Reply to How to improve AAP and General Ed Together

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] My family's experience does not exist in a vacuum. My family is not so special that we are the only ones with this experience.  Many, many parents have similar experiences as mine .  I cannot quantify how many, but neither can ANYONE making any claims on this board.   What percentage of children feel stigmatized? For all we know it's only anecdotal and it's only the posters here on this board .  What percentage of parents feel that their children are not being appropriately challenged in general education?  Can you quantify that with evidence? No. It's only anecdotal "evidence"  on this board .[/quote]

It is not anecdotal that there exists issues within AAP. There is enough data showing people make decisions on housing based on the AAP program even which county to buy in. There is enough data showing that many general ed parents are unhappy with the current curriculum offered to their children and the stigma their children receive that they aren't smart. There is enough data showing schools with low numbers of AAP students are not as highly rated.

I find it hard to believe that in all your dealings with people, you've never come across anyone other than on this board who has a general ed student at any school who doesn't like the current setup. I don't think you're trying very hard to find anyone who has a different opinion.[/quote]

EXACTLY.  +100

What I find on this board is that certain arrogant AAP parents will spin things any which way so as to make school appear rosy for all kids.  They dismiss those of us with criticisms of the program as "crazies," and desperately avoid acknowledging any problems with AAP implementation, because they are so fearful of any changes being made.  There are so, so many dissatisfied parents out there who have never even heard of DCUM - the ones here are only a tiny fraction of those who feel AAP has been detrimental to their schools and community.  All one needs to do is ask parents of Gen Ed students, particularly those who have to attend centers as their base school.  The parents I respect are the ones who admit that AAP implementation is not a good situation for many kids - namely, those who [b]aren't[/b] in AAP and who are largely dismissed by the parents of those who are.[/quote]

It is not the AAP parents who are desperate and fearful, on the contrary. Is the implementation bad, in your opinion, because of the bad feelings it creates (labels)?  or because it is to the detriment of the quality of Gen Ed?  Because those are two very different things to address.

When I volunteer at the school for various things, or when I fundraise or attend PTA meetings to talk about how to improve opportunities for our students, it is NEVER only for AAP - it is for all of the students.  I have kids in upper elementary grades and I volunteer to help K and 1st grade who are struggling with reading.  I help with vision, hearing screening, food banks for students, etc.  I care deeply about all of the children in the school.  How can I as an AAP parent show you that I am not 'dismissive' of your child other than jumping on the anti-AAP bandwagon?

If this is about improving standards in Gen Ed, I am all for that.  How can I help?

If this is about labels/stigma, how should we address that?  Is it all about AAP feeder assignments and not making any schools AAP heavy?  What is the appropriate ratio in your opinion?  Should we call AAP & Gen Ed something different?  Should we just mix all the kids together and figure out how to make sure teachers can differentiate for the whole range of kids in one classroom?

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