What’s the big fuss about AAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To address OPs point, I'd say that it just makes home life easier. There are sooo many little problems that are lessened, or just disappear once you segregate out the majority of troublemakers from the class. The teachers are on top of their curriculum, have more time for individual engagement with more children instead of the ones falling behind, and my child isn't being used as an indirect tutor to help the class progress. My needs for home enrichment actually decreased as DC appears to be staying engaged in class and progressing, which wasn't happening in K-2nd. Maybe it's my child's increased maturity (I doubt it), but there are less distractions and social implications to be worried about that makes for less anxiety and fights at home.

I'd say it's 100% not about the stated "advanced" nature, and the benefits are more intrinsic based on the peer group differences. I recognize it's elitist, but it's working for us.

+100 the peer group is miles above the gen ed peer group. I had one kid who got into AAP and one who didn’t. The one who didn’t unfortunately was influenced by the lack of academic rigor from gen Ed over the years - doesn’t want to/isn’t used to working hard, doesn’t know how to study for tests, doesn’t seem to care as much about school. Cares more about being popular. We notice that more of the gen Ed girls are all about clothes, make up and nails by 6th grade whereas the AAP girls are not.

AAP 6th grade teacher here. My AAP girls are ALL about brand names!!

Next thing you'll tell us is how much you are into brands yourself.

Kids are kids, some are into brands and some are into sports and some are into books and some are into math, that incudes AAP kids. There are AAP kids who are problems with regulation and there are well behaved kids in AAP. There are kids who are brand obsessed and kids who could careless in AAP. Too many people on this board want to portray AAP as this bastion of amazingly well behaved kids who are all young academics learning from each other when it is a classroom filled with a small number of gifted kids, a lot of advanced kids, and some kids who work really hard. It is probably more parental involvement that leads to kids being ahead and reasonably well behaved then anything else.

The AAP descriptions match the language immersion descriptions and there is not a selection committee for language immersion. You end up with fewer kids with serious, or even moderate, learning issues. Fewer kids with behavior issues. Mainly you end up with a classroom full of kids whose parents are involved and actively seleccting programs that they think will challenge their kid.

This. Not all of the AAP kids are super studious. In my career, I have had studious, athletes, musicians, popular kids, etc. They are kids like everyone else. They say the same lingo and watch the same stupid YouTube videos.

The point is that AAP does not have the bottom tier kids who are disrupting class with chair throwing, or taking up all the teacher's time because they can't do math from two grade levels ago. Even if there are a lot of average kids who don't exactly "deserve" to be there, not having that bottom tier makes the learning environment so much better. That's a big reason why people want AAP. It's also true in opt-in dual language programs, you're not going to have parents of bottom tier kids signing up for that either because it's too demanding for the kids at the bottom.

“Bottom tier kids”. I hope you are a troll. I do not know one parent in my child’s AAP center that thinks of kids in terms of “tiers”- although if there was one, we certainly would not be friends with them.

No one says it out loud but everyone certainly thinks it. Except you of course, on your very high horse.

No. Nobody thinks that. But you keep telling yourself that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess I just figured it out. Parents like many of you choose to live in crappy areas for the cheap housing, and then make sure your kids get into AAP for the "better peer group"

My sister and BIL do exactly that. What's so wrong with that? They have dgrees from good schools and have good, smart kids. But they didn't get lucky in their careers and can't afford to live in the better areas. They tried private school for a while but it wasn't a good culture fit. AAP has been great for their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. AAP isn’t that prestigious. AAP is basically honors level classes renamed for people who do well on the CogAD. My DC failed to get into AAP, did HN level classes, and still got into AP level classes in their freshman year. AAP won’t help you get into colleges; unless your child wants to mention going all the way back to your elementary and middle school path. Also, the HN coursework is very similar to AAP itself.

I agree, it’s not like being accepted to Harvard, unless you don’t get in..then parents have a fit for some reason. I never did AP in school and I still managed an Ivy League MBA. However, we did the process for our daughter and she was accepted, but honestly we would have been ok in any regard. Our view on all this is parents seem to stress themselves and their kids out going through the process and it makes you wonder who it is actually for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better peer group. That's the big deal. That's the only deal.

