AAP school experience

[Anonymous]

Some kids got into AAP and some did not. The friends did change after that. Plus, the AAP kids make comments that they are brighter than the others. The separation and chip on the shoulder carried into sports, scouts, and orchestra.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One little boy was befriending DC in third grade and then he told them that he was too smart for the class and would be leaving their class in January for the Advanced class. It was very hurtful words and eye-opening to an 8 year old that there were different classes.

+1
Imagine when most of the kids in a given 2nd grade class get into AAP, but not your kid. This is what happened at our center school in the 2nd grade. And those kids, who were previously friends with DC, almost overnight decided they were far too smart to associate with DC ever again. It's crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s so sad is once a base kid moves into the AAP class, they lose all their friendships with the gen Ed kids because they literally never see them again.

This has been our experience at a school with an LLIV program. There are two regular classes and one AAP class. The girls in the 6th grade AAP class have cliqued up to the point where they even have their own sports teams in the local rec league. They stayed friends in 3rd, but my child and several others got dropped like a hot potato in 4th.

I knew a teacher who was really exasperated about one of those 2E kids in her classroom who threw screaming fits frequently. The kind where the rest of the class had to leave while the child exploded screaming. And, the irony: the kid really wasn't that smart. The mom pushed for it.

I don’t even know where to start with this, but it sounds a whole lot like frustration that students with disabilities can also be gifted.

Sorry that challenges your belief in eugenics

Do you even know what that means? That had nothing to do with the comment.

But, if the teacher did not think the child was gifted, why do you think that? You do know that parents who complain and push frequently get their kids admitted.

This surely demonstrates your ignorance about the program. Parents can’t “push” their kids into it. They have to be selected by a committee.

DP. Wrong. At our center, parents who were friends with the principal asked the principal to place their kids in the AAP classes. It's called "principal placing" and pushy parents use it to their advantage all the time.

Then your school isn’t a center. That would be a local level IV school. Principals cannot pupil place kids into center AAP classes.

DP but yes they can to round out class sizes. Otherwise you could have huge differences in class sizes between AAP and General Ed. You just can't have an AAP class that is 35 kids or two that are 17 when the general ed classes are 25. They pull from general education to even out class sizes.

You are completely wrong. In a center school, principals cannot round out class sizes to their liking. They can only do this at a local level IV school. In fact, that’s why many kids choose the center school - the class cannot be padded with Gen Ed kids. All the kids are committee placed only.

Do you even know what the difference is between a center school and a local level IV school?

DP. This is absolute BS. How do I know that? Because OUR CENTER SCHOOL does exactly this. Please stop lecturing others about the reality of their own schools - which you clearly know nothing about. It is YOU who is completely wrong.

Name your school. Only local level IV AAP schools can pupil place. Center schools cannot. You are clearly confused on what a center school actually is.

Question to you - how many AAP classes are at your school? How many schools does your “center” pull from to make their AAP classes?

OMG. You're still lecturing others on what a center school actually is? I have three kids at our center school, so I am quite familiar with what it is. I'm not about to give you the name of the school, but it's in the Vienna area and draws from four other elementary schools. You really need to get a grip and stop insisting you know better than the actual parents at these schools. You are wrong about what principals can and can't do. Or rather, in your words - "you are clearly confused."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s so sad is once a base kid moves into the AAP class, they lose all their friendships with the gen Ed kids because they literally never see them again.

This has been our experience at a school with an LLIV program. There are two regular classes and one AAP class. The girls in the 6th grade AAP class have cliqued up to the point where they even have their own sports teams in the local rec league. They stayed friends in 3rd, but my child and several others got dropped like a hot potato in 4th.

I knew a teacher who was really exasperated about one of those 2E kids in her classroom who threw screaming fits frequently. The kind where the rest of the class had to leave while the child exploded screaming. And, the irony: the kid really wasn't that smart. The mom pushed for it.

I don’t even know where to start with this, but it sounds a whole lot like frustration that students with disabilities can also be gifted.

Sorry that challenges your belief in eugenics

Do you even know what that means? That had nothing to do with the comment.

But, if the teacher did not think the child was gifted, why do you think that? You do know that parents who complain and push frequently get their kids admitted.

This surely demonstrates your ignorance about the program. Parents can’t “push” their kids into it. They have to be selected by a committee.

DP. Wrong. At our center, parents who were friends with the principal asked the principal to place their kids in the AAP classes. It's called "principal placing" and pushy parents use it to their advantage all the time.

