Eliminating AAP?

[Anonymous]

I have been hearing about the possibility of AAP being eliminated due to budget cuts. Does anyone have any thoughts on this??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been hearing about the possibility of AAP being eliminated due to budget cuts. Does anyone have any thoughts on this??

There is no proposal to eliminate AAP. There is a proposal to eliminate the AAP Centers. It is one among many proposals and in total all the proposals hit almost every sector of the schools. AAP is not specifically targeted- all programs are affected.

[Anonymous]

I doubt they will get rid of centers. My DC's base school had 3 third graders who went to the center this year. I'm not sure how many were actually eligible, but that's how many went. DC's base school doesn't have local level IV because the number of AAP eligible kids is usually very low. For schools like that, it makes sense to have a center model, so I doubt they'll eliminate centers for them. The parents in areas with local level IV and enough kids to field two classes are vocal and love to brag about their kids going to a center, so will fight eliminating those centers. FCPS also thinks the center model makes their schools look more desirable/elite, so there is no incentive to eliminate on that end either. Bottom line, I would be shocked (and pleasantly surprised) if the got rid of centers.

[Anonymous]

[Up]

I doubt they will get rid of centers. My DC's base school had 3 third graders who went to the center this year. I'm not sure how many were actually eligible, but that's how many went. DC's base school doesn't have local level IV because the number of AAP eligible kids is usually very low. For schools like that, it makes sense to have a center model, so I doubt they'll eliminate centers for them. The parents in areas with local level IV and enough kids to field two classes are vocal and love to brag about their kids going to a center, so will fight eliminating those centers. FCPS also thinks the center model makes their schools look more desirable/elite, so there is no incentive to eliminate on that end either. Bottom line, I would be shocked (and pleasantly surprised) if the got rid of centers.

Love it or hate it, the center program does create this perception. Without the program, there would be a lot more flight to private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
[Up]

I doubt they will get rid of centers. My DC's base school had 3 third graders who went to the center this year. I'm not sure how many were actually eligible, but that's how many went. DC's base school doesn't have local level IV because the number of AAP eligible kids is usually very low. For schools like that, it makes sense to have a center model, so I doubt they'll eliminate centers for them. The parents in areas with local level IV and enough kids to field two classes are vocal and love to brag about their kids going to a center, so will fight eliminating those centers. FCPS also thinks the center model makes their schools look more desirable/elite, so there is no incentive to eliminate on that end either. Bottom line, I would be shocked (and pleasantly surprised) if the got rid of centers.

Love it or hate it, the center program does create this perception. Without the program, there would be a lot more flight to private schools.

Last time I checked, most of the private schools were full.

[Anonymous]

Based on what I heard at the Budget meeting at MVHS on Saturday, I would not be so sure AAP Centers are still around a year from now as they are today.

[Anonymous]

The President of FCAG posted a long email to the Yahoo group about the meeting they had with the Budget Task Force chair. The Budget Task Force seems to be considering all types of options, including starting Level IV AAP in 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The President of FCAG posted a long email to the Yahoo group about the meeting they had with the Budget Task Force chair. The Budget Task Force seems to be considering all types of options, including starting Level IV AAP in 5th grade.

Honestly they should keep AAP centers for elementary school where the differences are more pronounced and the amount of students needing the services is smaller.

For middle school there should be level IV at every school. The pool is so much bigger and there is without a doubt more than enough students to have a "critical mass".

Each high school pyramid has at least two to three elementary students that feed into its middle school. You can still double or triple the amount of middle school AAP students by keeping them at the base school vs sending them to center.

The most logical and likely cost effective solution would be to keep cemters at grades third through sixth, have level IV at each middle school (eliminating centers in middle school) leading to open AP in high school.

This follows the goal of getting everyone to the same end place on different paths.

[Anonymous]

Elementary centers feeding into middle schools, not elementary students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The President of FCAG posted a long email to the Yahoo group about the meeting they had with the Budget Task Force chair. The Budget Task Force seems to be considering all types of options, including starting Level IV AAP in 5th grade.

Honestly they should keep AAP centers for elementary school where the differences are more pronounced and the amount of students needing the services is smaller.

For middle school there should be level IV at every school. The pool is so much bigger and there is without a doubt more than enough students to have a "critical mass".

Each high school pyramid has at least two to three elementary students that feed into its middle school. You can still double or triple the amount of middle school AAP students by keeping them at the base school vs sending them to center.

The most logical and likely cost effective solution would be to keep cemters at grades third through sixth, have level IV at each middle school (eliminating centers in middle school) leading to open AP in high school.

This follows the goal of getting everyone to the same end place on different paths.

I was not part of the FCAG meeting with the Budget Task Force chair so I do not know what was said. I simply received the email message as part of the Yahoo group.

Last year's AAPAC report detailed the realities for how many students are Center-eligible and chose Center placement. I do not know about other high school pyramids, but I know for our pyramid (Annandale) there were not enough Center-eligible kids to have a level IV team at Poe and Holmes MS.

However, your suggestion is a good one for some parts of the county.

[Anonymous]

Where do those kids go to center then? Outside the pyramid?

How many elementary school centers feed their non AAP students into both Poe and Holmes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do those kids go to center then? Outside the pyramid?

How many elementary school centers feed their non AAP students into both Poe and Holmes?

It is in the back of the AAPAC report -- link:

http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/pdfs/aapac/1415/AnnualReport1415.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
[Up]

I doubt they will get rid of centers. My DC's base school had 3 third graders who went to the center this year. I'm not sure how many were actually eligible, but that's how many went. DC's base school doesn't have local level IV because the number of AAP eligible kids is usually very low. For schools like that, it makes sense to have a center model, so I doubt they'll eliminate centers for them. The parents in areas with local level IV and enough kids to field two classes are vocal and love to brag about their kids going to a center, so will fight eliminating those centers. FCPS also thinks the center model makes their schools look more desirable/elite, so there is no incentive to eliminate on that end either. Bottom line, I would be shocked (and pleasantly surprised) if the got rid of centers.

Love it or hate it, the center program does create this perception. Without the program, there would be a lot more flight to private schools.

Last time I checked, most of the private schools were full.

And not free

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I doubt they will get rid of centers. My DC's base school had 3 third graders who went to the center this year. I'm not sure how many were actually eligible, but that's how many went. DC's base school doesn't have local level IV because the number of AAP eligible kids is usually very low. For schools like that, it makes sense to have a center model, so I doubt they'll eliminate centers for them. The parents in areas with local level IV and enough kids to field two classes are vocal and love to brag about their kids going to a center, so will fight eliminating those centers. FCPS also thinks the center model makes their schools look more desirable/elite, so there is no incentive to eliminate on that end either. Bottom line, I would be shocked (and pleasantly surprised) if the got rid of centers.

Maybe you should sacrifice like the rest of us and buy or rent in a better school district.

[Anonymous]

The FCAG email said that 21% of elementary students are in AAP, and the percentage is higher in some areas. That seems like a very high percentage to me. It used to be about 10% overall and that seemed to work well.

How difficult would it be at this point to get back to 10% as a goal? It would save money and improve the program at the same time, if they could do it. The alternative appears to be to eliminate the program altogether, which actually might be easier to sell to parents than the idea of ratcheting the program back.