Longfellow MS - clarification

[Anonymous]

Is it true that in Longfellow MS AAP center, most non-AAP students are "Honor" students? How can this be? Are they just labeling it that for an arbitrary reason?

Also, for those who have experienced LMS AAP program, were you pleased? Likes and dislikes about their AAP program? Is it too crowded?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that in Longfellow MS AAP center, most non-AAP students are "Honor" students? How can this be? Are they just labeling it that for an arbitrary reason?

Also, for those who have experienced LMS AAP program, were you pleased? Likes and dislikes about their AAP program? Is it too crowded?

Most Longfellow students will take Honors English, social studies and science. The conclusion was they can handle the FCPS Honors curriculum. It recognizes that there wasn't that big a distinction between middle-school Honors and non-Honors classes in several core subjects and makes scheduling easier. There is more differentiation with math classes and, of course, students pick electives. You can see the course catalog for next year here:

http://www.fcps.edu/LongfellowMS/pages/Info/2015-16LMSCourseGuide.pdf

Longfellow is a big, well-run school. It is not as chaotic as some middle schools, nor is it a particularly warm place. They don't coddle the kids there, but on the other hand they are fairly clear about their expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that in Longfellow MS AAP center, most non-AAP students are "Honor" students? How can this be? Are they just labeling it that for an arbitrary reason?

Also, for those who have experienced LMS AAP program, were you pleased? Likes and dislikes about their AAP program? Is it too crowded?

I'm curious why you ask, "how can this be?" Please clarify.

[Anonymous]

My children are in HS now. Most kids at Longfellow were in AAP or Honors. When they were there, there was little difference between Honors and AAP. We found more discrepancy between individual teachers than Honors and AAP at taught. Longfellow does very well for students who are bright and toe the line. It does not do well for those students who have trouble fitting in or straddle different silos (eg AAP and ESOL or AAP and Special Ed).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My children are in HS now. Most kids at Longfellow were in AAP or Honors. When they were there, there was little difference between Honors and AAP. We found more discrepancy between individual teachers than Honors and AAP at taught. Longfellow does very well for students who are bright and toe the line. It does not do well for those students who have trouble fitting in or straddle different silos (eg AAP and ESOL or AAP and Special Ed).

as taught, not "at taught".

[Anonymous]

Two kids went through LMS AAP, can't say much about the difference between AAP and Honor as I'm only familiar with one of the programs. What PP stated is absolutely correct: I think it will depend on the teachers! Most of the teachers were great, but I've also encountered a few that are not so great.

The students were SMART! They push and challenge each other to do better and I think they make LMS such a strong school. The after school activities are amazing, something for everyone.

Although it is a very large school, but because they break the kids into "teams", it's like school within school. The kids do have opportunity to interact with others from different teams in PE and electives so that's nice. My kids were able to meet someone new throughout the year and they liked that.

Overall it's a great school and the principal is very engaging and involve in the day-to-day business of running the school.

[Anonymous]

There is a difference between AAP and Honors.

The change was to eliminate Gen Ed and only offer Honors and AAP. The theory is that the teachers will scaffold for the kids who truly need Gen Ed. Don't know how it is in practice. Would hate to stress out kids who aren't ready for Honors. I think, like everything, it depends on the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a difference between AAP and Honors.

The change was to eliminate Gen Ed and only offer Honors and AAP. The theory is that the teachers will scaffold for the kids who truly need Gen Ed. Don't know how it is in practice. Would hate to stress out kids who aren't ready for Honors. I think, like everything, it depends on the teacher.

They've said they'll make exceptions for students whom they think need a less demanding course than the Honors course; presumably, one example might be ESOL students with limited English proficiency.

Knowing Longfellow, they will make sure that the classes are structured to optimize student success and test scores. The current principal was brought in five or six years ago when Longfellow wasn't making AYP under NCLB because it had certain student groups that were not meeting the SOL benchmarks. She turned it around in a year, and very much has a "no excuses" attitude with both teachers and students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a difference between AAP and Honors.

The change was to eliminate Gen Ed and only offer Honors and AAP. The theory is that the teachers will scaffold for the kids who truly need Gen Ed. Don't know how it is in practice. Would hate to stress out kids who aren't ready for Honors. I think, like everything, it depends on the teacher.

They've said they'll make exceptions for students whom they think need a less demanding course than the Honors course; presumably, one example might be ESOL students with limited English proficiency.

Knowing Longfellow, they will make sure that the classes are structured to optimize student success and test scores. The current principal was brought in five or six years ago when Longfellow wasn't making AYP under NCLB because it had certain student groups that were not meeting the SOL benchmarks. She turned it around in a year, and very much has a "no excuses" attitude with both teachers and students.

I don't think this is accurate. She has been there at least 7 years. She has a mixed record with the special ed population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a difference between AAP and Honors.

The change was to eliminate Gen Ed and only offer Honors and AAP. The theory is that the teachers will scaffold for the kids who truly need Gen Ed. Don't know how it is in practice. Would hate to stress out kids who aren't ready for Honors. I think, like everything, it depends on the teacher.

They've said they'll make exceptions for students whom they think need a less demanding course than the Honors course; presumably, one example might be ESOL students with limited English proficiency.

