Reply to Would it be crazy to defer Level IV?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No, you aren't crazy.  Plenty of people defer, whether for language immersion, sibling continuity, before/after care concerns, bell schedules...you won't be alone.  At our base school (KP/KG) the AART said appx half the kids stayed last year.

We chose KM because Kings Park was doing the cluster model, which I want nothing to do with as either a teacher or a parent.  Academically, things have been great.  I do miss the community feel (only 1 other child in our neighborhood rides the bus so there is no getting to talk to other parents at the bus stop and only a few even attend, so no carpooling to school events).

We had no ties to the base school because we were new to FCPS, but had we been part of a close knit school community it would have been a lot harder to decide.

[b]If you have specific KM questions let me know.  I do agree that it's not a warm fuzzy school (the principal is VERY cold and no nonsense and super inflexible IME) but I've been pleased with the specials, the library, the counselors, the classmates.[/b][/quote]

Thank you so much!  The reports about the principal have been pretty consistent but have you found that it affects the kids' experience?  I guess the academics must be pretty incredible if the so many people share your opinion about the principal.

I know you were new to FCPS but can you explain a little more about what you like about the specials, library, and counselors.

My biggest concerns are keeping DC engaged and actually fostering a love to learn.  Currently, DC is very inquisitive and wants to know everything about everything.  We're trying to figure what helps sustain that spirit: engaging academics vs. comfortable community environment.  [/quote]

No, the principal hasn't affected my child's experience.  (Mine, yes.  Frankly, I think she is rude, dismissive, and unwilling to accommodate kids who have special needs) My kid though?  His world is his classroom and the 3rd graders on the playground.  I'm not sure he knows much about the principal other than her name.

My child likes specials this year.  That is not something that's ever been true before.  I'm not sure if it's because his classmates are engaged, because the teachers are good (I honestly have never communicated with or met any of them), or because the content is interesting, but in K-2 he refused to participate in art, music, etc.  This year he comes home with stories about what they're doing in the classes.  He has PE 4 days a week which is great since recess is only 30 minutes.  Spanish is kind of silly (not sure 30 minutes once a week is worth anything) but she does a good job tying it into what they're learning in their core classes.

Mostly though, the center has been great because he's found "his people".  In 2nd grade, he was often paired with one or two other high achieving kids and told to work ahead in the math book.  Now, he's surrounded by other kids who raced to memorize multiplication facts in september, who make each other crazy long division problems for fun during catch up time, challenge each other with crazy weird parts of speech questions on the bus, think it's cool to be able to solve a rubiks cube or share facts about Jupiter.  The kids hold book club at lunch, unprompted. He nerds out with his friends all the time.  He tells me it's "the first time he's ever had to think at school".  If your son has academic peers at his base, then it's probably not an issue.

KM does an open house where the teachers in each grade level share information about the program and what sort of things they do.  You should be able to request a meeting with the AART at your base school to see what implementation will look like at your base school.  That might give you more information to base things on.[/quote]

Thank you so much for your insight [/quote]

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