Thoreau AAP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thoreau's school profile on the FCPS website (http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13) says about half of the kids are already in LLIV. So with the influx of new kids, some of whom will presumably choose LLIV, will that make the gen ed students a minority at the school? I'm confused as to how so many students can be deemed IV AAP based on some of the earlier threads discussing the raw numbers of AAP kids staying at Thoreau vs LJ.

It just means 46% of the students are receiving some LLIV services. It doesn’t mean they tested into the AAP program. If you add the numbers in those columns up, you’ll see some kids are double-counted and the total is about 162%.

It says 422 children last year received LLIV services. It then has another line for LL I,II, and III services. What else does that mean other than the AAP program?

There are students taking Level IV classes even though they are not in the full-time AAP program. The 422 includes those kids as well as those who were eligible for full-time AAP but chose to go to Thoreau rather than the centers at Jackson and Kilmer.

Since Thoreau isn’t being designated a center, I’m not sure FCPS will publish any statistics that indicate the number of students there who are eligible for full-time AAP. Others may know the answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thoreau's school profile on the FCPS website (http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13) says about half of the kids are already in LLIV. So with the influx of new kids, some of whom will presumably choose LLIV, will that make the gen ed students a minority at the school? I'm confused as to how so many students can be deemed IV AAP based on some of the earlier threads discussing the raw numbers of AAP kids staying at Thoreau vs LJ.

It just means 46% of the students are receiving some LLIV services. It doesn’t mean they tested into the AAP program. If you add the numbers in those columns up, you’ll see some kids are double-counted and the total is about 162%.

It says 422 children last year received LLIV services. It then has another line for LL I,II, and III services. What else does that mean other than the AAP program?

There are students taking Level IV classes even though they are not in the full-time AAP program. The 422 includes those kids as well as those who were eligible for full-time AAP but chose to go to Thoreau rather than the centers at Jackson and Kilmer.

Since Thoreau isn’t being designated a center, I’m not sure FCPS will publish any statistics that indicate the number of students there who are eligible for full-time AAP. Others may know the answer.

???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thoreau's school profile on the FCPS website (http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13) says about half of the kids are already in LLIV. So with the influx of new kids, some of whom will presumably choose LLIV, will that make the gen ed students a minority at the school? I'm confused as to how so many students can be deemed IV AAP based on some of the earlier threads discussing the raw numbers of AAP kids staying at Thoreau vs LJ.

It just means 46% of the students are receiving some LLIV services. It doesn’t mean they tested into the AAP program. If you add the numbers in those columns up, you’ll see some kids are double-counted and the total is about 162%.

It says 422 children last year received LLIV services. It then has another line for LL I,II, and III services. What else does that mean other than the AAP program?

Is Thoreau counting students not in AAP taking honors? Technically, that is level IV I guess in MS.

ALL schools count kids who take four honors classes as doing Level 4. Go look at schools that are not AAP centers and do not have local level 4.... and you will still see that they have a certain number of kids counted as doing Level 4... why? B/c any kid who does all honors for math, Eng., Soc. Stud, and Sci. is "Level 4" by the way FCPS tells the school to count it.

Thoreau's number includes those who do actual AAP (of which there are about 100 per grade) and those who are doing all honors. Note that nearly everyone does honors science and social studies. That's the way they run the school. But, kids are encouraged to be placed in the right english and the right math (which may not be honors). So those are the kids who are counted as being level I/II/III services.

The bottom line is that AAP kids take their Sci/Soc. Stud/Eng. classes together and there are about 100 AAP kids in 7th and also in 8th. But, who knows how many there will be next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only the base school kids assigned to Jackson were redistricted. All of the AAP kids from the affected Oakton/Vienna schools are still assigned to the Jackson AAP Center, which will continue to be strong due to the outstanding teachers, rigorous academics, and large AAP peer group. Thoreau does not have "their own AAP center." Thoreau groups some Level IV-eligible students together in core classes, but it is not a Level IV Center supported as such by FCPS. With regard to academics, academic extracurricular opportunities, critical mass of AAP students, TJ placement, and other factors, the Center designation matters.

There is already a critical mass of AAP students at Thoreau, the TJ acceptance rate is just as high at Thoreau, AAP classes at Thoreau are only comprised of AAP students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only the base school kids assigned to Jackson were redistricted. All of the AAP kids from the affected Oakton/Vienna schools are still assigned to the Jackson AAP Center, which will continue to be strong due to the outstanding teachers, rigorous academics, and large AAP peer group. Thoreau does not have "their own AAP center." Thoreau groups some Level IV-eligible students together in core classes, but it is not a Level IV Center supported as such by FCPS. With regard to academics, academic extracurricular opportunities, critical mass of AAP students, TJ placement, and other factors, the Center designation matters.

