeing. It doesn't seem like there's too much differentiation going on in K. It's more a matter of trying to catch the kids up who might have language issues.

In 2nd, I know that the kids get different word study lists depending on some testing earlier in the year. As far as math, my son's teacher asked my permission last October to make accommodations for him. The math coach gave him the test that the 3rd graders take at the beginning of the year to place into compacted math. So, since the beginning of the 2nd quarter, he's been taking compacted math with that group of 3rd graders. He's been much happier with the level of math and seems to be fitting in fine.

[Anonymous]

My DC was labeled a behavior problem by K teacher. Our opinion was he was a typical boy and bored. We pushed on getting his reading assesed. He tested at 5th grade level. After that he got pull outs. Wouldn't have happened if we hadn't pushed the issue. 2nd grade teacher was a dream and worked with the entire class to provide as much differentiation as she could to the entire class. My opinion is that it depends on the teacher.