Then your school isn’t a center. That would be a local level IV school. Principals cannot pupil place kids into center AAP classes.

DP but yes they can to round out class sizes. Otherwise you could have huge differences in class sizes between AAP and General Ed. You just can't have an AAP class that is 35 kids or two that are 17 when the general ed classes are 25. They pull from general education to even out class sizes.

You are completely wrong. In a center school, principals cannot round out class sizes to their liking. They can only do this at a local level IV school. In fact, that’s why many kids choose the center school - the class cannot be padded with Gen Ed kids. All the kids are committee placed only.

Do you even know what the difference is between a center school and a local level IV school?

It depends on the school. Our base school is the center school and the teacher confirmed to me personally in the fall that around half the class was principal placed. There's another AAP class in the same grade that's entirely level IV. All of the classes in this grade have around the same number of students. If they had not done that, they would have needed another gen ed teacher.

It does not depend on the school. The teacher is uninformed or lying. Center placement is by committee only.

- Signed, ES Principal

Now you're pretending to be an ES principal? Bless your heart. Three of my kids' CENTER SCHOOL classmates were principal placed into an AAP class. I think we all know who the liar is here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s so sad is once a base kid moves into the AAP class, they lose all their friendships with the gen Ed kids because they literally never see them again.

This has been our experience at a school with an LLIV program. There are two regular classes and one AAP class. The girls in the 6th grade AAP class have cliqued up to the point where they even have their own sports teams in the local rec league. They stayed friends in 3rd, but my child and several others got dropped like a hot potato in 4th.

I knew a teacher who was really exasperated about one of those 2E kids in her classroom who threw screaming fits frequently. The kind where the rest of the class had to leave while the child exploded screaming. And, the irony: the kid really wasn't that smart. The mom pushed for it.

I don’t even know where to start with this, but it sounds a whole lot like frustration that students with disabilities can also be gifted.

Sorry that challenges your belief in eugenics

Do you even know what that means? That had nothing to do with the comment.

But, if the teacher did not think the child was gifted, why do you think that? You do know that parents who complain and push frequently get their kids admitted.

This surely demonstrates your ignorance about the program. Parents can’t “push” their kids into it. They have to be selected by a committee.

DP. Wrong. At our center, parents who were friends with the principal asked the principal to place their kids in the AAP classes. It's called "principal placing" and pushy parents use it to their advantage all the time.

Then your school isn’t a center. That would be a local level IV school. Principals cannot pupil place kids into center AAP classes.

DP but yes they can to round out class sizes. Otherwise you could have huge differences in class sizes between AAP and General Ed. You just can't have an AAP class that is 35 kids or two that are 17 when the general ed classes are 25. They pull from general education to even out class sizes.

You are completely wrong. In a center school, principals cannot round out class sizes to their liking. They can only do this at a local level IV school. In fact, that’s why many kids choose the center school - the class cannot be padded with Gen Ed kids. All the kids are committee placed only.

Do you even know what the difference is between a center school and a local level IV school?

It depends on the school. Our base school is the center school and the teacher confirmed to me personally in the fall that around half the class was principal placed. There's another AAP class in the same grade that's entirely level IV. All of the classes in this grade have around the same number of students. If they had not done that, they would have needed another gen ed teacher.

It does not depend on the school. The teacher is uninformed or lying. Center placement is by committee only.

- Signed, ES Principal

Hey smarty, our base school IS the center school. I don't think the teacher has any motivation to lie about such things, and I also don't believe for a minute that 40% of the 2nd grade base kids at this school were centrally placed into the level IV classroom. The more logical answer is the teacher is correct, and it was done to even out classroom numbers and avoid having to find another gen ed teacher. I'm sure you're well aware there is a teacher shortage.

+ a million
Our base school is also a center and this happens all the time. I truly can't believe the lengths some of these AAP parents are going to in order to discredit what is *actually happening.*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One need only read these posts to know this program is toxic. The responses from the AAP parents provide a lot of the evidence.

Michelle Reid truly must be full of shit if she’s going to carry forward AAP and pretend to care about equity.

Absolutely agree. AAP is a glaring example of INequity within FCPS. Just offer the advanced classes at all schools, for any student who can do the work. Period. No special schools, no special busing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even with a kid in AAP, there’s nothing great or innovative happening there. Very underwhelming actually.

Which is why there is no need for it to be a special, segregated program. The overlap with Gen Ed kids is vast. These kids aren't learning how to be neurosurgeons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s so sad is once a base kid moves into the AAP class, they lose all their friendships with the gen Ed kids because they literally never see them again.

