Nysmith question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The most dismal thing about FCPS GT are the class sizes-at least, at our elementary magnet they pack 30-35 kids in a GT class with one teacher-I guess the rationale is that the kids are smart and can handle being in a larger class. I disagree.

Our FCPS GT center class has 18 kids. I think the numbers vary quite widely from Center to Center, and also from grade level to grade level.

[Anonymous]

18:26 here again. Happiness is important, but my kids are also happy in their public. I guess they adjust well, and are generally happy kids, fortunately. We went private for academic reasons, and for us, it didn't seem to be all that amazing. But that's just one school and one family's experience.

[Anonymous]

We have two kids at Nysmith and are happy with the education for the past 4 years. I think the school provide a solid foundation as long as the kids have the aptitude and the parents focus on the kids. I was a little concerned when they said that there are no levels in Kindergarten, but after talking with the teacher, it was clarify that they do have various level at but at individual in Kindergarten and various group from 1st grade on. We compared our kids math curiculum to Fairfax AAP and Montgomery Country Magnet program and saw that our kids were at least two grades above them so we are happy with the results. They are not so advance in English. I think 1 grade or 1 1/2 above the VA regular curriculum. The main diffrentiator for Nysmith is that the kids love to go to school and learn. Very advance in Math and Science.

[Anonymous]

Do a lot of people leave Nysmith in 3rd grade when they can get into the AAP centers?