New Budget Recommendations -- eliminate AAP busing and centers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

I doubt anyone wasting their time on this site, including you, really believes their child's public education is "nothing". Yes, "smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment" but this includes seeking out the most suitable public education program. "Magic buillet or shortcut" are your words. Not everyone thinks like you. Would you have schools shut down their libraries too since smart kids and involved parents could find some other source of books? It's not "much ado" but it's also not about "nothing". What's not to get?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

Why is it okay for your kid to get it and not mine?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

Why is it okay for your kid to get it and not mine?

It is a fidelity of implementation issue. It has nothing to do with another kid's parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

Why is it okay for your kid to get it and not mine?

It is a fidelity of implementation issue. It has nothing to do with another kid's parent.

Fidelity of implementation is a perennial problem with a school district that is as large and diverse as FCPS. I am not sure how you solve it as what is best practice in one school community might not be in another and having a cookie cutter one sized fits all policy would also be problematic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

Why is it okay for your kid to get it and not mine?

I've had three kids go through FCPS. One in AAP others in Gen Ed. All have done great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

Why is it okay for your kid to get it and not mine?

It is a fidelity of implementation issue. It has nothing to do with another kid's parent.

Fidelity of implementation is a perennial problem with a school district that is as large and diverse as FCPS. I am not sure how you solve it as what is best practice in one school community might not be in another and having a cookie cutter one sized fits all policy would also be problematic.

The way to solve this problem is to simply offer the best, most advanced curriculum to all kids. Here in FCPS, most are perfectly capable of this work. Those who are not could then be grouped accordingly. This division down some arbitrary line into two groups is ludicrous. FCPS should be organized like a Venn diagram, in which the middle, overlapping section is huge (full of kids of similar ability), and the sections on either side (representing lower and higher abilities) are tiny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

Why is it okay for your kid to get it and not mine?

It is a fidelity of implementation issue. It has nothing to do with another kid's parent.

Fidelity of implementation is a perennial problem with a school district that is as large and diverse as FCPS. I am not sure how you solve it as what is best practice in one school community might not be in another and having a cookie cutter one sized fits all policy would also be problematic.

The way to solve this problem is to simply offer the best, most advanced curriculum to all kids. Here in FCPS, most are perfectly capable of this work. Those who are not could then be grouped accordingly. This division down some arbitrary line into two groups is ludicrous. FCPS should be organized like a Venn diagram, in which the middle, overlapping section is huge (full of kids of similar ability), and the sections on either side (representing lower and higher abilities) are tiny.

But site based management means what happens at one school could (or could not) occur at another.

It is a structural problem of consistency and oversight.

In short -- principals can do whatever they want without enforcement from above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

Why is it okay for your kid to get it and not mine?

It is a fidelity of implementation issue. It has nothing to do with another kid's parent.

Fidelity of implementation is a perennial problem with a school district that is as large and diverse as FCPS. I am not sure how you solve it as what is best practice in one school community might not be in another and having a cookie cutter one sized fits all policy would also be problematic.

The way to solve this problem is to simply offer the best, most advanced curriculum to all kids. Here in FCPS, most are perfectly capable of this work. Those who are not could then be grouped accordingly. This division down some arbitrary line into two groups is ludicrous. FCPS should be organized like a Venn diagram, in which the middle, overlapping section is huge (full of kids of similar ability), and the sections on either side (representing lower and higher abilities) are tiny.

I agree! I have 2 kids that qualify for AAP. AAP is not providing enough challenge for one child (who would be in the tiny percentage of higher abilities) and the other does okay in the program but could easily be fine in the GE program or the AAP curriculum given at the base school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

Why is it okay for your kid to get it and not mine?

It is a fidelity of implementation issue. It has nothing to do with another kid's parent.

Fidelity of implementation is a perennial problem with a school district that is as large and diverse as FCPS. I am not sure how you solve it as what is best practice in one school community might not be in another and having a cookie cutter one sized fits all policy would also be problematic.

The way to solve this problem is to simply offer the best, most advanced curriculum to all kids. Here in FCPS, most are perfectly capable of this work. Those who are not could then be grouped accordingly. This division down some arbitrary line into two groups is ludicrous. FCPS should be organized like a Venn diagram, in which the middle, overlapping section is huge (full of kids of similar ability), and the sections on either side (representing lower and higher abilities) are tiny.

I agree! I have 2 kids that qualify for AAP. AAP is not providing enough challenge for one child (who would be in the tiny percentage of higher abilities) and the other does okay in the program but could easily be fine in the GE program or the AAP curriculum given at the base school.

Of course they would do fine in the AAP curriculum at the base school. It's supposed to be the SAME PROGRAM! Same curriculum and materials. Just different school and teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which proves some schools are giving AAP materials to their general ed students already.

Which explains why some of us are desperate to keep our centers and others don't see the point of centers at all. All politics is local.

What I don't get is why parents worry so much about all of this. Caesar's English or other "AAP materials" are no more a magic bullet or shortcut to a leg up in learning than AAP is. Smart kids and involved parents seek out enrichment. All this whining on this thread or another about coding being offered at AAP when any kid with an interest can teach himself or herself.

It is all much ado about nothing.

Why is it okay for your kid to get it and not mine?

It is a fidelity of implementation issue. It has nothing to do with another kid's parent.

Fidelity of implementation is a perennial problem with a school district that is as large and diverse as FCPS. I am not sure how you solve it as what is best practice in one school community might not be in another and having a cookie cutter one sized fits all policy would also be problematic.