This has been our experience at a school with an LLIV program. There are two regular classes and one AAP class. The girls in the 6th grade AAP class have cliqued up to the point where they even have their own sports teams in the local rec league. They stayed friends in 3rd, but my child and several others got dropped like a hot potato in 4th.

I knew a teacher who was really exasperated about one of those 2E kids in her classroom who threw screaming fits frequently. The kind where the rest of the class had to leave while the child exploded screaming. And, the irony: the kid really wasn't that smart. The mom pushed for it.

I don’t even know where to start with this, but it sounds a whole lot like frustration that students with disabilities can also be gifted.

Sorry that challenges your belief in eugenics

Do you even know what that means? That had nothing to do with the comment.

But, if the teacher did not think the child was gifted, why do you think that? You do know that parents who complain and push frequently get their kids admitted.

This surely demonstrates your ignorance about the program. Parents can’t “push” their kids into it. They have to be selected by a committee.

DP. Wrong. At our center, parents who were friends with the principal asked the principal to place their kids in the AAP classes. It's called "principal placing" and pushy parents use it to their advantage all the time.

Then your school isn’t a center. That would be a local level IV school. Principals cannot pupil place kids into center AAP classes.

DP but yes they can to round out class sizes. Otherwise you could have huge differences in class sizes between AAP and General Ed. You just can't have an AAP class that is 35 kids or two that are 17 when the general ed classes are 25. They pull from general education to even out class sizes.

You are completely wrong. In a center school, principals cannot round out class sizes to their liking. They can only do this at a local level IV school. In fact, that’s why many kids choose the center school - the class cannot be padded with Gen Ed kids. All the kids are committee placed only.

Do you even know what the difference is between a center school and a local level IV school?

It depends on the school. Our base school is the center school and the teacher confirmed to me personally in the fall that around half the class was principal placed. There's another AAP class in the same grade that's entirely level IV. All of the classes in this grade have around the same number of students. If they had not done that, they would have needed another gen ed teacher.

It does not depend on the school. The teacher is uninformed or lying. Center placement is by committee only.

- Signed, ES Principal

Hey smarty, our base school IS the center school. I don't think the teacher has any motivation to lie about such things, and I also don't believe for a minute that 40% of the 2nd grade base kids at this school were centrally placed into the level IV classroom. The more logical answer is the teacher is correct, and it was done to even out classroom numbers and avoid having to find another gen ed teacher. I'm sure you're well aware there is a teacher shortage.

Name the school then. You are naive to think you have any inside scoop. Teachers lie to parents all the time to get them off their back.

DP. You are toxic and obnoxious. This happens all the time at center schools. It is clearly you who is either lying or terribly naive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One need only read these posts to know this program is toxic. The responses from the AAP parents provide a lot of the evidence.

Michelle Reid truly must be full of shit if she’s going to carry forward AAP and pretend to care about equity.

Race to the bottom is not the answer.

Of course not. No one is saying to get rid of advanced classes. But in no way should only certain kids have access to them when there are plenty of other kids who would do just fine and probably excel if given the opportunity.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s so sad is once a base kid moves into the AAP class, they lose all their friendships with the gen Ed kids because they literally never see them again.

This has been our experience at a school with an LLIV program. There are two regular classes and one AAP class. The girls in the 6th grade AAP class have cliqued up to the point where they even have their own sports teams in the local rec league. They stayed friends in 3rd, but my child and several others got dropped like a hot potato in 4th.

I knew a teacher who was really exasperated about one of those 2E kids in her classroom who threw screaming fits frequently. The kind where the rest of the class had to leave while the child exploded screaming. And, the irony: the kid really wasn't that smart. The mom pushed for it.

I don’t even know where to start with this, but it sounds a whole lot like frustration that students with disabilities can also be gifted.

Sorry that challenges your belief in eugenics

Do you even know what that means? That had nothing to do with the comment.

But, if the teacher did not think the child was gifted, why do you think that? You do know that parents who complain and push frequently get their kids admitted.

This surely demonstrates your ignorance about the program. Parents can’t “push” their kids into it. They have to be selected by a committee.

DP. Wrong. At our center, parents who were friends with the principal asked the principal to place their kids in the AAP classes. It's called "principal placing" and pushy parents use it to their advantage all the time.

Then your school isn’t a center. That would be a local level IV school. Principals cannot pupil place kids into center AAP classes.

