Feel like my well behaved 1st grader is basically ignored in FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo DS is a nice kid, doesn't cause any problems and listens to the teacher. DS's FCPS Alexandria school is 30% free lunch/ESOL. He has 27 kids in his class. DS is a bright kid but probably not gifted. I feel like he is completely ignored in his class. I don't know if this is unique to his class or school or if it will be the same everywhere for a well behaved non-troublemaker who isn't profoundly gifted.

I don't know if things will change if we move to Arlington or Mclean, deemed better schools. I would like to move to Arlington for closer proximity to work and smaller class sizes. Mclean has nicer curb appeal but I believe class sizes are even bigger.

Be glad he's being ignored. It's way better than the alternatives, trust me. In FCPS, ignored is about the best you can hope for, unless your child is one of the "gifted and privileged" and gets an actual education.

OP here. I just reread your post three times. Are you saying that only the gifted kids in FCPS get a good education?

I'm not the PP, but I had two boys go through FCPS through Middle School. One was in AAP, the other Gen Ed. The AAP was school based, not center, so those in the know would look down upon it. Anyway, the difference was night and day. AAP was very challenging and engaging, Gen Ed looked more like busy work. AAP had piles of HW, Gen Ed not very much. It was like they were in two different schools. If you child is tracked for Gen Ed, I think private is a much better option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo DS is a nice kid, doesn't cause any problems and listens to the teacher. DS's FCPS Alexandria school is 30% free lunch/ESOL. He has 27 kids in his class. DS is a bright kid but probably not gifted. I feel like he is completely ignored in his class. I don't know if this is unique to his class or school or if it will be the same everywhere for a well behaved non-troublemaker who isn't profoundly gifted.

I don't know if things will change if we move to Arlington or Mclean, deemed better schools. I would like to move to Arlington for closer proximity to work and smaller class sizes. Mclean has nicer curb appeal but I believe class sizes are even bigger.

Be glad he's being ignored. It's way better than the alternatives, trust me. In FCPS, ignored is about the best you can hope for, unless your child is one of the "gifted and privileged" and gets an actual education.

OP here. I just reread your post three times. Are you saying that only the gifted kids in FCPS get a good education?

I'm not the PP, but I had two boys go through FCPS through Middle School. One was in AAP, the other Gen Ed. The AAP was school based, not center, so those in the know would look down upon it. Anyway, the difference was night and day. AAP was very challenging and engaging, Gen Ed looked more like busy work. AAP had piles of HW, Gen Ed not very much. It was like they were in two different schools. If you child is tracked for Gen Ed, I think private is a much better option.

Piles of homework. Sounds wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo DS is a nice kid, doesn't cause any problems and listens to the teacher. DS's FCPS Alexandria school is 30% free lunch/ESOL. He has 27 kids in his class. DS is a bright kid but probably not gifted. I feel like he is completely ignored in his class. I don't know if this is unique to his class or school or if it will be the same everywhere for a well behaved non-troublemaker who isn't profoundly gifted.

I don't know if things will change if we move to Arlington or Mclean, deemed better schools. I would like to move to Arlington for closer proximity to work and smaller class sizes. Mclean has nicer curb appeal but I believe class sizes are even bigger.

Be glad he's being ignored. It's way better than the alternatives, trust me. In FCPS, ignored is about the best you can hope for, unless your child is one of the "gifted and privileged" and gets an actual education.

OP here. I just reread your post three times. Are you saying that only the gifted kids in FCPS get a good education?

I'm not the PP, but I had two boys go through FCPS through Middle School. One was in AAP, the other Gen Ed. The AAP was school based, not center, so those in the know would look down upon it. Anyway, the difference was night and day. AAP was very challenging and engaging, Gen Ed looked more like busy work. AAP had piles of HW, Gen Ed not very much. It was like they were in two different schools. If you child is tracked for Gen Ed, I think private is a much better option.

I can't even...

- Parent of two former Gen Ed students in FCPS now thriving in college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you are going down the path to private school. It kills me to be paying for private school, but by the time FCPS gets done paying and staffing everything else that they do, from AAP to ESOL, the 'average' student just doesn't get that much from FCPS. Took me through ES to figure that out - I regret every minute my kids were in FCPS.

Op here. I was just talking to DH about private school. Don't think Mclean will be any better for my child. We will see how things go. I feel we will be visiting Burgundy, Browne and SSSA.

