Underwhelmed by AAP

[Anonymous]

3rd grade is about the same. By 5th and 6th it gets more challenging. We had new teachers pretty much the whole time.

[Anonymous]

I was under the (mistaken) impression that AAP teachers would be chosen for their proven teaching ability and their experience managing a classroom.

Why would you expect better teachers in AAP than in Gen ed? Don't all students deserve good teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the AAP hate brigade comes out in full force on January 1. OP, a single year is not an adequate sample. Give it one more. We have had brilliant and indifferent teachers. It would be the same in GenEd. Some brilliant and some indifferent teachers. The AAP program is differentiated; it may not always translate into differentiated classroom experience.

OP, please listen to this post! Your child is halfway through the first year of AAP--and that's all. As others noted, too, you will see more of a difference especially in fifth and sixth grades. And there may be more difference in third than you realize; I thought things were pretty similar with what my child's friends at the base school were doing in third grade -- until I had a long talk with one of those kids and her mom (close friends) and realized that certainly in math, the AAP third graders were doing stuff far ahead of the base third graders that year, and that some of the English projects were more creative as well. So there may be differences you're not seeing. And we had both experienced and very new teachers in four years of elementary AAP at a center, and had overall good experiences; some of the less great experiences (meaning--duller classes) actually were with teachers who had been around longer but were more "done" and looking at retirement just ahead.

And OP, as always on DCUM, the AAP-haters have hijacked your question to whine on about AAP overall. I hope you can ignore them and focus on your own kid's particular experiences, and can give it time. And remember, not every AAP teacher in every year is going to be perfection or have ideal experience, just as every general ed teacher is not going to be like that either. Plus, your child probably has one main teacher in third, right? By fourth in our center, my kid had one main teacher but went to other teachers for all math and science, and by sixth he had four different teachers (homeroom/math/literature, science, writing, social studies). So your child soon may have more than one teacher and will end up having a variety of experiences.

All kids (GenEd and AAP) have one homeroom teacher and several other teachers for different subjects, starting in 3rd grade. This is certainly not AAP-specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of AAP teachers are new, but as with any teacher you have to give them a chance. We have an experienced AAP teacher and she's over the top with homework, projects etc. Pick you battles.

I'm curious to know how you know that the gen ed work is not much different than AAP work?

OP: sibling is in general ed.

+1 Lots of us have children in both AAP and GenEd and can speak to the differences and not-so-different aspects of both programs. As for me, I noticed that my GenEd and AAP kids had virtually identical SOL scores in all subjects. They learned exactly the same things, but the AAP child had more busy work, silly projects, and homework. I'm the one who regretted putting said child in AAP and think GenEd would have been a much better experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of AAP teachers are new, but as with any teacher you have to give them a chance. We have an experienced AAP teacher and she's over the top with homework, projects etc. Pick you battles.

I'm curious to know how you know that the gen ed work is not much different than AAP work?

OP: sibling is in general ed.

+1 Lots of us have children in both AAP and GenEd and can speak to the differences and not-so-different aspects of both programs. As for me, I noticed that my GenEd and AAP kids had virtually identical SOL scores in all subjects. They learned exactly the same things, but the AAP child had more busy work, silly projects, and homework. I'm the one who regretted putting said child in AAP and think GenEd would have been a much better experience.

Perhaps this is unique to your school? It is not the experience at all in our center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not at all surprised. I have heard that AAP will be having more and more non-AAP trained teachers taking over the classrooms.

I really hope this is not the case.

AAP as a whole is a ridiculous program that has been allowed to grow unchecked for years. At the rate it's going, in a few years, schools will be half AAP kids. Really? Whatever happened to the top 3-5%? Frankly, I couldn't care less if AAP kids get a (gasp) non-AAP teacher. I'm concerned about the rest of the students and what kind of teachers and education they're getting. We all pay the same amount in taxes, and our kids should all be receiving equal educational opportunities. I also think Gen Ed kids whose base schools are centers should be allowed to transfer to a non-center school if they prefer, just as AAP kids have the option of attending a Center. The farther away from this nonsense, the better.

