tell me about your experience with regular ed in FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an FCPS teacher I can tell you that there really is no general Ed. I teach at Lee High School and if your kid is not in honors or IB/AP they are essentially in a Sped or ESOL class. Your kid will pass the SOL so we don't focus on them, we focus on the Sped and ESOL kids because they only pass SOLs less than 50 percent of the time.

We are talking about elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an FCPS teacher I can tell you that there really is no general Ed. I teach at Lee High School and if your kid is not in honors or IB/AP they are essentially in a Sped or ESOL class. Your kid will pass the SOL so we don't focus on them, we focus on the Sped and ESOL kids because they only pass SOLs less than 50 percent of the time.

Well, yeah, that's how it is in a lot of high schools around the country. Take honors if you don't want to be in the remedial class.

Elementary school is different. Or at least it should be. Do you feel the same about elementary school?

PP here. I'm not familiar enough with elementary so I can't say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an FCPS teacher I can tell you that there really is no general Ed. I teach at Lee High School and if your kid is not in honors or IB/AP they are essentially in a Sped or ESOL class. Your kid will pass the SOL so we don't focus on them, we focus on the Sped and ESOL kids because they only pass SOLs less than 50 percent of the time.

Yes, I feel this is the case at our base elementary Title 1 school. When I saw what my AAP child's classroom experience was, I wanted it for my other child.

[Anonymous]

It is teacher by teacher based and also principal based. If the principal is good at retaining the good teachers, creating well oiled machines, the education is top notch. Sometimes things don’t work out that way.

As for comparing our school system with the rest of the country: what my kid was learning in first grade was the national baseline for second grade. I know this because when I looked at the second grade workbooks, I realized my kid knew all of the topics. So we’re on third grade now in second grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why APS is really the best school system in the area. If I were you, I would look at moving to Arlington.

What is "this"? I don't like the way AAP is organized and personally feel that a gifted program that serves the needs of kids who are actually gifted (or kids who actually have needs!) would be better. Other than not having AAP, what does the Arlington do well?

This article might enlighten you a little bit on some of the benefits and negatives (none of the systems are perfect) :
http://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/is-my-child-gifted/

Also in APS Elementary :

School based programs are delivered:
* in the regular classroom setting with identified students cluster-grouped with other children
* with teachers who are specifically trained in elements of gifted education including best practices in differentiated instruction
* through curriculum, which is differentiated or extended from concepts in the prescribed curriculum and, when appropriate, opportunities for acceleration and advanced studies are provided
* according to a collaborative resource model in which the classroom teacher works with the resource teacher for the gifted to develop and present appropriately differentiated learning experiences for gifted students within the regular classroom. Collaboration Card

https://www.apsva.us/gifted-services/services-by-school-level/elementary-school/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why APS is really the best school system in the area. If I were you, I would look at moving to Arlington.

Now that we know what goes on in FCPS we wish we had moved to Arlington. They do not have this AAP nightmare and are able to invest the resources across the entire grade level. If we had the choice again we would have moved to Arlington.

+1

People who grew up in FCPS take issue with that, but it is the truth.

Lets be clear though that Arlington identifies gifted students in kindergarten and they have kids switch classes for "AAP" type instruction. In addition, Arlington has a slew of magnet schools. So in some ways regarding advanced children Arlington is very similar to Fairfax.

Which magnets in Arlington make you test in like AAP in FCPS? My understanding is that most are lottery and are Choice/Option. ATS, HB Woodlawn, IB....

Arlington kids get to keep their walkable friends and not be separated into another AAP type school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10:03 and wanted to add that FCPS in general has gotten away from the basics, the fundamentals. No spelling, no handwriting, no math facts. No, that's too old-fashioned and doesn't align with "progress."

My kindergartener in 2005 spent hours seated at a desk and using a computer program that was geared for "emerging readers." She'd come home with these flimsy books that she was to attempt to read. No one-on-one attention, very little instruction from the teacher. I taught my child to read.

Most people teach their kids to read prior to kindergarten

NP here. Sure, many people teach their own kids to read before K, if their kids are ready (all kids are different). But you do expect some instruction to go on in a classroom. Otherwise it is just glorified daycare.

