GT kids vs Non GT kids in Center Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I have one of these "highly gifted" kids and we prefer a larger group of about 2 classes to having just a tiny class of a dozen or so kids.

The way AAP is structured now normalizes the educational experience for kids like mine, gives them normal socialization, interaction with a broader spectrum of kids, and a class pace that helps to engage instead of frustrate them. The way the program is currently structured, while not ideal, works very well for the highly gifted.

Really, unless you have one of those "highly gifted kids", please don't argue that a tiny, uber-selective, self contained class of just a handful of highly and profoundly gifted kids is the right way to design a gifted program. It is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I have one of these "highly gifted" kids and we prefer a larger group of about 2 classes to having just a tiny class of a dozen or so kids.

The way AAP is structured now normalizes the educational experience for kids like mine, gives them normal socialization, interaction with a broader spectrum of kids, and a class pace that helps to engage instead of frustrate them. The way the program is currently structured, while not ideal, works very well for the highly gifted.

Really, unless you have one of those "highly gifted kids", please don't argue that a tiny, uber-selective, self contained class of just a handful of highly and profoundly gifted kids is the right way to design a gifted program. It is not.

AAP is not a gifted program. If I did have a "highly gifted" child, I would look for other options that would challenge them far more than AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I have one of these "highly gifted" kids and we prefer a larger group of about 2 classes to having just a tiny class of a dozen or so kids.

The way AAP is structured now normalizes the educational experience for kids like mine, gives them normal socialization, interaction with a broader spectrum of kids, and a class pace that helps to engage instead of frustrate them. The way the program is currently structured, while not ideal, works very well for the highly gifted.

Really, unless you have one of those "highly gifted kids", please don't argue that a tiny, uber-selective, self contained class of just a handful of highly and profoundly gifted kids is the right way to design a gifted program. It is not.

AAP is not a gifted program. If I did have a "highly gifted" child, I would look for other options that would challenge them far more than AAP.

As a parent of a highly gifted child, I want as normal an education experience for my child as possible. One where my child is not being used as a constant tutor for other kids as he was in an early elementary grade (2nd) where we were told he had far mastered the curriculum for the year so perhaps he could learn something by tutoring kindergartners who were struggling instead of doing his own work, or other years where he had a wonderful teacher who differentiated but by the end of the year he was embarrassed to always be doing his own work and he asked the teacher to please be very discreet when giving him extra assignments so the other kids didn't notice. One where even if the work is easy, it is at least engaging enough that he doesn't spend the entire day daydreaming, making up stories in his head or sneaking books. A class where he can learn that even if he is one of the "smartest" kids, if he doesn't get his rear in gear he is going to be passed up by the harder working, slightly less smart kids. One where he is not the smart weird kid spouting off facts or where he is a trick pony of intellectual skills, and where there are kids who are just as smart or even smarter than he is.

AAP is not ideal, but after being in all sorts of schools around the country and seeing all sorts of ways of dealing with highly gifted students and gifted programs, fcps' AAP structure is one of the best that we have seen. Can it be improved? Definitely. Is shuffling off just a handful of kids into a tiny "highly and profoundly gifted" class the solution? Heck no. Ask and parent of one of those kids if that is the best and least restrictive environment for their highly or profoundly gifted child, and they will likely agree with me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I have one of these "highly gifted" kids and we prefer a larger group of about 2 classes to having just a tiny class of a dozen or so kids.
The way AAP is structured now normalizes the educational experience for kids like mine, gives them normal socialization, interaction with a broader spectrum of kids, and a class pace that helps to engage instead of frustrate them. The way the program is currently structured, while not ideal, works very well for the highly gifted.

Really, unless you have one of those "highly gifted kids", please don't argue that a tiny, uber-selective, self contained class of just a handful of highly and profoundly gifted kids is the right way to design a gifted program. It is not.

