AAP at Base School vs. Going to Center School

[Anonymous]

No two classrooms, whether AAP or general ed., are exactly alike. Every classroom has a different mix of students so each lesson ends up varying somewhat, depending on the abilities and characteristics of the students in each class. Some kids will ask standard questions, some kids will ask off-the-wall questions, some will need explanations in words, some will need pictures or models or demonstrations to understand. Assignments after a lesson can differ according to the different ca[abilities of the students. But no group is exactly like another so the lessons will vary somewhat.

[Anonymous]

That does not help clarify anything. Yes, each class and teacher is slightly different and not every day is the same. That's a given. I'm trying to keep the discussion to the followed curriculum for clarity. The Haycock parents make it seem like the AAP centers have some classes with a totally different accelerated curriculum at least for math and spelling from the level 4 program based on what level your kid tests at per month or at the beginning of the year. I'm trying to find out if this is a true statement or not and to what extent this exists in FCPS at all the centers and local level 4. As a comparison, children in any level apparently can take accelerated math in most schools one level up from the general math level. So in 4th they might take 5th grade math which is an entirely different curriculum from 4th grade math.

[Anonymous]

And I guess I'm also a bit skeptical about how much each teacher can really do for each child individually or even several group levels because one of the posters said it was practically impossible for teachers to give different lessons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I guess I'm also a bit skeptical about how much each teacher can really do for each child individually or even several group levels because one of the posters said it was practically impossible for teachers to give different lessons.

Can you talk to some teachers about your concerns? Can you go in and observe classes? You are a caring parent who just doesn't happen to have a background in education. Maybe seeing a few classrooms in action will help. Yes, it takes effort, but most teachers in my experience really do see their students as individuals and treat them accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That does not help clarify anything. Yes, each class and teacher is slightly different and not every day is the same. That's a given. I'm trying to keep the discussion to the followed curriculum for clarity. The Haycock parents make it seem like the AAP centers have some classes with a totally different accelerated curriculum at least for math and spelling from the level 4 program based on what level your kid tests at per month or at the beginning of the year. I'm trying to find out if this is a true statement or not and to what extent this exists in FCPS at all the centers and local level 4. As a comparison, children in any level apparently can take accelerated math in most schools one level up from the general math level. So in 4th they might take 5th grade math which is an entirely different curriculum from 4th grade math.

At Haycock, they pretest each child at the beginning of the unit and arrange the groupings based on the pretest. There are as many groups as classrooms (i.e. if the grade has 4 AAP classes, there are 4 groups or 3 if 3 classes). They definitely work at different levels in the different classrooms. In my child's grade, some kids are 2 (or perhaps more) grades ahead in one math class, whereas my child is only working on the next grade level up. It seems to be the same topic in each group (i.e. integers or whatever) but a different depth. Our base school doesn't have level IV so I can't compare it to local level IV, but I hope that helps some.

[Anonymous]

So to me that means there is a different intended curriculum being taught in different classrooms. I mean we don't say all 3rd graders are learning the same curriculum as 1st graders just because they are both learning about fractions. Again, I think FCPS is misleading when it says that the local level IV programs are the same as the centers especially if it's admitted that teachers are not able to differentiate within one classroom.

[Anonymous]

It is also still unclear to me how many centers are operating this way as well. Is it only the ones with 4 classrooms? Only Haycock? The information is unclear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is also still unclear to me how many centers are operating this way as well. Is it only the ones with 4 classrooms? Only Haycock? The information is unclear.

Why does it matter so much to you?

[Anonymous]

I'm sincerely interested in what these differences are for my own knowledge of what the county offers. I also feel the lack of information about what each school offers has a lot to do with all of these AAP postings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So to me that means there is a different intended curriculum being taught in different classrooms. I mean we don't say all 3rd graders are learning the same curriculum as 1st graders just because they are both learning about fractions. Again, I think FCPS is misleading when it says that the local level IV programs are the same as the centers especially if it's admitted that teachers are not able to differentiate within one classroom.

FCPS is not saying they are the same. In fact, they are clear as to the difference:

How does Local Level IV differ from the Full-time AAP Center?
The teachers in both settings are trained in gifted education and teach the same advanced academic curriculum to students who are ready for a highly challenging instructional program in the four core subject areas. The main difference is in the make-up of the class. All of the students in a full-time AAP center-based class have been identified as center-eligible by a central selection committee and will be coming from several neighborhood schools to comprise the center class. In a Local Level IV classroom, the students are a mix of students who are center-eligible and high achieving students who are capable of working at advanced levels, all enrolled in their local school.

Who in FCPS is saying they are the same?

[Anonymous]

They are saying they follow the same intended curriculum. It doesn't appear this is the case for math and possibly spelling. It sounds like the centers cater to their kid's abilities and move them up levels per their ability. Local Level IV schools seem to teach one year ahead and nothing more. In addition it is still hard for me to figure out if all the AAP centers have the same level of teaching or not. If the above is true, could it be possible that Haycock could have children working in math 2-3 years ahead but very few other AAP centers could have this same differentiation because they don't have a large enough mass to make up an entire class at that level?

[Anonymous]

So much depends on which school you are comparing. The local AAP classes at some ES are very watered down. The teachers teach to the middle of the class in most cases. If the class as a whole needs more time, they will spend it regardless of whether they completely cover the material. At a center school there are many motivated students in the class, so the teacher can cover more material without leaving half of the class behind.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I've come to the conclusing that the local level IV programs are definitely not the same as the centers. I guess I was just under the impression that they were. I'm still unsure whether all the centers are similar. Any clarification you can give on this?

[Anonymous]

The intended curriculum varies according to the needs of the child. Kids who understand more quickly may move through a subject more quickly. Kids with a higher reading comprehension level will be reading more complex books sooner.

You really need to go in and talk to the teachers at the actual schools you are considering to get the answers you are looking for. And then you have to decide what is right for your child and your home situation. What is right for someone else's child is not necessarily right for your child.

Maybe you can email the principals of the schools and set up an appointment to go in and discuss your concerns in relation to your own child.

[Anonymous]

I think you are misunderstanding the curriculum altogether. The "curriculum" is not a day-by-day outline of what to cover and how to cover it. It is a set of standards and guidelines. The teacher can teach those standards using any appropriate methods and at an appropriate pace and depth for the group of kids he/she has been presented with. This is how one classroom can end up looking very different from the next.