AAP Teachers-share your thoughts...

[Anonymous]

Please share what you can't tell parents in person.

Are most of the kids content or are there a lot of stressed out kids?

Are there more challenging/difficult parents than you find in general ed?

Is teacher quality better in AAP or are there just as many stars and duds as in general ed?

Does the program truly provide more than a child can get in general education?

Are the class sizes reasonable?

Do you feel that most of your students are benefitting from the program?

[Anonymous]

U don't need a teacher to reply to this post - any AAP parent can tell you:

1. Of course, like any class, some kids are stressed and others are not.

2. AAP parents are no different than Gen Ed parents. They are all parents.

3. There are good, bad and great teachers in AAP and in Gen Ed. FWIW the worse the teacher is the more stressed the kids are and the more likely the teacher is to complain about the AAP parents.

4. Yes. Only the kids in the top get in, so the teacher only needs to teach to that subset. The Gen Ed teacher is screwed and must teach to very low learners and very high learners (those overlooked by the AAP selection cmte) and those in the middle.

5. AAP classes are always bigger. This allows the Gen Ed parents to feel that since their kid is being screwed by the Gen Ed population, the AAP kid can get screwed on larger class size.

6. The jury is out on this - will know in 15 years when today's AAP kids are out of college and, hopefully, productive members of society.

Signed a parent of AAP kids (all are in the AAP center) and thankful that it exists. I think Gen Ed would be a very hard place to learn. Too many varying levels of learning aptitude and skill level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U don't need a teacher to reply to this post - any AAP parent can tell you:

1. Of course, like any class, some kids are stressed and others are not.

2. AAP parents are no different than Gen Ed parents. They are all parents.

3. There are good, bad and great teachers in AAP and in Gen Ed. FWIW the worse the teacher is the more stressed the kids are and the more likely the teacher is to complain about the AAP parents.

4. Yes. Only the kids in the top get in, so the teacher only needs to teach to that subset. The Gen Ed teacher is screwed and must teach to very low learners and very high learners (those overlooked by the AAP selection cmte) and those in the middle.

5. AAP classes are always bigger. This allows the Gen Ed parents to feel that since their kid is being screwed by the Gen Ed population, the AAP kid can get screwed on larger class size.

6. The jury is out on this - will know in 15 years when today's AAP kids are out of college and, hopefully, productive members of society.

Signed a parent of AAP kids (all are in the AAP center) and thankful that it exists. I think Gen Ed would be a very hard place to learn. Too many varying levels of learning aptitude and skill level.

I think the narrow-minded attitude of many AAP parents (see above) is exactly why this poster is asking for TEACHERS to share their thoughts. Read the subject line, please.

[Anonymous]

It's not narrow-minded. In fact, the view is supported by many Gen Ed parents - ask for yourself. AAP teachers and Gen Ed teachers are all the same - some good, some bad, some great. The AAP teacher is biased in their reply based upon their own teaching (or lack their of) expertise - and believe me, years of teaching do not equate to expertise.

Please re-read my post and you will see that what I say is exactly what many Gen Ed parents say, AS WELL AS, many teachers.

[Anonymous]

9:38, at our school, the LLIV class is only about 16 students, whereas the others are in the mid-twenties, so the AAP class is not always larger.

[Anonymous]

AAP Centers (not LLIV) are ALWAYS larger class sizes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP Centers (not LLIV) are ALWAYS larger class sizes.

How can you prove this? We've had classes of 29 and 30 in the past. Are you saying AAP classes are all larger than 30 students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP Centers (not LLIV) are ALWAYS larger class sizes.

How can you prove this? We've had classes of 29 and 30 in the past. Are you saying AAP classes are all larger than 30 students?

At our center, there are so many AAP classes that they are now around 25 students each and the GE have 30-ish. So the Gen Ed kids really are getting screwed.

[Anonymous]

The above is true-24 kids in AAP classes in 4th grade and 28 in GE. Usually varies year to year though-in 3rd, the AAP classes were around 30 apiece and GE was at 24.

May not matter so much in the future with all of the looming budget cuts-our principal told us to expect 2 more kids per class at least next year. Totally sucks...

[Anonymous]

Forgive me for hijacking this, as I am another AAP parent-- not a teacher.

At our school (LLIV), I think the very best teachers have been designated as the AAP teachers in each grade. I think the principle did this purposefully to keep the "best and brightest" students from fleeing for the AAP Center each year. I can't say I blame that thinking, but wonder if it really is right or "fair" for the Gen Ed. Kids.

So, at least in my experience-- I think sometimes LLIV schools do put the best teachers in AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Forgive me for hijacking this, as I am another AAP parent-- not a teacher.

At our school (LLIV), I think the very best teachers have been designated as the AAP teachers in each grade. I think the principle did this purposefully to keep the "best and brightest" students from fleeing for the AAP Center each year. I can't say I blame that thinking, but wonder if it really is right or "fair" for the Gen Ed. Kids.

So, at least in my experience-- I think sometimes LLIV schools do put the best teachers in AAP.

Wow, that is extremely unfair to the GE kids at your school. This definitely isn't happening at our center; some of the AAP teachers are the worst and there are some wonderful GE teachers.

[Anonymous]

AAP teachers have to have specific certifications that GE do not. So a principal hires specific teachers with specific certifications to teach AAP
http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/pdfs/presentations/AAPCombinedEndorsementBrochure.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP teachers have to have specific certifications that GE do not. So a principal hires specific teachers with specific certifications to teach AAP
http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/pdfs/presentations/AAPCombinedEndorsementBrochure.pdf

Plenty of AAP teachers have no "AAP" certification at all. They're just supposed to get it within a certain amount of years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP teachers have to have specific certifications that GE do not. So a principal hires specific teachers with specific certifications to teach AAP
http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/pdfs/presentations/AAPCombinedEndorsementBrochure.pdf

Plenty of AAP teachers have no "AAP" certification at all. They're just supposed to get it within a certain amount of years.

two

[Anonymous]

AAP is now so selective that many teachers have their cert before applying. Our center school they all have their certifications and two years is not a long time to have to obtain it while your working