Those of you with kids in both AAP and gen ed...

[Anonymous]

^^ +1 Especially if your school is Title 1. There are no expectations anymore.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is my fear. That my child will be completely neglected in gen ed. But she doesn’t realistically belong in full time AAP either. Are you supplementing?

Yes she does.
Trust me. In the current model, of your child will be high-performing in gen ed, she will get a muuuuuuuch better education and much more attention from the teacher if she is in AAP instead of remaining in the gen ed class twiddling her thumbs as the teacher focuses all his/her time on assisting students who are 2-3 grades below benchmark.
The spectrum is very, very wide in the typical gen ed classroom, as opposed to when we were kids, OP. If your child can do the work, but it will maybe be a bit of a struggle for her, you won’t regret pushing to get her into it

Sorry, no. Those 2-3 below benchmark kids will be pulled out for enrichment/extra work. The variety in the "gen ed" is actually not quite as wide as you suggest. At least it wasn't in our school. AAP may offer some additional curriculum, mostly in math, but by MS and HS it doesn't really matter. My kid killed MS honors math and is set up for an advance HS track. She was a "gen ed" kid. There many like her, too.

As a teacher I can tell you this varies. Widely. It’s excellent that your child was able to thrive in gen ed. when it sounds like she could have functioned quite nicely alongside the AAP-identified students. In your case, it didn’t seem to be a detriment to her overall advancement through the system. That is not always the way it goes. I usually advocate for kids on the bubble to get pushed into AAP in elementary because I do believe the research that suggests that kids —even the ones performing at the higher levels—benefit from that scenario.

So then you admit it is not a gifted program. It's just a way to segregate any high-performing kid from the miscreants? Got it.

No, it is a program for kids who are ahead of their peers and deserve to be challenged in school. Just like SPED is a program for kids who have some issues that make it harder for them to learn and need to be supported. Different needs for different kids. I understand that many people think that it is a waste to provide services for kids who are ahead of the learning curve but those kids should be provided an opportunity to learn at their pace. AAP removes the pressure for the Gen Ed Teacher to work with another group of kids, which gives the Gen Ed Teacher more time to work with the kids who are struggling and on grade level.

My son would have moved from one school that serves kids that are middle to upper middle class to a Center that serves kids that are middle to upper middle class. No one at our school is worried about "miscreants." His favorite classes at school are his language, Level III, and Advanced Math. Why? They challenge him. He enjoys the other subjects but finishes the work easily and early and does the extra work on his own.

I don't understand the people who think that kids who are ahead should just sit around in the classroom and twiddle their thumbs, or work independently, while the Teacher focuses on the kids who are struggling and the kids on grade level.

Plenty of kids who are in Gen Ed will take AP and IB classes and go on to great colleges. AAP is not the end all and be all. The kids who are ahead benefit from AAP because they stay engaged in school, which is good for the kids.

Have you not read this whole thread? I don’t think people are arguing against a gifted program. They are saying that there’s very little distinction between some bright gen ed kids and many AAP kids. All kids deserve to be challenged not just AAP kids. That is the problem. Many kids who don’t make the cut are left behind to linger in a gen ed classroom.

^

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is my fear. That my child will be completely neglected in gen ed. But she doesn’t realistically belong in full time AAP either. Are you supplementing?

Yes she does.
Trust me. In the current model, of your child will be high-performing in gen ed, she will get a muuuuuuuch better education and much more attention from the teacher if she is in AAP instead of remaining in the gen ed class twiddling her thumbs as the teacher focuses all his/her time on assisting students who are 2-3 grades below benchmark.
The spectrum is very, very wide in the typical gen ed classroom, as opposed to when we were kids, OP. If your child can do the work, but it will maybe be a bit of a struggle for her, you won’t regret pushing to get her into it

Sorry, no. Those 2-3 below benchmark kids will be pulled out for enrichment/extra work. The variety in the "gen ed" is actually not quite as wide as you suggest. At least it wasn't in our school. AAP may offer some additional curriculum, mostly in math, but by MS and HS it doesn't really matter. My kid killed MS honors math and is set up for an advance HS track. She was a "gen ed" kid. There many like her, too.

As a teacher I can tell you this varies. Widely. It’s excellent that your child was able to thrive in gen ed. when it sounds like she could have functioned quite nicely alongside the AAP-identified students. In your case, it didn’t seem to be a detriment to her overall advancement through the system. That is not always the way it goes. I usually advocate for kids on the bubble to get pushed into AAP in elementary because I do believe the research that suggests that kids —even the ones performing at the higher levels—benefit from that scenario.

So then you admit it is not a gifted program. It's just a way to segregate any high-performing kid from the miscreants? Got it.

