Thoughts on AAP at Freedom Hill or West Briar?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Can anyone share thoughts and experiences with the Level IV AAP programs at either Freedom Hill (local) or West Brair (center)?

I am interested in understanding the difference in quality on instruction and environment.

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

We are in a similar situation but Stenwood versus Westbriar. My older child is in the AAP at Stenwood and we really like it. However, we are seriously considering Westbriar for my youngest. I've talked to several folks at Westbriar and they have positive things to say - such as instruction, challenging the kids, etc. They do say the classes are large and there is an us (AAP) versus them (gen ed) mentality. I have also heard because the school is very big there is no sense of community as with our smaller school. I also know of several families that sent their kids to Westbriar for 3rd grade and brought them back to Stenwood for 4th grade because they did not feel like the school was the right fit for their child. Go to the orientation on Wednesday and see what they have to say. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Our DC is in Level IV AAP at Freedom Hill. I am happy with our decision to keep her there and her as well, which is the most important. She's being challenged academically. I do know for a fact that Westbriar is further along in math at this point in the school year, so if rigorous academic is important to you, perhaps Westbriar is a better choice.

For us we also just wanted to stay in our neighborhood school. FH wanted all the Level 4 AAP eligible kids to stay whereas I got the impression that Westbriar was less welcoming.... That could just be me though.

[Anonymous]

Westbriar is a higher ranked school but it is a jungle overloaded with higher number of kids than what you may be used to at your base school. Your child will succeed at both locations.

[Anonymous]

It's your ticket out of awful hill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DC is in Level IV AAP at Freedom Hill. I am happy with our decision to keep her there and her as well, which is the most important. She's being challenged academically. I do know for a fact that Westbriar is further along in math at this point in the school year, so if rigorous academic is important to you, perhaps Westbriar is a better choice.

For us we also just wanted to stay in our neighborhood school. FH wanted all the Level 4 AAP eligible kids to stay whereas I got the impression that Westbriar was less welcoming.... That could just be me though.

Thank you for the feedback. How are the AAP classroom sizes?

The data at http://151.188.217.200/fts_drupal_support/dashboard/enrollment/esenroll18-19.html makes it seem like there are a ~40 kids from FH that transfer to the center and the 3-6 grade classrooms have only ~14 students which seems really small with 9-11 kids from LLIV AAP with the remaining designated Level 3 students.

Westbriar does seem more crowded but the site seems to have incomplete data to do a size comparison.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, we have neve encountered a teacher as amazing as the FHES AAP 4th grade teacher. My child readily says she was tough and pushed the class, but really helped them learn not just AAP material but study skills, time management, etc. We would have loved to have her for every grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DC is in Level IV AAP at Freedom Hill. I am happy with our decision to keep her there and her as well, which is the most important. She's being challenged academically. I do know for a fact that Westbriar is further along in math at this point in the school year, so if rigorous academic is important to you, perhaps Westbriar is a better choice.

For us we also just wanted to stay in our neighborhood school. FH wanted all the Level 4 AAP eligible kids to stay whereas I got the impression that Westbriar was less welcoming.... That could just be me though.

Thank you for the feedback. How are the AAP classroom sizes?

The data at http://151.188.217.200/fts_drupal_support/dashboard/enrollment/esenroll18-19.html makes it seem like there are a ~40 kids from FH that transfer to the center and the 3-6 grade classrooms have only ~14 students which seems really small with 9-11 kids from LLIV AAP with the remaining designated Level 3 students.

Westbriar does seem more crowded but the site seems to have incomplete data to do a size comparison.

For this particular current 3rd grade class, 10 Level 4 kids stayed at FH. The remaining class is made up of principal-placed kids. There are 21 kids total. I like the small class size.

I hope the 4th grade AAP teacher stays next year. I have heard fantastic things about her!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DC is in Level IV AAP at Freedom Hill. I am happy with our decision to keep her there and her as well, which is the most important. She's being challenged academically. I do know for a fact that Westbriar is further along in math at this point in the school year, so if rigorous academic is important to you, perhaps Westbriar is a better choice.

For us we also just wanted to stay in our neighborhood school. FH wanted all the Level 4 AAP eligible kids to stay whereas I got the impression that Westbriar was less welcoming.... That could just be me though.

Thank you for the feedback. How are the AAP classroom sizes?

The data at http://151.188.217.200/fts_drupal_support/dashboard/enrollment/esenroll18-19.html makes it seem like there are a ~40 kids from FH that transfer to the center and the 3-6 grade classrooms have only ~14 students which seems really small with 9-11 kids from LLIV AAP with the remaining designated Level 3 students.

Westbriar does seem more crowded but the site seems to have incomplete data to do a size comparison.

For this particular current 3rd grade class, 10 Level 4 kids stayed at FH. The remaining class is made up of principal-placed kids. There are 21 kids total. I like the small class size.

I hope the 4th grade AAP teacher stays next year. I have heard fantastic things about her!

Is there more than one AAP class per grade at FH or does FH have one teacher per grade for Grad 3-6 that is assigned to the Local Level 4 AAP classrooms?


Is there anyone that has a child attend West Briar that has feedback on their AAP program/classes?

[Anonymous]

My older goes to Westbriar AAP center. She is very happy there as it is the right environment for her to grow both socially and academically. We have decided to keep my second at the local AAP since we feel the local school environment is the right fit for him. Each kid is different. It depends on their personality and their circle of friends. I don't find much difference in teacher quality. There is always plus and minus for each school. Our local school is small so the sense of community is there. Westbriar has more outside school activities such as Science/Math Olympiad, Odyssey of the Mind, etc. which our local schools don't have. We can gauge and if our 2nd is interested in these activities over sports at some point, we can make plan to switch for next year if needed. The main point is make what's right for each kid.

[Anonymous]

westbriar has much better diversity

[Anonymous]

Does Westbriar have principal placement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does Westbriar have principal placement?

Do you mean for gen Ed kid?

[Anonymous]

I have an AAP kid at Freedom Hill. She had a great teacher in 3rd last year and I’ve only heard positive things about the 4th grade teacher she will have this year. I will say that gen ed and AAP at FH seems like night and day which is disappointing if your kid is in gen ed. For my kid, I don’t think the AAP vs. gen ed mentality and academic pressure would work very well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's your ticket out of awful hill

Can you explain this? Why is it awful? I'm assuming you have personal experience at FH.