AAP school experience

[Anonymous]

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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?

You sound ridiculous when you talk about “kids” choosing centers. The parents typically make the decision.

Or do you think a lot of second graders really worry about being in a LLIV classroom at a non-center school where some kids may have been principal-placed?

“Oh, mommy, I must go to Mantua to avoid having a Gen Ed kid who may stunt my intellectual development in my class!”

With a kid getting ready to apply to college, you will see a big difference between all the kids. This disappointment in second grade is just one of many. I always tell my kids not to feel bad for failing. It teaches them grit.

Blaming parents of kids sending their kids to an AAP center is not the answer. You hear similar type complaints and jealous comments when Johnny gets in T10 while Bobby is going to XYZ state school. Lots of comments about Johnny is a legacy or his parents set him up with this internship or that. It is tiring. I don’t participate.

DP. Analogy fail. That has nothing to do with FCPS allowing certain kids to choose "special" schools if they score well enough on a test. Especially the FCPS that is constantly braying about "equity."

Shrug. The complaining sounds the same to me. Kid doesn’t make the baseball team or tennis team or basketball team complaining. An AAP center isn’t special. I actually like that kids in fcps can switch schools for sped, AAP, Spanish immersion, French immersion, etc. My kids didn’t have to switch because our base was a center and my kids’ needs were always served at our schools.

Some kids go to special schools to allow them to play more tennis, gymnastics, football…

There is nothing wrong with being average or being in gen ed. Most people are average. To me, the complaining all sounds the same whether it is about sports, AAP, TJ, college, med school, law school, internships, jobs.

Except most kids in AAP are average. I have been teaching AAP for the last 10 years. I usually have 1-3 TRULY gifted kids each year. There are many SMART kids but not truly gifted. Many of these SMART kids don’t want to put the effort in so their performance is average. I have a handful each year who struggle and I question how they were even selected. They have also continuously dumbed down the curriculum since I started.

If AAP is not a truly gifted program, then it should be taught at the base school.

I say this as an AAP teacher. Centers will be on the chopping block most likely during boundary adjustments.

[Anonymous]

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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.*

No it does not. You’re obviously a Gen Ed parent who has a beef with AAP. Go to the AAP board. There are so many posts over the years explaining that principal placement is only possible at local level IV schools.

There are Centers that Principal Place, probably ones where there are fewer kids transferring and the classes allowing for it.

The parents at Title 1 schools and High SES schools seem to be the schools with parents most desperate to get their kids into AAP. The Title 1 schools I understand, the high SES schools strike me as more prestige driven. The angst over local norms and planning of appeals before announcements are made is so, so high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those of you incorrectly insisting center schools don’t principal place clearly have no clue. Kids are PP every.single.year at our center school. You sound idiotic making blanket statements about schools your kids don’t even attend.

How would you know unless the parent themselves told you their child was principal placed?

[Anonymous]

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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?

You sound ridiculous when you talk about “kids” choosing centers. The parents typically make the decision.

Or do you think a lot of second graders really worry about being in a LLIV classroom at a non-center school where some kids may have been principal-placed?

“Oh, mommy, I must go to Mantua to avoid having a Gen Ed kid who may stunt my intellectual development in my class!”

With a kid getting ready to apply to college, you will see a big difference between all the kids. This disappointment in second grade is just one of many. I always tell my kids not to feel bad for failing. It teaches them grit.

Blaming parents of kids sending their kids to an AAP center is not the answer. You hear similar type complaints and jealous comments when Johnny gets in T10 while Bobby is going to XYZ state school. Lots of comments about Johnny is a legacy or his parents set him up with this internship or that. It is tiring. I don’t participate.

DP. Analogy fail. That has nothing to do with FCPS allowing certain kids to choose "special" schools if they score well enough on a test. Especially the FCPS that is constantly braying about "equity."