DP but yes they can to round out class sizes. Otherwise you could have huge differences in class sizes between AAP and General Ed. You just can't have an AAP class that is 35 kids or two that are 17 when the general ed classes are 25. They pull from general education to even out class sizes.

You are completely wrong. In a center school, principals cannot round out class sizes to their liking. They can only do this at a local level IV school. In fact, that’s why many kids choose the center school - the class cannot be padded with Gen Ed kids. All the kids are committee placed only.

Do you even know what the difference is between a center school and a local level IV school?

DP. This is absolute BS. How do I know that? Because OUR CENTER SCHOOL does exactly this. Please stop lecturing others about the reality of their own schools - which you clearly know nothing about. It is YOU who is completely wrong.

Name your school. Only local level IV AAP schools can pupil place. Center schools cannot. You are clearly confused on what a center school actually is.

Question to you - how many AAP classes are at your school? How many schools does your “center” pull from to make their AAP classes?

Not PP, but again since you're obsessed with a name Canterbury Woods has done full time principal placement in the past. So there's no actual rule against this, contrary to your claim. That was the previous principal; I don't know that the current one still does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s so sad is once a base kid moves into the AAP class, they lose all their friendships with the gen Ed kids because they literally never see them again.

This has been our experience at a school with an LLIV program. There are two regular classes and one AAP class. The girls in the 6th grade AAP class have cliqued up to the point where they even have their own sports teams in the local rec league. They stayed friends in 3rd, but my child and several others got dropped like a hot potato in 4th.

I knew a teacher who was really exasperated about one of those 2E kids in her classroom who threw screaming fits frequently. The kind where the rest of the class had to leave while the child exploded screaming. And, the irony: the kid really wasn't that smart. The mom pushed for it.

I don’t even know where to start with this, but it sounds a whole lot like frustration that students with disabilities can also be gifted.

Sorry that challenges your belief in eugenics

Do you even know what that means? That had nothing to do with the comment.

But, if the teacher did not think the child was gifted, why do you think that? You do know that parents who complain and push frequently get their kids admitted.

This surely demonstrates your ignorance about the program. Parents can’t “push” their kids into it. They have to be selected by a committee.

DP. Wrong. At our center, parents who were friends with the principal asked the principal to place their kids in the AAP classes. It's called "principal placing" and pushy parents use it to their advantage all the time.

Then your school isn’t a center. That would be a local level IV school. Principals cannot pupil place kids into center AAP classes.

DP but yes they can to round out class sizes. Otherwise you could have huge differences in class sizes between AAP and General Ed. You just can't have an AAP class that is 35 kids or two that are 17 when the general ed classes are 25. They pull from general education to even out class sizes.

You are completely wrong. In a center school, principals cannot round out class sizes to their liking. They can only do this at a local level IV school. In fact, that’s why many kids choose the center school - the class cannot be padded with Gen Ed kids. All the kids are committee placed only.

Do you even know what the difference is between a center school and a local level IV school?

It depends on the school. Our base school is the center school and the teacher confirmed to me personally in the fall that around half the class was principal placed. There's another AAP class in the same grade that's entirely level IV. All of the classes in this grade have around the same number of students. If they had not done that, they would have needed another gen ed teacher.

It does not depend on the school. The teacher is uninformed or lying. Center placement is by committee only.

- Signed, ES Principal

Hey smarty, our base school IS the center school. I don't think the teacher has any motivation to lie about such things, and I also don't believe for a minute that 40% of the 2nd grade base kids at this school were centrally placed into the level IV classroom. The more logical answer is the teacher is correct, and it was done to even out classroom numbers and avoid having to find another gen ed teacher. I'm sure you're well aware there is a teacher shortage.

Name the school then. You are naive to think you have any inside scoop. Teachers lie to parents all the time to get them off their back.

I can't believe you're doubling down on this instead of admitting maybe you don't know what is going on at every single ES center around the county. It's hardly an "inside scoop" to figure out ~40% of last year's 2nd grade class was placed in a level IV classroom this year- yearbooks and publicly available class rosters do exist! And the teacher brought it up herself in a class email, discussing materials that might make good work samples for those applying this year for full time placement next year. I simply asked because my child is already centrally placed and for a moment after reading that, I thought perhaps they were not receiving services. So then it was explained the class is a mixture of level 3 and level 4 etc. Completely plausable. It doesn't bother me; I actually prefer this set up personally. I'm not going to say the school as I really like the principal and the teacher; I have no interest in "outing" them here for you to go tattle on them.