I'm not even 100% sure that's true. At our center, the aap kids got cell phones younger. Definitely glad we didn't start the peer pressure on that stuff so young.
My Gen Ed kid wanted to be there, and recommends it for younger sibling....and it comes down to that the Gen Ed teachers have too many levels/groups in a classroom so the kids who are ahead just spend most of their time without much to do.

This. The queen-bee mean girl types are usually bright with strong social skills and involved parents. Those kids are also getting into AAP. My DD was mocked in 2nd grade for the clothing brands she was wearing by girls who left for the AAP center the following year.

I agree that the gen ed teachers will ignore the kids who are advanced. If an advanced gen ed kid is self motivated and has reasonably high executive function, the lack of teacher attention won't matter that much. My DD spent tons of free time reading through the school library and working independently on various projects. One of the sad ironies about AAP admissions is that the kids who are above grade level but with lower GBRS/HOPE scores are the ones who likely need the structure, expectations, and prodding from AAP the most. The kids who have the high teacher ratings and thus are the most likely to be admitted into AAP are going to bloom wherever they're planted.

Unfortunately that is true too, but in the long run isn't that better than chair throwers and kids with Derek Zoolander level reading skills? I say pick your poison.

I don't know where you live, but these kids do not exist at our FCPS elementary school.

lol. We have elementary schools where 1 in 4 can’t even speak English. And others where there are entire classes dddicated for mainstreaming and get an extra aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its about making sure your child isnt in class with chair throwers.

+1

That is sort of the reason we did AAP when transferring from private. We weren’t exactly thinking “chair throwers” but definitely the 1 or 2 possible students that would require 90 percent of the teachers time being disruptive. I love the analogy though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. AAP isn’t that prestigious. AAP is basically honors level classes renamed for people who do well on the CogAD. My DC failed to get into AAP, did HN level classes, and still got into AP level classes in their freshman year. AAP won’t help you get into colleges; unless your child wants to mention going all the way back to your elementary and middle school path. Also, the HN coursework is very similar to AAP itself.

——
Of course it won’t help you get in to a college, but it’s a pathway that builds on each year, right up to applying to college

I agree, it’s not like being accepted to Harvard, unless you don’t get in..then parents have a fit for some reason. I never did AP in school and I still managed an Ivy League MBA. However, we did the process for our daughter and she was accepted, but honestly we would have been ok in any regard. Our view on all this is parents seem to stress themselves and their kids out going through the process and it makes you wonder who it is actually for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To address OPs point, I'd say that it just makes home life easier. There are sooo many little problems that are lessened, or just disappear once you segregate out the majority of troublemakers from the class. The teachers are on top of their curriculum, have more time for individual engagement with more children instead of the ones falling behind, and my child isn't being used as an indirect tutor to help the class progress. My needs for home enrichment actually decreased as DC appears to be staying engaged in class and progressing, which wasn't happening in K-2nd. Maybe it's my child's increased maturity (I doubt it), but there are less distractions and social implications to be worried about that makes for less anxiety and fights at home.

I'd say it's 100% not about the stated "advanced" nature, and the benefits are more intrinsic based on the peer group differences. I recognize it's elitist, but it's working for us.

+100 the peer group is miles above the gen ed peer group. I had one kid who got into AAP and one who didn’t. The one who didn’t unfortunately was influenced by the lack of academic rigor from gen Ed over the years - doesn’t want to/isn’t used to working hard, doesn’t know how to study for tests, doesn’t seem to care as much about school. Cares more about being popular. We notice that more of the gen Ed girls are all about clothes, make up and nails by 6th grade whereas the AAP girls are not.

AAP 6th grade teacher here. My AAP girls are ALL about brand names!!

Next thing you'll tell us is how much you are into brands yourself.

Kids are kids, some are into brands and some are into sports and some are into books and some are into math, that incudes AAP kids. There are AAP kids who are problems with regulation and there are well behaved kids in AAP. There are kids who are brand obsessed and kids who could careless in AAP. Too many people on this board want to portray AAP as this bastion of amazingly well behaved kids who are all young academics learning from each other when it is a classroom filled with a small number of gifted kids, a lot of advanced kids, and some kids who work really hard. It is probably more parental involvement that leads to kids being ahead and reasonably well behaved then anything else.

