Does minority status play any role in acceptance to AAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question, my child is a minority and my concern is that if my child attends an AAP center, they will be one of very few minorities. Our base school is not very diverse but I would hesitate to change to a school with less diversity. Also, from the commentary above, is it going to be assumed that my child got in due in part to some special consideration due to race? The young scholars program is not available at our base school and it's actually kind of puzzling to me how those schools get chosen (Cherry Hill or run? Has the young scholars program and it is not a diverse school)

My DC is in AAP and is a minority. I know that his race had no part in him being accepted into AAP, because the school actually made an error on his file and checked white for his race. But his NNAT and COGAT were above the bench mark and his GBRS was a 16, so I assumed he was getting in.
It is unfortunately that the center tend to be less diverse, but we have not encounter a problem thus far, and my son has truly enjoyed the program.
Regarding others assumption about your DC, I would encourage you not to spend to much mental energy worrying about what others think of your child. Any person that assumes a child who is minority is not as qualified simply based on the fact he/she belong to a minority group, has inherent prejudice (racism) against that particular group, and nothing you do or don't do will change this.
Better to spend your energy helping your child find and value diversity. We have been able to do this through other activities we participate in such as sports, music and church.
Best of luck to you and your family.

I instinctively knows that I shouldn't care but it is tough not knowing if my child would have to deal with these type of attitudes. Then again, it'd be foolish to not provide my child with this opportunity because of what "might" happen. Thank you for your feedback. It is good to hear about other people's experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question, my child is a minority and my concern is that if my child attends an AAP center, they will be one of very few minorities. Our base school is not very diverse but I would hesitate to change to a school with less diversity. Also, from the commentary above, is it going to be assumed that my child got in due in part to some special consideration due to race? The young scholars program is not available at our base school and it's actually kind of puzzling to me how those schools get chosen (Cherry Hill or run? Has the young scholars program and it is not a diverse school)

If you are in the Sangster cluster, no one will think that about your kid.

Everyone in that West Springfield area comes from very similar economic and social backgrounds, with families who value education and parents who are involved with their kids.

No one will bat an eye at whatever color your kid is.

Plus, that area and Sangster in particular are not into the dcum AAP nonsense. The schools are all uniformly excellent. The people are normal people with busy lives not centered around AAP. The Sangster general ed population is filled with really bright snd sxceptional kids and the school culture is very inclusive it is a great school and you won't generally have the issues and attitudes you see on dcum, unless you run into the occassional jerk parent that you might find anywhere.

Great post, PP.

Someone needs to create a version of the Judgemental Map of Northern Virginia for AAP Centers in Fairfax County.

Thank you! Good to hear. I think the AAP school would be Keene Mill but I am not 100% sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would it matter to your kid if he was a minority at the school? My kids don't see colors in people and don't understand why it would even matter.

Well, you probably have never been a minority I am assuming if you are asking me this question. At this age, it doesn't matter to my child but he is starting to notice that he is the only "brown one" in his class. He hasn't said it bothers him yet but he is definitely noticing. I know as my child gets older it would be beneficial to have some other minorities around for various reasons. One reason, and the reason I asked the question, is if there are negative attitudes towards minorities at a particular school is makes it easier to cope if you have others there with you to weather the storm. Also, culturally one is often not privy to cultural cues and mores if one does not grow up around and do not go to school with others of a similar racial group. As children get older, I have seen at some schools that students tend to gravitate towards children of their own race in terms of friendship and it makes it hard to create close bonds with anyone if you are always seen as "different". I haven't eloquently described why it matters but as someone who has been a racial minority my whole life, I promise you that at some point it starts to matter. And yes, I attended various schools that were racially diverse to non--racially diverse and turned out fine but I know from experience that it can be tough being the only racial minority in a class/school especially if it is a competitive environment. I did well but it's tough knowing ahead of time what type of challenges your child might face. I said "might" because I don't know if that would be the case in this area and 25 -30 years after I was in the same situation. Which is why I asked.

+ 10000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question, my child is a minority and my concern is that if my child attends an AAP center, they will be one of very few minorities. Our base school is not very diverse but I would hesitate to change to a school with less diversity. Also, from the commentary above, is it going to be assumed that my child got in due in part to some special consideration due to race? The young scholars program is not available at our base school and it's actually kind of puzzling to me how those schools get chosen (Cherry Hill or run? Has the young scholars program and it is not a diverse school)

If you are in the Sangster cluster, no one will think that about your kid.

Everyone in that West Springfield area comes from very similar economic and social backgrounds, with families who value education and parents who are involved with their kids.

No one will bat an eye at whatever color your kid is.

Plus, that area and Sangster in particular are not into the dcum AAP nonsense. The schools are all uniformly excellent. The people are normal people with busy lives not centered around AAP. The Sangster general ed population is filled with really bright snd sxceptional kids and the school culture is very inclusive it is a great school and you won't generally have the issues and attitudes you see on dcum, unless you run into the occassional jerk parent that you might find anywhere.

Great post, PP.

Someone needs to create a version of the Judgemental Map of Northern Virginia for AAP Centers in Fairfax County.

Thank you! Good to hear. I think the AAP school would be Keene Mill but I am not 100% sure.

Hunt Valley, Orange Hunt & Cherry Run feed into Sangster.

[Anonymous]

My kids are asian. Does that automatically get them into AAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are asian. Does that automatically get them into AAP?

Your kids are but not you? No Asian person would ask this stupid question. Go away

[Anonymous]

The Report button is on the right bottom corner of the post.

[Anonymous]

Of course, They are explicitly listed on the form. They wouldn't be there if they were not used...