No, it is a program for kids who are ahead of their peers and deserve to be challenged in school. Just like SPED is a program for kids who have some issues that make it harder for them to learn and need to be supported. Different needs for different kids. I understand that many people think that it is a waste to provide services for kids who are ahead of the learning curve but those kids should be provided an opportunity to learn at their pace. AAP removes the pressure for the Gen Ed Teacher to work with another group of kids, which gives the Gen Ed Teacher more time to work with the kids who are struggling and on grade level.

My son would have moved from one school that serves kids that are middle to upper middle class to a Center that serves kids that are middle to upper middle class. No one at our school is worried about "miscreants." His favorite classes at school are his language, Level III, and Advanced Math. Why? They challenge him. He enjoys the other subjects but finishes the work easily and early and does the extra work on his own.

I don't understand the people who think that kids who are ahead should just sit around in the classroom and twiddle their thumbs, or work independently, while the Teacher focuses on the kids who are struggling and the kids on grade level.

Plenty of kids who are in Gen Ed will take AP and IB classes and go on to great colleges. AAP is not the end all and be all. The kids who are ahead benefit from AAP because they stay engaged in school, which is good for the kids.

My kid was not AAP by choice. DC could have but really did not want to for a variety of reasons. Between pull outs, and other enrichment, the bolded simply did not occur at our school.

DC and I were just talking about this today. The "track" for non-AAP but advanced pull-out occurred in 4th grade and was not re-evaluated the remainder of ES. One could move down but not up, which pissed me off to no end given DCs grades and SOLs in math. But, did not make a big stink. DC got a solid foundation, had lots of confidence going into MS honors, and killed MS HN math, and on an advanced track in HS. It all worked out, through a course of our choice and the ES dumb tracking decisions, without AAP. And DC wasn't sitting around doing nothing at any time, as this PP suggests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is my fear. That my child will be completely neglected in gen ed. But she doesn’t realistically belong in full time AAP either. Are you supplementing?

Yes she does.
Trust me. In the current model, of your child will be high-performing in gen ed, she will get a muuuuuuuch better education and much more attention from the teacher if she is in AAP instead of remaining in the gen ed class twiddling her thumbs as the teacher focuses all his/her time on assisting students who are 2-3 grades below benchmark.
The spectrum is very, very wide in the typical gen ed classroom, as opposed to when we were kids, OP. If your child can do the work, but it will maybe be a bit of a struggle for her, you won’t regret pushing to get her into it

Sorry, no. Those 2-3 below benchmark kids will be pulled out for enrichment/extra work. The variety in the "gen ed" is actually not quite as wide as you suggest. At least it wasn't in our school. AAP may offer some additional curriculum, mostly in math, but by MS and HS it doesn't really matter. My kid killed MS honors math and is set up for an advance HS track. She was a "gen ed" kid. There many like her, too.

As a teacher I can tell you this varies. Widely. It’s excellent that your child was able to thrive in gen ed. when it sounds like she could have functioned quite nicely alongside the AAP-identified students. In your case, it didn’t seem to be a detriment to her overall advancement through the system. That is not always the way it goes. I usually advocate for kids on the bubble to get pushed into AAP in elementary because I do believe the research that suggests that kids —even the ones performing at the higher levels—benefit from that scenario.

So then you admit it is not a gifted program. It's just a way to segregate any high-performing kid from the miscreants? Got it.

No, it is a program for kids who are ahead of their peers and deserve to be challenged in school. Just like SPED is a program for kids who have some issues that make it harder for them to learn and need to be supported. Different needs for different kids. I understand that many people think that it is a waste to provide services for kids who are ahead of the learning curve but those kids should be provided an opportunity to learn at their pace. AAP removes the pressure for the Gen Ed Teacher to work with another group of kids, which gives the Gen Ed Teacher more time to work with the kids who are struggling and on grade level.

My son would have moved from one school that serves kids that are middle to upper middle class to a Center that serves kids that are middle to upper middle class. No one at our school is worried about "miscreants." His favorite classes at school are his language, Level III, and Advanced Math. Why? They challenge him. He enjoys the other subjects but finishes the work easily and early and does the extra work on his own.

I don't understand the people who think that kids who are ahead should just sit around in the classroom and twiddle their thumbs, or work independently, while the Teacher focuses on the kids who are struggling and the kids on grade level.

Plenty of kids who are in Gen Ed will take AP and IB classes and go on to great colleges. AAP is not the end all and be all. The kids who are ahead benefit from AAP because they stay engaged in school, which is good for the kids.

Have you not read this whole thread? I don’t think people are arguing against a gifted program. They are saying that there’s very little distinction between some bright gen ed kids and many AAP kids. All kids deserve to be challenged not just AAP kids. That is the problem. Many kids who don’t make the cut are left behind to linger in a gen ed classroom.

