attitude about appeals

[Anonymous]

I just went to our AAP orientation today and it kind of surprised me that there was a little bit of a tone and a look the principal and AAP teachers made when asked about number of kids teachers etc. they talked about how it changes b/c of appeals. it wasn't a blatant eye roll, but it was obvious what they thought of appeals and how it increases the numbers.

I have a friend appealing so I am just curious, does the appeal label follow the kids? is it mostly accepted that the appeal kids belong there and that it is very possible kids that missed should be in app?

just curious, what the tone is at other schools.

[Anonymous]

What school?

[Anonymous]

I don't think anyone is going to remember if the kid was appealed or not. Once you are in AAP, you are AAP.

[Anonymous]

I don't want to out the school, this post is more about helping a friend who is on the fence about appealing and if her kid will be treated differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't want to out the school, this post is more about helping a friend who is on the fence about appealing and if her kid will be treated differently.

If you are a good friend, don't even bring up your concern to your friend if she is already on the edge. It might discourage her.

[Anonymous]

thanks PP, I think you may be right. I feel like either way if her kid gets in or not there's some sort of stigma there.
I was thinking it was more the parents that had it, making their kid being in AAP less special/smaller circle etc. without the appeals, but if the school is so aware of who's in and when and who appeals it seems like it is a consideration. especially if she doesn't get in after appeal, will there be that label of the parent that didn't give it a rest.

I used to think there were so many kids it didn't matter, but it's becoming clear at a school that everyone seems to know everything.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if the kids whose parents appeal are treated any differently, but the administration at our school certainly gets sick of appeals. They overload the system and are usually just for kids whose parents are convinced they should be in AAP. If your child doesn't get in, so what? Just appeal. Sort of defeats the whole purpose of having an AAP program.

[Anonymous]

Well shame on the administration then. Kids who get it on appeal are not less worthy. There are several reasons why the child might not get in initially. If the appeals committee finds additional evidence that they qualify, then that should be the end of the story. It's pathetic that schools and/or parents are trying to create additional strata.

[Anonymous]

APP parent here-do not know or care who got in on appeal. I doubt the teachers do either. In my DC's class all kids are treated the same. I would be surprised to hear differently.

If someone thinks their child would be a good fit for AAP, they should appeal and not worry about what others think.

[Anonymous]

I suspect the principal/teachers aren't real fond of appeals b/c it messes up their teacher/funding ratios. The pricipal at the AAP orientation told us to make sure we sent in our "yes" letter by May 19 b/c that's when they make the funding decisions for how many teachers she can staff for 3rd grade. She said "even if you aren't sure you are going to go, just mark it YES and turn it in b/c that will help me more than if you say NO and change your mind later." I imagine that kids admitted on appeal can really increase class sizes without providing additional funding b/c the appeal decisions come out too late. 10 kids on appeal can increase classes by 3 kids each.... which might have been enough to get another teacher position if those 10 had been included in the original count. It's not the appealing parents' or kids' fault... it's just a problem with their funding deadlines.

[Anonymous]

Re: your orientation observation - very unprofessional on their part - which, unfortunately, doesn't surprise me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: your orientation observation - very unprofessional on their part - which, unfortunately, doesn't surprise me.

ITA, would like to know which school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just went to our AAP orientation today and it kind of surprised me that there was a little bit of a tone and a look the principal and AAP teachers made when asked about number of kids teachers etc. they talked about how it changes b/c of appeals. it wasn't a blatant eye roll, but it was obvious what they thought of appeals and how it increases the numbers.

I have a friend appealing so I am just curious, does the appeal label follow the kids? is it mostly accepted that the appeal kids belong there and that it is very possible kids that missed should be in app?

just curious, what the tone is at other schools.

If this was in Vienna, you completely read into it. There was no tone or look given. The principal simply said there were 90 eligible kids, most rising second graders and that as of now it is impossible to answer how many kids will be in each class, relative to class size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: your orientation observation - very unprofessional on their part - which, unfortunately, doesn't surprise me.

I don't think it's unprofessional. I think it's a sign of the growing frustration many teachers feel about the bloated AAP program. Let's face it, these teachers have more experience with how AAP works or doesn't work than your average first-time parent at an orientation. How far do they have to go in pretending that the often artificial stratification AAP creates in many schools?

[Anonymous]

Not vienna. Interesting thoughts thanks. No, this wasn't just about timing. There was a clear negative tone/appearance toward appeals.