FCPS Middle School HN vs AA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be grateful. Longfellow doesn't have AA/AAP classes for their AAP cohort. They are put in Honors with any and all kids who choose to take them -- no minimum requirement to do so. The behavior and distractions in the classes descended quite a bit from the AAP only classes my DC was in during elementary school. There was a lot of the mean girl cliquey environment and disruptive boy behavior from kids not interested or engaged in academics.

This is weirdly just wrong. My kids have been in the AA classes at Longfellow. The teachers are fantastic, and my shy and bookish child is surrounded by a lot of kids who are cool with that.

Agree! My kid is also at Longfellow from Haycock and is in all AA classes. Some of her non-AAP friends are in regular classes while others are in HN classes. If you were at the info session held during Spring 2024, the Longfellow team highlighted the difference between HN and AAP. It is pretty much the same, but there is a possibility that AAP kids are assigned additional work. Not always. Sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At some schools they are generally the same on paper but different in practice due to the feel of the class / group of kids in them.

This is complete and utter bullshit. They are the same. The kids are the same.

Wrong. I've taught both. The depth and speed of the AA class is far greater. There are always at least 5-8 (15-20%) kids in the honors section who have zero business being there, but there are enough of them that I need to slow stuff down, skip advanced topics, and do a little extra review to keep them from failing. When I do activities involving talking to their peers, those 5-8 kids contribute nothing, and their peers end up tutoring them. in the AAP class, it's more like 1 kid who struggles, and they usually switch out into honors pretty quickly.

It's true that the top 50% of the honors class is the same as the bottom 50% of the AAP class, and the top honors kid can hang with the AAP kids with no discernable difference, but the class makeups are definitely not the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be grateful. Longfellow doesn't have AA/AAP classes for their AAP cohort. They are put in Honors with any and all kids who choose to take them -- no minimum requirement to do so. The behavior and distractions in the classes descended quite a bit from the AAP only classes my DC was in during elementary school. There was a lot of the mean girl cliquey environment and disruptive boy behavior from kids not interested or engaged in academics.

This is weirdly just wrong. My kids have been in the AA classes at Longfellow. The teachers are fantastic, and my shy and bookish child is surrounded by a lot of kids who are cool with that.

It's not wrong. Take a closer look at your kids' schedule, or ask the school. The classes will be labeled HN, not AA, and there is no standard to be in those classes. The only classes with a standard are math because to move ahead to Algebra in 7th, you need a minimum score on the Iowa and to pass advanced on the SOL. I agree the Longfellow teachers are fantastic, but it's pure luck that your shy and bookish child (of which I have two) is surrounded by likeminded kids.

My daughter's schedule notes "AA" and her friend's schedule notes "HN".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be grateful. Longfellow doesn't have AA/AAP classes for their AAP cohort. They are put in Honors with any and all kids who choose to take them -- no minimum requirement to do so. The behavior and distractions in the classes descended quite a bit from the AAP only classes my DC was in during elementary school. There was a lot of the mean girl cliquey environment and disruptive boy behavior from kids not interested or engaged in academics.

This is weirdly just wrong. My kids have been in the AA classes at Longfellow. The teachers are fantastic, and my shy and bookish child is surrounded by a lot of kids who are cool with that.

It's not wrong. Take a closer look at your kids' schedule, or ask the school. The classes will be labeled HN, not AA, and there is no standard to be in those classes. The only classes with a standard are math because to move ahead to Algebra in 7th, you need a minimum score on the Iowa and to pass advanced on the SOL. I agree the Longfellow teachers are fantastic, but it's pure luck that your shy and bookish child (of which I have two) is surrounded by likeminded kids.

There is no standard to be in AAP either...

[Anonymous]

I think OP was asking about Robinson specifically. Since that school has no AAP (no AA classes), the kids with the Level IV designation take honors. I don’t have stats, but being in that pyramid observe that most families choose Robinson rather than LB or Frost for their kids with Level IV. So while it is true that the make-up of the HN classes won’t be the same as at a center middle school, there is a strong peer group in HN.

Given the advantages of staying in pyramid, many families decide that’s good enough. Having recently been to the White Oaks (center) orientation, the principal said that half the kids opt for Robinson after completing the center program 3-6 (and I would guess all the AAP kids who stay local opt for Robinson).

[Anonymous]

This is PP - I will also add that my Robo kid has not mentioned AAP since elementary school - has zero idea or concern which of her peers was in AAP.

[Anonymous]

PP again - will also add that if the center is a better fit, or I don’t think starting Robo in 9th is a big deal. It’s a massive school, and some kids will just be meeting each other for the first time in 9th.