^

DP. If you’re still around OP this poster just made the case for keeping your daughter in AAP. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, we just moved here and my kid will be entering rocky run next year in gen Ed. She does struggle a little in school, needs extra help and even has an IEP because of her adhd. But she isn’t stupid. She is just average albeit creative. We moved here for the schools, is she just going to get a crap education in general Ed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, we just moved here and my kid will be entering rocky run next year in gen Ed. She does struggle a little in school, needs extra help and even has an IEP because of her adhd. But she isn’t stupid. She is just average albeit creative. We moved here for the schools, is she just going to get a crap education in general Ed?

FCPS has good schools, especially middle school and high school. Your DD will get a good education.

Keep in mind, the people who are posting are the complainers. The satisfied and happy parents aren't posting here. Only the dissatisfied parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, we just moved here and my kid will be entering rocky run next year in gen Ed. She does struggle a little in school, needs extra help and even has an IEP because of her adhd. But she isn’t stupid. She is just average albeit creative. We moved here for the schools, is she just going to get a crap education in general Ed?

No. RRMS is a great school with a rockstar principal and IME most of the staff are excellent. The building is newly renovated and there are plenty of interesting electives that your DD will probably really enjoy. She will be fine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, we just moved here and my kid will be entering rocky run next year in gen Ed. She does struggle a little in school, needs extra help and even has an IEP because of her adhd. But she isn’t stupid. She is just average albeit creative. We moved here for the schools, is she just going to get a crap education in general Ed?

FCPS has good schools, especially middle school and high school. Your DD will get a good education.

Keep in mind, the people who are posting are the complainers. The satisfied and happy parents aren't posting here. Only the dissatisfied parents.

DP. And I think most posters here are talking about elementary. The difference between AAP and Honors classes in middle school is nearly negligible at most schools, apart from maybe a select few. For all of the issues FCPS has teaching elementary, they actually do middle and high school well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, we just moved here and my kid will be entering rocky run next year in gen Ed. She does struggle a little in school, needs extra help and even has an IEP because of her adhd. But she isn’t stupid. She is just average albeit creative. We moved here for the schools, is she just going to get a crap education in general Ed?

She will do just fine and receive a solid education. Parents want the best for their kids and everyone is advocating for their kids. Last summer at the pool a group of parents were talking about school. One was bemoaning that there were not enough services for her kid with an IEP, another was complaining that the average kids get nothing, and a third was complaining that their advanced kid did not get enough attention. When asked, the mom with the kid with an IEP said that her kid was getting mainly 3s and 4s and received regular pull outs, the mom of the average kid said her child was doing well and seemed engaged but she wanted more reading group time for her kid, and the mom of the advanced kid discussed the extra worksheets her kid was getting. It sounded to me as if all three moms wanted their kid to have more time in order to do more with the Teacher, which I think is common.

There are parents whose kids are on the cusp of being in one group or another, the kids who are a bit ahead in reading or math but not quite far enough to be put in Level III pull outs or Advanced Math. So the math in Gen Ed or LA is moving a bit too slow for them but they would struggle in the next group up. The parents want their kid moved into the more advanced group but the Teachers seem to think that it will be a struggle for the kid. Or their kid is working hard and needs support but is still struggling and the Parents want more done because they want their kid on grade level and mainstreamed.

Honors classes are available in Middle School and AP/IB as well as Honors classes in High School so Parents and Kids have more room to move their kids were they think the kid belongs. There is less freedom of class assignment in ES and that seems to cause some consternation as parents don't always agree with the schools assessment of their child's abilities.

[Anonymous]

PP who just moved here. Thank you all, feel a little better. Whew.

[Anonymous]

You have parents fretting about their first graders to make sure they get into AAP. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/974827.page
I would have seriously considered non FCPS schools if I knew about this whole process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have parents fretting about their first graders to make sure they get into AAP. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/974827.page
I would have seriously considered non FCPS schools if I knew about this whole process.

It's a big school district. It's literally huge. Most parents aren't worrying about AAP in 1st grade. Keep some perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have parents fretting about their first graders to make sure they get into AAP. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/974827.page
I would have seriously considered non FCPS schools if I knew about this whole process.

It's a big school district. It's literally huge. Most parents aren't worrying about AAP in 1st grade. Keep some perspective.

Most parents are not worried about AAP at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have parents fretting about their first graders to make sure they get into AAP. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/974827.page
I would have seriously considered non FCPS schools if I knew about this whole process.

It's a big school district. It's literally huge. Most parents aren't worrying about AAP in 1st grade. Keep some perspective.

Most parents are not worried about AAP at all.

This. If it’s a big thing at our school, I’m oblivious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have parents fretting about their first graders to make sure they get into AAP. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/974827.page
I would have seriously considered non FCPS schools if I knew about this whole process.

It's a big school district. It's literally huge. Most parents aren't worrying about AAP in 1st grade. Keep some perspective.

Most parents are not worried about AAP at all.

This. If it’s a big thing at our school, I’m oblivious.

TBH-Reading DCUM would make one believe otherwise.