There is already a critical mass of AAP students at Thoreau, the TJ acceptance rate is just as high at Thoreau, AAP classes at Thoreau are only comprised of AAP students.

It really sounds like a thriving AAP center in everything but name. I understand why that makes some of the LJ people unhappy, but they need to direct their anger towards the School Board, not the Thoreau community that is building a great program.

[Anonymous]

There are enough kids for both AAP programs to co-exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are enough kids for both AAP programs to co-exist.

Nope, and you know which one is going to take a nosedive.

[Anonymous]

If one starts with 225 per grade and the other starts with 100 per grade....and the they become 175 and 150 respectively ....you will complain that the former us being gutted. I would say they are equalizing or balancing.

If you are looking for evidence that you are being victimized, you will find something regardless of facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are enough kids for both AAP programs to co-exist.

Nope, and you know which one is going to take a nosedive.

"Nope?" Grow up a little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only the base school kids assigned to Jackson were redistricted. All of the AAP kids from the affected Oakton/Vienna schools are still assigned to the Jackson AAP Center, which will continue to be strong due to the outstanding teachers, rigorous academics, and large AAP peer group. Thoreau does not have "their own AAP center." Thoreau groups some Level IV-eligible students together in core classes, but it is not a Level IV Center supported as such by FCPS. With regard to academics, academic extracurricular opportunities, critical mass of AAP students, TJ placement, and other factors, the Center designation matters.

There is already a critical mass of AAP students at Thoreau, the TJ acceptance rate is just as high at Thoreau, AAP classes at Thoreau are only comprised of AAP students.

It really sounds like a thriving AAP center in everything but name. I understand why that makes some of the LJ people unhappy, but they need to direct their anger towards the School Board, not the Thoreau community that is building a great program.[/quote]

LJ is already great. TH has years to go to get there. They are behind in curriculum, experienced teachers, and a system that works well. I'm not sure what the problem is with saying that TH has a lot of other benefits that LJ lacks: much better facility, zero overcrowding, and your kids will have a solid base of friends going into Madison if that's where they'll go.

[Anonymous]

My guess is that Thoreau will be overcrowded next year and LJ will not. Time will tell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If one starts with 225 per grade and the other starts with 100 per grade....and the they become 175 and 150 respectively ....you will complain that the former us being gutted. I would say they are equalizing or balancing.

If you are looking for evidence that you are being victimized, you will find something regardless of facts.

Realistically, the changes in the respective programs will take a few years to play out but, in three or four years at the most, LJ’s AAP program will be one of the smallest in FCPS and the LLIV program at Thoreau will be similar to the AAP program at schools like Frost and Kilmer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If one starts with 225 per grade and the other starts with 100 per grade....and the they become 175 and 150 respectively ....you will complain that the former us being gutted. I would say they are equalizing or balancing.

If you are looking for evidence that you are being victimized, you will find something regardless of facts.

Realistically, the changes in the respective programs will take a few years to play out but, in three or four years at the most, LJ’s AAP program will be one of the smallest in FCPS and the LLIV program at Thoreau will be similar to the AAP program at schools like Frost and Kilmer.

Plus Thoreau will have the better demographics. Which is why the whole decision starting from letting Thoreau have their LLIV program years ago was stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that Thoreau will be overcrowded next year and LJ will not. Time will tell.

They are hundreds under capacity. The will absolutely NOT be overcrowded next year by adding some students but still being under capacity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If one starts with 225 per grade and the other starts with 100 per grade....and the they become 175 and 150 respectively ....you will complain that the former us being gutted. I would say they are equalizing or balancing.

If you are looking for evidence that you are being victimized, you will find something regardless of facts.

Realistically, the changes in the respective programs will take a few years to play out but, in three or four years at the most, LJ’s AAP program will be one of the smallest in FCPS and the LLIV program at Thoreau will be similar to the AAP program at schools like Frost and Kilmer.

Plus Thoreau will have the better demographics. Which is why the whole decision starting from letting Thoreau have their LLIV program years ago was stupid.

They should kept the prior boundaries and just designated Thoreau as a center. They’d have a better handle on the numbers than they willing by expanding the boundaries but not declaring TMS a center. What they’ve done will take a bit longer to unfold (after the 2019 SB election, of course) and will likely lead Thoreau to be seriously overcrowded.