[Anonymous]

PP who did private here - we chose a local Catholic School. The price is what really made the decision for us in choosing private.

[Anonymous]

gen ed in elementary is fine. Perhaps it depends on the school,the county is enormous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why APS is really the best school system in the area. If I were you, I would look at moving to Arlington.

What is "this"? I don't like the way AAP is organized and personally feel that a gifted program that serves the needs of kids who are actually gifted (or kids who actually have needs!) would be better. Other than not having AAP, what does the Arlington do well?

This article might enlighten you a little bit on some of the benefits and negatives (none of the systems are perfect) :
http://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/is-my-child-gifted/

Also in APS Elementary :

School based programs are delivered:
* in the regular classroom setting with identified students cluster-grouped with other children
* with teachers who are specifically trained in elements of gifted education including best practices in differentiated instruction
* through curriculum, which is differentiated or extended from concepts in the prescribed curriculum and, when appropriate, opportunities for acceleration and advanced studies are provided
* according to a collaborative resource model in which the classroom teacher works with the resource teacher for the gifted to develop and present appropriately differentiated learning experiences for gifted students within the regular classroom. Collaboration Card

https://www.apsva.us/gifted-services/services-by-school-level/elementary-school/

And many APS parents are unhappy with the GT services. So it's similar to FCPS in that respect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why APS is really the best school system in the area. If I were you, I would look at moving to Arlington.

What is "this"? I don't like the way AAP is organized and personally feel that a gifted program that serves the needs of kids who are actually gifted (or kids who actually have needs!) would be better. Other than not having AAP, what does the Arlington do well?

This article might enlighten you a little bit on some of the benefits and negatives (none of the systems are perfect) :
http://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/is-my-child-gifted/

Also in APS Elementary :

School based programs are delivered:
* in the regular classroom setting with identified students cluster-grouped with other children
* with teachers who are specifically trained in elements of gifted education including best practices in differentiated instruction
* through curriculum, which is differentiated or extended from concepts in the prescribed curriculum and, when appropriate, opportunities for acceleration and advanced studies are provided
* according to a collaborative resource model in which the classroom teacher works with the resource teacher for the gifted to develop and present appropriately differentiated learning experiences for gifted students within the regular classroom. Collaboration Card

https://www.apsva.us/gifted-services/services-by-school-level/elementary-school/

We moved to FCPS to escape the mediocrity that exists in APS. It's a second-rate school system, headed by a former gym teacher, that fails to challenge bright kids and relies on the residential segregation within the county to group kids. It's mostly popular with white parents who don't like to see their kids competing with Asian kids, but that's about it. Minority performance in APS lags tremendously, which is why the Great Schools ratings for Yorktown, Washington-Lee, and Wakefield are now 5, 4, and 3, respectively.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an FCPS teacher I can tell you that there really is no general Ed. I teach at Lee High School and if your kid is not in honors or IB/AP they are essentially in a Sped or ESOL class. Your kid will pass the SOL so we don't focus on them, we focus on the Sped and ESOL kids because they only pass SOLs less than 50 percent of the time.

We are talking about elementary school.

Yep, this is what is happening to my kid exactly. She's just lost in the middle. Moving to private.

[Anonymous]

I have a senior in HS, freshman in HS and 7th grader. Senior and 7th grader both did General Ed, 9th grader was in AAP. We were in a Title 1 school - Rt 1 corridor. The difference in the classroom between my senior and 7th grader was dramatic. My senior has several general ed peers that are now doing all the advanced classes in HS and getting accepted into good colleges. He's received significant merit aid from a couple of his colleges and is SAT score is above all the averages. He is NOT gifted, just a motivated, hard working student who wants to excel. One of his classmates who was in AAP is now doing all the General Ed classes in HS.

The kids who got into AAP 9 years ago were truly "gifted" students. Fast forward 5 years and it seemed like EVERYONE who was somewhat bright was in AAP. The ESOL population at our elementary school had skyrocketed. Youngest DS was the only upper middle class kid in his class in gen ed. Everyone else was in the AAP class.

