FCPS potential changes to AAP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which schools have such poor gen ed programs? I have experience with 3 different schools in the central FCPS area, and all had wonderful gen ed programs with plenty of differentiation for advanced learners. My DC with a 125 IQ is thriving in Level III with advanced math at the base school. It's hard to imagine that so many above average kids need to claw their way into AAP to get an appropriate education. If anything, I've seen entirely too little difference between AAP and the advanced groupings at the base school.

So, name some schools with dismal gen ed. Or admit that you're just assuming that the gen ed is bad.

Dude, there are like 100 elementary schools in FCPS. Or more. Are you really suggesting that every one has a rich academic gen ed experience, because your children have been to three different schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which schools have such poor gen ed programs? I have experience with 3 different schools in the central FCPS area, and all had wonderful gen ed programs with plenty of differentiation for advanced learners. My DC with a 125 IQ is thriving in Level III with advanced math at the base school. It's hard to imagine that so many above average kids need to claw their way into AAP to get an appropriate education. If anything, I've seen entirely too little difference between AAP and the advanced groupings at the base school.

So, name some schools with dismal gen ed. Or admit that you're just assuming that the gen ed is bad.

My child moved to the center for 3rd grade, but her friend who stayed behind for level 3 met with the AART once a MONTH with a small group and they didn't start advanced math until 5th grade. Her entire third grade was wasted while they focused on SOL prep with the kids in the class who were behind. Her friend and 5-6 other children transferred to the center for 4th grade after experience third grade gen ed.

This is what School Board members were referring to regarding fidelity of implementation (in the work session linked earlier in this thread).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which schools have such poor gen ed programs? I have experience with 3 different schools in the central FCPS area, and all had wonderful gen ed programs with plenty of differentiation for advanced learners. My DC with a 125 IQ is thriving in Level III with advanced math at the base school. It's hard to imagine that so many above average kids need to claw their way into AAP to get an appropriate education. If anything, I've seen entirely too little difference between AAP and the advanced groupings at the base school.

So, name some schools with dismal gen ed. Or admit that you're just assuming that the gen ed is bad.

Dude, there are like 100 elementary schools in FCPS. Or more. Are you really suggesting that every one has a rich academic gen ed experience, because your children have been to three different schools?

DP. It's actually the other way around. There are over 140 elementary schools and almost 30 center schools. Obviously gen ed is not mostly dismal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Dude, there are like 100 elementary schools in FCPS. Or more. Are you really suggesting that every one has a rich academic gen ed experience, because your children have been to three different schools?

Not at all. I'm just wondering how much of the idea that above average kids will be ignored and learn nothing in gen ed is real, and how much of it is an exaggeration/urban legend. I hope FCPS focuses more on the fidelity of implementation. The schools with dismal gen ed are doing something very wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Dude, there are like 100 elementary schools in FCPS. Or more. Are you really suggesting that every one has a rich academic gen ed experience, because your children have been to three different schools?

Not at all. I'm just wondering how much of the idea that above average kids will be ignored and learn nothing in gen ed is real, and how much of it is an exaggeration/urban legend. I hope FCPS focuses more on the fidelity of implementation. The schools with dismal gen ed are doing something very wrong.

We pulled my kid from gen ed at an AAP center because they were woefully underserved and sent them to private. When you have five classes in a grade, and three are AAP, the gen ed classes end up being nearly 30 kids, with all the IEPs/ESOLs/etc. and, unless you have a great teacher, it's a shitshow. We have a child in the AAP program at the same school, and it's night and day what we experienced in gen ed. Kid who was previously in gen ed is also in a much better situation, though it's extremely expensive and required major lifestyle changes for our family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Dude, there are like 100 elementary schools in FCPS. Or more. Are you really suggesting that every one has a rich academic gen ed experience, because your children have been to three different schools?

Not at all. I'm just wondering how much of the idea that above average kids will be ignored and learn nothing in gen ed is real, and how much of it is an exaggeration/urban legend. I hope FCPS focuses more on the fidelity of implementation. The schools with dismal gen ed are doing something very wrong.

We pulled my kid from gen ed at an AAP center because they were woefully underserved and sent them to private. When you have five classes in a grade, and three are AAP, the gen ed classes end up being nearly 30 kids, with all the IEPs/ESOLs/etc. and, unless you have a great teacher, it's a shitshow. We have a child in the AAP program at the same school, and it's night and day what we experienced in gen ed. Kid who was previously in gen ed is also in a much better situation, though it's extremely expensive and required major lifestyle changes for our family.