Shrug. The complaining sounds the same to me. Kid doesn’t make the baseball team or tennis team or basketball team complaining. An AAP center isn’t special. I actually like that kids in fcps can switch schools for sped, AAP, Spanish immersion, French immersion, etc. My kids didn’t have to switch because our base was a center and my kids’ needs were always served at our schools.

Some kids go to special schools to allow them to play more tennis, gymnastics, football…

There is nothing wrong with being average or being in gen ed. Most people are average. To me, the complaining all sounds the same whether it is about sports, AAP, TJ, college, med school, law school, internships, jobs.

Except most kids in AAP are average. I have been teaching AAP for the last 10 years. I usually have 1-3 TRULY gifted kids each year. There are many SMART kids but not truly gifted. Many of these SMART kids don’t want to put the effort in so their performance is average. I have a handful each year who struggle and I question how they were even selected. They have also continuously dumbed down the curriculum since I started.

If AAP is not a truly gifted program, then it should be taught at the base school.

I say this as an AAP teacher. Centers will be on the chopping block most likely during boundary adjustments.

I don’t disagree with you. The bar for AAP is not even very high. Like you said, most kids are smart and not gifted. These people who are complaining have kids who did not test well enough or did not get in for other reason. No one thinks AAP is a gifted program. It is advanced academics.

If your kid isn’t top 20-30% of your school and isn’t in AAP, there is no reason to try to get rid of the program. I don’t see a reason to label these kids either. Ever since local AAP was implemented, our center gets very few kids from other schools. Our school doesn’t even feel like an AAP center anymore. My kids are older but when they were in AAP at our center, the academic extracurriculars were robust and I was impressed with all the science, math, chess, literature teams there were. Without the large number of these kids (and parents), it feels like a normal elementary school now. We can’t get enough volunteers to do science Olympiad. A lot of the clubs and teams no longer exist. Getting rid of AAP centers or making them get few or no students from their feeder schools is not great either. People still seem to be complaining even after AAP has allowed more kids from title 1 and other equity tactics.

[Anonymous]

Pp again. Our center school lost many families to private school during Covid. We lost almost all the families who would send their kids to our school for the AAP center. Our school is basically not an AAP center anymore and families are still upset like OP when about 1/3 of the school gets into AAP and the kids who don’t get in feel bad about it.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:In my experience, it's parents of the gen ed kids who cause the most strife. They pass their jealousy off to their kids, which is nonsense if AAP is the lousy program they claim it is. If that were true, why would it matter what class your kid was in?

Oh, please. When your kid comes home from school in tears because all of their friends told them they just "weren't smart enough" to join them in AAP, get back to us. I never said anything at all to my DC about AAP, other than to reassure them after being hurt by these obnoxious kids.

Calling them “obnoxious“ really bolsters your argument that you’re not jealous.

DP but gee, I wonder where these children are getting their "we're better than you" attitude from. In talking to neighbors, all the bright kids end up in the same AP classes in high school anyway, so why should anyone care?

Here's the thing: Parents without kids in AAP spout all the time that "kids are all together in MS honors" or "end up in the same AP classes high school anyway."

If that is the truth, turn the question back on yourselves: Why should anyone care?

I'm so sick of parents trying to cut down a program just because their kid wasn't selected. Grow up.

I just posted above that my kid is a high stat kid. I don’t know all the kids from all the other schools. I do know most of the kids that my kids went to elementary school with. Many kids who didn’t get into AAP switched to private school, the ones who probably would have done well in honors or AP classes. There are new kids who moved in middle and high school who were never in AAP that do great too. There is not some huge population of non AAP kids who do significantly better than the AAP kids and end up at Harvard or Yale.

You're right, you don't know all the kids from all the other schools so your weird anecdote is totally false. AAP is not the huge indicator of success that you think it is.

I didn’t grow up around here. I did attend a magnet high school and DH and I are both ivy educated. I really don’t care about AAP or what college others go to. I definitely don’t care if another person’s kid is in AAP or not. I only care about my kids and I like their peer group in AAP.

