Poll: likely or unlikely a GT Center in every Middle School in FCPS in 2 years??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlikely, but there will be quite a few more- where it makes sense (like Cooper).

I think it's likely that's where we're headed given that it was an AAP task force recommendation that was only slowed because not all middle schools were deemed ready. but I think the ones that are, Thoreau, Cooper, etc. will go that route sooner rather than later.

Thoreau is NOT ready. Any school that only offers one level of instruction has no understanding of or commitment to gifted education. It doesn't matter whether they call that one level "honors" or "general education" or "romper room"; it is just one level of classes for students that are at many different levels of ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlikely, but there will be quite a few more- where it makes sense (like Cooper).

I think it's likely that's where we're headed given that it was an AAP task force recommendation that was only slowed because not all middle schools were deemed ready. but I think the ones that are, Thoreau, Cooper, etc. will go that route sooner rather than later.

Thoreau is NOT ready. Any school that only offers one level of instruction has no understanding of or commitment to gifted education. It doesn't matter whether they call that one level "honors" or "general education" or "romper room"; it is just one level of classes for students that are at many different levels of ability.

So how will they ever be ready?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlikely, but there will be quite a few more- where it makes sense (like Cooper).

I think it's likely that's where we're headed given that it was an AAP task force recommendation that was only slowed because not all middle schools were deemed ready. but I think the ones that are, Thoreau, Cooper, etc. will go that route sooner rather than later.

Thoreau is NOT ready. Any school that only offers one level of instruction has no understanding of or commitment to gifted education. It doesn't matter whether they call that one level "honors" or "general education" or "romper room"; it is just one level of classes for students that are at many different levels of ability.

So how will they ever be ready?

Change the school principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Thoreau is NOT ready. Any school that only offers one level of instruction has no understanding of or commitment to gifted education. It doesn't matter whether they call that one level "honors" or "general education" or "romper room"; it is just one level of classes for students that are at many different levels of ability.

I certainly hope thoreau is delayed because I do not want my DD rising 6th grader to go there. I am certain existing centers are better for bright and motivated students than thoreau would be for forseeable future.

[Anonymous]

If Rocky Run is full of AAP kids and is overcrowded, will it be one of the first schools to be dismantled? Our local MS is Lanier - it is so out of the way and I recently saw that it has either zero or one AAP certified teachers.
Will it be a center by 2015 fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Rocky Run is full of AAP kids and is overcrowded, will it be one of the first schools to be dismantled? Our local MS is Lanier - it is so out of the way and I recently saw that it has either zero or one AAP certified teachers.
Will it be a center by 2015 fall?

Is Rocky Run overcrowded now? We come from the other direction where Liberty MS is. Not sure we want to be at a new GT Center at Liberty given the stellar reputation of the GT Center at Rocky Run...

[Anonymous]

We've got a kid at Rocky Run, and it doesn't seem overcrowded. We have another kid headed there in a couple of years, and hope it remains our center school. Our base middle school would never have enough level IV students to support a center anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've got a kid at Rocky Run, and it doesn't seem overcrowded. We have another kid headed there in a couple of years, and hope it remains our center school. Our base middle school would never have enough level IV students to support a center anyway.

There are more AAP kids than non AAP kids at Rocky Run now so you have to assume FCPS will move out some of those kids if there are any plans to open more MS centers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've got a kid at Rocky Run, and it doesn't seem overcrowded. We have another kid headed there in a couple of years, and hope it remains our center school. Our base middle school would never have enough level IV students to support a center anyway.

There are more AAP kids than non AAP kids at Rocky Run now so you have to assume FCPS will move out some of those kids if there are any plans to open more MS centers.

Barely -- it's about a 50-50 split with 518 students in AAP out of 1020 total students (as of June).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've got a kid at Rocky Run, and it doesn't seem overcrowded. We have another kid headed there in a couple of years, and hope it remains our center school. Our base middle school would never have enough level IV students to support a center anyway.

There are more AAP kids than non AAP kids at Rocky Run now so you have to assume FCPS will move out some of those kids if there are any plans to open more MS centers.

Barely -- it's about a 50-50 split with 518 students in AAP out of 1020 total students (as of June).

50-50 is still huge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've got a kid at Rocky Run, and it doesn't seem overcrowded. We have another kid headed there in a couple of years, and hope it remains our center school. Our base middle school would never have enough level IV students to support a center anyway.