Sorry buddy but that is just not realistic. Firstly, life is not fair..simple. Secondly, not all kids have the same intellect. Just like there is differentiated learning for children with disabilities, there is differentiated learning for children that are "gifted" or academically advanced. It would not be fair for those kids to be thrown into a classroom full of kids who are taught the same way.

Lets be realistic here!

Sorry buddy, but AAP is not a "gifted" program. If it was, there would be far fewer kids in it.

it's an advanced academic program. That's what the state requires school districts to accommodate: advanced learners. Given the demographics in FCPS, 18% isn't so outlandish.

It's important to note for those new to FCPS or considering the AAP program, that it isn't a gifted program. I think some parents are under the mistaken belief that their child will be undergoing some magical transformation with a phenomenal gifted curriculum. That's just not the case. signed, parent of two AAP students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It's important to note for those new to FCPS or considering the AAP program, that it isn't a gifted program. I think some parents are under the mistaken belief that their child will be undergoing some magical transformation with a phenomenal gifted curriculum. That's just not the case. signed, parent of two AAP students

Correct, as the decision was made several years ago to label the service and not the child.

Annual Report on Gifted and Talented Programs of the Fairfax County Public Schools (May 2, 2007)

Changing the name of Gifted and Talented Programs

During the course of the GTAC discussions this year, the question was raised about the
name of the program itself. We know that the State of Virginia requires Fairfax County
Public Schools to provide gifted services, but it does not designate the name of those
services. Several choices were discussed and, while some members did not support a
change, the majority of the Committee membership approved of a name change from
Gifted and Talented Services to Advanced Academic Programs. It was felt by the
Committee that this name change emphasizes efforts to put a label on the service being
offered and recognizes the academic nature of the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of AAP teachers are new, but as with any teacher you have to give them a chance. We have an experienced AAP teacher and she's over the top with homework, projects etc. Pick you battles.

I'm curious to know how you know that the gen ed work is not much different than AAP work?

OP: sibling is in general ed.

+1 Lots of us have children in both AAP and GenEd and can speak to the differences and not-so-different aspects of both programs. As for me, I noticed that my GenEd and AAP kids had virtually identical SOL scores in all subjects. They learned exactly the same things, but the AAP child had more busy work, silly projects, and homework. I'm the one who regretted putting said child in AAP and think GenEd would have been a much better experience.

Perhaps this is unique to your school? It is not the experience at all in our center.

+1

Not our experience in our center, either.

Whether the work is "busy work" or the projects are "silly" is a judgment call. I hope that the parent who posted that has had the guts to go to the teacher(s) and ask what the homework, "busy work" and projects were supposed to teach and achieve. If the parent thinks that badly of the projects and teaching, he or she has a responsibility to question it rather than just complain here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the AAP hate brigade comes out in full force on January 1. OP, a single year is not an adequate sample. Give it one more. We have had brilliant and indifferent teachers. It would be the same in GenEd. Some brilliant and some indifferent teachers. The AAP program is differentiated; it may not always translate into differentiated classroom experience.

OP, please listen to this post! Your child is halfway through the first year of AAP--and that's all. As others noted, too, you will see more of a difference especially in fifth and sixth grades. And there may be more difference in third than you realize; I thought things were pretty similar with what my child's friends at the base school were doing in third grade -- until I had a long talk with one of those kids and her mom (close friends) and realized that certainly in math, the AAP third graders were doing stuff far ahead of the base third graders that year, and that some of the English projects were more creative as well. So there may be differences you're not seeing. And we had both experienced and very new teachers in four years of elementary AAP at a center, and had overall good experiences; some of the less great experiences (meaning--duller classes) actually were with teachers who had been around longer but were more "done" and looking at retirement just ahead.

And OP, as always on DCUM, the AAP-haters have hijacked your question to whine on about AAP overall. I hope you can ignore them and focus on your own kid's particular experiences, and can give it time. And remember, not every AAP teacher in every year is going to be perfection or have ideal experience, just as every general ed teacher is not going to be like that either. Plus, your child probably has one main teacher in third, right? By fourth in our center, my kid had one main teacher but went to other teachers for all math and science, and by sixth he had four different teachers (homeroom/math/literature, science, writing, social studies). So your child soon may have more than one teacher and will end up having a variety of experiences.