AAP is not a gifted program. If I did have a "highly gifted" child, I would look for other options that would challenge them far more than AAP.

I have a highly gifted kid in AAP and would be fine with a more selective program than we currently have. It's all well and good for an AAP parent to say we prefer a large group of about two classes, but again skimming off the cream and leaving the rest to GenEd isn't the answer either. Why should my GenEd kids be in a class that teaches down to the Lowest common denominator just because they missed a test cutoff in second grade by a few points? One could argue that we're helping AAP students at the expense of GenEd students. Is that fair? Are AAP students more deserving of a challenge than GenEd?

As a parent of a highly gifted child, I want as normal an education experience for my child as possible. One where my child is not being used as a constant tutor for other kids as he was in an early elementary grade (2nd) where we were told he had far mastered the curriculum for the year so perhaps he could learn something by tutoring kindergartners who were struggling instead of doing his own work, or other years where he had a wonderful teacher who differentiated but by the end of the year he was embarrassed to always be doing his own work and he asked the teacher to please be very discreet when giving him extra assignments so the other kids didn't notice. One where even if the work is easy, it is at least engaging enough that he doesn't spend the entire day daydreaming, making up stories in his head or sneaking books. A class where he can learn that even if he is one of the "smartest" kids, if he doesn't get his rear in gear he is going to be passed up by the harder working, slightly less smart kids. One where he is not the smart weird kid spouting off facts or where he is a trick pony of intellectual skills, and where there are kids who are just as smart or even smarter than he is.

AAP is not ideal, but after being in all sorts of schools around the country and seeing all sorts of ways of dealing with highly gifted students and gifted programs, fcps' AAP structure is one of the best that we have seen. Can it be improved? Definitely. Is shuffling off just a handful of kids into a tiny "highly and profoundly gifted" class the solution? Heck no. Ask and parent of one of those kids if that is the best and least restrictive environment for their highly or profoundly gifted child, and they will likely agree with me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I see this type of comment in thread after thread and frankly I now read it as "my kid did not qualify for AAP and I would feel better if the program was much smaller".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I see this type of comment in thread after thread and frankly I now read it as "my kid did not qualify for AAP and I would feel better if the program was much smaller".

I think pepole want the program smaller to increase the pressure to make the gen ed better. I'm a gen ed parent, and they can include as many as they want in AAP. However, they need to make educational opportunities available to all students, including those in gen ed. Calling the current AAP program "gifted" and having an advanced curriculum, when many of the gen ed students can perform at the same level as the AAP students, creates animosity in the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I see this type of comment in thread after thread and frankly I now read it as "my kid did not qualify for AAP and I would feel better if the program was much smaller".

Not the PP, but why shouldn't AAP be much smaller? Why should the AAP population dominate? Why are the Gen Ed classes being depleted of average kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I see this type of comment in thread after thread and frankly I now read it as "my kid did not qualify for AAP and I would feel better if the program was much smaller".

I think pepole want the program smaller to increase the pressure to make the gen ed better. I'm a gen ed parent, and they can include as many as they want in AAP. However, they need to make educational opportunities available to all students, including those in gen ed. Calling the current AAP program "gifted" and having an advanced curriculum, when many of the gen ed students can perform at the same level as the AAP students, creates animosity in the schools.

AAP is not called gifted!! Why do people keep saying this? fCPS has made that very clear. And, no, many Gen Ed kids cannot perform at the same level as AAP kids. That is why they did not qualify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I see this type of comment in thread after thread and frankly I now read it as "my kid did not qualify for AAP and I would feel better if the program was much smaller".

I think pepole want the program smaller to increase the pressure to make the gen ed better. I'm a gen ed parent, and they can include as many as they want in AAP. However, they need to make educational opportunities available to all students, including those in gen ed. Calling the current AAP program "gifted" and having an advanced curriculum, when many of the gen ed students can perform at the same level as the AAP students, creates animosity in the schools.