There are more AAP kids than non AAP kids at Rocky Run now so you have to assume FCPS will move out some of those kids if there are any plans to open more MS centers.

Barely -- it's about a 50-50 split with 518 students in AAP out of 1020 total students (as of June).

50-50 is still huge.

Roughly 50-50 is in place at Haycock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've got a kid at Rocky Run, and it doesn't seem overcrowded. We have another kid headed there in a couple of years, and hope it remains our center school. Our base middle school would never have enough level IV students to support a center anyway.

There are more AAP kids than non AAP kids at Rocky Run now so you have to assume FCPS will move out some of those kids if there are any plans to open more MS centers.

Barely -- it's about a 50-50 split with 518 students in AAP out of 1020 total students (as of June).

50-50 is still huge.

Roughly 50-50 is in place at Haycock.

And that is huge too.

[Anonymous]

At tomorrow's work session, the School Board will discuss the staff recommendations to the GMU report.

http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/99K2DD01A542/$file/Summary%20of%20GMU%20Program%20Review%20Recommendations%20and%20Timeline.pdf

One of the criteria for establishment of a Center is the 15 - 25% threshhold.

If this threshold is also used as a maximum to identify schools that are overcrowded, then both Rocky run and Haycock will likely be targeted for Local Level IV programs versus AAP Centers. Other schools will likely be included in that net as well, including Churchill Road, Colvin Run, Greenbriar West, and Hunters Woods (among others).

This same threshold may also be used to change a Local Level IV school to a Center, for schools such as Chesterbrook, Floris, Springhill, And Wolftrap (among others).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At tomorrow's work session, the School Board will discuss the staff recommendations to the GMU report.

http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/99K2DD01A542/$file/Summary%20of%20GMU%20Program%20Review%20Recommendations%20and%20Timeline.pdf

One of the criteria for establishment of a Center is the 15 - 25% threshhold.

If this threshold is also used as a maximum to identify schools that are overcrowded, then both Rocky run and Haycock will likely be targeted for Local Level IV programs versus AAP Centers. Other schools will likely be included in that net as well, including Churchill Road, Colvin Run, Greenbriar West, and Hunters Woods (among others).

This same threshold may also be used to change a Local Level IV school to a Center, for schools such as Chesterbrook, Floris, Springhill, And Wolftrap (among others).

Longfellow is also above the 25% threshold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At tomorrow's work session, the School Board will discuss the staff recommendations to the GMU report.

http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/99K2DD01A542/$file/Summary%20of%20GMU%20Program%20Review%20Recommendations%20and%20Timeline.pdf

One of the criteria for establishment of a Center is the 15 - 25% threshhold.

If this threshold is also used as a maximum to identify schools that are overcrowded, then both Rocky run and Haycock will likely be targeted for Local Level IV programs versus AAP Centers. Other schools will likely be included in that net as well, including Churchill Road, Colvin Run, Greenbriar West, and Hunters Woods (among others).

This same threshold may also be used to change a Local Level IV school to a Center, for schools such as Chesterbrook, Floris, Springhill, And Wolftrap (among others).

Longfellow is also above the 25% threshold.

Lots of schools are above the 25% threshold. Just for fun I ran some rough numbers:

Louise Archer ES Center 51.5%
Rocky Run MS Center 50.8%
Greenbriar West ES Center 48.8%
Springfield Estates ES Center 46.3%
Hunters Woods ES Center 46.1%
Haycock ES ES Center 45.8%
Carson MS Center 43.0%
Keene Mill ES Center 41.8%
Longfellow MS Center 40.8%
Stratford Landing ES Center 40.4%
Churchill Road ES Center 39.3%
White Oaks ES Center 38.1%
Canterbury Woods ES Center 36.4%
Willow Springs ES Center 36.0%
Kilmer MS Center 35.0%
Oak Hill ES Center 32.6%
Mosby Woods ES Center 31.6%
Sangster ES Center 30.6%
Sunrise Valley ES Center 30.5%
Colvin Run ES Center 30.4%
Lake Braddock (middle school only) Center 28.2%
Hughes MS Center 27.6%
Bull Run ES Center 27.2%
Frost MS Center 26.8%
Forest Edge ES Center 26.4%
Forestville ES ES Local Level IV 25.3%
Floris ES ES Local Level IV 25.1%
Wolftrap ES Local Level IV 23.9%
Spring Hill ES Local Level IV 20.3%
Chesterbrook ES ES Local Level IV 17.5%
Oakton ES Local Level IV 15.8%