Arlington magazine - Public school exodus cover

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the PP about FCCPS... we know three families who moved out of Arlington for FCC because they wanted a smaller middle/high school experience and lower student teacher ratios. We just pulled our oldest from APS and put him in private for high school for the same reason. The teachers at our APS middle school were so hit or miss over his three years there, that we just didn't feel confident that he would be prepared for college coming out of the APS high schools.

Is their instruction better though when it comes to reading, writing and math? I love the IB curriculum for 11th and 12th grade but I am not a big fan of the elementary and middle school IB curriculum. It can be good if done right (especially the elementary school one). But a lot of times it isn’t. See this criticism here of the IB middle years curriculum. https://wrpvincent.com/why-i-am-not-a-fan-of-the-myp/

I am specifically asking because a friend of mine is looking to move her family to northern Virginia from NYC. Their daughter goes to a blue ribbon elementary school. They are interested in moving to Falls Church City, Arlington, or McLean. Anything else would be too far. When they came to visit, they fell in love with Falls Church City and they asked me about the schools. I told them what I knew. That families seem to be happy with the schools because the school system is small and less crowded. But I wasn’t sure about the academics. My assumption is that it’s good based on what I have heard. But when she asked me whether APS had a better reputation than FCCS I told her I don’t know. I told her that many parents are critical of APS because of declining standards but it good be because everyone wants the absolute best. Overall the schools are still good and wasn’t sure how they compare to Falls Church City.

PP here. I can't answer firsthand, but the families that I know who moved are very, very happy. The downside is that there are fewer houses for sale in FCC, and they tend to be pricier. Also, property taxes are higher in FCC-- but they pump a lot of that money back into the schools. Arlington Co has so many residents without kids who just kick and scream any time property taxes go up, so our school system seems to constantly be under budget pressures lately. Parents also seem to love the FCC superintendent, as opposed to Arlington where we just tend to get hand-me-downs assistant superintendents from Fairfax Co who just try to turn us into a mini FCPS. My sense is that FCC is able to be more responsive to issues that come up because they are smaller. I would choose FCC over APS today, although I think the systems were more similar 10 years ago when our oldest entered APS.

We considered FCC. Talked to a lot of families there. Pros: Not a lot of low-income students and the needs they bring to a school system. That’s the entire basis for FCC schools existing and they achieved the goal. You will never get redistricted. One school the whole way through.

Cons: Your kid is with the same kids the whole way through. Works for some and not others. No chance to reinvent yourself socially. Some kids find stifling. If the academic environment isn’t a fit, no other options. I have heard from many it’s very insular for adults too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't get super worked up about this. A bunch of things going on. A huge factor is Arlington is getting wealthier and wealthier. More people CAN afford private school than ever before. Covid, some left and won't ever come back. And yes, the equity dog whistle. [google]There is a lot of misrepresentation I see on this board about how there is no homework (not true), no one is allowed to fail any more (not true), everyone gets an A (not true), no rigorous content for more advanced students (not true), blah, blah. High school is plenty rigorous in APS if your student is capable and on that track. Intensified content is back in middle school. And if you want your kid pulled out for gifted services in APS, well we never did that so move to Fairfax and enjoy all that comes with that.

Many kids are still going public in Arlington and my genuine reaction is I'm glad for anyone to leave. More space for my kids and I hope it siphons off the more extreme wealth, which I don't want my kids around anyway.

Exactly. People misrepresenting probably don’t even have kids in APS.

Did you see the link I posted regarding writing at APS. We need to stop denying that there are issues. Most grads are unprepared for college. This is a country wide issue and Arlington is not immune.

I’m a DP and I read it. Thank you for posting this. I am grateful to hear these perspectives. It is beyond unacceptable that students are reporting [b]they were never assigned a research paper during their entire time at APS. To this day I can remember some of the research papers I was assigned in my (excellent) public high school. My first research paper was assigned in 5th grade. We had a unit on using the library for research and we all had to write a 2 page paper. I’m not sure if we should expect research papers from 5th graders, but by high school it should be standard for all English and History classes.

How in the world is this not happening? Is the student wrong?

