Which DMV school system offers the most for gifted kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In MoCo, living in the Piney Branch ES zone gives you the greatest chances at getting into the CES and MS magnet. PBES has a local CES for grades 4 and 5, which is also a plus because you don't have to ride a bus to a regional center. And since TPMS is the zoned middle school there too, there are some local seats for the magnet program. There aren't local seats for the Blair HS magnet.

But living in the piney branch area means living on the edge of PG in or near the dense concentration of low income housing in MoCo. No thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In MoCo, living in the Piney Branch ES zone gives you the greatest chances at getting into the CES and MS magnet. PBES has a local CES for grades 4 and 5, which is also a plus because you don't have to ride a bus to a regional center. And since TPMS is the zoned middle school there too, there are some local seats for the magnet program. There aren't local seats for the Blair HS magnet.

But living in the piney branch area means living on the edge of PG in or near the densest concentrations of low income housing in MoCo. The reasons there is so many "gifted" programs there is the deluge of middle class parents trying to get their kids out of the general populations in those schools. I would wager the gifted classes there resemble normal classes in predominantly higher SES areas

[Anonymous]

Well Fairfax will run the crown jewel of it's gifted system (TJ) into the ground in the name of "equity."

[Anonymous]

Isn't AAP (especially at centers) very varied from location to location, particularly by the middle school level? For example, AAP at Rachel Carson draws from a huge area and is much more competitive (not necessarily to get in, but between students) than some other AAP centers or programs? (That was also traditionally the biggest TJ feeder, though who knows now.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools are not required by law to provide gifted education. Some of them offer it to compete with privates but there are no guarantees and the courses taught are still using the same state standards.

Public schools in Virginia are required to have advanced curriculum

No. Public schools in Virginia are required to have a gifted program.

The most well-known gifted program in the DMV is AAP in FCPS. DC is in 5th grade and we are happy with the program. It's a good mix of interesting extensions, engaging curriculum, and a good cohort with experienced teachers.

It is designed to accommodate the top 25-30%. They took the word gifted out of the name for a reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools are not required by law to provide gifted education. Some of them offer it to compete with privates but there are no guarantees and the courses taught are still using the same state standards.

Public schools in Virginia are required to have advanced curriculum

No. Public schools in Virginia are required to have a gifted program.

The most well-known gifted program in the DMV is AAP in FCPS. DC is in 5th grade and we are happy with the program. It's a good mix of interesting extensions, engaging curriculum, and a good cohort with experienced teachers.

It is designed to accommodate the top 25-30%. They took the word gifted out of the name for a reason.

Because you're no longer allowed to call the remaining 70-75% of kids average or slow especially when that accounts for 98% of the area's minorities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools are not required by law to provide gifted education. Some of them offer it to compete with privates but there are no guarantees and the courses taught are still using the same state standards.

Public schools in Virginia are required to have advanced curriculum

No. Public schools in Virginia are required to have a gifted program.

The most well-known gifted program in the DMV is AAP in FCPS. DC is in 5th grade and we are happy with the program. It's a good mix of interesting extensions, engaging curriculum, and a good cohort with experienced teachers.

It is designed to accommodate the top 25-30%. They took the word gifted out of the name for a reason.

I heard it accommodated the top 45%. Someone else told me it accommodated the top 60%.

Wow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is designed to accommodate the top 25-30%. They took the word gifted out of the name for a reason.

I heard it accommodated the top 45%. Someone else told me it accommodated the top 60%.

Wow!

That's a huge distortion. According to FCAG statistics, 19% of kids in 3rd-6th grade are LIV eligible, and another 7% are in full-time LIV services through principal placement, meaning 26% are in the full time gifted program. Another 10-20 percent receive part-time AAP services, but aren't in the self contained classrooms full time.

Fairfax parents like to believe that they're some nexus of giftedness, and that 10-20% of the FCPS kids would rank in the national top 2%. For what it's worth, my kid with a mid-low 120s IQ was easily in the top third of her AAP class and breezed through the program. My kid with a 140 IQ was bored and got nothing at all out of the program. It's at best mildly accelerated gen ed, and not at all a gifted program.

My kids are now in a college prep charter school, which is also not a gifted program, yet is much more demanding and much more advanced than FCPS AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MoCo is very limited with their programs. Many kids are gifted, few get into the programs.

Correct, Mcps is offers sub-scale G&T spots in grades 4-12, esp given how many talented students it has and how large it’s public county district is.

Second issue is it located the G&T programs within struggling, far off schools such that half of the county (SW quadrant), can’t make the bussing or logistics work to get easily to/from the program for MS and HS. Elaborate car pooling is set up and one must cancel after school ECs or miss them if off campus. But hey, the struggling school,now has bolstered average test scores and some families moved closer to bolster home values there! Voila!