If

AAP is not called gifted!! Why do people keep saying this? fCPS has made that very clear. And, no, many Gen Ed kids cannot perform at the same level as AAP kids. That is why they did not qualify.

+100. I also always chuckle when I read posts the claim that most gen ed kids just missed the cutoff. Yes some did just miss the cutoff, but I'm guessing at least a good, to be generous, 80 percent didn't just miss the cutoff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I see this type of comment in thread after thread and frankly I now read it as "my kid did not qualify for AAP and I would feel better if the program was much smaller".

I think pepole want the program smaller to increase the pressure to make the gen ed better. I'm a gen ed parent, and they can include as many as they want in AAP. However, they need to make educational opportunities available to all students, including those in gen ed. Calling the current AAP program "gifted" and having an advanced curriculum, when many of the gen ed students can perform at the same level as the AAP students, creates animosity in the schools.

I am the PP and can see this point. My kid may or may not make AAP and the cutoff line is basically arbitrary to me. An 87th percentile makes it and an 80th percentile does not when the two kids academic ability is fairly equivalent. Top it off with parental appeals where some parents push their marginal kids in while other comparable or even more advanced kids are left out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If so many of you believe that AAP kids shouldn't be separated out, I assume you will be fine with my uncoordinated child being on your travel soccer team. K, thanks.

I think the real issue is that many people believe AAP should be for only the highly gifted; yes, separate those kids out! If they need a different classroom atmosphere because they learn so very differently, by all means, give it to them. However, do we really think the majority of AAP kids fall into that category and need to be separated out because they just can't learn properly in a Gen Ed setting? Absolutely not.

I see this type of comment in thread after thread and frankly I now read it as "my kid did not qualify for AAP and I would feel better if the program was much smaller".

I think pepole want the program smaller to increase the pressure to make the gen ed better. I'm a gen ed parent, and they can include as many as they want in AAP. However, they need to make educational opportunities available to all students, including those in gen ed. Calling the current AAP program "gifted" and having an advanced curriculum, when many of the gen ed students can perform at the same level as the AAP students, creates animosity in the schools.

AAP is not called gifted!! Why do people keep saying this? fCPS has made that very clear. And, no, many Gen Ed kids cannot perform at the same level as AAP kids. That is why they did not qualify.

It depends on which school is the base school. In the areas with the higher-SES, the difference between those making it in and those not can be very small. Are the kids who averages are 90% that much better than the 70% or 80% students? Should the 85-90% students have access to a curriculum that the 70-80% students do not? Besides, some students are advanced in only one subject. My kids scored in the 90% in some areas and in the 50% in others. This students deserves access to the advanced curriculum in the area where the student scored in the 90%. The fact that a student's cummulative score doesn't qualify doesn't mean a student isn't very advanced in particular subjects. We as parents have to just wait until middle school before our students have access to advanced classes. The situation is very frustrating.

[Anonymous]

As some one else pointed out, advanced math options for GE kids is very common if not universal. Used to be called compacted math. If our kid doesn't take it, odds are he or she is not qualified.

[Anonymous]

14:16, the cutoff is for all of FCPS. It has nothing to do with SES. Not sure why you think it matters which part of the county you are in.

[Anonymous]

Oh, meant to add that there is no cap to the numbers of kids admitted. So if you think it is harder to get in at high SES schools because there are more attaining the cutoff score, you are totally wrong. If your kid didn't get in it is because they didn't qualify. Period. Not because there are lots of advanced kids at his school.

[Anonymous]

14:16 please pay attention to 17:32/17:35's posts as they are correct.

There is no "cut-off" for AAP and there is no "my kid must score at a certain percentage" for AAP. The only "percentage" that a child needs for anything AAP related is a 91% on the IAAT and a pass advanced on the 7th grade Math SOL in order to qualify to take Algebra I Honors in 7th grade (or even 6th grade if the student has successfully the necessary groundwork in advanced math.