Reply to LLIV - Process for Starting it at a School?

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[quote=Anonymous]OP -- you can find the number of kids who have transferred out of your school for AAP in the FCPS dashboard site.  That will tell you if there are enough kids to make it work.

That said, I will caution you against thinking that LL4 is all sunshine and roses.  It seems like it would be ideal, but in practice it can cause a bunch of headaches, heartaches, and end up being a lesser substitute for the center.

I do understand why you would prefer to have your child at your local school.  That said, I think in 6 mos or so, you will probably integrate into the center and not look back.

Some of the downsides to LL4 involve the sense that there is probably only ONE AAP classroom per grade -- which sets up the dynamic of parents angling to get their kid into "the smart" classroom even if their kid didn't get identified for AAP.  Sometimes they need to balance the classes out (i.e. one grade of AAP only has 20 kids, but the non-AAP group is 40 kids.  They can't have a class of 40 kids, so they have to pick the top 10 non-AAP-identified kids and put them in the AAP classroom... now every parent wants to know why their kid can't be moved into the AAP classroom.)

The overall admin support for AAP programing is likely not going to be the same at a LL4.  The principal will bend over backwards to make sure that the AAP teachers/kids are not given the appearance of doing anything more than any other classroom gets so that it doesn't look like favoritism.  In a center, where there are multiple AAP classes, the principals understand that they have an obligation to provide something different for AAP -- they are more committed to the concept of gifted education without feeling hamstrung by the non-AAP kids/parents.

On the classroom level, when there are multiple teachers teaching AAP for the same grade, they can work together in planning, split up the workload, encourage and share with each other, etc.  When there is only ONE AAP teacher per grade, s/he is not challenged to do more and has to come up with everything on her own.  You get better results when the teachers have a bigger base of support b/c they are working with others who are certified in advanced learning.

There are other factors as well -- the synergy of having a larger group of kids who bring their A game -- and being able to switch up socially -- not being with the same 25 kids every year (as might be the case with LL4), the benefit of having librarians and other staff who understand and challenge advanced learners at a different level, having support for certain afterschool activities that are sought by AAP kids/parents, etc.

And on a practical level, as you look at the transfer stats, you have to assume that some of those kids would still choose to go to the center.  So, the LL4 would not keep all of those kids. -- that makes it hard to know if a whole class can be filled with AAP kids at the local school.

It is something you can investigate and discuss with other parents.  I would also suggest you ask other parents of kids at your center if they are happy with it.... b/c you might just be going through a transition with your child being at a center this fall (or perhaps you are anticipating the difficulty of leaving your local school next year), -- but you may find that you will be more satisfied with the center than you expect. [/quote]

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