Gifted kid - APS, FCPS, or Nysmith?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I do think the point is that the school does the kids no favors by making them announce themselves as being from”Nysmith School for the Gifted” at every opportunity, rather than just having them say they are from Nysmith and letting the winds (or lack thereof) speak for themselves. Since the kids all do this— at debate and OOTM and Math contests, etc, I assume it’s what the school tells them to do, not their choice. So, that’s not on the kids. That’s on the school. But it is obnoxious.

+1 I have nothing at all against Nysmith, but the petty side of me enjoys it when my kids beat the Nysmith "School for the Gifted" kids at academic competitions. If they simply called their school Nysmith, there would be so much less animosity.

Parent at Nysmith and honestly that gifted part drives most Nysmith parents crazy too. Ken Nysmith the head of the school thinks it is great but it is not and he is a marketing machine. It is a great environment and the parent community is simply awesome. Most of the kids are exceptionally bright, works hard and just good kids. Are all of them gifted? No, are there some truly gifted, absolutely yes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I do think the point is that the school does the kids no favors by making them announce themselves as being from”Nysmith School for the Gifted” at every opportunity, rather than just having them say they are from Nysmith and letting the winds (or lack thereof) speak for themselves. Since the kids all do this— at debate and OOTM and Math contests, etc, I assume it’s what the school tells them to do, not their choice. So, that’s not on the kids. That’s on the school. But it is obnoxious.

+1 I have nothing at all against Nysmith, but the petty side of me enjoys it when my kids beat the Nysmith "School for the Gifted" kids at academic competitions. If they simply called their school Nysmith, there would be so much less animosity.

It’s especially silly when the kid saying this is clearly not gifted. My AAP MS kid does academic competition where one of the Nysmith competitors wmt to his elementary school, but didn’t get into AAP. He then applied to Flint Hill and Nysmith and did not get into FH for some reason, so went to Nysmith. So, this kid *who got rejected by AAP, which isn’t even really a GT program* announces at the beginning of every round that he is John Doe representing “Nysmith School for the Gifted”. I actually feel bad for the kid. There he is competing against his former classmates (and ultimately losing much more often than winning), and he he is just drawing attention, again, and again, to the fact he is an AAP reject. I know the school has an interest in selling itself as having only gifted kids. But I have never understood why Nysmith parents don’t put a stop to it. A lot of these kids just aren’t gifted and look silly pronouncing that they are. And even if a student has a 180 IQ, bragging is in really, really bad taste.

My oldest is at TJ, and when they compete— in academics, athletics or perform in drama or music, they just say “Jefferson High School” or “Thomas Jefferson High School”. And maybe they call themselves TJ informally. They literally never do the full “Thomas Jefferson High School for...” spiel or say “TJHSST” if there is a way around it.

**** Also, writing this made me think of something for the first time. Why would a kid get into a Nysmith and not Flint Hill? I was under the impression that at the ES level, neither was all that competitive to get into, and that most UMC kids are admitted unless there are problems. In other words you don’t have stand out in a positive wayto get into these school, you just can’t stand out in a negative way. Is that not the case? This was a perfectly nice, normal UMC white kid.

Anecdote is not Statistics. I bet your TJ kid knows this and I hope you ask him or her.

[Anonymous]

It seems like a few parents are really bothered that some children go to private school. Private schools, gated communities, first class on airlines, luxury cars, etc., etc., etc. are all a choice. If they are not your choice, then why do they bother so much if other people choose them. Be pleased with your choice. Look on the bright side, if all the private school children went to public school, public schools would be even more crowded and class sizes would be even bigger than they are now. Also, public schools would have fewer dollars to budget per student as well.

[Anonymous]

Boy that shut the public school parents up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I do think the point is that the school does the kids no favors by making them announce themselves as being from”Nysmith School for the Gifted” at every opportunity, rather than just having them say they are from Nysmith and letting the winds (or lack thereof) speak for themselves. Since the kids all do this— at debate and OOTM and Math contests, etc, I assume it’s what the school tells them to do, not their choice. So, that’s not on the kids. That’s on the school. But it is obnoxious.

+1 I have nothing at all against Nysmith, but the petty side of me enjoys it when my kids beat the Nysmith "School for the Gifted" kids at academic competitions. If they simply called their school Nysmith, there would be so much less animosity.

