Why do schools not let mingle gen-ed kids with AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ how is this possibly true? Just a conversation of who her teacher is - and it's known.

Do all parents make it a point to know all the AAP teacher names? When my child was in k-2nd, I had no idea who the AAP teachers were. My daughter is now in 3rd and I know the other 3rd grade AAP teachers because she has classes with them. I don't know names of the 4th-6th AAP teachers. So, yes this is very possibly true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ how is this possibly true? Just a conversation of who her teacher is - and it's known.

Do all parents make it a point to know all the AAP teacher names? When my child was in k-2nd, I had no idea who the AAP teachers were. My daughter is now in 3rd and I know the other 3rd grade AAP teachers because she has classes with them. I don't know names of the 4th-6th AAP teachers. So, yes this is very possibly true.

Yes, many people know all the teachers in the elementary schools. It's not high school.

[Anonymous]

My kid (in AAP) has 75 new kids to get to know in his grade that are AAP kids (he knew about 5 kids coming into it). I think getting to know those 75 kids is plenty enough social effort for an 8 yr. old especially b/c they are not likely to see each other outside of school. He doesn't need to get to know the another 50 kids (non-AAP). We aren't looking down on them -- and there is plenty of diversity in DC's AAP grade level.


Perfect reason to have only magnet schools or non at all. This child and parent has no intention of ever getting to know the non-AAP kids or parents.

[Anonymous]

"I don't understand the need to manufacture social interactions -- people gravitate toward those with whom they have the most in common (common experiences, common problems)."
This person seems to think AAP and non-AAP have nothing in common. Great. Not to mention that people don't always gravitate toward those they have the most in common with. Ever hear of opposites attract?

"AAP kids at this center are already dealing with a lot of changes (busing, increased homework, new classmates, different building, different policies, different teachers for specials). I think it's a good policy decision to keep their social circle closer to 80 rather than 130 (including the ones DC already knew from the neighborhood school). At some point, mixing it up becomes a detriment to establishing true friendships." This is another reason why people don't like center schools. They are just too big.

"Mixing it up also could increase jealousy or comparisons -- AAP kids would be jealous if they found out that other kids in the same grade don't have to do _______ (project/homework/etc.)." Maybe non-AAP kids have to do y project or homework. Some of the homework and projects in general ed is just as good or better than AAP. Depends on the teacher entirely. You think too much about the program and you seem to overly protect your children from the slightest harm. God forbid they'd have to work through learning about jealousy in elementary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I do understand that schools must be keeping kids separate from managing perspective. It is heart aching to see the kids feel that they have a restricted/almost no access in school to the friends that they made in k-2, or they have made in other activities that they do outside of school because they are AAP / Gen Ed or vice versa. i wish the schools could come up with more innovative ways to mingle the kids. I am not trying to say one is superior than other or so. I have respect for both the programs,just wish that outside of the boundaries of academic needs, kids should not have to stay away from each other.

I also think your complaint is school specific. Our AAP center has very few kids coming from the non-AAP part of the center school. There are something like 13 schools feeding into the AAP part of the school. The AAP kids are not pining to sit with "friends" in the non-AAP part of the school. They simply don't know them. And the reverse would be true as well. The non-AAP kids don't know anything about the AAP kids (except for a few kids in each grade who moved over).

I do find it strange that you put the onus on the people who are new to the school and blame them for not interacting with the non-AAP kids and parents. The AAP kids are welcomed by being assigned to the trailers. If anything, the AAP kids have an argument for being treated like 2nd class citizens who aren't yet welcomed into the school!

I'm sorry, but I just can't get too worked up about this. The AAP kids are the ones who are given a choice between two schools - their base and the center. Gen Ed kids are given no choice whatsoever about which school they'd like to attend. If anyone is being treated like "second class citizens," it's the Gen Ed students. Now, if everyone was given a choice regarding school preference, that would be entirely different. But with the system as it is, I can't feel too badly for kids "being assigned to trailers".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also don't understand the ",missed opportunities" of friendship. In that dopey scenario aren't 4th graders missing out on friendships with 3rd and 5th graders because they aren't in the same classes? Aren't kids who live in the same large neighborhood but are split between School A and School B missing out on
friendships?