+100
Not going to name our school either as the idiot PP will just argue that I'm somehow confused, naive, or lying. Meanwhile, our principal places kids every single year into AAP classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s so sad is once a base kid moves into the AAP class, they lose all their friendships with the gen Ed kids because they literally never see them again.

This has been our experience at a school with an LLIV program. There are two regular classes and one AAP class. The girls in the 6th grade AAP class have cliqued up to the point where they even have their own sports teams in the local rec league. They stayed friends in 3rd, but my child and several others got dropped like a hot potato in 4th.

I knew a teacher who was really exasperated about one of those 2E kids in her classroom who threw screaming fits frequently. The kind where the rest of the class had to leave while the child exploded screaming. And, the irony: the kid really wasn't that smart. The mom pushed for it.

I don’t even know where to start with this, but it sounds a whole lot like frustration that students with disabilities can also be gifted.

Sorry that challenges your belief in eugenics

Do you even know what that means? That had nothing to do with the comment.

But, if the teacher did not think the child was gifted, why do you think that? You do know that parents who complain and push frequently get their kids admitted.

This surely demonstrates your ignorance about the program. Parents can’t “push” their kids into it. They have to be selected by a committee.

DP. Wrong. At our center, parents who were friends with the principal asked the principal to place their kids in the AAP classes. It's called "principal placing" and pushy parents use it to their advantage all the time.

Then your school isn’t a center. That would be a local level IV school. Principals cannot pupil place kids into center AAP classes.

DP but yes they can to round out class sizes. Otherwise you could have huge differences in class sizes between AAP and General Ed. You just can't have an AAP class that is 35 kids or two that are 17 when the general ed classes are 25. They pull from general education to even out class sizes.

You are completely wrong. In a center school, principals cannot round out class sizes to their liking. They can only do this at a local level IV school. In fact, that’s why many kids choose the center school - the class cannot be padded with Gen Ed kids. All the kids are committee placed only.

Do you even know what the difference is between a center school and a local level IV school?

Also - "padded with Gen Ed kids"?? Do you even hear yourself? So it's perfectly ok for Gen Ed classes to be "padded with SPED kids," but those AAP kids somehow deserve to have classes all to themselves? Honestly, the more I read this thread, the more I sincerely hope FCPS gets a clue and does away with center schools. Unreal.

Ah but if the center kids come back to your school, it will bump those non deserving gen ed kids from those level IV spots. No way are AAP parents going to be forced into local level IV AND have the Gen Ed padding the class.

Which is exactly why AAP/LLIV needs to end and flexible groupings for all - to include advanced groupings - in all core subjects needs to be the new norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some kids got into AAP and some did not. The friends did change after that. Plus, the AAP kids make comments that they are brighter than the others. The separation and chip on the shoulder carried into sports, scouts, and orchestra.

Yep. It was so noticeable in our scouting troop. The kids had all been one big bunch of friends until AAP came along. Then the AAP kids very clearly acted condescending toward the Gen Ed scouts. It was such a blatant change, everyone noticed. The whole division labeling of kids poisons every other aspect of school.

[Anonymous]

Are AAP parents a little pompous? Sure, it's human nature to be 1) proud of your kid; 2) relieved for an advanced placement; 3) a little braggy.

But GenEd parents aren't innocent here. The sole reason they detest the program is that their child wasn't selected. Not a single one would be screaming about its supposed injustice if their child had been admitted. The jealousy they exude is equal to - and even more toxic than - the AAP parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are AAP parents a little pompous? Sure, it's human nature to be 1) proud of your kid; 2) relieved for an advanced placement; 3) a little braggy.

But GenEd parents aren't innocent here. The sole reason they detest the program is that their child wasn't selected. Not a single one would be screaming about its supposed injustice if their child had been admitted. The jealousy they exude is equal to - and even more toxic than - the AAP parents.

Actually, I removed my DD from consideration for the GT center when it was still GT. She made the pool. I wanted her to stay at our base school--which is considered a good one and was not a center when we had GT centers. Would she have been selected? Maybe not, but in high school she surpassed most of those who did choose the center.

Smart is smart. She had good teachers who challenged her. I think a lot of people do not realize the jump in academics from 2nd to 3rd grade.

One thing DD observed--some of the center kids were extremely disappointed to not get selected for TJ. She thinks it really affected them. Their self esteem depended on being smarter than others. Turns out, some were smarter than they were.