Accepted for AAP Level 4.... but stayed at local school and just did Level 3 services...

[Anonymous]

Tell me your success stories. Tell me your regrets. Trying to decide this for next year.

[Anonymous]

OP - does your base school Level 3 include accelerated math? That is really the most (only) important element of AAP in ES.

[Anonymous]

Accelerated math in 5th and 6th. “Differentiation” in lower grades.

[Anonymous]

We did this last year. We did not want to think about changing schools when we were pretty certain that schools were going to be in DL mode. It struck as a crappy way to get to know new kids and a new school.

DS is also participating in a language immersion program so he benefits from the extra challenge of learning a new language.

He has been pulled out for Level III class an hour a week and really enjoys it. They had a section where they worked with Base 3 math. They are currently working on hieroglyphics and language. Advanced Math is just getting started, they are going to be moving into fractions.

We are happy with how he is doing and how his Teachers are handling things. We have no experience with the Level IV center so we cannot compare. We are starting AoPS this week to provide a more solid math base. I enjoyed watching the assessment. He answered the questions and explained how he got his answer. His explanations matched what the teacher was going to show him. She kept chuckling that he was giving her her answer. So I would say that he is in a good place with his math.

The Level III pull out is something that excites him. He really enjoys it. He can't wait for the Advanced Math to start, he is hoping that it is more interesting than math has been so far.

Overall, we are happy. He is doing well. We are supplementing in math. We probably will not move him as long as the math goes well and he is enjoying the AoPS. We think that the foreign language is great and actually will set him up nicely for high school since he could be done with his language requirement after his sophomore year opening the space for electives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Accelerated math in 5th and 6th. “Differentiation” in lower grades.

PP here - then you should do what is best for your family and stay. You can always switch later to a center if your child is not happy.

You will see many old threads debating this issue - stay at base or go to center - DCUM posters have very strong opinions on this topic - but it really is so dependent on factors that you cannot always control - your child, the kids in each class, the teachers, logistics for your family, siblings. There is not one right way and one wrong way.

FWIW, we stayed local and never regretted it. But we had Local Level IV (with lots of principal placed Level III kids).

[Anonymous]

Depends , look at the stats for the how many stay. Spring Hill and Chestbook have the largest non centers meaning it's really aap not a bunch of l2_3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends , look at the stats for the how many stay. Spring Hill and Chestbook have the largest non centers meaning it's really aap not a bunch of l2_3

Chesterbrook

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Accelerated math in 5th and 6th. “Differentiation” in lower grades.

This is what our base school offered. We let our child stay for 3rd grade and I don't think it was a mistake, per se, but DC was definitely spinning their wheels by the end of the first quarter. There was no differentiation in math, and Level III was just an hour a week of enrichment. Everyone was in agreement that the center would be worth a try for 4th grade. I'm very glad we moved, because DC had no issues adjusting to the accelerated pace.

It really varies from school to school, and I would ask a lot of questions about what the differentiation entails at the base school. Not to put to fine a point on it, but I think a lot of schools claim it's happening for all learners, but they're really saying that you can expect above average students to be spending a lot of time helping their peers and playing math games.

[Anonymous]

This very much depends on your base school, your center school and what you want out of your school.

I would start with what you want out of AAP and the school.

Is your child interested in extracurricular activities that revolve around STEM (math competitions, science competitions, etc)? (For example, my child is not, much more interested in sports, so we would not care if the school has good extracurriculars for STEM. )

Is it important to you that your child have different students in their class each year? Some schools keep AAP kids separate from gen ed, some have them all together in classes, except for certain classes.

Do you have other kids? Will it affect them if they are or are not in AAP? Will it be an issue for you to get kids to two separate locations and attempt to be community members at two different schools?

What is offered at your local school for Level IV?

Once you figure out what you care about, it is time for you to email each school and ask about how they handle the Level IV classes.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

We strongly considered it for our kid and decided to try regardless. He’s doing so great and is loving it, we are actually surprised.