The AAP descriptions match the language immersion descriptions and there is not a selection committee for language immersion. You end up with fewer kids with serious, or even moderate, learning issues. Fewer kids with behavior issues. Mainly you end up with a classroom full of kids whose parents are involved and actively seleccting programs that they think will challenge their kid.

This. Not all of the AAP kids are super studious. In my career, I have had studious, athletes, musicians, popular kids, etc. They are kids like everyone else. They say the same lingo and watch the same stupid YouTube videos.

The point is that AAP does not have the bottom tier kids who are disrupting class with chair throwing, or taking up all the teacher's time because they can't do math from two grade levels ago. Even if there are a lot of average kids who don't exactly "deserve" to be there, not having that bottom tier makes the learning environment so much better. That's a big reason why people want AAP. It's also true in opt-in dual language programs, you're not going to have parents of bottom tier kids signing up for that either because it's too demanding for the kids at the bottom.

“Bottom tier kids”. I hope you are a troll. I do not know one parent in my child’s AAP center that thinks of kids in terms of “tiers”- although if there was one, we certainly would not be friends with them.

No one says it out loud but everyone certainly thinks it. Except you of course, on your very high horse.

No. Nobody thinks that. But you keep telling yourself that

Let me guess, you’re also someone that “doesn’t see color” 🙄

[Anonymous]

Racism?? Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I just figured it out. Parents like many of you choose to live in crappy areas for the cheap housing, and then make sure your kids get into AAP for the "better peer group"

My sister and BIL do exactly that. What's so wrong with that? They have dgrees from good schools and have good, smart kids. But they didn't get lucky in their careers and can't afford to live in the better areas. They tried private school for a while but it wasn't a good culture fit. AAP has been great for their kids.

Because what happens when your kid doesn't get into AAP? You come on here and complain about chair throwers at the low in come/high Spanish-speaking school that YOU CHOSE. Those of us who chose wisely, don't have to worry about that sort of thing. Here in our mid to high SES school, there are no chair throwers in the gen ed classes here and there are enough "2E" kids in the LLIV class that it has a special ed teacher assigned to it. One reason we opted out of LLIV except for math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better peer group. That's the big deal. That's the only deal.

I'm not even 100% sure that's true. At our center, the aap kids got cell phones younger. Definitely glad we didn't start the peer pressure on that stuff so young.
My Gen Ed kid wanted to be there, and recommends it for younger sibling....and it comes down to that the Gen Ed teachers have too many levels/groups in a classroom so the kids who are ahead just spend most of their time without much to do.

This. The queen-bee mean girl types are usually bright with strong social skills and involved parents. Those kids are also getting into AAP. My DD was mocked in 2nd grade for the clothing brands she was wearing by girls who left for the AAP center the following year.

I agree that the gen ed teachers will ignore the kids who are advanced. If an advanced gen ed kid is self motivated and has reasonably high executive function, the lack of teacher attention won't matter that much. My DD spent tons of free time reading through the school library and working independently on various projects. One of the sad ironies about AAP admissions is that the kids who are above grade level but with lower GBRS/HOPE scores are the ones who likely need the structure, expectations, and prodding from AAP the most. The kids who have the high teacher ratings and thus are the most likely to be admitted into AAP are going to bloom wherever they're planted.

Unfortunately that is true too, but in the long run isn't that better than chair throwers and kids with Derek Zoolander level reading skills? I say pick your poison.

I don't know where you live, but these kids do not exist at our FCPS elementary school.

lol. We have elementary schools where 1 in 4 can’t even speak English. And others where there are entire classes dddicated for mainstreaming and get an extra aid.

Yes well, you chose to live where you live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better peer group. That's the big deal. That's the only deal.

I'm not even 100% sure that's true. At our center, the aap kids got cell phones younger. Definitely glad we didn't start the peer pressure on that stuff so young.
My Gen Ed kid wanted to be there, and recommends it for younger sibling....and it comes down to that the Gen Ed teachers have too many levels/groups in a classroom so the kids who are ahead just spend most of their time without much to do.

This. The queen-bee mean girl types are usually bright with strong social skills and involved parents. Those kids are also getting into AAP. My DD was mocked in 2nd grade for the clothing brands she was wearing by girls who left for the AAP center the following year.

