Some parents need to cool it.

[Anonymous]

Yesterday my 1rst grader came home all stressed because three of her friends were talking about how they wanted to do so well on the NNAT so they could go to GBW. According to my daughter they were saying how much better GBW was than our local school (which is great btw). She loves her school and has many friends. I had to explain that that decision would be made in 2nd grade and when the time came, if she had to make a choice, that it would be HER choice to go to GBW or stay at her home school. But geez, really? I thought it was nuts.

[Anonymous]

That is just wrong. Yes, the parents really need to chill and just let the process go on quietly.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the wonderful world of AAP vs. Gen Ed. Enjoy your stay for the next six years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday my 1rst grader came home all stressed because three of her friends were talking about how they wanted to do so well on the NNAT so they could go to GBW. According to my daughter they were saying how much better GBW was than our local school (which is great btw). She loves her school and has many friends. I had to explain that that decision would be made in 2nd grade and when the time came, if she had to make a choice, that it would be HER choice to go to GBW or stay at her home school. But geez, really? I thought it was nuts.

I agree with everything AND your sentiment except I don't agree that it should be your child's choice to go or stay. I mean- I agree that is what you will obviously do but don't necessarily think that should be put on a kid's shoulders.

[Anonymous]

#1 no guarantee she will get I to aap

#2 are they sure they will be going to GBW? The poplar tree center is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Welcome to the wonderful world of AAP vs. Gen Ed. Enjoy your stay for the next six years.

Were things ALWAYS like this? With parents on these boards going on and on about an alphabet soup of tests and "when will we get notification" and "should we get our child tested independently" and (worst of all) "how can I prep my preschooler so he gets into AAP"?

Maybe it was just our school and our parents whose kids were there, but kids were tested in school (we weren't even told it was coming and were never given anything on paper re: scores) and we were told if they were in the pool and asked if we were interested in a center (zero chance of anything in our base school except once weekly pull-outs). I never even heard of these tests by name until I saw this board (after my kid had been in AAP a few years) and I guarantee I never heard any parents, at our original school or at our center school, talk about these tests, ever. We were just told at the end of second grade, your child qualifies for the pool and here's what happens next.

This was in about 2008. And our original, assigned school was and is one with issues that mean it does not have many kids who go on to AAP centers, so this wasn't on the radar for most of the school. I just know that it was a surprise to me that so many parents are so focused on retesting, getting outside testing done, etc. It just wasn't even something we were aware of at that time. Not sure if that's a function of our base school's quiet attitude about AAP, or if the times have really changed since 2008....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Welcome to the wonderful world of AAP vs. Gen Ed. Enjoy your stay for the next six years.

Were things ALWAYS like this? With parents on these boards going on and on about an alphabet soup of tests and "when will we get notification" and "should we get our child tested independently" and (worst of all) "how can I prep my preschooler so he gets into AAP"?

Maybe it was just our school and our parents whose kids were there, but kids were tested in school (we weren't even told it was coming and were never given anything on paper re: scores) and we were told if they were in the pool and asked if we were interested in a center (zero chance of anything in our base school except once weekly pull-outs). I never even heard of these tests by name until I saw this board (after my kid had been in AAP a few years) and I guarantee I never heard any parents, at our original school or at our center school, talk about these tests, ever. We were just told at the end of second grade, your child qualifies for the pool and here's what happens next.

This was in about 2008. And our original, assigned school was and is one with issues that mean it does not have many kids who go on to AAP centers, so this wasn't on the radar for most of the school. I just know that it was a surprise to me that so many parents are so focused on retesting, getting outside testing done, etc. It just wasn't even something we were aware of at that time. Not sure if that's a function of our base school's quiet attitude about AAP, or if the times have really changed since 2008....

There was none of this in 2006 when my son was being tested either. I do think times have changed and with social media and outlets like DCUM there is more information out there now. (And more places for people who tend to stress about these things to go and get anxious with like-minded folks. If you google AAP, you'll get one of these threads pretty quickly.

Hopefully, over time, or when AAP centers get so unwieldy or things get so insane that most of the programs are in base schools, some of this hyper focus and hysteria will go away. Until then, I think it's sad that 1st graders have to have these kinds of conversations. It's all parent-generated BS as far as I'm concerned. As the supposed adults in this scenario, we should all be ashamed.

[Anonymous]

The center in question already is ridiculously unwieldy. 270 kids over capacity qualifies.

Poplar Tree is already slated as a new center, and a Colin Powell is mentioned in the capital improvement plan document as the next school to get a center.

But frankly, most of the kids being driven by their parents into this program are little more than slightly smarter than average. It is no longer a real "gifted" program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Welcome to the wonderful world of AAP vs. Gen Ed. Enjoy your stay for the next six years.

Were things ALWAYS like this? With parents on these boards going on and on about an alphabet soup of tests and "when will we get notification" and "should we get our child tested independently" and (worst of all) "how can I prep my preschooler so he gets into AAP"?

Maybe it was just our school and our parents whose kids were there, but kids were tested in school (we weren't even told it was coming and were never given anything on paper re: scores) and we were told if they were in the pool and asked if we were interested in a center (zero chance of anything in our base school except once weekly pull-outs). I never even heard of these tests by name until I saw this board (after my kid had been in AAP a few years) and I guarantee I never heard any parents, at our original school or at our center school, talk about these tests, ever. We were just told at the end of second grade, your child qualifies for the pool and here's what happens next.