A child doesn't need to be exposed to 150 kids to make friends. In some small schools there may only be two classes in the grade. Are those kids suffering because there aren't another 50-75 peers at the school?

It really is looking for a problem where there shouldn't be one.

I think the problem is that there's an academic segregation going on at the center schools. So that the GE kids never get to hang out with the academic superstars and the academic superstars never hang out with kids who may be on grade level or even struggling. This makes for a very segregated way of living and was the reason tracking went away in the first place. I think many people are supportive of kids getting lessons at their academic level. What they aren't supportive of is situation in elementary where kids are only with like minded kids whether that's race, intelligence, or parent income level. In high school it makes more sense to specialize because children are figuring out what they want to major in. Can you not understand how a kid who is in GE might think he's too dumb to even hang out with the AAP kids if they are so segregated or an AAP kid thinking the other kids are so dumb they aren't worth hanging out with? That type of attitude stays with people throughout their lives.

Do you just not believe the posts above telling you that AAP and Gen Ed kids do share certain classes and more? Specials, PE, recess, field trips (maybe your school doesn't mix groups for field trips but others do), all-grade activities like the third grade and sixth grade plays at our former center school. My kid is going on a field trip tomorrow in her AAP center middle school and the groups for the day are mixed. Yes, the kids are "segregated" academically for the core academic subjects, since you insist on using that term. That separation into classes based on aptitude and the speed and depth of teaching is the entire point of an advanced academic program. But the schools do mix these in other ways.

You just seem to ignore that fact, and the previous posts giving you other examples. It sounds as if you would prefer no academic differentiation by class, but won't come right out and say it.

As for the sentence in bold above -- that is a huge generalization that manages to stereotype both AAP and Gen Ed kids in a single sentence, the former as superior snots and the latter as woefully considering themselves dumb. Way to insult both groups at once.

There is a topic right also active entitled "Why I hate AAP". I haven't posted once on this and yet there are pages of comments. While it is a stereotype, there are certainly kids on both sides who feel this way hence the reason for the stereotype. Not all of course, but it is still an issue. As a parent of an AAP child at a center elementary school, how many new friends did your child make at the center who were not in K-2 with them or in AAP? How many of those new kids did you had over to your house during grades 3-5? How about their parents?

Ok. Back at you.

As the established student at the school, how many new kids in the AAP program did your chikd reach out to? How many of them did she welcome? Try to get to know? How many names of these new kids did she know?

What about you? How many of the new AAP parents did you welcome to your school? Invite to the PTA meeting? Try to make feel like they were welcome in the commuity?

As someone who moved many times as my life and who now is established in an actual neighborhood and home, I always feel that it is proper manners and common courtesy for tue established folks to be the ones to reach out to and welcome newcomers. Yes, newcomers should be friendly but those already comfortable and established should be the ones extending hospitality.

If your school breeds so much hostility than perhaps you, the established one, is part of the problem.

Change your attitude and show som basic manners and perhaps you will find out that your stereotypes are, with very few exceptions, just that...unfounded stereotypes.

You might...gasp...discover that most of these AAP encroachers are actually quite nice and would love to be welcomed into the school community instead of being shunned, gossiped about and resented.

I find this amusing. Whenever I strike up a conversation with a parent of an AAP child, as soon as they realize my child is in Gen Ed, they completely check out of the conversation. You can actually see the moment when it occurs - it's blatant. So I've lost interest in going out of my way to be friendly to parents who clearly aren't going to reciprocate. Predictably, one of you will say it's just "my imagination". That's because you haven't been on the receiving end of this kind of boorish behavior.

Every single AAP parent? Out of how many? They're not all created equally, you know. Let me guess, the GE parents are "clearly going to reciprocate"? You as biased as the ones you're accusing.

Predictable, just as I said. As my child's base school is unfortunately a center, I've encountered many "AAP parents" over the years with this attitude. Most of them are completely disinterested once they learn they're talking to a parent of a Gen Ed child. And yes - the parents of other Gen Ed kids are always happy to chat and get to know me and/or my child. I can count on one hand the parents of AAP kids who have reciprocated in a friendly way.