All kids (GenEd and AAP) have one homeroom teacher and several other teachers for different subjects, starting in 3rd grade. This is certainly not AAP-specific.

I posted that. I didn't claim it was AAP-specific. I just noted that the OP's child is going to have more teachers each year and is going to have different experiences with different teachers -- so if OP is basing his or her negative take on AAP on third grade alone (in our third grade the kids had only two teachers), things are going to change a bit more each year. For us, with four teachers in sixth grade for the core subjects, that meant some young and inexperienced teachers, some very experienced ones, some who clicked with our kid better than others, some whose teaching was good but their style was not what our kid enjoyed -- but all got the job done and our child learned a lot and was very ready for middle school. OP just needs to know that basing an opinion on the whole program on half a year of third grade and one or two teachers doesn't give enough information to make any judgment calls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the AAP hate brigade comes out in full force on January 1. OP, a single year is not an adequate sample. Give it one more. We have had brilliant and indifferent teachers. It would be the same in GenEd. Some brilliant and some indifferent teachers. The AAP program is differentiated; it may not always translate into differentiated classroom experience.

OP, please listen to this post! Your child is halfway through the first year of AAP--and that's all. As others noted, too, you will see more of a difference especially in fifth and sixth grades. And there may be more difference in third than you realize; I thought things were pretty similar with what my child's friends at the base school were doing in third grade -- until I had a long talk with one of those kids and her mom (close friends) and realized that certainly in math, the AAP third graders were doing stuff far ahead of the base third graders that year, and that some of the English projects were more creative as well. So there may be differences you're not seeing. And we had both experienced and very new teachers in four years of elementary AAP at a center, and had overall good experiences; some of the less great experiences (meaning--duller classes) actually were with teachers who had been around longer but were more "done" and looking at retirement just ahead.

And OP, as always on DCUM, the AAP-haters have hijacked your question to whine on about AAP overall. I hope you can ignore them and focus on your own kid's particular experiences, and can give it time. And remember, not every AAP teacher in every year is going to be perfection or have ideal experience, just as every general ed teacher is not going to be like that either. Plus, your child probably has one main teacher in third, right? By fourth in our center, my kid had one main teacher but went to other teachers for all math and science, and by sixth he had four different teachers (homeroom/math/literature, science, writing, social studies). So your child soon may have more than one teacher and will end up having a variety of experiences.

All kids (GenEd and AAP) have one homeroom teacher and several other teachers for different subjects, starting in 3rd grade. This is certainly not AAP-specific.

I posted that. I didn't claim it was AAP-specific. I just noted that the OP's child is going to have more teachers each year and is going to have different experiences with different teachers -- so if OP is basing his or her negative take on AAP on third grade alone (in our third grade the kids had only two teachers), things are going to change a bit more each year. For us, with four teachers in sixth grade for the core subjects, that meant some young and inexperienced teachers, some very experienced ones, some who clicked with our kid better than others, some whose teaching was good but their style was not what our kid enjoyed -- but all got the job done and our child learned a lot and was very ready for middle school. OP just needs to know that basing an opinion on the whole program on half a year of third grade and one or two teachers doesn't give enough information to make any judgment calls.

I agree with this. But I also think it's important that OP know that not all AAP parents are happy with the program. While it's great for him/her to hear positive reviews of AAP, it's also important to take seriously the more negative comments too. They are just as valid as any other viewpoint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of AAP teachers are new, but as with any teacher you have to give them a chance. We have an experienced AAP teacher and she's over the top with homework, projects etc. Pick you battles.

I'm curious to know how you know that the gen ed work is not much different than AAP work?

OP: sibling is in general ed.

+1 Lots of us have children in both AAP and GenEd and can speak to the differences and not-so-different aspects of both programs. As for me, I noticed that my GenEd and AAP kids had virtually identical SOL scores in all subjects. They learned exactly the same things, but the AAP child had more busy work, silly projects, and homework. I'm the one who regretted putting said child in AAP and think GenEd would have been a much better experience.

Perhaps this is unique to your school? It is not the experience at all in our center.

+1

Not our experience in our center, either.