Like what kind of lifestyle changes? You can’t go on your yearly trip to the Caribbean? Or Europe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Dude, there are like 100 elementary schools in FCPS. Or more. Are you really suggesting that every one has a rich academic gen ed experience, because your children have been to three different schools?

Not at all. I'm just wondering how much of the idea that above average kids will be ignored and learn nothing in gen ed is real, and how much of it is an exaggeration/urban legend. I hope FCPS focuses more on the fidelity of implementation. The schools with dismal gen ed are doing something very wrong.

We pulled my kid from gen ed at an AAP center because they were woefully underserved and sent them to private. When you have five classes in a grade, and three are AAP, the gen ed classes end up being nearly 30 kids, with all the IEPs/ESOLs/etc. and, unless you have a great teacher, it's a shitshow. We have a child in the AAP program at the same school, and it's night and day what we experienced in gen ed. Kid who was previously in gen ed is also in a much better situation, though it's extremely expensive and required major lifestyle changes for our family.

Like what kind of lifestyle changes? You can’t go on your yearly trip to the Caribbean? Or Europe?

So pps were asking for concrete example of the issues with gen Ed and wondering whether people were just assuming gen Ed was bad or had actual experiences. Now someone posts that they had a real comparison of gen Ed and AAP at the same school and this is your response? It's that lack of constructive response by FCPS to the Gen Ed situation in some schools that causes people to shoes horn their kids into AAP so they don't have to make the financial sacrifices the pp you're attacking had to make to get her kid a good education. Ultimately it's the exceptionally gifted kids of smug parents who will suffer because their kids are being "help back" by high achieving kids who "slow down" the pace. Oh well, there are consequences for not caring about others. Your cushy existence gets disrupted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Dude, there are like 100 elementary schools in FCPS. Or more. Are you really suggesting that every one has a rich academic gen ed experience, because your children have been to three different schools?

Not at all. I'm just wondering how much of the idea that above average kids will be ignored and learn nothing in gen ed is real, and how much of it is an exaggeration/urban legend. I hope FCPS focuses more on the fidelity of implementation. The schools with dismal gen ed are doing something very wrong.

DP with example from last year (4th grade) I've shared in the past. We are in western FCPS. I had a parent teacher conference with my gen ed kid's teacher in late, late January. Teacher admitted to me what my kid had told me: she had not met with his reading group since December. She had them working independently because it takes so much time to get the other groups back on track especially after breaks and snow days. She is a good, seasoned teacher stretched too thin. Part of the issue is that Teachers are pulled into so many dang meetings (for IEPs, work sessions, etc.) that suck time away during the school day. The issue isn't always bad teachers. It is the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Dude, there are like 100 elementary schools in FCPS. Or more. Are you really suggesting that every one has a rich academic gen ed experience, because your children have been to three different schools?

Not at all. I'm just wondering how much of the idea that above average kids will be ignored and learn nothing in gen ed is real, and how much of it is an exaggeration/urban legend. I hope FCPS focuses more on the fidelity of implementation. The schools with dismal gen ed are doing something very wrong.

We pulled my kid from gen ed at an AAP center because they were woefully underserved and sent them to private. When you have five classes in a grade, and three are AAP, the gen ed classes end up being nearly 30 kids, with all the IEPs/ESOLs/etc. and, unless you have a great teacher, it's a shitshow. We have a child in the AAP program at the same school, and it's night and day what we experienced in gen ed. Kid who was previously in gen ed is also in a much better situation, though it's extremely expensive and required major lifestyle changes for our family.

Like what kind of lifestyle changes? You can’t go on your yearly trip to the Caribbean? Or Europe?

Seriously? And so what if that is the change? They choose to put their child into a school system that they think is a better fit because they were not happy with the education their child was getting in the regular classroom. Maybe they gave up vacations, maybe they gave up moving into a bigger house. Who knows. And that is not important. They wanted their child to get a better education then what they were offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Dude, there are like 100 elementary schools in FCPS. Or more. Are you really suggesting that every one has a rich academic gen ed experience, because your children have been to three different schools?