Knowing Longfellow, they will make sure that the classes are structured to optimize student success and test scores. The current principal was brought in five or six years ago when Longfellow wasn't making AYP under NCLB because it had certain student groups that were not meeting the SOL benchmarks. She turned it around in a year, and very much has a "no excuses" attitude with both teachers and students.

I don't think this is accurate. She has been there at least 7 years. She has a mixed record with the special ed population.

I checked and you're right - she has been there seven years. Test scores did improve under her watch, and she has won numerous awards, including awards for the best first-year principal in FCPS and, later, best middle-school principal in the state.

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2014/sep/18/longfellow-principal-wins-state-award/

I don't know if any public middle school has a great reputation with special ed students. I've probably heard better things about Frost than any other MS in FCPS for special ed students, but that's entirely anecdotal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a difference between AAP and Honors.

The change was to eliminate Gen Ed and only offer Honors and AAP. The theory is that the teachers will scaffold for the kids who truly need Gen Ed. Don't know how it is in practice. Would hate to stress out kids who aren't ready for Honors. I think, like everything, it depends on the teacher.

They've said they'll make exceptions for students whom they think need a less demanding course than the Honors course; presumably, one example might be ESOL students with limited English proficiency.

Knowing Longfellow, they will make sure that the classes are structured to optimize student success and test scores. The current principal was brought in five or six years ago when Longfellow wasn't making AYP under NCLB because it had certain student groups that were not meeting the SOL benchmarks. She turned it around in a year, and very much has a "no excuses" attitude with both teachers and students.

I don't think this is accurate. She has been there at least 7 years. She has a mixed record with the special ed population.

What does this mean exactly? My 6th grader will be attending this fall-in AAP at center ES with ADHD and IEP. From what we have been told, Longfellow does well with theses students. Do you hear otherwise?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a difference between AAP and Honors.

The change was to eliminate Gen Ed and only offer Honors and AAP. The theory is that the teachers will scaffold for the kids who truly need Gen Ed. Don't know how it is in practice. Would hate to stress out kids who aren't ready for Honors. I think, like everything, it depends on the teacher.

They've said they'll make exceptions for students whom they think need a less demanding course than the Honors course; presumably, one example might be ESOL students with limited English proficiency.

Knowing Longfellow, they will make sure that the classes are structured to optimize student success and test scores. The current principal was brought in five or six years ago when Longfellow wasn't making AYP under NCLB because it had certain student groups that were not meeting the SOL benchmarks. She turned it around in a year, and very much has a "no excuses" attitude with both teachers and students.

I don't think this is accurate. She has been there at least 7 years. She has a mixed record with the special ed population.

What does this mean exactly? My 6th grader will be attending this fall-in AAP at center ES with ADHD and IEP. From what we have been told, Longfellow does well with theses students. Do you hear otherwise?

Don't worry about it! Your DC will be fine as long as he/she can do the work. And BTW, the workload is not bad at all! Again, dep on teachers. I think DC had more homework as 5th grader than any other years. Now an 8th grader at LMS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a difference between AAP and Honors.

The change was to eliminate Gen Ed and only offer Honors and AAP. The theory is that the teachers will scaffold for the kids who truly need Gen Ed. Don't know how it is in practice. Would hate to stress out kids who aren't ready for Honors. I think, like everything, it depends on the teacher.

They've said they'll make exceptions for students whom they think need a less demanding course than the Honors course; presumably, one example might be ESOL students with limited English proficiency.

Knowing Longfellow, they will make sure that the classes are structured to optimize student success and test scores. The current principal was brought in five or six years ago when Longfellow wasn't making AYP under NCLB because it had certain student groups that were not meeting the SOL benchmarks. She turned it around in a year, and very much has a "no excuses" attitude with both teachers and students.

I don't think this is accurate. She has been there at least 7 years. She has a mixed record with the special ed population.

What does this mean exactly? My 6th grader will be attending this fall-in AAP at center ES with ADHD and IEP. From what we have been told, Longfellow does well with theses students. Do you hear otherwise?

It depends on how the ADHD manifests itself in your DC. If he has behavioral issues, then yes- there have been problems. If there are social issues, there are problems. There used to be problems with the AAP/Gen-ED teachers and 2E students (mainly on the LD side), but many of those have been resolved through education and advocacy. Bullying of vulnerable students has also been a problem. It may have changed, my children are two (or more) wonderful glorious years out of Longfellow.

[Anonymous]

We had kids at both Kilmer and Longfellow, and the only bullying any of our kids experienced was at Kilmer, not Longfellow. If anything, the Longfellow administrative team ran a much tighter ship, but some middle-school kids can be mean. It is not the easiest age, which is probably why the kids get quarantined in middle schools, away from the rest of civilized society, for 2-3 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My children are in HS now. Most kids at Longfellow were in AAP or Honors. When they were there, there was little difference between Honors and AAP. We found more discrepancy between individual teachers than Honors and AAP at taught. Longfellow does very well for students who are bright and toe the line. It does not do well for those students who have trouble fitting in or straddle different silos (eg AAP and ESOL or AAP and Special Ed).

I am wondering, for the special ed or non-AAP or non-honors type student, do they have a public school alternative to Longfellow? Isn't it zoned?