APS is failing my gifted child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It all went downhill after they switched from pull out to push in. We saw it in our own school.

AMEN

[Anonymous]

APS is the worst. So overrated.

[Anonymous]

I have a couple of thoughts as someone with older kids now in college. 3rd grade got better, it is still very early in the year, give it a chance. The work will get harder and there should be more opportunities with projects for a gifted kid to stretch themselves (if they want to).

Just a warning, I have two. My older kid never complained about being bored. Used her extra time to revise, review, and improve, would read a book if she still had extra time. As they get older and work on more projects, a gifted kid like this can flourish even without a lot of differentiation.

My younger kid was not like this at all. He is gifted but rushes through everything claiming he is bored and it is too easy. Rather than using his natural abilities, he wanted a teacher to guide him to the next step (not gonna happen in a mixed ability classroom). This is a personality type and no matter what you do, he may always be bored.

[Anonymous]

Meeting your profoundly gifted child is more than just challenging them in spelling or math. It's also socializing them, giving them the opportunity to find solutions to being bored, teaching them to exist with others who may be different from them. It's about PE, and recess, and music, and art class. Not just math and reading. It's all the things.

You should ask the teachers how your student is doing socially, if they are in the third week and truly hate school that young. What is the teacher's answer when your student has already mastered something and needs more? Is it to sit bored or reach for a book, talk to a friend, open a doodle book? What is your student's answer to the same question? Is it the same as the teacher's answer? If the teachers are truly not allowing reading or doodling...then it's time to talk about an administrative transfer.

Is the school willing to discuss regrading your student?

What is your student doing outside of class? Math club, Odyssey of the Mind, chess, their own book club with friends? After school enrichment? What are you doing at home to supplement? How often are you going to the library? Reading a book together and discussing it? Visiting local museums?

I agree that differentiated learning is not robust in Arlington, but it's hard to believe that your student isn't surrounded with other gifted learners. Their peers just may be generally gifted and not profoundly gifted, and that's okay. If your student is truly profoundly gifted, then it's safe to assume you are also looking at a therapist for them to navigate their responses to their environment when they are very different from their peers -- therapy may help you too. Your student will only feel and appear more different as time goes on, and you'll only feel worse about that if you haven't found a community, support, coping skills...

Moreover, sometimes it's worth asking ourselves as parents, what are we showing our children before they go to school? Is it excitement that they may be learning more than math or spelling? Or is it frustration that they are not being celebrated for being bright? In other words, look at your experience holistically and truly examine how your attitude influences your child's experience. I promise it will help.

If you truly feel your student needs more, then yes, public school anywhere may not be a good fit. Even in Fairfax, your student may still have to work along side students who are not profoundly gifted. Nysmith, Edlin, Basis, maybe Flint Hill...may be worth looking at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It all went downhill after they switched from pull out to push in. We saw it in our own school.

It's gotten worse in the last year with the switch to AACs that aren't focused on gifted students, but only provide general enrichment that's appropriate for all. I had more luck getting differentiation support from the Math Coach than the AAC at our school.

[Anonymous]

My 3rd grader at an AAP canter school in FFX county is definitely spelling much more difficult words. Her test last week had illicit, immobile, and exercise on it.

[Anonymous]

I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grader at an AAP canter school in FFX county is definitely spelling much more difficult words. Her test last week had illicit, immobile, and exercise on it.

Yep. That’s where you want to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

They are way more than 2 grades ahead. But I thought gifted kids are not disabled and you need some sort of disability for an IEP. They are not autistic or anything.

I don’t want to advance my kid in school, I want them to be a kid and have a social life. But all the supplementation in the world is not going to help the pain of having to sit through basic phonics lessons every day and the other simple stuff.

I really wanted to avoid moving because it’s a pain but it looks like that’s what will need to happen. Thanks everyone for the input.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

They are way more than 2 grades ahead. But I thought gifted kids are not disabled and you need some sort of disability for an IEP. They are not autistic or anything.