I agree that the gen ed teachers will ignore the kids who are advanced. If an advanced gen ed kid is self motivated and has reasonably high executive function, the lack of teacher attention won't matter that much. My DD spent tons of free time reading through the school library and working independently on various projects. One of the sad ironies about AAP admissions is that the kids who are above grade level but with lower GBRS/HOPE scores are the ones who likely need the structure, expectations, and prodding from AAP the most. The kids who have the high teacher ratings and thus are the most likely to be admitted into AAP are going to bloom wherever they're planted.

Unfortunately that is true too, but in the long run isn't that better than chair throwers and kids with Derek Zoolander level reading skills? I say pick your poison.

I don't know where you live, but these kids do not exist at our FCPS elementary school.

lol. We have elementary schools where 1 in 4 can’t even speak English. And others where there are entire classes dddicated for mainstreaming and get an extra aid.

Yes well, you chose to live where you live.

And AAP centers are great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better peer group. That's the big deal. That's the only deal.

I'm not even 100% sure that's true. At our center, the aap kids got cell phones younger. Definitely glad we didn't start the peer pressure on that stuff so young.
My Gen Ed kid wanted to be there, and recommends it for younger sibling....and it comes down to that the Gen Ed teachers have too many levels/groups in a classroom so the kids who are ahead just spend most of their time without much to do.

This. The queen-bee mean girl types are usually bright with strong social skills and involved parents. Those kids are also getting into AAP. My DD was mocked in 2nd grade for the clothing brands she was wearing by girls who left for the AAP center the following year.

I agree that the gen ed teachers will ignore the kids who are advanced. If an advanced gen ed kid is self motivated and has reasonably high executive function, the lack of teacher attention won't matter that much. My DD spent tons of free time reading through the school library and working independently on various projects. One of the sad ironies about AAP admissions is that the kids who are above grade level but with lower GBRS/HOPE scores are the ones who likely need the structure, expectations, and prodding from AAP the most. The kids who have the high teacher ratings and thus are the most likely to be admitted into AAP are going to bloom wherever they're planted.

Unfortunately that is true too, but in the long run isn't that better than chair throwers and kids with Derek Zoolander level reading skills? I say pick your poison.

I don't know where you live, but these kids do not exist at our FCPS elementary school.

lol. We have elementary schools where 1 in 4 can’t even speak English. And others where there are entire classes dddicated for mainstreaming and get an extra aid.

Yes well, you chose to live where you live.

And AAP centers are great.

Not so great when your base school is a center. The segregation is weird and causes weird issues. Although I think some of the families are more humbled now in middle school....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I just figured it out. Parents like many of you choose to live in crappy areas for the cheap housing, and then make sure your kids get into AAP for the "better peer group"

My sister and BIL do exactly that. What's so wrong with that? They have dgrees from good schools and have good, smart kids. But they didn't get lucky in their careers and can't afford to live in the better areas. They tried private school for a while but it wasn't a good culture fit. AAP has been great for their kids.

Because what happens when your kid doesn't get into AAP? You come on here and complain about chair throwers at the low in come/high Spanish-speaking school that YOU CHOSE. Those of us who chose wisely, don't have to worry about that sort of thing. Here in our mid to high SES school, there are no chair throwers in the gen ed classes here and there are enough "2E" kids in the LLIV class that it has a special ed teacher assigned to it. One reason we opted out of LLIV except for math.

What school is that?

Our elementary school has least than 10% FARM and we have kids that have discipline issues I think all schools do. There are a lot of affluent spoiled brats out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To address OPs point, I'd say that it just makes home life easier. There are sooo many little problems that are lessened, or just disappear once you segregate out the majority of troublemakers from the class. The teachers are on top of their curriculum, have more time for individual engagement with more children instead of the ones falling behind, and my child isn't being used as an indirect tutor to help the class progress. My needs for home enrichment actually decreased as DC appears to be staying engaged in class and progressing, which wasn't happening in K-2nd. Maybe it's my child's increased maturity (I doubt it), but there are less distractions and social implications to be worried about that makes for less anxiety and fights at home.

I'd say it's 100% not about the stated "advanced" nature, and the benefits are more intrinsic based on the peer group differences. I recognize it's elitist, but it's working for us.