That is BS. Kids do have research papers starting in ES.

APS kids do research *powerpoint presentations* in ES. They don't write research papers. If you want your kid to learn actual writing, you need to supplement during the summer. This doesn't change in middle school. Our oldest just finished Swanson, and he never wrote a research paper while he was there. His projects were mostly powerpoint presentations and posterboards. APS does not teach writing the way that most of us learned it. They deserve all the criticism they are getting right now about the writing instruction.

My kids did 5 paragraph research and informational essays in ES. And also made a research “book” when they were younger (for TOC, index, etc). Google slides for some research topic (science class), but not for a paper.

Is there room for improvement? Sure. Are they doing research papers and other writing? Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't get super worked up about this. A bunch of things going on. A huge factor is Arlington is getting wealthier and wealthier. More people CAN afford private school than ever before. Covid, some left and won't ever come back. And yes, the equity dog whistle. [google]There is a lot of misrepresentation I see on this board about how there is no homework (not true), no one is allowed to fail any more (not true), everyone gets an A (not true), no rigorous content for more advanced students (not true), blah, blah. High school is plenty rigorous in APS if your student is capable and on that track. Intensified content is back in middle school. And if you want your kid pulled out for gifted services in APS, well we never did that so move to Fairfax and enjoy all that comes with that.

Many kids are still going public in Arlington and my genuine reaction is I'm glad for anyone to leave. More space for my kids and I hope it siphons off the more extreme wealth, which I don't want my kids around anyway.

Exactly. People misrepresenting probably don’t even have kids in APS.

Did you see the link I posted regarding writing at APS. We need to stop denying that there are issues. Most grads are unprepared for college. This is a country wide issue and Arlington is not immune.

I’m a DP and I read it. Thank you for posting this. I am grateful to hear these perspectives. It is beyond unacceptable that students are reporting [b]they were never assigned a research paper during their entire time at APS. To this day I can remember some of the research papers I was assigned in my (excellent) public high school. My first research paper was assigned in 5th grade. We had a unit on using the library for research and we all had to write a 2 page paper. I’m not sure if we should expect research papers from 5th graders, but by high school it should be standard for all English and History classes.

How in the world is this not happening? Is the student wrong?

That is BS. Kids do have research papers starting in ES.

APS kids do research *powerpoint presentations* in ES. They don't write research papers. If you want your kid to learn actual writing, you need to supplement during the summer. This doesn't change in middle school. Our oldest just finished Swanson, and he never wrote a research paper while he was there. His projects were mostly powerpoint presentations and posterboards. APS does not teach writing the way that most of us learned it. They deserve all the criticism they are getting right now about the writing instruction.

My kids did 5 paragraph research and informational essays in ES. And also made a research “book” when they were younger (for TOC, index, etc). Google slides for some research topic (science class), but not for a paper.

Is there room for improvement? Sure. Are they doing research papers and other writing? Yes.

It definitely varies by school. My kids elementary school is great. Others not so much. Middle school is a bigger issue. Standards go down but not in all schools.

[Anonymous]

No one willing to give up their 3% mortgage so no houses turning over and no new kids moving in to fill the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't get super worked up about this. A bunch of things going on. A huge factor is Arlington is getting wealthier and wealthier. More people CAN afford private school than ever before. Covid, some left and won't ever come back. And yes, the equity dog whistle. [google]There is a lot of misrepresentation I see on this board about how there is no homework (not true), no one is allowed to fail any more (not true), everyone gets an A (not true), no rigorous content for more advanced students (not true), blah, blah. High school is plenty rigorous in APS if your student is capable and on that track. Intensified content is back in middle school. And if you want your kid pulled out for gifted services in APS, well we never did that so move to Fairfax and enjoy all that comes with that.

Many kids are still going public in Arlington and my genuine reaction is I'm glad for anyone to leave. More space for my kids and I hope it siphons off the more extreme wealth, which I don't want my kids around anyway.

Exactly. People misrepresenting probably don’t even have kids in APS.

Did you see the link I posted regarding writing at APS. We need to stop denying that there are issues. Most grads are unprepared for college. This is a country wide issue and Arlington is not immune.