I don’t want to advance my kid in school, I want them to be a kid and have a social life. But all the supplementation in the world is not going to help the pain of having to sit through basic phonics lessons every day and the other simple stuff.

I really wanted to avoid moving because it’s a pain but it looks like that’s what will need to happen. Thanks everyone for the input.

The problem is that the appropriate curriculum for the grade level IS the basic phonics and easy math. Accelerating beyond that is a race to nowhere because your kid will always be 2+ grades ahead.

For my own moderately gifted kid, I just accepted that he wasn't going to learn a lot of new material in K-2 math and language arts. In 3rd grade the curriculum started to catch up as they started doing more complex writing and analysis and now in 4th it's looking like he will be facing more complexity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

They are way more than 2 grades ahead. But I thought gifted kids are not disabled and you need some sort of disability for an IEP. They are not autistic or anything.

I don’t want to advance my kid in school, I want them to be a kid and have a social life. But all the supplementation in the world is not going to help the pain of having to sit through basic phonics lessons every day and the other simple stuff.

I really wanted to avoid moving because it’s a pain but it looks like that’s what will need to happen. Thanks everyone for the input.

The basics phonics stuff can have value. Many gifted kids learn to read in preschool before they've been explicitly taught more advanced phonics blends. It can be helpful to see these explicitly taught, catagorized, and applied to words, even if it's not preventing the student from reading. It can give them skills to approach even harder words. It's helpful if the teacher differentiates by asking students who have the ability to apply the phonics skills to more challenging words, but that doesn't always happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Meeting your profoundly gifted child is more than just challenging them in spelling or math. It's also socializing them, giving them the opportunity to find solutions to being bored, teaching them to exist with others who may be different from them. It's about PE, and recess, and music, and art class. Not just math and reading. It's all the things.

All those are dumbed down as well in elementary school. At least in our APS experience.

PE is about silly things such as coordination or stretching (juggling with silks anyone?) and not about competition games and improving skills: not to say that kids shouldn't learn those things but gym class is not for that, maybe some kind of physical therapy or something.

Most playgrounds in schools don't have actual playground equipment anymore (no swings, no tall slides, etc.) and just have that giant plastic behemoth that's mostly useless. Plus there's limited time to do anything meaningful.

Music is literally not taught at any level that would be considered enriching (except maybe at ATS??). Even the junior honors band level is not that great overall.

And art class is a complete joke that teaches no actual art technique except gluing and coloring.

They don't want to push the gifted and talented kids, or even the gen ed kids, because the county has a perverse mission to not exclude anyone in their one size fits all classrooms. Can't hurt anyone's feelings I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

They are way more than 2 grades ahead. But I thought gifted kids are not disabled and you need some sort of disability for an IEP. They are not autistic or anything.

I don’t want to advance my kid in school, I want them to be a kid and have a social life. But all the supplementation in the world is not going to help the pain of having to sit through basic phonics lessons every day and the other simple stuff.

I really wanted to avoid moving because it’s a pain but it looks like that’s what will need to happen. Thanks everyone for the input.

The basics phonics stuff can have value. Many gifted kids learn to read in preschool before they've been explicitly taught more advanced phonics blends. It can be helpful to see these explicitly taught, catagorized, and applied to words, even if it's not preventing the student from reading. It can give them skills to approach even harder words. It's helpful if the teacher differentiates by asking students who have the ability to apply the phonics skills to more challenging words, but that doesn't always happen.

True. But gifted kids don't need all the fluff that slows down lessons waiting for other kids to discover that there are 26 letters in the alphabet and that each one can have multiple sounds individually and in pairs. Kids learn at different speeds and by making some kids wait unnecessarily all day, every day at school, you are basically making them hate school and resent other kids getting all the attention. Gifted kids are kids, too, and since they are kids, they also need to be the focus of attention as much as gen ed kids or sped kids or EL kids. Too often teachers take a high intelligence level of kids and equate it to maturity level and expect gifted kids to act and react as if they are mini-adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

Don't do this. If you throw around the FAPE buzzword to try to get an IEP for a gifted and not a disabled student, you will lose ALL credibility. This isn't a thing.