[Anonymous]

I believe the thread was started for LLIV base schools, and not center schools. Even though OP failed to mention that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe the thread was started for LLIV base schools, and not center schools. Even though OP failed to mention that.

Then why do you believe that? It was never mentioned. Really it doesn't particularly matter whether the school is a center or LLIV school. The issues of mixing are the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid (in AAP) has 75 new kids to get to know in his grade that are AAP kids (he knew about 5 kids coming into it). I think getting to know those 75 kids is plenty enough social effort for an 8 yr. old especially b/c they are not likely to see each other outside of school. He doesn't need to get to know the another 50 kids (non-AAP). We aren't looking down on them -- and there is plenty of diversity in DC's AAP grade level.


Perfect reason to have only magnet schools or non at all. This child and parent has no intention of ever getting to know the non-AAP kids or parents.

Sorry you didn't make my list of priorities. It's not personal -- in fact, it's completely impersonal. I'm living my life. You live yours. (Actually, I have made friends with another mom who is a base school parent, but that's b/c she speaks my language and happens to wait in the same area where I wait -- i.e. common experiences. I didn't befriend her b/c her kid is or isn't AAP. In fact, we almost never talk about school b/c her kids are in different grades.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also don't understand the ",missed opportunities" of friendship. In that dopey scenario aren't 4th graders missing out on friendships with 3rd and 5th graders because they aren't in the same classes? Aren't kids who live in the same large neighborhood but are split between School A and School B missing out on
friendships?

A child doesn't need to be exposed to 150 kids to make friends. In some small schools there may only be two classes in the grade. Are those kids suffering because there aren't another 50-75 peers at the school?

It really is looking for a problem where there shouldn't be one.

I think the problem is that there's an academic segregation going on at the center schools. So that the GE kids never get to hang out with the academic superstars and the academic superstars never hang out with kids who may be on grade level or even struggling. This makes for a very segregated way of living and was the reason tracking went away in the first place. I think many people are supportive of kids getting lessons at their academic level. What they aren't supportive of is situation in elementary where kids are only with like minded kids whether that's race, intelligence, or parent income level. In high school it makes more sense to specialize because children are figuring out what they want to major in. Can you not understand how a kid who is in GE might think he's too dumb to even hang out with the AAP kids if they are so segregated or an AAP kid thinking the other kids are so dumb they aren't worth hanging out with? That type of attitude stays with people throughout their lives.

Do you just not believe the posts above telling you that AAP and Gen Ed kids do share certain classes and more? Specials, PE, recess, field trips (maybe your school doesn't mix groups for field trips but others do), all-grade activities like the third grade and sixth grade plays at our former center school. My kid is going on a field trip tomorrow in her AAP center middle school and the groups for the day are mixed. Yes, the kids are "segregated" academically for the core academic subjects, since you insist on using that term. That separation into classes based on aptitude and the speed and depth of teaching is the entire point of an advanced academic program. But the schools do mix these in other ways.

You just seem to ignore that fact, and the previous posts giving you other examples. It sounds as if you would prefer no academic differentiation by class, but won't come right out and say it.

As for the sentence in bold above -- that is a huge generalization that manages to stereotype both AAP and Gen Ed kids in a single sentence, the former as superior snots and the latter as woefully considering themselves dumb. Way to insult both groups at once.

There is a topic right also active entitled "Why I hate AAP". I haven't posted once on this and yet there are pages of comments. While it is a stereotype, there are certainly kids on both sides who feel this way hence the reason for the stereotype. Not all of course, but it is still an issue. As a parent of an AAP child at a center elementary school, how many new friends did your child make at the center who were not in K-2 with them or in AAP? How many of those new kids did you had over to your house during grades 3-5? How about their parents?

Ok. Back at you.

As the established student at the school, how many new kids in the AAP program did your chikd reach out to? How many of them did she welcome? Try to get to know? How many names of these new kids did she know?

What about you? How many of the new AAP parents did you welcome to your school? Invite to the PTA meeting? Try to make feel like they were welcome in the commuity?

As someone who moved many times as my life and who now is established in an actual neighborhood and home, I always feel that it is proper manners and common courtesy for tue established folks to be the ones to reach out to and welcome newcomers. Yes, newcomers should be friendly but those already comfortable and established should be the ones extending hospitality.

