future at Haycock?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well said, PP. I feel like all the kids are entitled to be at Haycock. Just because they are there because of AAP does not make Haycock any less their school. That is where they are assigned and entitled to attend. I really do not feel like there has been much animosity between the groups before this year -- with the notable exception of a few, LOUD parents. I feel like most people are very welcoming and that the PTA is inclusive and has active parents from both neighborhood and center.

That said, none of is are guaranteed our school assignment. That means neighborhood and center kids. That language is all over the FCPS website. So, I think we all need to know that our school can be changed whether by center reassignment or boundary study.

I also think that a Cluster II center makes a lot of sense. I was surprised to find out that there was not one. In light of Haycock's extreme overcrowding, I think grandfathering should not happen. This is just one of the cases where kids can be reassigned. And, there is definitely precedent of kids being reassigned to different schools and being just fine.

I think you might feel differently about grandfathering if it were your child.

[Anonymous]

Does Churchill Road still have excess capacity? Has there been any talk of moving the Franklin Sherman AAP families to Churchill Road, as was proposed six years ago? Their numbers are much larger than the Shrevewood kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: If creating another AAP center at a Cluster 2 school will reduce the overcrowding and make the Cluster 2 parents feel more at home, I'm all for it. I'd still grandfather the Cluster 2 kids who are already at Haycock if their parents don't want them to change schools again, even if it means putting up with both the overcrowding and the "you're so pushy, and we're so chill" carping for longer. The kids should come first.

Bingo! I am a Cluster 2 parent who really wants a Cluster 2 center for my younger kids, so we don't have to keep doing this. But my current Haycock kid deserves to stay with her friends until she finishes elementary school. She's a already had to switch once to get to Hayock, and it was hard on her. Can we please do what is best for her next year? I'm OK with a little crowding, as long as it spares her another upheaval.

[Anonymous]

+1, In same situation 2 AAP schools so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In light of Haycock's extreme overcrowding, I think grandfathering should not happen. This is just one of the cases where kids can be reassigned. And, there is definitely precedent of kids being reassigned to different schools and being just fine.

Again, the problem is that our kids have ALREADY been reassigned once, from our base schools to Haycock. Current 3rd graders, if moved next year, will have been at 3 different schools in 3 years! Some kids who have a flexible, type B personality will be fine, certainly. Others will struggle and falter.

The part I find so hurtful as a Cluster 2 parent is that -- after years of being contributing members of the Haycock family -- we are now being told by some in the community that our kids are an unwanted problem. Parents from Westgate and Shrevewood are also being told on boards like this one that Lemon Road, the most likely place for a new Cluster 2 AAP center, does not want our kids either because they had to absorb kids from Freedom Hill last year and are tired of change. It all just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth!

My bottom line is that I want my kids at a school that will appreciate them and provide a good Level IV program taught by experienced, qualified teachers. I would prefer they be grandfathered at Haycock, but if that is not possible, FCPS needs to make darn sure that this move is done well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My bottom line is that I want my kids at a school that will appreciate them and provide a good Level IV program taught by experienced, qualified teachers. I would prefer they be grandfathered at Haycock, but if that is not possible, FCPS needs to make darn sure that this move is done well.

+1

I do not have children at Haycock and am therefore not directly affected by the recommendation to address overcrowding, but some of the posts I have seen between (and about) Haycock parents and their children is just hurtful. FCPS staff (and all parents!) need to put the needs of the children first! This cannot be a "well I bought my house here and you need to get out!" tirade.

[Anonymous]

The center at Churchill Road is busting at the seams mostly with it's own kids. Seems to me they should put in local level IV at every elementary school and keep the centers only for the top 1%-why the county doesnt raise the admissions bar is beyond me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The center at Churchill Road is busting at the seams mostly with it's own kids. Seems to me they should put in local level IV at every elementary school and keep the centers only for the top 1%-why the county doesnt raise the admissions bar is beyond me!

+1

Then have a small number of MS AAP Centers around the County to establish critical mass

[Anonymous]

Plus 1000! Exactly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The center at Churchill Road is busting at the seams mostly with it's own kids. Seems to me they should put in local level IV at every elementary school and keep the centers only for the top 1%-why the county doesnt raise the admissions bar is beyond me!

+1
Then have a small number of MS AAP Centers around the County to establish critical mass

The problem is that that "critical mass" is necessary for an effective Level IV program at the elementary level, too. It sounds like it would work fine at Churchill Road, but some schools -- like the Title I school I work in -- don't have the numbers to support that. We might have enough for one classroom of Level IVs for each grade. But there would be no collaboration, little AAP teacher support, and we would lack the specialists -- art and music teachers, counselors -- who are experienced in working with gifted kids.

What makes the current AAP centers so good is having lots of students and teachers all on the same page. Tiny, isolated pockets of AAP don't help the students who need the program.