I’m a DP and I read it. Thank you for posting this. I am grateful to hear these perspectives. It is beyond unacceptable that students are reporting [b]they were never assigned a research paper during their entire time at APS. To this day I can remember some of the research papers I was assigned in my (excellent) public high school. My first research paper was assigned in 5th grade. We had a unit on using the library for research and we all had to write a 2 page paper. I’m not sure if we should expect research papers from 5th graders, but by high school it should be standard for all English and History classes.

How in the world is this not happening? Is the student wrong?

That is BS. Kids do have research papers starting in ES.

APS kids do research *powerpoint presentations* in ES. They don't write research papers. If you want your kid to learn actual writing, you need to supplement during the summer. This doesn't change in middle school. Our oldest just finished Swanson, and he never wrote a research paper while he was there. His projects were mostly powerpoint presentations and posterboards. APS does not teach writing the way that most of us learned it. They deserve all the criticism they are getting right now about the writing instruction.

My kids did 5 paragraph research and informational essays in ES. And also made a research “book” when they were younger (for TOC, index, etc). Google slides for some research topic (science class), but not for a paper.

Is there room for improvement? Sure. Are they doing research papers and other writing? Yes.

It definitely varies by school. My kids elementary school is great. Others not so much. Middle school is a bigger issue. Standards go down but not in all schools.

This ^^^ the elementary schools vary drastically when it comes to expectations and what they are doing. We had a child at an option school and one at our neighborhood school. The difference is really night and day. We only have one perspective on middle school and after a full year we were not impressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the PP about FCCPS... we know three families who moved out of Arlington for FCC because they wanted a smaller middle/high school experience and lower student teacher ratios. We just pulled our oldest from APS and put him in private for high school for the same reason. The teachers at our APS middle school were so hit or miss over his three years there, that we just didn't feel confident that he would be prepared for college coming out of the APS high schools.

Is their instruction better though when it comes to reading, writing and math? I love the IB curriculum for 11th and 12th grade but I am not a big fan of the elementary and middle school IB curriculum. It can be good if done right (especially the elementary school one). But a lot of times it isn’t. See this criticism here of the IB middle years curriculum. https://wrpvincent.com/why-i-am-not-a-fan-of-the-myp/

I am specifically asking because a friend of mine is looking to move her family to northern Virginia from NYC. Their daughter goes to a blue ribbon elementary school. They are interested in moving to Falls Church City, Arlington, or McLean. Anything else would be too far. When they came to visit, they fell in love with Falls Church City and they asked me about the schools. I told them what I knew. That families seem to be happy with the schools because the school system is small and less crowded. But I wasn’t sure about the academics. My assumption is that it’s good based on what I have heard. But when she asked me whether APS had a better reputation than FCCS I told her I don’t know. I told her that many parents are critical of APS because of declining standards but it good be because everyone wants the absolute best. Overall the schools are still good and wasn’t sure how they compare to Falls Church City.

PP here. I can't answer firsthand, but the families that I know who moved are very, very happy. The downside is that there are fewer houses for sale in FCC, and they tend to be pricier. Also, property taxes are higher in FCC-- but they pump a lot of that money back into the schools. Arlington Co has so many residents without kids who just kick and scream any time property taxes go up, so our school system seems to constantly be under budget pressures lately. Parents also seem to love the FCC superintendent, as opposed to Arlington where we just tend to get hand-me-downs assistant superintendents from Fairfax Co who just try to turn us into a mini FCPS. My sense is that FCC is able to be more responsive to issues that come up because they are smaller. I would choose FCC over APS today, although I think the systems were more similar 10 years ago when our oldest entered APS.

We considered FCC. Talked to a lot of families there. Pros: Not a lot of low-income students and the needs they bring to a school system. That’s the entire basis for FCC schools existing and they achieved the goal. You will never get redistricted. One school the whole way through.

Cons: Your kid is with the same kids the whole way through. Works for some and not others. No chance to reinvent yourself socially. Some kids find stifling. If the academic environment isn’t a fit, no other options. I have heard from many it’s very insular for adults too.