This was in about 2008. And our original, assigned school was and is one with issues that mean it does not have many kids who go on to AAP centers, so this wasn't on the radar for most of the school. I just know that it was a surprise to me that so many parents are so focused on retesting, getting outside testing done, etc. It just wasn't even something we were aware of at that time. Not sure if that's a function of our base school's quiet attitude about AAP, or if the times have really changed since 2008....

No, things were definitely not always like this. When my oldest was in 2nd grade, I believe it was 2005 or so, and I think this is when it was still GT. This was a much more selective program and no one had a problem with it or lobbied hard to get in because it was understood that it was a program truly meant for gifted kids. My son, who was and is very bright, didn't get in and it barely even registered for me, because so few kids were accepted in the first place. I never gave it any thought at all. There was never this division between AAP and Gen Ed kids that you see at many centers, because there were only a few GT classes and the kids in them really needed to be there. Fast-forward to the past few years, and incredibly bloated program AAP now is, and there's just no comparison. Our center, for example is almost 50% AAP/Gen Ed, and there's definitely a feeling of "us and them" there. Now that so many kids are accepted, and the program is so watered-down, parents of mostly average kids see that their kid has a pretty good shot at AAP acceptance and they will stop at nothing to get them in. It's become an obsession, and an incredibly unhealthy one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Welcome to the wonderful world of AAP vs. Gen Ed. Enjoy your stay for the next six years.

Were things ALWAYS like this? With parents on these boards going on and on about an alphabet soup of tests and "when will we get notification" and "should we get our child tested independently" and (worst of all) "how can I prep my preschooler so he gets into AAP"?

Maybe it was just our school and our parents whose kids were there, but kids were tested in school (we weren't even told it was coming and were never given anything on paper re: scores) and we were told if they were in the pool and asked if we were interested in a center (zero chance of anything in our base school except once weekly pull-outs). I never even heard of these tests by name until I saw this board (after my kid had been in AAP a few years) and I guarantee I never heard any parents, at our original school or at our center school, talk about these tests, ever. We were just told at the end of second grade, your child qualifies for the pool and here's what happens next.

This was in about 2008. And our original, assigned school was and is one with issues that mean it does not have many kids who go on to AAP centers, so this wasn't on the radar for most of the school. I just know that it was a surprise to me that so many parents are so focused on retesting, getting outside testing done, etc. It just wasn't even something we were aware of at that time. Not sure if that's a function of our base school's quiet attitude about AAP, or if the times have really changed since 2008....

No, things were definitely not always like this. When my oldest was in 2nd grade, I believe it was 2005 or so, and I think this is when it was still GT. This was a much more selective program and no one had a problem with it or lobbied hard to get in because it was understood that it was a program truly meant for gifted kids. My son, who was and is very bright, didn't get in and it barely even registered for me, because so few kids were accepted in the first place. I never gave it any thought at all. There was never this division between AAP and Gen Ed kids that you see at many centers, because there were only a few GT classes and the kids in them really needed to be there. Fast-forward to the past few years, and incredibly bloated program AAP now is, and there's just no comparison. Our center, for example is almost 50% AAP/Gen Ed, and there's definitely a feeling of "us and them" there. Now that so many kids are accepted, and the program is so watered-down, parents of mostly average kids see that their kid has a pretty good shot at AAP acceptance and they will stop at nothing to get them in. It's become an obsession, and an incredibly unhealthy one.

You nailed it. I know several people personally in our neighborhood who are so obsessed by the AAP, that they send them (while in K) to Prep classes in the library (private tuition for the tests). One kid who was not in pool because of the scores was like "even-though I didnt get in, my Mom is trying really hard to get me into the program".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The center in question already is ridiculously unwieldy. 270 kids over capacity qualifies.

Poplar Tree is already slated as a new center, and a Colin Powell is mentioned in the capital improvement plan document as the next school to get a center.

But frankly, most of the kids being driven by their parents into this program are little more than slightly smarter than average. It is no longer a real "gifted" program.

This is the way to go. Colin Powell is an 8 and Poplar Tree is a 9. If all those AAP kids would stay, the school ratings would become even stronger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You nailed it. I know several people personally in our neighborhood who are so obsessed by the AAP, that they send them (while in K) to Prep classes in the library (private tuition for the tests). One kid who was not in pool because of the scores was like "even-though I didnt get in, my Mom is trying really hard to get me into the program".

Absolutely.

A look at the AAP eligibility numbers across the county shows clear pockets of prepping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Welcome to the wonderful world of AAP vs. Gen Ed. Enjoy your stay for the next six years.

precisely!

[Anonymous]

It's nothing compared to the pressure of making the travel teams in sports.

It's part of growing up. Other kids & their parents have different priorities. Raise your kid, others will raise theirs, time will tell who wins.

Quit worrying about what other people do and focus on your own priorities...that's a life lesson really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's nothing compared to the pressure of making the travel teams in sports.

It's part of growing up. Other kids & their parents have different priorities. Raise your kid, others will raise theirs, time will tell who wins.

Quit worrying about what other people do and focus on your own priorities...that's a life lesson really.

I agree with your last paragraph, but unfortunately FCPS has made it difficult to do this with the over - emphasis on AAP. Kids who would otherwise not give it a second thought are being inundated with constant discussion of test scores and "who's in, who's out," coming from parents and peers alike. It's really become a huge circus and I can't wait until my kids are out of this environment.