APS is failing my gifted child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year our APS elementary school paid for IXL accounts for kids who they considered at risk for failing the math SOL so they could get extra practice. Advanced and gifted kids didn't get an IXL account and were told to read quietly at their desk after finishing their work. It was really unfair and made many of the advanced kids upset that they didn't have access to IXL to work on new material.

APS has really decided that it doesn't need to meet the needs of advanced and gifted students. It's a remarkable turnaround from our experience pre-covid.

And this is one reason why voters need to think, and school board and county board candidates need to realize that Arlington County cannot be everything for everyone, all the time, and receive ever more and more students. Space is one huge issue, but the other paramount issue is getting the needs met of various learners. This is one of the richest counties in the U.S. with an ever increasing population with many needs. And yet, all we hear are 'cuts, cuts, cuts', and 'we have no money'. Something is out of balance here.

Yup.

APS is not properly funded.

We need VA and the CB to step up and properly fund APS.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Is OP saying they are at Taylor, or is that someone else responding?

Someone else I think. We are from Taylor but I’m like 90% sure most of the parents aren’t from Harvard… maybe some UVA but all I’ve met are from UmD and Penn State etc

How do you even know where the other parents in your kid's elementary school went to college? This comes up in casual conversation?

Status-obsessed strivers love to bring this stuff up in conversations.

You're wrong. I went to a status school, and I promise you I never bring it up. I often deflect even when asked directly.

This is VERY typical behavior by the way with people who went to my college.

No you didn't.

I’m a NP but come on. You’ve never noticed that when asked where they went to college, Harvard grads say “in Boston”? A lot more people deflect than you might think.

Why do you hang out with losers who ask what school you went to when you were a teen/early 20s? Backwards-looking people.

It comes up when we talk about where our kids are thinking of going “where did you, go was it a rural campus, did you like it” sort of thing. I also ask people where they grew up and last vacationed, all in the past!

Here's our answer. It comes up because YOU ask. I literally never ask parents of my kids' friends where they went to college. And I am one who went to school "in Boston."

I went to New Haven. I NEVER ask and hate when they do, but it does come up.

LOL. Two people saying they hate telling others where they went to school.

Yet here they are, unable to help themselves from telling us where they went to school. 😆

+1. Also lol at telling people “I went to New Haven,” as if there is any uncertainty about what that means. At least people who cite Boston could be referring to multiple universities.

Of course, all of this misses the original point that it’s the status-obsessed and the strivers that run around saying where they went. Tons of people go to these schools and don’t say much about it because they aren’t these types of people. They are not one and the same. But one particular striver got incredibly triggered about this.

What? You have some weird misconceptions about people who went to elite schools, probably because of your own insecurities.

First, I don't say I went to school in New Haven, I would say Connecticut. Second, if I wanted to impress you with where I went to school, why would I say that instead of just telling you? I avoid telling you to avoid the weirdness that often comes along with me actually telling you. And because I don't need to impress you. I also never raise it, nor does anyone else I know who I went to school with. We all want to avoid the weird responses, and don't feel like dealing with it, that's why we say "I went to school in Connecticut."

And just to give you a sense of why we avoid actually answering, here are some of the reactions I have gotten when I have disclosed:
- questions about my background, grades, test scores, how I got in
- quizzing me about how to get their own kid in
- you go to Yale, what are you doing working here (waiting tables in college)
- oh you must be so smart, will you help me with my calc homework (no you really don't want my help with that, promise!)

etc, etc, etc.

Um, this is super weird for North Arlington. I know several people who went to Yale. And Harvard. And Princeton. Not too many Stanford. Lots of Duke. Several Dartmouth. We live in an area where most people at some point have some dance pedigree on their bio. Even if not undergrad. And it comes up when you become friends with people. We are hanging on the sidelines of our kids soccer games and you are wearing your Brown sweatshirt. It’s just not that weird to say: oh you went to Brown? My former colleague John went there and loved it. Or you went to Duke? We hate the Blue Devils because we went to UVA. I just think this whole to thread is the awkward wierdos who don’t have any friends or something. I don’t go up to people at pickup and say: I want to Harvard. People don’t come up to me and ask me where I went to college. But I’m friends and neighborly with my neighborhood school group and we know where each other went to schools. Jesus.