[Anonymous]

We're at Lemon Road and I'd be happy to have a center here. I was nervous about having to send my child to Haycock and dealing with SACC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The center at Churchill Road is busting at the seams mostly with it's own kids. Seems to me they should put in local level IV at every elementary school and keep the centers only for the top 1%-why the county doesnt raise the admissions bar is beyond me!

+1
Then have a small number of MS AAP Centers around the County to establish critical mass

The problem is that that "critical mass" is necessary for an effective Level IV program at the elementary level, too. It sounds like it would work fine at Churchill Road, but some schools -- like the Title I school I work in -- don't have the numbers to support that. We might have enough for one classroom of Level IVs for each grade. But there would be no collaboration, little AAP teacher support, and we would lack the specialists -- art and music teachers, counselors -- who are experienced in working with gifted kids.

What makes the current AAP centers so good is having lots of students and teachers all on the same page. Tiny, isolated pockets of AAP don't help the students who need the program.

It makes much more sense to get the "critical mass" in middle school-local level IV could and should be able to work at every elementary school and would be better for the kids socially. I'd also advocate for upping the admission standards for center admission to the top 1% of kids-then so many centers would not be necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In light of Haycock's extreme overcrowding, I think grandfathering should not happen. This is just one of the cases where kids can be reassigned. And, there is definitely precedent of kids being reassigned to different schools and being just fine.

Again, the problem is that our kids have ALREADY been reassigned once, from our base schools to Haycock. Current 3rd graders, if moved next year, will have been at 3 different schools in 3 years! Some kids who have a flexible, type B personality will be fine, certainly. Others will struggle and falter.

The part I find so hurtful as a Cluster 2 parent is that -- after years of being contributing members of the Haycock family -- we are now being told by some in the community that our kids are an unwanted problem. Parents from Westgate and Shrevewood are also being told on boards like this one that Lemon Road, the most likely place for a new Cluster 2 AAP center, does not want our kids either because they had to absorb kids from Freedom Hill last year and are tired of change. It all just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth!

My bottom line is that I want my kids at a school that will appreciate them and provide a good Level IV program taught by experienced, qualified teachers. I would prefer they be grandfathered at Haycock, but if that is not possible, FCPS needs to make darn sure that this move is done well.

I think you are hysterical. Literally.

Lemon Road is already slated for an expansion that will increase the school's capacity substantially, so it's well known that the school will be getting more students in 2013 or 2014. Why wouldn't the Lemon Road parents be at least as happy with a Cluster 2 AAP center there as with additional transfers from Freedom Hill, Shrevewood or Westgate? I haven't seen any Lemon Road parent say they would not welcome an AAP center, but I have seen many posts from Cluster 2 parents worrying that a new center might not be as good as Haycock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I think you are hysterical. Literally.

Lemon Road is already slated for an expansion that will increase the school's capacity substantially, so it's well known that the school will be getting more students in 2013 or 2014. Why wouldn't the Lemon Road parents be at least as happy with a Cluster 2 AAP center there as with additional transfers from Freedom Hill, Shrevewood or Westgate? I haven't seen any Lemon Road parent say they would not welcome an AAP center, but I have seen many posts from Cluster 2 parents worrying that a new center might not be as good as Haycock.

I am the poster that you quoted. I am most certainly not hysterical. Please see my comment above , where I specifically say that I am OK with a switch as long as it is DONE WELL. I have some doubts about that happening, since this all seems to be proceeding at breakneck speed.

The negative comments I have heard from LRES parents have been emails forwarded to me by moms in my social circle and posts on other boards. They are agitated about continuing changes being forced on them from FCPS without any input on their part. It doesn't sound like they object to an AAP center per se, just that with many new students and a new principal this year, they would like a year without major disruption.

And I don't know about other parents, but my worry is not that "Haycock is best," it's that I want my kids at a program with fully trained and experienced AAP teachers, a principal who fully supports them, and a larger school body that does not object to their presence. I think that's pretty reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I am the poster that you quoted. I am most certainly not hysterical. Please see my comment above , where I specifically say that I am OK with a switch as long as it is DONE WELL. I have some doubts about that happening, since this all seems to be proceeding at breakneck speed.

The negative comments I have heard from LRES parents have been emails forwarded to me by moms in my social circle and posts on other boards. They are agitated about continuing changes being forced on them from FCPS without any input on their part. It doesn't sound like they object to an AAP center per se, just that with many new students and a new principal this year, they would like a year without major disruption.

And I don't know about other parents, but my worry is not that "Haycock is best," it's that I want my kids at a program with fully trained and experienced AAP teachers, a principal who fully supports them, and a larger school body that does not object to their presence. I think that's pretty reasonable.

If the eight-room addition at Lemon Road is ready by the fall of 2013, and there is over-crowding at nearby schools, I think FCPS ought to try and take advantage of the additional capacity sooner rather than later.