That is only a con when compared to the huge school divisions nearby. There are thousands of school districts all over the country where kids mostly go K-12 with the same kids. So I suppose if one of your educational goals is for your kids to be able to "reinvent themselves socially" at some point and to not feel stifled then FCCPS is not the school system for you. On the other hand, if you want your kid and your family to have a strong sense of community and you like the idea of having easy access to those who run the schools and make the decisions then maybe it is a good choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't get super worked up about this. A bunch of things going on. A huge factor is Arlington is getting wealthier and wealthier. More people CAN afford private school than ever before. Covid, some left and won't ever come back. And yes, the equity dog whistle. There is a lot of misrepresentation I see on this board about how there is no homework (not true), no one is allowed to fail any more (not true), everyone gets an A (not true), no rigorous content for more advanced students (not true), blah, blah. High school is plenty rigorous in APS if your student is capable and on that track. Intensified content is back in middle school. And if you want your kid pulled out for gifted services in APS, well we never did that so move to Fairfax and enjoy all that comes with that.

Many kids are still going public in Arlington and my genuine reaction is I'm glad for anyone to leave. More space for my kids and I hope it siphons off the more extreme wealth, which I don't want my kids around anyway.

It's interesting to hear you say some of those common talking points aren't true. We've always been in catholic, so I just hear people talking and they definitely say there's no homework in elementary or middle school and you can retake tests (so hard to fail and easier to get As). Is that not true? Genuinely curious.

Yes it is true but it's all very recent and a lot of people are not paying attention to the very new equity initiatives. Schools also have some variability on how they roll out but it will be district wide next year. There are no deadlines for assignments and tests (including final exams!) now can be retaken many times even by kids that did pretty well the first try. Teachers are very upset about these changes but the equity warriors were hand selected to lead the teacher committees involved in developing the new policies. The grade inflation is unreal and colleges no longer view APS as having the same rigor as other demographically similar schools in the Northeast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't get super worked up about this. A bunch of things going on. A huge factor is Arlington is getting wealthier and wealthier. More people CAN afford private school than ever before. Covid, some left and won't ever come back. And yes, the equity dog whistle. There is a lot of misrepresentation I see on this board about how there is no homework (not true), no one is allowed to fail any more (not true), everyone gets an A (not true), no rigorous content for more advanced students (not true), blah, blah. High school is plenty rigorous in APS if your student is capable and on that track. Intensified content is back in middle school. And if you want your kid pulled out for gifted services in APS, well we never did that so move to Fairfax and enjoy all that comes with that.

Many kids are still going public in Arlington and my genuine reaction is I'm glad for anyone to leave. More space for my kids and I hope it siphons off the more extreme wealth, which I don't want my kids around anyway.

It's interesting to hear you say some of those common talking points aren't true. We've always been in catholic, so I just hear people talking and they definitely say there's no homework in elementary or middle school and you can retake tests (so hard to fail and easier to get As). Is that not true? Genuinely curious.

I think they are generally true. Some teachers/schools may not adhere precisely. But my kids are high school and we've definitely seen very little homework. They are given so much time in class that they frequently tend to get their work done and have little to do outside of school. The no homework policy doesn't apply to high school; so the low amount is even more peculiar to me. Our youngest was in MS when COVID shutdown hit. Things have definitely gone downhill since then, particularly in the area of "work."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this in WF in line. Didn’t get to read. Didn’t that happen in pandemic, I thought people were coming back?

The article was pointless. yeah, people left during the pandemic. Old news. No substantive material or information in the article.

I worry that these families aren’t coming back or that private school is becoming the normal for those that can afford it. I don’t want to become Alexandria. Anyone not worried about this has their head in the sand or doesn’t realize we need kids of all backgrounds (including the privileged) to go to public school.