PP here. While I agree that people are less likely to have weird reactions in Arlington compared to other places, but I have lived here for a very long time, and it just does not come up very often. Maybe we run in different crowds if your and your friends are constantly asking where other adults went to college 20+ years ago. Again, I have never asked someone where they went to college. I just don't care. And I don't care to be asked either.

DP. Who is “constantly asking?” If you know someone for 10-15 years, or maybe you even went to undergrad/grad school with them…you’re going to find some at some point along the way.

I also know where many of our friends/neighbors grew up and have met some of their extended family.

It’s honestly pretty odd if it never comes up for you.

After living on this street for almost 15 years I know that there are four houses in a row with at least one Ivy grad. We have a lot of bright kids in APS.

[Anonymous]

OP--where?

My kids were at Science Focus. Now late HS and Freshmen in college, and it was top notch. Nothing like you describe. They had phenomenal teachers who went above and beyond. They were over-prepared for MS--MS was too easy. They also were taught to be very independent, handle their own work, etc. Those K-5 years were top-notch--even if not both in the GT the whole time there. We did pull out of APS for HS because we saw a downward trajectory--esp. post-Covid, as did many publics. But, APS did prepare them very well and they were/are top in their HS class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

this this sthis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP--where?

My kids were at Science Focus. Now late HS and Freshmen in college, and it was top notch. Nothing like you describe. They had phenomenal teachers who went above and beyond. They were over-prepared for MS--MS was too easy. They also were taught to be very independent, handle their own work, etc. Those K-5 years were top-notch--even if not both in the GT the whole time there. We did pull out of APS for HS because we saw a downward trajectory--esp. post-Covid, as did many publics. But, APS did prepare them very well and they were/are top in their HS class.

BS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS is failing other parents' non-gifted kids, too. You're not special.

APS only job is to get kids to pass the SOLs. Period.

Agreed.

I don’t believe it’s the goals of individual teachers, although this is true for some. Nor do I believe it’s important to most families. But it is the driving force behind APS administration.

I am shocked now by how many people pull their child for privates. While I acknowledge there are economic changes in Arlington allowing this, it’s also a reflection of how so many families feel about our public schools.

In your Yorktown zoned street, every child goes to private school.

On our W-L street with $$$ homes, only 3 out of 13 kids go to private.

“Only”?!? About 1/4 of the kids leave APS and you don’t think that is significant? I disagree.

On my Yorktown block, it’s currently 8/14 in private but the trend is private as they age so all 8 are HSers.

I know people say good riddance and all but it’s a dramatic shift over the last two decades, accelerated by Covid I am sure.

For one of the most affluent areas in the county “only” 3 of 13 means that even affluent families are still choosing APS.

It was not Covid, it was the housing prices. I live in the part of Arlington where two GS-15s can own a home. Show me a neighborhood anywhere in the US where the majority of people in $2-4M homes send their kids to public school. Sure, some people in the far north neighborhoods bought their homes 15 years ago when today’s HS kids were babies, but when more and more of neighbors and friend group choose private, it becomes like a contagion.

[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:Is OP saying they are at Taylor, or is that someone else responding?

Someone else I think. We are from Taylor but I’m like 90% sure most of the parents aren’t from Harvard… maybe some UVA but all I’ve met are from UmD and Penn State etc

How do you even know where the other parents in your kid's elementary school went to college? This comes up in casual conversation?

Status-obsessed strivers love to bring this stuff up in conversations.

You're wrong. I went to a status school, and I promise you I never bring it up. I often deflect even when asked directly.

This is VERY typical behavior by the way with people who went to my college.

No you didn't.

I’m a NP but come on. You’ve never noticed that when asked where they went to college, Harvard grads say “in Boston”? A lot more people deflect than you might think.

Why do you hang out with losers who ask what school you went to when you were a teen/early 20s? Backwards-looking people.

It comes up when we talk about where our kids are thinking of going “where did you, go was it a rural campus, did you like it” sort of thing. I also ask people where they grew up and last vacationed, all in the past!

