Is there such a thing as an advanced academic program in Arlington public schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD was identified as gifted in Math, English, and Art in APS. I have never witnessed any AAP or differentiated instruction in Elem or Middle School even though they say they do it. I have not seen it! Same instruction as the everyone else.

Most kids in Arlington carry some form of gifted designation and the "general" classes are typically more accelerated. There's no real need for differentiation.

We saw the evidence of this when we moved to another system -- our kids were WAY ahead of their peers, which was directly related to Arlington.

Arlington in general doesn't fuss with the AAP silliness and the labeling. Most parents see that it's pretty silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD was identified as gifted in Math, English, and Art in APS. I have never witnessed any AAP or differentiated instruction in Elem or Middle School even though they say they do it. I have not seen it! Same instruction as the everyone else.

Most kids in Arlington carry some form of gifted designation and the "general" classes are typically more accelerated. There's no real need for differentiation.

We saw the evidence of this when we moved to another system -- our kids were WAY ahead of their peers, which was directly related to Arlington.

Arlington in general doesn't fuss with the AAP silliness and the labeling. Most parents see that it's pretty silly.

LOL even in South Arlington? Mkay

[Anonymous]

I guess that is why there is so much consternation over redistricting in Arlington... because everyone has the same ability level and access to resources

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop with all the AAP of you are going to get this moved to the other forum. This isn't about AAP. It's about Arlington.

Fair enough. As someone with kids in FCPS AAP, I would imagine that any kid in Arlington will get every bit as solid of an education as those in FCPS, providing that the kid is grouped in the compacted math sequence and the highest groups for other subjects. It's really not that big of a deal to be in a self-contained gifted program when that program is moving at about the same pace as compacted math and advanced groupings in regular schools.

+1 I think my kids have been served well by APS and now doing well in advanced classes in HS. DS recently started an academic extracurricular where a lot of the kids go to TJ and I was a little concerned that he'd feel behind them but it hasn't been an issue at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD was identified as gifted in Math, English, and Art in APS. I have never witnessed any AAP or differentiated instruction in Elem or Middle School even though they say they do it. I have not seen it! Same instruction as the everyone else.

Most kids in Arlington carry some form of gifted designation and the "general" classes are typically more accelerated. There's no real need for differentiation.

We saw the evidence of this when we moved to another system -- our kids were WAY ahead of their peers, which was directly related to Arlington.

Arlington in general doesn't fuss with the AAP silliness and the labeling. Most parents see that it's pretty silly.

Student performance in APS peaks, in relative terms, in elementary school and diminishes as the kids move on to middle and high school.

[Anonymous]

My kid is "fully identified". That means the 4 core subjects. The only differentiation I've ever been able to notice is Math b/c they started separating the classes at an early age. I don't actually believe my student was doing anything different from her BFF in the other classes (BFF is not identified). It's a sham.

[Anonymous]

08:05 - Although, what is gifted in Social Studies anyway? That's such a weird designation. My kid picks up on concepts quickly. How does one become social studies gifted? LOL!

[Anonymous]

I agree with the 805 poster above. The only differientation I’ve seen is advance math in Middle School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is "fully identified". That means the 4 core subjects. The only differentiation I've ever been able to notice is Math b/c they started separating the classes at an early age. I don't actually believe my student was doing anything different from her BFF in the other classes (BFF is not identified). It's a sham.

Our experience has been the same so far. My kid was identified in all 4 areas in K and is now in 2nd. I have seen zero differentiation. We've been told to expect very little before 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

Arlington in general doesn't fuss with the AAP silliness and the labeling. Most parents see that it's pretty silly.

What's silly is that they DO label the kids, but then offer them nothing extra outside of math placement. At least in Fairfax, people are getting what's advertised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can’t find any info online.

If not, thank your lucky stars!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can’t find any info online.

If not, thank your lucky stars!

Or, wait a few years, and see how the "head-in-the-sand" approach in APS works out.

https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/college-admissions-a-snapshot/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD was identified as gifted in Math, English, and Art in APS. I have never witnessed any AAP or differentiated instruction in Elem or Middle School even though they say they do it. I have not seen it! Same instruction as the everyone else.

Most kids in Arlington carry some form of gifted designation and the "general" classes are typically more accelerated. There's no real need for differentiation.

We saw the evidence of this when we moved to another system -- our kids were WAY ahead of their peers, which was directly related to Arlington.

Arlington in general doesn't fuss with the AAP silliness and the labeling. Most parents see that it's pretty silly.

Student performance in APS peaks, in relative terms, in elementary school and diminishes as the kids move on to middle and high school.

I have a 5th and 7th grader in APS public. Their elementary education was outstanding. The math teachers were top-notch. Unfortunately, we have had the opposite experience in MS. There is a lot of just having the kids watch videos for instruction (IN THE CLASS!!). Gone is the teacher actually instructing and demonstrating. I was quite shocked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD was identified as gifted in Math, English, and Art in APS. I have never witnessed any AAP or differentiated instruction in Elem or Middle School even though they say they do it. I have not seen it! Same instruction as the everyone else.

Most kids in Arlington carry some form of gifted designation and the "general" classes are typically more accelerated. There's no real need for differentiation.

We saw the evidence of this when we moved to another system -- our kids were WAY ahead of their peers, which was directly related to Arlington.

Arlington in general doesn't fuss with the AAP silliness and the labeling. Most parents see that it's pretty silly.

Student performance in APS peaks, in relative terms, in elementary school and diminishes as the kids move on to middle and high school.

I have a 5th and 7th grader in APS public. Their elementary education was outstanding. The math teachers were top-notch. Unfortunately, we have had the opposite experience in MS. There is a lot of just having the kids watch videos for instruction (IN THE CLASS!!). Gone is the teacher actually instructing and demonstrating. I was quite shocked.

What school is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the 805 poster above. The only differientation I’ve seen is advance math in Middle School.

I think they track in MS. My son is also "gifted" in all 4 core subjects + art. He has been in the same classes in MS multiple time with other kids who are also labeled gifted (they have a group that meets occasionally in middle school so he knows who they are). I don't think the school would ever admit it, but they are clustered in the same classes.