Thirdly, the SJWs made the number one discard criteria for high scoring and good recommendation applicants, their “home school cohort.” Which means two things: if your large school had more than 15-20 high scorers, none of you get to go, “because you can learn from each other in your regular classes!” And kids with lesser scores but no such cohort can get a seat in the special program. Voila!! Instant racial diversity! Mcps now does not publish MAP and COGAt scores of its admits to CES and magnet MS and HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MoCo, living in the Piney Branch ES zone gives you the greatest chances at getting into the CES and MS magnet. PBES has a local CES for grades 4 and 5, which is also a plus because you don't have to ride a bus to a regional center. And since TPMS is the zoned middle school there too, there are some local seats for the magnet program. There aren't local seats for the Blair HS magnet.

But living in the piney branch area means living on the edge of PG in or near the densest concentrations of low income housing in MoCo. The reasons there is so many "gifted" programs there is the deluge of middle class parents trying to get their kids out of the general populations in those schools. I would wager the gifted classes there resemble normal classes in predominantly higher SES areas

Huge Covid outbreaks there and east of Takoma park due to all the multi family group homes of cash market day workers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo is very limited with their programs. Many kids are gifted, few get into the programs.

Correct, Mcps is offers sub-scale G&T spots in grades 4-12, esp given how many talented students it has and how large it’s public county district is.

Second issue is it located the G&T programs within struggling, far off schools such that half of the county (SW quadrant), can’t make the bussing or logistics work to get easily to/from the program for MS and HS. Elaborate car pooling is set up and one must cancel after school ECs or miss them if off campus. But hey, the struggling school,now has bolstered average test scores and some families moved closer to bolster home values there! Voila!

Thirdly, the SJWs made the number one discard criteria for high scoring and good recommendation applicants, their “home school cohort.” Which means two things: if your large school had more than 15-20 high scorers, none of you get to go, “because you can learn from each other in your regular classes!” And kids with lesser scores but no such cohort can get a seat in the special program. Voila!! Instant racial diversity! Mcps now does not publish MAP and COGAt scores of its admits to CES and magnet MS and HS.

The kids have to be in the 99+ for MAP and COGAT and that's grade scores, not aged scores from what I have seen with a few exceptions and those parents fought to get their kids in. There is nothing special about those programs but to segregate your kids. Very few kids take Algebra in 6th and yet regular kids in other schools can and have better elective and other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:interesting thread. my husband and I both were in gifted programs as children and had IQs tested at around 145 (for me) and 150 (for him). we are wondering what to do with our kids... currently in DCPS schools where they are actually thriving -- they are very self-motivated -- but there are no gifted programs. how important is it for them to be in an actual gifted program?

Just get them to Wilson or SWW, they will be fine, happy and do great things.

If you want to try to get aid for private school, do that for 7th or 9th grade, I’d t bother with their lower schools. Very UN academic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is designed to accommodate the top 25-30%. They took the word gifted out of the name for a reason.

I heard it accommodated the top 45%. Someone else told me it accommodated the top 60%.

Wow!

That's a huge distortion. According to FCAG statistics, 19% of kids in 3rd-6th grade are LIV eligible, and another 7% are in full-time LIV services through principal placement, meaning 26% are in the full time gifted program. Another 10-20 percent receive part-time AAP services, but aren't in the self contained classrooms full time.

Fairfax parents like to believe that they're some nexus of giftedness, and that 10-20% of the FCPS kids would rank in the national top 2%. For what it's worth, my kid with a mid-low 120s IQ was easily in the top third of her AAP class and breezed through the program. My kid with a 140 IQ was bored and got nothing at all out of the program. It's at best mildly accelerated gen ed, and not at all a gifted program.

My kids are now in a college prep charter school, which is also not a gifted program, yet is much more demanding and much more advanced than FCPS AAP.

You know that AAP, like most GT programs, is only for grade school and grades 7-8? Not high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is designed to accommodate the top 25-30%. They took the word gifted out of the name for a reason.

I heard it accommodated the top 45%. Someone else told me it accommodated the top 60%.

Wow!

That's a huge distortion. According to FCAG statistics, 19% of kids in 3rd-6th grade are LIV eligible, and another 7% are in full-time LIV services through principal placement, meaning 26% are in the full time gifted program. Another 10-20 percent receive part-time AAP services, but aren't in the self contained classrooms full time.

Fairfax parents like to believe that they're some nexus of giftedness, and that 10-20% of the FCPS kids would rank in the national top 2%. For what it's worth, my kid with a mid-low 120s IQ was easily in the top third of her AAP class and breezed through the program. My kid with a 140 IQ was bored and got nothing at all out of the program. It's at best mildly accelerated gen ed, and not at all a gifted program.

My kids are now in a college prep charter school, which is also not a gifted program, yet is much more demanding and much more advanced than FCPS AAP.

You know that AAP, like most GT programs, is only for grade school and grades 7-8? Not high school.

Huh? Their charter is 5-12, and my kids are in 5th and 7th. It's so much more rigorous than FCPS AAP.

[Anonymous]

Just make sure you are wanting support for "giftedness" vs. being high performing. There are very few schools that really focus on neurological "giftedness" but tons in this area where kids who are super duper smart and high performing (no matter their technical IQ in different areas) - including most of the exclusive privates, many MoCo schools (including Blair magnet), Fairfax schools (including TJ magnet) etc. So depends also what you are trying to get out of it for your kids.