Wolftrap / Louise Archer or Colvin Run (AAP?)- mainstreaming AAP at level IV

[Anonymous]

DC is in the pool and it looks very likely of getting into AAP. Our base school is Wolftrap. It's our first year, but I hear that they changed level IV to mainstream AAP students and then do pull-outs for math and English/reading .. Any feedback on this new approach? We would also have a choice to send DC to Louise Archer - potentially Colvin Run (we are planning on moving within Vienna).. I'd appreciate any feedback on mainstreaming AAP at level IV schools as well as anything on these two AAP centers.

[Anonymous]

Do a search here on Local Level IV vs. Level IV Center. You can also do a search on the FCAG Yahoo group posts.

[Anonymous]

Here's an old thread:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/217587.page#2172739

[Anonymous]

My neighbor said they went to both orientations and were able to make a decision between the schools afterwards. Wolftrap offers AAP science and social studies lessons to all their students btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor said they went to both orientations and were able to make a decision between the schools afterwards. Wolftrap offers AAP science and social studies lessons to all their students btw.

Really? I thought Wolftrap was offering elements of the AAP science and social studies curriculum and not AAP science and social studies lessons.

[Anonymous]

It is not a closed group of AAP students for science and social studies. Each school is different how they implement their AAP programs, so you'd have to check about all the particulars at each school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not a closed group of AAP students for science and social studies. Each school is different how they implement their AAP programs, so you'd have to check about all the particulars at each school.

This is especially true for Local Level IV programs.

[Anonymous]

OP here- thanks for the replies and feedback. I do realize each place is different- but I do know Wolftrap does mainstream AAP and pull out for math/English. Has anyone's child gone through AAP this way? Feedback? For what I understand, AAP centers do not mainstream (at least these two centers- Louise Archer and Colvin Run- if I am wrong please let me know). Yes, I will go to tour but was hoping to get parents feedback on their child's experience. Thank you again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for the replies and feedback. I do realize each place is different- but I do know Wolftrap does mainstream AAP and pull out for math/English.

For the life of me I do not know what "mainstreaming AAP" means. What do you mean, PP?

There is no "mainstreaming" of AAP in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for the replies and feedback. I do realize each place is different- but I do know Wolftrap does mainstream AAP and pull out for math/English.

For the life of me I do not know what "mainstreaming AAP" means. What do you mean, PP?

There is no "mainstreaming" of AAP in FCPS.

There is a local level IV model where the kids are in science, social studies and specials with the Gen Ed kids and then they are with AAP kids for math and Language Arts and other non-AAP kids might be mixed in if they can handle the curriculum in those classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for the replies and feedback. I do realize each place is different- but I do know Wolftrap does mainstream AAP and pull out for math/English.

For the life of me I do not know what "mainstreaming AAP" means. What do you mean, PP?

There is no "mainstreaming" of AAP in FCPS.

There is a local level IV model where the kids are in science, social studies and specials with the Gen Ed kids and then they are with AAP kids for math and Language Arts and other non-AAP kids might be mixed in if they can handle the curriculum in those classes.

Yes, this is Local Level IV. But Local Level IV is not "mainstreaming."

http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/faqs/esfaqs.shtml

What are Local Level IV Services?
Local Level IV Services provide an important option for advanced learners who need the challenge of a full-time AAP center curriculum and do not want to leave their local school. They also provide another avenue of access for advanced academic services to students who may need to practice and strengthen their basic skills but have the capacity to think, reason, and problem solve at advanced levels.

How does Local Level IV differ from the Full-time AAP Center?
The teachers in both settings are trained in gifted education and teach the same advanced academic curriculum to students who are ready for a highly challenging instructional program in the four core subject areas. The main difference is in the make-up of the class. All of the students in a full-time AAP center-based class have been identified as center-eligible by a central selection committee and will be coming from several neighborhood schools to comprise the center class. In a Local Level IV classroom, the students are a mix of students who are center-eligible and high achieving students who are capable of working at advanced levels, all enrolled in their local school.

Many schools that offer Local Level IV services add students to the Level IV class in areas of academic strength through flexible grouping. This is an important avenue of access for students who have traditionally been underrepresented in advanced academic programs.

[Anonymous]

Apparently Wolftrap used to create a separate Level IV class and that class would stay together for all subjects -- math, social studies, science, language arts etc. They would be together for the whole day. This year, for the first time, they did away with the separate class and all children eceive the AAP curriculum for science and social studies and the classes are all mixed up and all three classes include some level IV kids and non level IV kids and then the whole grade switches classes for math and language arts so for those two subjects only, the Level IV kids are all together in the same class. I think that is what OP means by "mainstreaming" -- no more separate class for Local Level IV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year, for the first time, they did away with the separate class and all children eceive the AAP curriculum for science and social studies and the classes are all mixed up and all three classes include some level IV kids and non level IV kids and then the whole grade switches classes for math and language arts so for those two subjects only, the Level IV kids are all together in the same class.

Thank you for your detailed post. What you described is flexible grouping.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the child, but the local can be very easy compared to the center.

[Anonymous]

Making school so very easy for these kids gives a very false sense of what it takes to achieve something. Everything is not as easy as the schools make it.