I meant the other elementary schools feeding into Cooper/Langley when referring to other schools. From our elementary, most of the smart kids were in AAP. It felt like half of Cooper was AAP so this isn’t some difficult group to be in.

I knew from your first post that you were a Langley parent. So obvious.

DP. Um, I'm a Langley parent also and have been rolling my eyes at the above poster. No need to paint everyone with the same brush.

I have two kids at Langley. Over 50% of the kids at Cooper were Level IV AAP. Anyone at Langley can easily see the very obvious groups of kids at Langley.

My kids weren't AAP, yet are in all honors and AP classes at Langley. It's not obvious at all who was and wasn't in AAP during elementary and middle school and you're mistaken if you think there's somehow a tell. There isn't.

It’s pretty obvious in my son’s honor classes actually. He says there are quite a few goofballs. Obviously not AAP kids. A lot of AAP kids will also take more APs.

Such nonsense, but do go on telling yourself that.

And you go on telling yourself that your gen ed kid belongs in AAP. Works both ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you incorrectly insisting center schools don’t principal place clearly have no clue. Kids are PP every.single.year at our center school. You sound idiotic making blanket statements about schools your kids don’t even attend.

How would you know unless the parent themselves told you their child was principal placed?

DP and I had a parent tell me her child was principal placed into an AAP class at our center (which is also our base). So...there?

[Anonymous]

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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.

+1.

- another Canterbury Woods parent who has been told by at least 2 parents that this was done in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023

[Anonymous]

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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.

+1.

- another Canterbury Woods parent who has been told by at least 2 parents that this was done in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023

Being told by parents doesn’t make it true. The parent was telling you that someone else’s kid was placed or their own? Big difference. I never believe what a parent says. It’s just gossip. I don’t believe a parent would admit to their own child being principal placed at a center school because that would open up Pandora’s box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you incorrectly insisting center schools don’t principal place clearly have no clue. Kids are PP every.single.year at our center school. You sound idiotic making blanket statements about schools your kids don’t even attend.

How would you know unless the parent themselves told you their child was principal placed?

Because the parent(s) themselves were quite candid that their kid(s) were principal placed. It’s not the secret you seem to think it is.

[Anonymous]

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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.

+1.

- another Canterbury Woods parent who has been told by at least 2 parents that this was done in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023

Being told by parents doesn’t make it true. The parent was telling you that someone else’s kid was placed or their own? Big difference. I never believe what a parent says. It’s just gossip. I don’t believe a parent would admit to their own child being principal placed at a center school because that would open up Pandora’s box.

DP. I don’t know how many more people need to tell you this, but kids are principal placed at center schools all the time. Whether it’s to even out class sizes or because a parent is friends with the principal and asked him/her to do this - it happens all the time.

I think those of you insisting it does not happen simply don’t want anyone to think that YOUR kid could have been principal placed. So transparent.

[Anonymous]

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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.

+1.

- another Canterbury Woods parent who has been told by at least 2 parents that this was done in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023

Being told by parents doesn’t make it true. The parent was telling you that someone else’s kid was placed or their own? Big difference. I never believe what a parent says. It’s just gossip. I don’t believe a parent would admit to their own child being principal placed at a center school because that would open up Pandora’s box.

Their own kids (2 separate families). Close friends who have no incentive to lie and say their kid was principal placed when they actually applied and were committee placed.

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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.

+1.

- another Canterbury Woods parent who has been told by at least 2 parents that this was done in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023

Being told by parents doesn’t make it true. The parent was telling you that someone else’s kid was placed or their own? Big difference. I never believe what a parent says. It’s just gossip. I don’t believe a parent would admit to their own child being principal placed at a center school because that would open up Pandora’s box.

DP. I don’t know how many more people need to tell you this, but kids are principal placed at center schools all the time. Whether it’s to even out class sizes or because a parent is friends with the principal and asked him/her to do this - it happens all the time.