Now did they get a good education? It depended on their specific teacher and the makeup of their class. Both had a couple of fabulous teachers. Both had a couple of good teachers and they both had one that probably shouldn't have been teaching.

Was middle DS doing any different work than the other two? He had a couple of extra projects but I didn't see a drastic difference in his curriculum. The big difference was he was in class with more upper middle class kids. Were their discipline problems in his class - yes. He had larger class sizes than the other two but didn't have to deal with kids who didn't speak english.

Middle DS told me that one of his friends in Honors in middle school (same teacher just different section) was doing the EXACT same homework, same tests that he was in the AAP class. The only difference was the AAP section had students who were "admitted" into the program and Honors did not.

So my opinion is the individual experience probably depends on the specific classroom your child is in and it could change from year to year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a senior in HS, freshman in HS and 7th grader. Senior and 7th grader both did General Ed, 9th grader was in AAP. We were in a Title 1 school - Rt 1 corridor. The difference in the classroom between my senior and 7th grader was dramatic. My senior has several general ed peers that are now doing all the advanced classes in HS and getting accepted into good colleges. He's received significant merit aid from a couple of his colleges and is SAT score is above all the averages. He is NOT gifted, just a motivated, hard working student who wants to excel. One of his classmates who was in AAP is now doing all the General Ed classes in HS.

The kids who got into AAP 9 years ago were truly "gifted" students. Fast forward 5 years and it seemed like EVERYONE who was somewhat bright was in AAP. The ESOL population at our elementary school had skyrocketed. Youngest DS was the only upper middle class kid in his class in gen ed. Everyone else was in the AAP class.

Now did they get a good education? It depended on their specific teacher and the makeup of their class. Both had a couple of fabulous teachers. Both had a couple of good teachers and they both had one that probably shouldn't have been teaching.

Was middle DS doing any different work than the other two? He had a couple of extra projects but I didn't see a drastic difference in his curriculum. The big difference was he was in class with more upper middle class kids. Were their discipline problems in his class - yes. He had larger class sizes than the other two but didn't have to deal with kids who didn't speak english.

Middle DS told me that one of his friends in Honors in middle school (same teacher just different section) was doing the EXACT same homework, same tests that he was in the AAP class. The only difference was the AAP section had students who were "admitted" into the program and Honors did not.

So my opinion is the individual experience probably depends on the specific classroom your child is in and it could change from year to year.

I feel our elementary school has declined in only five years. Not sure why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why APS is really the best school system in the area. If I were you, I would look at moving to Arlington.

What is "this"? I don't like the way AAP is organized and personally feel that a gifted program that serves the needs of kids who are actually gifted (or kids who actually have needs!) would be better. Other than not having AAP, what does the Arlington do well?

This article might enlighten you a little bit on some of the benefits and negatives (none of the systems are perfect) :
http://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/is-my-child-gifted/

Also in APS Elementary :

School based programs are delivered:
* in the regular classroom setting with identified students cluster-grouped with other children
* with teachers who are specifically trained in elements of gifted education including best practices in differentiated instruction
* through curriculum, which is differentiated or extended from concepts in the prescribed curriculum and, when appropriate, opportunities for acceleration and advanced studies are provided
* according to a collaborative resource model in which the classroom teacher works with the resource teacher for the gifted to develop and present appropriately differentiated learning experiences for gifted students within the regular classroom. Collaboration Card

https://www.apsva.us/gifted-services/services-by-school-level/elementary-school/

We moved to FCPS to escape the mediocrity that exists in APS. It's a second-rate school system, headed by a former gym teacher, that fails to challenge bright kids and relies on the residential segregation within the county to group kids. It's mostly popular with white parents who don't like to see their kids competing with Asian kids, but that's about it. Minority performance in APS lags tremendously, which is why the Great Schools ratings for Yorktown, Washington-Lee, and Wakefield are now 5, 4, and 3, respectively.

Just curious were you zoned for second-rate ES and MS in Arlington? I don't see many families leaving Jamestown, Taylor or Nottingham for Fairfax. Most of the moving I see is to tear down and build a new house a few blocks away.