It’s especially silly when the kid saying this is clearly not gifted. My AAP MS kid does academic competition where one of the Nysmith competitors wmt to his elementary school, but didn’t get into AAP. He then applied to Flint Hill and Nysmith and did not get into FH for some reason, so went to Nysmith. So, this kid *who got rejected by AAP, which isn’t even really a GT program* announces at the beginning of every round that he is John Doe representing “Nysmith School for the Gifted”. I actually feel bad for the kid. There he is competing against his former classmates (and ultimately losing much more often than winning), and he he is just drawing attention, again, and again, to the fact he is an AAP reject. I know the school has an interest in selling itself as having only gifted kids. But I have never understood why Nysmith parents don’t put a stop to it. A lot of these kids just aren’t gifted and look silly pronouncing that they are. And even if a student has a 180 IQ, bragging is in really, really bad taste.

My oldest is at TJ, and when they compete— in academics, athletics or perform in drama or music, they just say “Jefferson High School” or “Thomas Jefferson High School”. And maybe they call themselves TJ informally. They literally never do the full “Thomas Jefferson High School for...” spiel or say “TJHSST” if there is a way around it.

**** Also, writing this made me think of something for the first time. Why would a kid get into a Nysmith and not Flint Hill? I was under the impression that at the ES level, neither was all that competitive to get into, and that most UMC kids are admitted unless there are problems. In other words you don’t have stand out in a positive wayto get into these school, you just can’t stand out in a negative way. Is that not the case? This was a perfectly nice, normal UMC white kid.

It is yet another myth on DCUM that everyone is accepted at Flint Hill school. Not true. FHS has plenty of applicants that get rejected.

[Anonymous]

My two kids were in AAP, one had Cogat of 144, the other is high 130s. Both kids now in Nysmith. I don't understand the hate in this board on the school. I don't care about the name of the school and I am sure not all kids are highly gifted in Nysmith. But I regret not moving them to Nysmith sooner. Language Arts is where AAP is behind. Many Nysmith kids are also ahead in terms of Math. And Science. Most of all, my kids keep telling me learning is more fun in Nysmith.

The real difference though is the competitiveness of the families. The AAP my kids were in have kids started outside tutoring since kindergarten. They openly prepped for NNAT, Cogat, then IOWA, then AOPS/math olympiad/science olympiad, and of course TJ. My kids asked to have them enrolled in Kumon and Sunshine Academy, because this was what their classmates were doing. Nysmith's families are more relax because they feel that the school is doing enough to push for academics. This explains why in competitions such as SO, Nysmith kids may come across more "naive" and "sheltered". This has nothing to do with their ability, but how prepared/pushy their parents are.

TJ changed the admission test last year, which leveled the playing field for kids that do not prep since kindergarten. Last year, 44% of Nysmith's kids that took the test were admitted. This is quite telling regarding the quality of education at Nysmith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My two kids were in AAP, one had Cogat of 144, the other is high 130s. Both kids now in Nysmith. I don't understand the hate in this board on the school. I don't care about the name of the school and I am sure not all kids are highly gifted in Nysmith. But I regret not moving them to Nysmith sooner. Language Arts is where AAP is behind. Many Nysmith kids are also ahead in terms of Math. And Science. Most of all, my kids keep telling me learning is more fun in Nysmith.

How big are the classes at Nysmith? AAP isn't working well for my kids, largely because the classes are overcrowded and too chaotic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My two kids were in AAP, one had Cogat of 144, the other is high 130s. Both kids now in Nysmith. I don't understand the hate in this board on the school. I don't care about the name of the school and I am sure not all kids are highly gifted in Nysmith. But I regret not moving them to Nysmith sooner. Language Arts is where AAP is behind. Many Nysmith kids are also ahead in terms of Math. And Science. Most of all, my kids keep telling me learning is more fun in Nysmith.

How big are the classes at Nysmith? AAP isn't working well for my kids, largely because the classes are overcrowded and too chaotic.

FWIW, a kid is there this year from my kids' public school. He was middle/bottom of the class in terms of academics. He applied to 8 schools and it was the only place he was accepted. Seems like it's trying to be more exclusive than it is -- though I wish him and his family the best there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My two kids were in AAP, one had Cogat of 144, the other is high 130s. Both kids now in Nysmith. I don't understand the hate in this board on the school. I don't care about the name of the school and I am sure not all kids are highly gifted in Nysmith. But I regret not moving them to Nysmith sooner. Language Arts is where AAP is behind. Many Nysmith kids are also ahead in terms of Math. And Science. Most of all, my kids keep telling me learning is more fun in Nysmith.