If your school breeds so much hostility than perhaps you, the established one, is part of the problem.

Change your attitude and show som basic manners and perhaps you will find out that your stereotypes are, with very few exceptions, just that...unfounded stereotypes.

You might...gasp...discover that most of these AAP encroachers are actually quite nice and would love to be welcomed into the school community instead of being shunned, gossiped about and resented.

I find this amusing. Whenever I strike up a conversation with a parent of an AAP child, as soon as they realize my child is in Gen Ed, they completely check out of the conversation. You can actually see the moment when it occurs - it's blatant. So I've lost interest in going out of my way to be friendly to parents who clearly aren't going to reciprocate. Predictably, one of you will say it's just "my imagination". That's because you haven't been on the receiving end of this kind of boorish behavior.

Every single AAP parent? Out of how many? They're not all created equally, you know. Let me guess, the GE parents are "clearly going to reciprocate"? You as biased as the ones you're accusing.

Predictable, just as I said. As my child's base school is unfortunately a center, I've encountered many "AAP parents" over the years with this attitude. Most of them are completely disinterested once they learn they're talking to a parent of a Gen Ed child. And yes - the parents of other Gen Ed kids are always happy to chat and get to know me and/or my child. I can count on one hand the parents of AAP kids who have reciprocated in a friendly way.

So wait a minute. You're complaining because you're not surrounded by people who treat you poorly? You're upset your child isn't in AAP with the other jerky families?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The subject says it all,and I am referring to places like Field trip ,lunch,field day etc. That is a torture for all of them.

Maybe for you. Reel it in, and stop finding things to worry about, mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The subject says it all,and I am referring to places like Field trip ,lunch,field day etc. That is a torture for all of them.

Maybe for you. Reel it in, and stop finding things to worry about, mom.

How do you know OP is mom. Are you OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also don't understand the ",missed opportunities" of friendship. In that dopey scenario aren't 4th graders missing out on friendships with 3rd and 5th graders because they aren't in the same classes? Aren't kids who live in the same large neighborhood but are split between School A and School B missing out on
friendships?

A child doesn't need to be exposed to 150 kids to make friends. In some small schools there may only be two classes in the grade. Are those kids suffering because there aren't another 50-75 peers at the school?

It really is looking for a problem where there shouldn't be one.

I think the problem is that there's an academic segregation going on at the center schools. So that the GE kids never get to hang out with the academic superstars and the academic superstars never hang out with kids who may be on grade level or even struggling. This makes for a very segregated way of living and was the reason tracking went away in the first place. I think many people are supportive of kids getting lessons at their academic level. What they aren't supportive of is situation in elementary where kids are only with like minded kids whether that's race, intelligence, or parent income level. In high school it makes more sense to specialize because children are figuring out what they want to major in. Can you not understand how a kid who is in GE might think he's too dumb to even hang out with the AAP kids if they are so segregated or an AAP kid thinking the other kids are so dumb they aren't worth hanging out with? That type of attitude stays with people throughout their lives.

Do you just not believe the posts above telling you that AAP and Gen Ed kids do share certain classes and more? Specials, PE, recess, field trips (maybe your school doesn't mix groups for field trips but others do), all-grade activities like the third grade and sixth grade plays at our former center school. My kid is going on a field trip tomorrow in her AAP center middle school and the groups for the day are mixed. Yes, the kids are "segregated" academically for the core academic subjects, since you insist on using that term. That separation into classes based on aptitude and the speed and depth of teaching is the entire point of an advanced academic program. But the schools do mix these in other ways.

You just seem to ignore that fact, and the previous posts giving you other examples. It sounds as if you would prefer no academic differentiation by class, but won't come right out and say it.

As for the sentence in bold above -- that is a huge generalization that manages to stereotype both AAP and Gen Ed kids in a single sentence, the former as superior snots and the latter as woefully considering themselves dumb. Way to insult both groups at once.

There is a topic right also active entitled "Why I hate AAP". I haven't posted once on this and yet there are pages of comments. While it is a stereotype, there are certainly kids on both sides who feel this way hence the reason for the stereotype. Not all of course, but it is still an issue. As a parent of an AAP child at a center elementary school, how many new friends did your child make at the center who were not in K-2 with them or in AAP? How many of those new kids did you had over to your house during grades 3-5? How about their parents?