Not at all. I'm just wondering how much of the idea that above average kids will be ignored and learn nothing in gen ed is real, and how much of it is an exaggeration/urban legend. I hope FCPS focuses more on the fidelity of implementation. The schools with dismal gen ed are doing something very wrong.

DP with example from last year (4th grade) I've shared in the past. We are in western FCPS. I had a parent teacher conference with my gen ed kid's teacher in late, late January. Teacher admitted to me what my kid had told me: she had not met with his reading group since December. She had them working independently because it takes so much time to get the other groups back on track especially after breaks and snow days. She is a good, seasoned teacher stretched too thin. Part of the issue is that Teachers are pulled into so many dang meetings (for IEPs, work sessions, etc.) that suck time away during the school day. The issue isn't always bad teachers. It is the system.

its still the teachers fault. When the teacher is pulled away they often know in advance and have a sub who they can give instructions. And if that isn’t enough they should be able to ask the administration for help instead of just neglecting the educational experience of the students because they are overwhelmed for what ever reason

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which schools have such poor gen ed programs? I have experience with 3 different schools in the central FCPS area, and all had wonderful gen ed programs with plenty of differentiation for advanced learners. My DC with a 125 IQ is thriving in Level III with advanced math at the base school. It's hard to imagine that so many above average kids need to claw their way into AAP to get an appropriate education. If anything, I've seen entirely too little difference between AAP and the advanced groupings at the base school.

So, name some schools with dismal gen ed. Or admit that you're just assuming that the gen ed is bad.

My child moved to the center for 3rd grade, but her friend who stayed behind for level 3 met with the AART once a MONTH with a small group and they didn't start advanced math until 5th grade. Her entire third grade was wasted while they focused on SOL prep with the kids in the class who were behind. Her friend and 5-6 other children transferred to the center for 4th grade after experience third grade gen ed.

This is what School Board members were referring to regarding fidelity of implementation (in the work session linked earlier in this thread).

Pat Haynes is absolutely worthless

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child isn't old enough for AAP yet but I absolutely would rather she be getting 2s and 3s and being challenged and learning then 4s and not learning.

FCPS has to fix its general ed classrooms first.

Don't forget, special Ed is pushed in these days. I've seen kids who truly require a full-time aid that only get 20 mins here and there.

Pushed in where? Pushed in AAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child isn't old enough for AAP yet but I absolutely would rather she be getting 2s and 3s and being challenged and learning then 4s and not learning.

FCPS has to fix its general ed classrooms first.

Don't forget, special Ed is pushed in these days. I've seen kids who truly require a full-time aid that only get 20 mins here and there.

Pushed in where? Pushed in AAP?

Yes. Pushed in ged ed and AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
DP with example from last year (4th grade) I've shared in the past. We are in western FCPS. I had a parent teacher conference with my gen ed kid's teacher in late, late January. Teacher admitted to me what my kid had told me: she had not met with his reading group since December. She had them working independently because it takes so much time to get the other groups back on track especially after breaks and snow days. She is a good, seasoned teacher stretched too thin. Part of the issue is that Teachers are pulled into so many dang meetings (for IEPs, work sessions, etc.) that suck time away during the school day. The issue isn't always bad teachers. It is the system.

Yikes! I'm the PP who asked whether gen ed really was that bad at so many schools, and I agree that the system is failing at your school. It certainly is possible to deliver high quality gen ed even to advanced learners, so I really would love to see FCPS clean up the failing gen ed programs. People shouldn't need to try to cram their kids into AAP for their kids to receive an education. The truly funny part is that the schools that I thought delivered an excellent gen ed program tended to have lower great schools rankings, and thus are less highly regarded than many other FCPS schools. This is largely because the schools were less focused on getting the bottom kids to pass the SOLs and more focused on having everyone learn.

I wish FCPS used some sort of progress metric to evaluate the teachers and schools, kind of like how many systems use MAP scores. If the top kids are being ignored and not showing a full year of growth, that's just as much of a problem as bottom kids who are below grade level. Yeah, I know FCPS has iready, but they don't seem to know what to do with it.

[Anonymous]

AAP kids will not be better served or perfectly fine in Gen Ed. I mean, is there not enough data and studies out there to convince some of you otherwise? Is the earth possibly flat?

Most gifted kids would be extremely bored in gen ed. It does no one any favors to have extremes of intelligence in the same class. An AAP child would almost be better served staying at home and watching online videos to learn at their own pace.