How big are the classes at Nysmith? AAP isn't working well for my kids, largely because the classes are overcrowded and too chaotic.

Less than 20 with 2 teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

TJ changed the admission test last year, which leveled the playing field for kids that do not prep since kindergarten. Last year, 44% of Nysmith's kids that took the test were admitted. This is quite telling regarding the quality of education at Nysmith.

Actually, it probably says something about the academic quality of the kids and likely says nothing about the quality of education.

Of course, I had a higher TJ admissions rate out of my house. Maybe that does say something about my after school "just ignore the thumbscrews" education I gave my kids.

[Anonymous]

wow, Nysmith admissions must be hungry for applicants, to bump this thread up.


We live in the same general area as Nysmith and my kids' AAP classes are not as pp described. Its a no homework school and I don't know of any kids who do Kumon or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP has changed from what it once was. Primarily it was a gifted program with requirements to get in. Today it is not for the gifted, but rather the high achieving. No IQ test is required for entry. People who have gifted children understand the differing needs of a gifted child vs one who gets good grades at school because they try hard. FCPS has moved to a holistic approach to AAP admission. There are no set guidelines for entry. Your child’s teacher”s opinion weighs heavily on whether or not your child is found eligible. As a result, a large number of AAP students are not gifted, per se, according to an IQ rest. On the flip side, there are gifted children who are not getting in to AAP with the new FCPS system. Your child with an IQ of 150 has no guarantee of getting in. The system is not standardized . Nysmith is a good place for kids who are gifted who did not impress their teacher and therefore did not get in to AAP. Keep an open mind when deciding where to live as there is no rhyme or reason as to who gets in and who doesn’t . Don’t rely on it.

That’s troubling to hear. How have these changes affected kids who are gifted? If an AAP is full,of kids who aren’t gifted but try hard, it seems that it would become less able to offer differentiation that meets the needs of gifted kids.

The PP is incorrect, most years students need a 131-133 on the CogAt to be in the pool. Parents do fill out forms to have their child considered if they fall below that line, but unless the teacher has a very strong recommendation, they still need a score of 130or so on another test like the WISC. When Fairfax decided to do its own version of the CogAt because of remapnt cheating, there was a bubble group year where more were accepted because there was quite a bit of leeway.

My child was denied with a 135 WISC, FYI . . .

Really? Where did you get it done? What were the sub scores? I have a hard time understanding that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nysmith is where the AAP rejects go

My kid got into AAP. Still at Nysmith. We wish we could find a reason to leave as the tuition is so expensive, but we cannot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP has changed from what it once was. Primarily it was a gifted program with requirements to get in. Today it is not for the gifted, but rather the high achieving. No IQ test is required for entry. People who have gifted children understand the differing needs of a gifted child vs one who gets good grades at school because they try hard. FCPS has moved to a holistic approach to AAP admission. There are no set guidelines for entry. Your child’s teacher”s opinion weighs heavily on whether or not your child is found eligible. As a result, a large number of AAP students are not gifted, per se, according to an IQ rest. On the flip side, there are gifted children who are not getting in to AAP with the new FCPS system. Your child with an IQ of 150 has no guarantee of getting in. The system is not standardized . Nysmith is a good place for kids who are gifted who did not impress their teacher and therefore did not get in to AAP. Keep an open mind when deciding where to live as there is no rhyme or reason as to who gets in and who doesn’t . Don’t rely on it.

This exactly. Well said.

[Anonymous]

I know Nysmith well. And I know FCPS well. In fact, I’ve taught programs at both as well as several private schools in the past and have worked with students from both. Truthfully, there is nothing more gifted in Nysmith kids or any other private school than AAP kids at FCPS.

I’m sure they are kids with very high IQs in either place. The difference is, the private schools come with a much higher price tag. My own child has a top 1% IQ and is thriving in AAP.

I will, however, comment that I found kids in public school AAP WAY better behaved vs private. The private school kids were often very disrespectful of authority because they don’t get disciplined enough due to parents easily being able to talk their way out of things. And frankly, the schools don’t want to lose their rich kids so they get away with much more.

I’m sure there are pros and cons to both. I would say give AAP a shot. If it’s not working out, move. Also I do know that they send higher levels kids to upper grades if needed. For example, sending 5th grade math wizards to 6th grade for math etc. So there are opportunities to get what they need.

The AAP kids, on the other hand, are much nicer, bully less, and more respectful.