Be careful, I know families at Burgundy and Browne who left for FCPS. Some even had similar complaints but they were upset because they were paying for their kids to be ignored. Others had different complaints unique to private school, like their child not being challaneged and the focus being more on social skills than education. I am not familiar with SSSA. Go to the DCUM private school board and ask around, you may be surprised. I'm not saying don't do private. I'm saying Browne and Burgandy may not be the right ones for your issue.

[Anonymous]

It seems a little drastic to look into private school because you are not happy with the 1st grade teacher. Your child has not been in FCPS for that long. 2nd grade could be completely different. My son is in gen ed, not AAP, in FCPS in Vienna. I feel he gets attention and is appropriately challenged. I've liked certain teachers better than others. One thing is certain, every year is different and every teacher will have a different teaching style. Have you met with the teacher? Our teacher last year provided optional enrichment to the entire class all year. Our teacher this year doesn't, but I feel her classes in general are more more engaging, thought provoking and challenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I kinda wonder if the same problem won't occur at a private school. Are they also set up to provide lots of help to the "gifted" and not much to the "bright regular" types?

My kid is in private and we prefer it. Here's how it works. Prospects are screened, if you have a history of not cooperating in class (outside of academic performance) based on teacher recommendations then you maybe dropped as a candidate. If you do get in and they find out you're trouble the kick you out. So my kids is able to get as much as they willing to without the usual distractions. And it's not FARMS that creates an unlearning environment. I saw issues in my mostly non farms classroom. Public school teachers all around spend a lot of their time managing snowflakes and their parents. Schools cannot teach your kid everything academic they need to know these days, that's your responsibility.

What's a snowflake ?

[Anonymous]

This isn't about FCPS. This is a common phenomenon in schools everywhere. The only real way to prevent it is smaller class size.

[Anonymous]

Your child is 1 of 27 students in the room. How much deep and personal attention do you expect for him to get?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo DS is a nice kid, doesn't cause any problems and listens to the teacher. DS's FCPS Alexandria school is 30% free lunch/ESOL. He has 27 kids in his class. DS is a bright kid but probably not gifted. I feel like he is completely ignored in his class. I don't know if this is unique to his class or school or if it will be the same everywhere for a well behaved non-troublemaker who isn't profoundly gifted.

I don't know if things will change if we move to Arlington or Mclean, deemed better schools. I would like to move to Arlington for closer proximity to work and smaller class sizes. Mclean has nicer curb appeal but I believe class sizes are even bigger.

Be glad he's being ignored. It's way better than the alternatives, trust me. In FCPS, ignored is about the best you can hope for, unless your child is one of the "gifted and privileged" and gets an actual education.

OP here. I just reread your post three times. Are you saying that only the gifted kids in FCPS get a good education?

AAP kids get something better than everyone else. They get a private school quality education for free, while the rest of the kids sit around in over-crowded classrooms learning next to nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo DS is a nice kid, doesn't cause any problems and listens to the teacher. DS's FCPS Alexandria school is 30% free lunch/ESOL. He has 27 kids in his class. DS is a bright kid but probably not gifted. I feel like he is completely ignored in his class. I don't know if this is unique to his class or school or if it will be the same everywhere for a well behaved non-troublemaker who isn't profoundly gifted.

I don't know if things will change if we move to Arlington or Mclean, deemed better schools. I would like to move to Arlington for closer proximity to work and smaller class sizes. Mclean has nicer curb appeal but I believe class sizes are even bigger.

Be glad he's being ignored. It's way better than the alternatives, trust me. In FCPS, ignored is about the best you can hope for, unless your child is one of the "gifted and privileged" and gets an actual education.

OP here. I just reread your post three times. Are you saying that only the gifted kids in FCPS get a good education?

AAP kids get something better than everyone else. They get a private school quality education for free, while the rest of the kids sit around in over-crowded classrooms learning next to nothing.

Perhaps this is true of your school, but my DC's school is great. I know parents whose children go to other FCPS schools and they also like their schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel exactly the same way. My kid isn't a special needs kid or a troublemaker, nor is he "greatly gifted", and therefore he is basically ignored. Any extra enrichment he gets is provided by me.

Changing schools won't help you -- my son is already in a very good school. It is just the nature of a giant school system.

