LOUDOUN’s Elementary GT (Futura) Program Moves to A Five-Day Model

[Anonymous]

Loudoun is experimenting a new five-day a week Futura (GT) model in seven elementary schools (first year GT students only) this year. It’ll be expanded to more schools in the future.

The old one-day a week pullout model was more about enrichment in the form of creative projects. The new model incorporates more advanced curriculum (math, English etc). It’s getting closer to what Fairfax County has but Loudoun puts all these Futura students within the same school inside one regular classroom with other non-GT students. The teaching will be differentiated and the GT teacher will mainly work with the GT students inside the classroom. There will be a partnership between the GT teacher and the regular classroom teacher. Basically, the classroom will have 6-7 GT students and 18-19 non-GT students.

Not sure how well the program will be executed, but feedback will be collected throughout the year for future improvement /adjustment.

[Anonymous]

Wow! Do you know which elementary schools this is being tested?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone experienced this new model? It doesn't seem a good plan to have both AAP kids and Gen-Ed kids in the same classroom, cannot image how the teacher teaches a class like this. They could simply separate AAP kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone experienced this new model? It doesn't seem a good plan to have both AAP kids and Gen-Ed kids in the same classroom, cannot image how the teacher teaches a class like this. They could simply separate AAP kids.

That's exactly how it is now in LCPS. Somehow the teachers manage to struggle through.


My concern about the new program is the staffing. I don't see LCPS being enthused to hire the additional teachers necessary to implement this county-wide. We've just barely been able to get full day kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

NP. They rolled this out this year? For those in the program, how's it going?

[Anonymous]

I don't have a kid at a pilot school, but the feedback I've heard so far has been mixed. Like traditional Futura, a lot depends on the individual teacher. I think it has a lot of potential, though.

[Anonymous]

The new program sounds a bit like Arlington's GT program. Some like it. Some don't and complain loudly.

[Anonymous]

Sound awful for the non GT kids. 6 kids get a special extra teacher?

[Anonymous]

I like the idea that they are clustering the kids in classes. When my eldest went through Futura, she was the only one in her class who left every week for the program, and it had social repercussions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sound awful for the non GT kids. 6 kids get a special extra teacher?

Many of the classes in LCPS are inclusion classes, with extra teachers in the classroom for the kids with IEPs. This seems similar.