THIS. I don't want to become Alexandria. Most Arlington parents don't want anything ACPS has or does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't get super worked up about this. A bunch of things going on. A huge factor is Arlington is getting wealthier and wealthier. More people CAN afford private school than ever before. Covid, some left and won't ever come back. And yes, the equity dog whistle. [google]There is a lot of misrepresentation I see on this board about how there is no homework (not true), no one is allowed to fail any more (not true), everyone gets an A (not true), no rigorous content for more advanced students (not true), blah, blah. High school is plenty rigorous in APS if your student is capable and on that track. Intensified content is back in middle school. And if you want your kid pulled out for gifted services in APS, well we never did that so move to Fairfax and enjoy all that comes with that.

Many kids are still going public in Arlington and my genuine reaction is I'm glad for anyone to leave. More space for my kids and I hope it siphons off the more extreme wealth, which I don't want my kids around anyway.

Exactly. People misrepresenting probably don’t even have kids in APS.

Did you see the link I posted regarding writing at APS. We need to stop denying that there are issues. Most grads are unprepared for college. This is a country wide issue and Arlington is not immune.

I’m a DP and I read it. Thank you for posting this. I am grateful to hear these perspectives. It is beyond unacceptable that students are reporting [b]they were never assigned a research paper during their entire time at APS. To this day I can remember some of the research papers I was assigned in my (excellent) public high school. My first research paper was assigned in 5th grade. We had a unit on using the library for research and we all had to write a 2 page paper. I’m not sure if we should expect research papers from 5th graders, but by high school it should be standard for all English and History classes.

How in the world is this not happening? Is the student wrong?

That is BS. Kids do have research papers starting in ES.

I think your definitions of "research paper" are probably different.
I have two kids. One graduated HS this year without doing one single substantial paper. Not one. They wrote longer pieces in 5th grade, and I'm not joking or exaggerating.
The second is still in high school and has done more substantial writing - but still nothing longer than a few pages. That includes AP World History and intensified English classes.

APS does a lot of writing instruction in the way of types of writing (ie, persuasive argument); but all are essays. Not true research papers. AP Seminar/AP Research is the only place they're getting substantive experience researching and writing a real research paper. We still have AP English coming this year; so we'll see what that brings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't get super worked up about this. A bunch of things going on. A huge factor is Arlington is getting wealthier and wealthier. More people CAN afford private school than ever before. Covid, some left and won't ever come back. And yes, the equity dog whistle. There is a lot of misrepresentation I see on this board about how there is no homework (not true), no one is allowed to fail any more (not true), everyone gets an A (not true), no rigorous content for more advanced students (not true), blah, blah. High school is plenty rigorous in APS if your student is capable and on that track. Intensified content is back in middle school. And if you want your kid pulled out for gifted services in APS, well we never did that so move to Fairfax and enjoy all that comes with that.

Many kids are still going public in Arlington and my genuine reaction is I'm glad for anyone to leave. More space for my kids and I hope it siphons off the more extreme wealth, which I don't want my kids around anyway.

It's interesting to hear you say some of those common talking points aren't true. We've always been in catholic, so I just hear people talking and they definitely say there's no homework in elementary or middle school and you can retake tests (so hard to fail and easier to get As). Is that not true? Genuinely curious.

Middle school definitely has homework. Elementary - it depends on the school. The retaking of tests is new, I believe. I'm really glad they are started intensified classes for all subjects in middle school next year. And High School is very rigorous, if you are up for it, I've never heard anyone say otherwise.

[Anonymous]

It’s hard to voice anything that goes against the “equity warriors”. When advocating for APS to have high standards and high expectations of students that don’t include retakes, zero homework, etc. you get called a racist and someone who isn’t for equal education. We are now just going with it and hoping for the best because our hands are tied. (We can’t afford private and we certainly can’t afford to move right now.)

[Anonymous]

APS is looking more and more like the next ACPS…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't get super worked up about this. A bunch of things going on. A huge factor is Arlington is getting wealthier and wealthier. More people CAN afford private school than ever before. Covid, some left and won't ever come back. And yes, the equity dog whistle. [google]There is a lot of misrepresentation I see on this board about how there is no homework (not true), no one is allowed to fail any more (not true), everyone gets an A (not true), no rigorous content for more advanced students (not true), blah, blah. High school is plenty rigorous in APS if your student is capable and on that track. Intensified content is back in middle school. And if you want your kid pulled out for gifted services in APS, well we never did that so move to Fairfax and enjoy all that comes with that.[b]

Many kids are still going public in Arlington and my genuine reaction is I'm glad for anyone to leave. More space for my kids and I hope it siphons off the more extreme wealth, which I don't want my kids around anyway.