Here's our answer. It comes up because YOU ask. I literally never ask parents of my kids' friends where they went to college. And I am one who went to school "in Boston."

I went to New Haven. I NEVER ask and hate when they do, but it does come up.

LOL. Two people saying they hate telling others where they went to school.

Yet here they are, unable to help themselves from telling us where they went to school. 😆

It's weird. You criticize us for admitting where we went to school, yet you also criticize when we deflect and don't tell you and say we went to school in Connecticut/Mass.

We can't win with you people. You need to get over your own insecurities about not going to a good enough school. This is about YOU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS is failing other parents' non-gifted kids, too. You're not special.

APS only job is to get kids to pass the SOLs. Period.

Agreed.

I don’t believe it’s the goals of individual teachers, although this is true for some. Nor do I believe it’s important to most families. But it is the driving force behind APS administration.

I am shocked now by how many people pull their child for privates. While I acknowledge there are economic changes in Arlington allowing this, it’s also a reflection of how so many families feel about our public schools.

In your Yorktown zoned street, every child goes to private school.

On our W-L street with $$$ homes, only 3 out of 13 kids go to private.

“Only”?!? About 1/4 of the kids leave APS and you don’t think that is significant? I disagree.

On my Yorktown block, it’s currently 8/14 in private but the trend is private as they age so all 8 are HSers.

I know people say good riddance and all but it’s a dramatic shift over the last two decades, accelerated by Covid I am sure.

For one of the most affluent areas in the county “only” 3 of 13 means that even affluent families are still choosing APS.

It was not Covid, it was the housing prices. I live in the part of Arlington where two GS-15s can own a home. Show me a neighborhood anywhere in the US where the majority of people in $2-4M homes send their kids to public school. Sure, some people in the far north neighborhoods bought their homes 15 years ago when today’s HS kids were babies, but when more and more of neighbors and friend group choose private, it becomes like a contagion.

LV

[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:Is OP saying they are at Taylor, or is that someone else responding?

Someone else I think. We are from Taylor but I’m like 90% sure most of the parents aren’t from Harvard… maybe some UVA but all I’ve met are from UmD and Penn State etc

How do you even know where the other parents in your kid's elementary school went to college? This comes up in casual conversation?

Status-obsessed strivers love to bring this stuff up in conversations.

You're wrong. I went to a status school, and I promise you I never bring it up. I often deflect even when asked directly.

This is VERY typical behavior by the way with people who went to my college.

No you didn't.

I’m a NP but come on. You’ve never noticed that when asked where they went to college, Harvard grads say “in Boston”? A lot more people deflect than you might think.

Why do you hang out with losers who ask what school you went to when you were a teen/early 20s? Backwards-looking people.

It comes up when we talk about where our kids are thinking of going “where did you, go was it a rural campus, did you like it” sort of thing. I also ask people where they grew up and last vacationed, all in the past!

Here's our answer. It comes up because YOU ask. I literally never ask parents of my kids' friends where they went to college. And I am one who went to school "in Boston."

I went to New Haven. I NEVER ask and hate when they do, but it does come up.

LOL. Two people saying they hate telling others where they went to school.

Yet here they are, unable to help themselves from telling us where they went to school. 😆

It's weird. You criticize us for admitting where we went to school, yet you also criticize when we deflect and don't tell you and say we went to school in Connecticut/Mass.

We can't win with you people. You need to get over your own insecurities about not going to a good enough school. This is about YOU.

I made this comment, but none of the prior ones. I just thought it was ironic. 😆

FWIW, I find it far less douche-y when someone names their actual school (when it comes up naturally in conversation) than when they say they went to school near Boston.

There’s no shame in naming your school. People wear their state school apparel loud and proud. No one should have to hide the fact that they went to Stanford.

But maybe I’m less impressed by these things than others. (Especially when you know the person got in because of legacy admission or because they were a rock star athlete. Now the middle class Midwesterner with no hooks? Maybe they are the most impressive! 😆)

Seriously, normal people don’t care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS is failing other parents' non-gifted kids, too. You're not special.

APS only job is to get kids to pass the SOLs. Period.