The way to solve this problem is to simply offer the best, most advanced curriculum to all kids. Here in FCPS, most are perfectly capable of this work. Those who are not could then be grouped accordingly. This division down some arbitrary line into two groups is ludicrous. FCPS should be organized like a Venn diagram, in which the middle, overlapping section is huge (full of kids of similar ability), and the sections on either side (representing lower and higher abilities) are tiny.

I agree! I have 2 kids that qualify for AAP. AAP is not providing enough challenge for one child (who would be in the tiny percentage of higher abilities) and the other does okay in the program but could easily be fine in the GE program or the AAP curriculum given at the base school.

Of course they would do fine in the AAP curriculum at the base school. It's supposed to be the SAME PROGRAM! Same curriculum and materials. Just different school and teachers.

Sorry, I wasn't clear - rushed post. What I was trying to say was that I agree with the posters who said that most kids could handle the AAP curriculum AND a regular classroom setting/expectations. I have one kid that was fine at his base school and would be fine if he went back to the base school with the AAP curriculum.

My other kid isn't getting challenged in the AAP program at all AND does not do well in a regular classroom setting/expectations. She does better in a more traditional GT setting with teachers that understand highly gifted kids and some of their quirks.

[Anonymous]

Many kids could not handle the AAP program materials all the time if we have so many students in ESOL, special ed, and failing SOL tests. Do the people who post that all FCPS kids can handle AAP all live in Mclean? Yes the level 3 and level 2 kids can handle the AAP materials wherever they are strong. This is happening at many schools already either through pull outs, differentiation in general, compacted math, or LLIV push in. All of the Mclean schools teach advanced academics to many more students beyond just the AAP kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many kids could not handle the AAP program materials all the time if we have so many students in ESOL, special ed, and failing SOL tests. Do the people who post that all FCPS kids can handle AAP all live in Mclean? Yes the level 3 and level 2 kids can handle the AAP materials wherever they are strong. This is happening at many schools already either through pull outs, differentiation in general, compacted math, or LLIV push in. All of the Mclean schools teach advanced academics to many more students beyond just the AAP kids.

Students are not in separate silos of AAP, special Ed, ESOL and gen Ed. Some can be a mix of all four.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, blanket statements about FCPS are difficult as there are many Center schools without the environment received by the PP.

The post you're referring to was not a "blanket statement." It was a description of the specific experience my child (and others at his school) experienced, and as such, is perfectly valid. The point is that if AAP kids don't have to jump through ridiculous hoops in order to switch schools, then no other children should have to either.

But your DC and the AAP kids at the Center are treated EXSCTLY ALIKE. Neither gets to transfer. Cea ter based AAP kids don't get to opt for LLIV, even if it is best for them.

Actually a few center based AAP kids did opt for LLIV at a nearby elementary school because the center wasn't for them.

So nice to know that AAP kids are entitled to a choice between the base school or center. Gotta make sure their every "need" is met, but forget about the needs of GE students.

GE and AAP kids aren't allowed to transfer if the AAP center is their base school. The students that elected to go from their base center school to a LLIV school would have had to submit extra paperwork to prove something beyond AAP needs. I've never heard of this happening, but I suppose it can. Honestly some of the GE parents here are way crazier than the AAP parents with their ridiculous competitive comments. I thought they were supposed to be the normal ones.

You can thank AAP for this divisiveness. This behavior never occurred when the program was GT and only accepted a fraction of the number of kids that AAP currently accepts. Accepting more and more mainstream students, rather than only the few who actually need a special program, is going to cause resentment. There's far too much overlap and too many similarities between the vast majority of AAP and Gen Ed students to make a definitive dividing line between them, and it's no wonder parents (and kids) are sick of it.

we have friends with AAP kids who have recently talked (bragged) about their child's Latin stem homework, and coding homework. How can the rest of us NOT feel like a select group of kids are getting something better than the GE population? My kid had a GBRS of 13 and NNAT and CogAT scores just on the other side of the line (so she is like the 95th percentile).... She could totally do the work, but doesn't get the opportunity.

Well, either you didn't appeal and get a WISC or retest in 3rd or 4th, in which case you have zero room to complain, or you did, in which case a panel of FCPS teachers has decided multiple times that she can't. Besides, lots of PPs are convinced their kids will outperform all the AAP kids in high school-- and that they will take that opportunity to make sure everyone knows how much better their kid is than the former AAP kids. So, clearly their is no academic harm because the GE are going to "win" in the end. And BTW IRL, I have never drawn a distinction between AAP and GE parents-- they were just other parents in my neighborhood or school. Until I started reading the mean spirited crap on this thread. And I have to admit-- now I see a parent in DC's school, and I ask myself-- AAP? GE? I make a point to find out. And if it's a GE parent, I steer clear. Life is too short to spend time around bitter people saying mean things behind my back and rooting for my child to fail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people who are complaining the loudest about level 4 have children in the level 3 program which is the most expensive level in FCPS because it involves an extra highly trained teacher. We should be talking about eliminating that level if people are really serious about cutting AAP costs.

This is so true. Levels I-IIIS cost multiples of what Level IV does. Level I've kids need a teacher anyway. Levels I-IIIS get extra teachers on top of that. If belt tightening really needs to happen in AAP Levels I-IIII is some very expensive low hanging fruit. And certainly parents on this board dislike the Levels I-III programs anyway. Getting rid of this would be such and easy way to save millions of dollars.