So you are King of FCPS AAP for a day . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be some idealizing of what goes on at AAP centers. They are not some magical wonder worlds of intellectual freedom. The program is diluted, and the curriculum is not challenging, or particularly advanced, though the math is a year ahead. The kids are extremely limited, for the most part, in what they get to do, because the teacher has to make sure to spend a lot of time on SOL stuff. What they are is basically tracking for above-average students. AAP centers should be open only to highly gifted students, who benefit by special ed programs as much as students at the other end of the spectrum do.

We should concentrate more on improving the general ed. program and tracking and sorting students within it, so that everyone gets challenged.

Could not agree more.

Plus, by the time kids start high school, the playing field is even once again. No one remembers or cares who was/wasn't in AAP and students are free to choose whichever class level they prefer. Being in AAP during elementary and middle school has no bearing on high school students' success.

I certainly have heard that a lot from the gen ed crowd. Some of those kids are shockingly uneducated. It is sad. They have a long way to go to catch up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why couldn't the ESOL kids use a regular classroom? They already have instruction during the day.

Yep, all day. Real big help to the non ESOL students who are trying to learn.

[Anonymous]

Go back to more stringent requirements so that only 3-5% are in Centers

And 1 day of in-school testing for admission. No outside testing/evaluation accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why couldn't the ESOL kids use a regular classroom? They already have instruction during the day.

Yep, all day. Real big help to the non ESOL students who are trying to learn.

Sounds like someone has a school-sized chip on her shoulder. I'd suggest moving abroad with your brood and seeing how they do in a class where no one else speaks English. Might learn some much-needed humility.

And I would say again that if lack of the computer room is what's holding your non-ESOL non-FARMS kids back from learning Chinese, they probably wouldn't do that well at it anyway.

[Anonymous]

Missing the point. PP stated it was computer assisted learning. Sounds like you don't understand the PPs post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go back to more stringent requirements so that only 3-5% are in Centers

And 1 day of in-school testing for admission. No outside testing/evaluation accepted.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Missing the point. PP stated it was computer assisted learning. Sounds like you don't understand the PPs post.

But a language program can be run without a computer. If parents want a foreign language taught at their school, it can be taught without the use of computers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Missing the point. PP stated it was computer assisted learning. Sounds like you don't understand the PPs post.

But a language program can be run without a computer. If parents want a foreign language taught at their school, it can be taught without the use of computers.

Exactly! +100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you are King (or Queen) of FCPS Advanced Academic Programs for a day . . . what would you do?

Would you close all the AAP Centers?

Would you put AAP Centers in every school?

Would you make all the kids get retested and only allow in the top 5% of students?

Something else?

What would you do?

I would end the ridiculous appeal process. Kids get in or they don't. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you are King (or Queen) of FCPS Advanced Academic Programs for a day . . . what would you do?

Would you close all the AAP Centers?

Would you put AAP Centers in every school?

Would you make all the kids get retested and only allow in the top 5% of students?

Something else?

What would you do?

I would end the ridiculous appeal process. Kids get in or they don't. Period.

What are your thoughts as to changing the appeals process so that an appeal would require testing within FCPS and/or from a defined list of testers vs. "shopping around" to what might be construed as an easy tester?

[Anonymous]

What are your thoughts as to changing the appeals process so that an appeal would require testing within FCPS and/or from a defined list of testers vs. "shopping around" to what might be construed as an easy tester?

Definitely an improvement. I thought that was the way the school board was moving anyhow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What are your thoughts as to changing the appeals process so that an appeal would require testing within FCPS and/or from a defined list of testers vs. "shopping around" to what might be construed as an easy tester?

Definitely an improvement. I thought that was the way the school board was moving anyhow.

Yes, it appears to be something both FCPS staff and the School Board are moving towards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Missing the point. PP stated it was computer assisted learning. Sounds like you don't understand the PPs post.

But a language program can be run without a computer. If parents want a foreign language taught at their school, it can be taught without the use of computers.

Exactly! +100

I really don't understand why this school couldn't have a foreign language unless it were taught by a computer program. People learned foreign languages for centuries before computers existed.

[Anonymous]

It was an after school program like chess club.

[Anonymous]

If money was not an object, I would have each child screened individually with an expert. In addition to testing, the screener would assess the potential of the child.