+100 the peer group is miles above the gen ed peer group. I had one kid who got into AAP and one who didn’t. The one who didn’t unfortunately was influenced by the lack of academic rigor from gen Ed over the years - doesn’t want to/isn’t used to working hard, doesn’t know how to study for tests, doesn’t seem to care as much about school. Cares more about being popular. We notice that more of the gen Ed girls are all about clothes, make up and nails by 6th grade whereas the AAP girls are not.

AAP 6th grade teacher here. My AAP girls are ALL about brand names!!

Next thing you'll tell us is how much you are into brands yourself.

Kids are kids, some are into brands and some are into sports and some are into books and some are into math, that incudes AAP kids. There are AAP kids who are problems with regulation and there are well behaved kids in AAP. There are kids who are brand obsessed and kids who could careless in AAP. Too many people on this board want to portray AAP as this bastion of amazingly well behaved kids who are all young academics learning from each other when it is a classroom filled with a small number of gifted kids, a lot of advanced kids, and some kids who work really hard. It is probably more parental involvement that leads to kids being ahead and reasonably well behaved then anything else.

The AAP descriptions match the language immersion descriptions and there is not a selection committee for language immersion. You end up with fewer kids with serious, or even moderate, learning issues. Fewer kids with behavior issues. Mainly you end up with a classroom full of kids whose parents are involved and actively seleccting programs that they think will challenge their kid.

This. Not all of the AAP kids are super studious. In my career, I have had studious, athletes, musicians, popular kids, etc. They are kids like everyone else. They say the same lingo and watch the same stupid YouTube videos.

The point is that AAP does not have the bottom tier kids who are disrupting class with chair throwing, or taking up all the teacher's time because they can't do math from two grade levels ago. Even if there are a lot of average kids who don't exactly "deserve" to be there, not having that bottom tier makes the learning environment so much better. That's a big reason why people want AAP. It's also true in opt-in dual language programs, you're not going to have parents of bottom tier kids signing up for that either because it's too demanding for the kids at the bottom.

“Bottom tier kids”. I hope you are a troll. I do not know one parent in my child’s AAP center that thinks of kids in terms of “tiers”- although if there was one, we certainly would not be friends with them.

No one says it out loud but everyone certainly thinks it. Except you of course, on your very high horse.

No. Nobody thinks that. But you keep telling yourself that

Frankly, more taking would alleviate some of this but tracking is very inconsistent with the equity centered philosophy that is emphasized in education grad schools these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better peer group. That's the big deal. That's the only deal.

I'm not even 100% sure that's true. At our center, the aap kids got cell phones younger. Definitely glad we didn't start the peer pressure on that stuff so young.
My Gen Ed kid wanted to be there, and recommends it for younger sibling....and it comes down to that the Gen Ed teachers have too many levels/groups in a classroom so the kids who are ahead just spend most of their time without much to do.

This. The queen-bee mean girl types are usually bright with strong social skills and involved parents. Those kids are also getting into AAP. My DD was mocked in 2nd grade for the clothing brands she was wearing by girls who left for the AAP center the following year.

I agree that the gen ed teachers will ignore the kids who are advanced. If an advanced gen ed kid is self motivated and has reasonably high executive function, the lack of teacher attention won't matter that much. My DD spent tons of free time reading through the school library and working independently on various projects. One of the sad ironies about AAP admissions is that the kids who are above grade level but with lower GBRS/HOPE scores are the ones who likely need the structure, expectations, and prodding from AAP the most. The kids who have the high teacher ratings and thus are the most likely to be admitted into AAP are going to bloom wherever they're planted.

Unfortunately that is true too, but in the long run isn't that better than chair throwers and kids with Derek Zoolander level reading skills? I say pick your poison.

I don't know where you live, but these kids do not exist at our FCPS elementary school.

lol. We have elementary schools where 1 in 4 can’t even speak English. And others where there are entire classes dddicated for mainstreaming and get an extra aid.

Yes well, you chose to live where you live.

And AAP centers are great.

DP. Well your AAP center is our home school and we’re pushing 30+ kids in our AAP classes at the moment. I’m really hoping that next year they lose their designation as a center. It is absolutely ridiculous that we are taking kids from other schools when we barely have enough space for our own kids.