Whether the work is "busy work" or the projects are "silly" is a judgment call. I hope that the parent who posted that has had the guts to go to the teacher(s) and ask what the homework, "busy work" and projects were supposed to teach and achieve. If the parent thinks that badly of the projects and teaching, he or she has a responsibility to question it rather than just complain here.

Of course we questioned the teacher about this. In fact, there was a group of dissatisfied parents who requested conferences regarding the same issues: too much busywork and time-wasting projects. We were told that the AAP "team" thought these particular projects were of value. We disagreed, but nothing changed. Why do you assume we just like to vent here without taking concrete action? Sheesh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of AAP teachers are new, but as with any teacher you have to give them a chance. We have an experienced AAP teacher and she's over the top with homework, projects etc. Pick you battles.

I'm curious to know how you know that the gen ed work is not much different than AAP work?

OP: sibling is in general ed.

+1 Lots of us have children in both AAP and GenEd and can speak to the differences and not-so-different aspects of both programs. As for me, I noticed that my GenEd and AAP kids had virtually identical SOL scores in all subjects. They learned exactly the same things, but the AAP child had more busy work, silly projects, and homework. I'm the one who regretted putting said child in AAP and think GenEd would have been a much better experience.

At last, it is so refreshing to see other AAP parents get real about their child's experiences! I have long thought this but only shared my thoughts with a few close friends... it's great to hear from people other than the AAP cheerleaders. The program may work for some, but it is not a universally positive experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not at all surprised. I have heard that AAP will be having more and more non-AAP trained teachers taking over the classrooms.

I really hope this is not the case.

AAP as a whole is a ridiculous program that has been allowed to grow unchecked for years. At the rate it's going, in a few years, schools will be half AAP kids. Really? Whatever happened to the top 3-5%? Frankly, I couldn't care less if AAP kids get a (gasp) non-AAP teacher. I'm concerned about the rest of the students and what kind of teachers and education they're getting. We all pay the same amount in taxes, and our kids should all be receiving equal educational opportunities. I also think Gen Ed kids whose base schools are centers should be allowed to transfer to a non-center school if they prefer, just as AAP kids have the option of attending a Center. The farther away from this nonsense, the better.

Sorry buddy but that is just not realistic. Firstly, life is not fair..simple. Secondly, not all kids have the same intellect. Just like there is differentiated learning for children with disabilities, there is differentiated learning for children that are "gifted" or academically advanced. It would not be fair for those kids to be thrown into a classroom full of kids who are taught the same way.

Lets be realistic here!

Sorry buddy, but AAP is not a "gifted" program. If it was, there would be far fewer kids in it.

it's an advanced academic program. That's what the state requires school districts to accommodate: advanced learners. Given the demographics in FCPS, 18% isn't so outlandish.

It's important to note for those new to FCPS or considering the AAP program, that it isn't a gifted program. I think some parents are under the mistaken belief that their child will be undergoing some magical transformation with a phenomenal gifted curriculum. That's just not the case. signed, parent of two AAP students

I think anyone who reads this forum knows by now that it's an advanced academics program not a gifted program. I personally am fine with an advanced academics program. I think the gifted label has more negative than positive impact, even for truly gifted kids. I think a lot of people on this board use the "it's not a gifted program" argument to slam the program. I think having an advanced academics program is more inclusive and so view it as a positive. I think having the top 15 or so percent of kids work at a faster, more in-depth pace it a good idea. I also agree that gen ed needs to be beefed up, but spending a bunch of energy on bashing AAP is a waste of time. All that energy should be spent on getting improvements in gen ed. Signed parent of one gen ed and one AAP child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention we don't all pay the same in property taxes-at our center, kids attend that live in an area with lower home values and therefore lower taxes-so if anything, AAP is providing them with the opportunity to attend a stronger educational program than what they would otherwise get at their base school.

I am happily married without any domestic violence at home. Frankly we have never called the police home. My neighbors though had the police come in more than 10 times last year. It is unbelievable that we pay the same amount of taxes to support the police - we have never had to use them!

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also agree that gen ed needs to be beefed up, but spending a bunch of energy on bashing AAP is a waste of time. All that energy should be spent on getting improvements in gen ed.

+10000