Yup. And again, OP should be happy that her kid is not having any problems rather than looking for them. When I was in 1st grade at a catholic school I had 50 kids in my first grade class. I still remember one day when everyone was talking and the sister made us all stand up, and then allowed me to sit down since I was smart and always got my work done. I would make up for it later in elementary by causing plenty of problems and grabbing plenty of teacher attention. Ultimately, I would get 2 graduate degrees from an Ivy and top ten school and go on to have a successful career and a meaningful life.

It all balances out. Despite all the hysteria about our "gifted" kids getting lost and held back, the brightest do manage to succeed.

OP here. I don't think my child is gifted. I'm afraid he is not learning at his potential and is basically ignored since he causes no trouble.

This is what FCPS is devolving towards. I would move your child to a private. The teacher/student ratio alone is worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo DS is a nice kid, doesn't cause any problems and listens to the teacher. DS's FCPS Alexandria school is 30% free lunch/ESOL. He has 27 kids in his class. DS is a bright kid but probably not gifted. I feel like he is completely ignored in his class. I don't know if this is unique to his class or school or if it will be the same everywhere for a well behaved non-troublemaker who isn't profoundly gifted.

I don't know if things will change if we move to Arlington or Mclean, deemed better schools. I would like to move to Arlington for closer proximity to work and smaller class sizes. Mclean has nicer curb appeal but I believe class sizes are even bigger.

Be glad he's being ignored. It's way better than the alternatives, trust me. In FCPS, ignored is about the best you can hope for, unless your child is one of the "gifted and privileged" and gets an actual education.

OP here. I just reread your post three times. Are you saying that only the gifted kids in FCPS get a good education?

I'm not the PP, but I had two boys go through FCPS through Middle School. One was in AAP, the other Gen Ed. The AAP was school based, not center, so those in the know would look down upon it. Anyway, the difference was night and day. AAP was very challenging and engaging, Gen Ed looked more like busy work. AAP had piles of HW, Gen Ed not very much. It was like they were in two different schools. If you child is tracked for Gen Ed, I think private is a much better option.

Not really an indication of a great program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you are going down the path to private school. It kills me to be paying for private school, but by the time FCPS gets done paying and staffing everything else that they do, from AAP to ESOL, the 'average' student just doesn't get that much from FCPS. Took me through ES to figure that out - I regret every minute my kids were in FCPS.

Op here. I was just talking to DH about private school. Don't think Mclean will be any better for my child. We will see how things go. I feel we will be visiting Burgundy, Browne and SSSA.

Be careful, I know families at Burgundy and Browne who left for FCPS. Some even had similar complaints but they were upset because they were paying for their kids to be ignored. Others had different complaints unique to private school, like their child not being challaneged and the focus being more on social skills than education. I am not familiar with SSSA. Go to the DCUM private school board and ask around, you may be surprised. I'm not saying don't do private. I'm saying Browne and Burgandy may not be the right ones for your issue.

Focusing more on social skills is a VERY good thing. You can be smart as hell, but if you can't work within a company structure, good luck.

[Anonymous]

They should track for reading and math

If that isn't happening I would blame the teacher

But to underscore everyone else if you are the middle 80% you are going to be ignored for the most part. That's how schools are supposed to work. News flash its how corporations work too.

I care about rewarding my top 10% and making sure my bottom 10% are contained until they get let go (course you can't do that with pubic schools)

[Anonymous]

I had a kid like OP too- was pretty much ignored by the teacher because he wasn't causing any trouble. He was a really good, calm kid and never had discipline issues.
By 3rd grade, my kid started to express frustration in the classroom. We were pretty floored about what our kid was saying in the classroom. It wasn't like him at all. He got 2s on citizenship.
We did talk to the teacher. The teacher said she had other pressing issues in the classroom (such as kids who were behind) that she needed to attend to.
The teacher did try to appease us by giving DS a more "advanced" math worksheet and sent him to the corner without giving him any context whatsoever.
Then she told us, see, he's not advanced in math at all since he couldn't do these problems on his own.

We had him tested and he scored 2 grade levels above in Math and 3 levels above in reading skills. We had many other tests done to make sure the first testing wasn't a fluke.
He's in an AAP center now and doing fantastic. All 4s on citizenship. He loves it that he stays busy and engaged all day long. I can't attest to the piles of homework other people have mentioned. Even when there is a lot of homework, he gets them done in less than 1 hour- and that's probably once a week. Most nights there is no homework, but our center school told us that they prefer for kids to do the work at school.

My advice to the OP is to get outside testing done. You need those other data points. Without that outside data, we would have taken the teacher's word and told DS to just suck it up in the classroom.