I think those of you insisting it does not happen simply don’t want anyone to think that YOUR kid could have been principal placed. So transparent.

Or maybe it's AAP parents who are appalled by the idea of the program being watered down when, in our experience, some committee placed kids were more likely to need extra help in AAP than principal placed ones .

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Anonymous wrote:In my experience, it's parents of the gen ed kids who cause the most strife. They pass their jealousy off to their kids, which is nonsense if AAP is the lousy program they claim it is. If that were true, why would it matter what class your kid was in?

Oh, please. When your kid comes home from school in tears because all of their friends told them they just "weren't smart enough" to join them in AAP, get back to us. I never said anything at all to my DC about AAP, other than to reassure them after being hurt by these obnoxious kids.

Calling them “obnoxious“ really bolsters your argument that you’re not jealous.

DP but gee, I wonder where these children are getting their "we're better than you" attitude from. In talking to neighbors, all the bright kids end up in the same AP classes in high school anyway, so why should anyone care?

Here's the thing: Parents without kids in AAP spout all the time that "kids are all together in MS honors" or "end up in the same AP classes high school anyway."

If that is the truth, turn the question back on yourselves: Why should anyone care?

I'm so sick of parents trying to cut down a program just because their kid wasn't selected. Grow up.

I just posted above that my kid is a high stat kid. I don’t know all the kids from all the other schools. I do know most of the kids that my kids went to elementary school with. Many kids who didn’t get into AAP switched to private school, the ones who probably would have done well in honors or AP classes. There are new kids who moved in middle and high school who were never in AAP that do great too. There is not some huge population of non AAP kids who do significantly better than the AAP kids and end up at Harvard or Yale.

You're right, you don't know all the kids from all the other schools so your weird anecdote is totally false. AAP is not the huge indicator of success that you think it is.

I didn’t grow up around here. I did attend a magnet high school and DH and I are both ivy educated. I really don’t care about AAP or what college others go to. I definitely don’t care if another person’s kid is in AAP or not. I only care about my kids and I like their peer group in AAP.

I meant the other elementary schools feeding into Cooper/Langley when referring to other schools. From our elementary, most of the smart kids were in AAP. It felt like half of Cooper was AAP so this isn’t some difficult group to be in.

I knew from your first post that you were a Langley parent. So obvious.

DP. Um, I'm a Langley parent also and have been rolling my eyes at the above poster. No need to paint everyone with the same brush.

I have two kids at Langley. Over 50% of the kids at Cooper were Level IV AAP. Anyone at Langley can easily see the very obvious groups of kids at Langley.

My kids weren't AAP, yet are in all honors and AP classes at Langley. It's not obvious at all who was and wasn't in AAP during elementary and middle school and you're mistaken if you think there's somehow a tell. There isn't.

It’s pretty obvious in my son’s honor classes actually. He says there are quite a few goofballs. Obviously not AAP kids. A lot of AAP kids will also take more APs.

Aha! This shows your true colors! You have been brainwashed to think that all kids have these labels. FCPS has created a bifurcated student population at an elementary level. Then year later in high school, you—the parent assume that any goofball in your kid’s honors class is not AAP. Do you even hear yourself? This makes me think that the AAP program needs to be abolished. It is not working right with the toxicity that parents and students are layering upon it. Most little Larla’s and little Larlo’s are not some over creative, over innovative, super driven, over the top students. Rather, they are bright mixed with not so bright and goofballs mixed with non goofballs. They are average with only 1 or 2 occasionally standing out as gifted. We see this every year in our classrooms. I also find it ridiculous that their parents are paying for tutors, Mathnasium, RSM, Kumon, tutoring clubs, AoPS, etc. to keep up appearances that these kids are naturally bright and spending on testing prep.

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The only good thing about this thread is that the insults flying from all sides don't represent the majority of actual FCPS parents.