Agreed.

I don’t believe it’s the goals of individual teachers, although this is true for some. Nor do I believe it’s important to most families. But it is the driving force behind APS administration.

I am shocked now by how many people pull their child for privates. While I acknowledge there are economic changes in Arlington allowing this, it’s also a reflection of how so many families feel about our public schools.

In your Yorktown zoned street, every child goes to private school.

On our W-L street with $$$ homes, only 3 out of 13 kids go to private.

“Only”?!? About 1/4 of the kids leave APS and you don’t think that is significant? I disagree.

On my Yorktown block, it’s currently 8/14 in private but the trend is private as they age so all 8 are HSers.

I know people say good riddance and all but it’s a dramatic shift over the last two decades, accelerated by Covid I am sure.

For one of the most affluent areas in the county “only” 3 of 13 means that even affluent families are still choosing APS.

It was not Covid, it was the housing prices. I live in the part of Arlington where two GS-15s can own a home. Show me a neighborhood anywhere in the US where the majority of people in $2-4M homes send their kids to public school. Sure, some people in the far north neighborhoods bought their homes 15 years ago when today’s HS kids were babies, but when more and more of neighbors and friend group choose private, it becomes like a contagion.

I would be curious to know how many families that went private during Covid came back to APS. Does that statistic exist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS is failing other parents' non-gifted kids, too. You're not special.

APS only job is to get kids to pass the SOLs. Period.

Agreed.

I don’t believe it’s the goals of individual teachers, although this is true for some. Nor do I believe it’s important to most families. But it is the driving force behind APS administration.

I am shocked now by how many people pull their child for privates. While I acknowledge there are economic changes in Arlington allowing this, it’s also a reflection of how so many families feel about our public schools.

In your Yorktown zoned street, every child goes to private school.

On our W-L street with $$$ homes, only 3 out of 13 kids go to private.

“Only”?!? About 1/4 of the kids leave APS and you don’t think that is significant? I disagree.

On my Yorktown block, it’s currently 8/14 in private but the trend is private as they age so all 8 are HSers.

I know people say good riddance and all but it’s a dramatic shift over the last two decades, accelerated by Covid I am sure.

For one of the most affluent areas in the county “only” 3 of 13 means that even affluent families are still choosing APS.

It was not Covid, it was the housing prices. I live in the part of Arlington where two GS-15s can own a home. Show me a neighborhood anywhere in the US where the majority of people in $2-4M homes send their kids to public school. Sure, some people in the far north neighborhoods bought their homes 15 years ago when today’s HS kids were babies, but when more and more of neighbors and friend group choose private, it becomes like a contagion.

I would be curious to know how many families that went private during Covid came back to APS. Does that statistic exist?

Out of my sample pool I’d say around 25% came back after 1-2 years.

Even with that, the majority of families in our $$$$ neighborhood do send their kids to APS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

Your child is the victim of equity.

FCPS is also dumbing-down the AAP program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

Your child is the victim of equity.

FCPS is also dumbing-down the AAP program.

I mean, where are you? Where in Arlington is there zero cohort of bright kid? I’m having a very hard time believing that you are in some desert where your 3rd grader is so ahead of their classmates and they are so alone in their genius…..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

Your child is the victim of equity.

FCPS is also dumbing-down the AAP program.

I mean, where are you? Where in Arlington is there zero cohort of bright kid? I’m having a very hard time believing that you are in some desert where your 3rd grader is so ahead of their classmates and they are so alone in their genius…..

Not PP, but I don’t think people are saying their children are “so alone in their genius”, just that schools are focusing the majority of time and other resources on struggling learners.

Let’s say 75% of a class is bright and capable of tackling more challenging concepts at a faster pace. Then the teacher sticks them on iPads while she works with the others who have all been mainstreamed into classes they aren’t ready for… It’s not great.

But that’s what happens when students are promoted to the next grade level simply by age. It doesn’t matter if they’ve mastered the material these days…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

Don't believe the complainers. While it depends on the school, AAP is good for gifted kids.

AAP is not a gifted program. Don't believe the people who are pretending their children are gifted. They're not.