Ok. Back at you.

As the established student at the school, how many new kids in the AAP program did your chikd reach out to? How many of them did she welcome? Try to get to know? How many names of these new kids did she know?

What about you? How many of the new AAP parents did you welcome to your school? Invite to the PTA meeting? Try to make feel like they were welcome in the commuity?

As someone who moved many times as my life and who now is established in an actual neighborhood and home, I always feel that it is proper manners and common courtesy for tue established folks to be the ones to reach out to and welcome newcomers. Yes, newcomers should be friendly but those already comfortable and established should be the ones extending hospitality.

If your school breeds so much hostility than perhaps you, the established one, is part of the problem.

Change your attitude and show som basic manners and perhaps you will find out that your stereotypes are, with very few exceptions, just that...unfounded stereotypes.

You might...gasp...discover that most of these AAP encroachers are actually quite nice and would love to be welcomed into the school community instead of being shunned, gossiped about and resented.

I find this amusing. Whenever I strike up a conversation with a parent of an AAP child, as soon as they realize my child is in Gen Ed, they completely check out of the conversation. You can actually see the moment when it occurs - it's blatant. So I've lost interest in going out of my way to be friendly to parents who clearly aren't going to reciprocate. Predictably, one of you will say it's just "my imagination". That's because you haven't been on the receiving end of this kind of boorish behavior.

Every single AAP parent? Out of how many? They're not all created equally, you know. Let me guess, the GE parents are "clearly going to reciprocate"? You as biased as the ones you're accusing.

Predictable, just as I said. As my child's base school is unfortunately a center, I've encountered many "AAP parents" over the years with this attitude. Most of them are completely disinterested once they learn they're talking to a parent of a Gen Ed child. And yes - the parents of other Gen Ed kids are always happy to chat and get to know me and/or my child. I can count on one hand the parents of AAP kids who have reciprocated in a friendly way.

So wait a minute. You're complaining because you're not surrounded by people who treat you poorly? You're upset your child isn't in AAP with the other jerky families?

No, she is surrounded by people who treat her jerky. They take up the PTA meetings and their kids take up the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (in AAP) has 75 new kids to get to know in his grade that are AAP kids (he knew about 5 kids coming into it). I think getting to know those 75 kids is plenty enough social effort for an 8 yr. old especially b/c they are not likely to see each other outside of school. He doesn't need to get to know the another 50 kids (non-AAP). We aren't looking down on them -- and there is plenty of diversity in DC's AAP grade level.


Perfect reason to have only magnet schools or non at all. This child and parent has no intention of ever getting to know the non-AAP kids or parents.

Sorry you didn't make my list of priorities. It's not personal -- in fact, it's completely impersonal. I'm living my life. You live yours. (Actually, I have made friends with another mom who is a base school parent, but that's b/c she speaks my language and happens to wait in the same area where I wait -- i.e. common experiences. I didn't befriend her b/c her kid is or isn't AAP. In fact, we almost never talk about school b/c her kids are in different grades.)

But yet it is personal. You are profiling people racially and academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (in AAP) has 75 new kids to get to know in his grade that are AAP kids (he knew about 5 kids coming into it). I think getting to know those 75 kids is plenty enough social effort for an 8 yr. old especially b/c they are not likely to see each other outside of school. He doesn't need to get to know the another 50 kids (non-AAP). We aren't looking down on them -- and there is plenty of diversity in DC's AAP grade level.


Perfect reason to have only magnet schools or non at all. This child and parent has no intention of ever getting to know the non-AAP kids or parents.

Sorry you didn't make my list of priorities. It's not personal -- in fact, it's completely impersonal. I'm living my life. You live yours. (Actually, I have made friends with another mom who is a base school parent, but that's b/c she speaks my language and happens to wait in the same area where I wait -- i.e. common experiences. I didn't befriend her b/c her kid is or isn't AAP. In fact, we almost never talk about school b/c her kids are in different grades.)

But yet it is personal. You are profiling people racially and academically.

No... I just don't care about people who aren't in my sphere of attention. I'm ignoring them (and you) with equal opportunity.