Exactly. People misrepresenting probably don’t even have kids in APS.

Did you see the link I posted regarding writing at APS. We need to stop denying that there are issues. Most grads are unprepared for college. This is a country wide issue and Arlington is not immune.

I’m a DP and I read it. Thank you for posting this. I am grateful to hear these perspectives. It is beyond unacceptable that students are reporting they were never assigned a research paper during their entire time at APS. To this day I can remember some of the research papers I was assigned in my (excellent) public high school. My first research paper was assigned in 5th grade. We had a unit on using the library for research and we all had to write a 2 page paper. I’m not sure if we should expect research papers from 5th graders, but by high school it should be standard for all English and History classes.

How in the world is this not happening? Is the student wrong?

That student is wrong, perhaps not about their individual experience, but it’s not the norm. My kids definitely have done them in ES, maybe they’re not called that, but they’ve had writing assignments that are age-appropriate “research papers.” And same for MS, obviously a lot closer to a real research paper at that point.

I do think the writing curriculum is lacking, but I think that’s a problem at the National level, and even when I was in college, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, my ENG professors complained that none of their students could write a good paper. I don’t know what the answer is, but it might have something to do with public school teachers largely having education degrees, while private school teachers often have other degrees, like English, for example. You can’t major in English without learning how to write well, and you can’t teach how to write if you can’t do it well yourself.

Given the fact that ELA staff believe that that APS’ writing program is dismal and are working to improve it, and the ELAAC committee believe the same (see their recommendations), and Dr Duran seemingly agreed with the ELAAC committee during their presentation, the students are most likely not wrong.

+1
Students who have graduated and came back to provide feedback noted writing was an issue - they were not prepared for the college level writing expectations.
Many parents are having the same complaints about the ELA curriculum: lack of substantial writing and limited reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't get super worked up about this. A bunch of things going on. A huge factor is Arlington is getting wealthier and wealthier. More people CAN afford private school than ever before. Covid, some left and won't ever come back. And yes, the equity dog whistle. [google]There is a lot of misrepresentation I see on this board about how there is no homework (not true), no one is allowed to fail any more (not true), everyone gets an A (not true), no rigorous content for more advanced students (not true), blah, blah. High school is plenty rigorous in APS if your student is capable and on that track. Intensified content is back in middle school. And if you want your kid pulled out for gifted services in APS, well we never did that so move to Fairfax and enjoy all that comes with that.

Many kids are still going public in Arlington and my genuine reaction is I'm glad for anyone to leave. More space for my kids and I hope it siphons off the more extreme wealth, which I don't want my kids around anyway.

Exactly. People misrepresenting probably don’t even have kids in APS.

Did you see the link I posted regarding writing at APS. We need to stop denying that there are issues. Most grads are unprepared for college. This is a country wide issue and Arlington is not immune.

I’m a DP and I read it. Thank you for posting this. I am grateful to hear these perspectives. It is beyond unacceptable that students are reporting [b]they were never assigned a research paper during their entire time at APS. To this day I can remember some of the research papers I was assigned in my (excellent) public high school. My first research paper was assigned in 5th grade. We had a unit on using the library for research and we all had to write a 2 page paper. I’m not sure if we should expect research papers from 5th graders, but by high school it should be standard for all English and History classes.

How in the world is this not happening? Is the student wrong?

That is BS. Kids do have research papers starting in ES.

APS kids do research *powerpoint presentations* in ES. They don't write research papers. If you want your kid to learn actual writing, you need to supplement during the summer. This doesn't change in middle school. Our oldest just finished Swanson, and he never wrote a research paper while he was there. His projects were mostly powerpoint presentations and posterboards. APS does not teach writing the way that most of us learned it. They deserve all the criticism they are getting right now about the writing instruction.

+100