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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Can we all just agree that we hate having AAP Centers?[/quote]

I can certainly agree with this.  They create far too many issues, resentment, and divisiveness.  [/quote]

I can certainly disagree with this as my student does not have a peer group at the base school. (He was subjected to frequent bullying, among other things.)[/quote]so a child who just misses the cut off for eligibility in your school has to stay and get bullied? You bought your house around certain school boundaries. But your kid gets the option to leave. Hmmm[/quote]

It sucks that a child just misses the cut off, but exactly. Her child qualified for a special program.  Part of the reason he qualified for the program is a learning style that has statistically high likelihood of being 2e, which is a group of kids that has a very high likelihood of being bullied.  And her child stayed in boundary (the AAP boundary) as the school boundary is defined in the FCPS Boundary locator. Google it and plug your address in there. It will spit out 2 boundaries: one AAP, one not.  Both are real boundaries, depending on your child's program. And you don't ditch a program almost everyone agrees is needed at some level (whether that is top .5%, 1%, 2%, whatever) because a small number of kids are misidentified or just miss the cut off.  And there are frequent complaints from Gen Ed that FCPS overidentifies kids, and should be less willing to take that borderline kid.

Some posters with GE kids on this thread have made really good points that have changed the way I think about the Center school structure. I would note lunate centers, but I see where They can be unnecessary, or even counterproductive in some cases. But a few posters (or maybe even one vocal poster) is so mean and seem to have so little compassion for AAP kids, some of whose parents describe bullying, social isolation, a genuine academic inability to function in a Gen Ed setting and struggles with 2e. And also has so little of actual substance to say. That poster (because I'd like to think it's just one) hurts people raising valid issues by turning open minded AAP parents off. And yes, that person I would characterize as a troll.  Because they are not on this board to discuss a real issue in our schools. They only want to belittle others (kids!), presumably to make themselves feel better. [/quote]

I think a lot of the anger directed toward the entire AAP situation can be summed up in this way:  AAP kids are given a choice of schools that GE kids are not.  The GE child who is bullied at his/her base school is stuck there unless the family can fulfill one of the very specific criteria for transferring.  The bullied AAP kid, on the other hand, is able to leave for a center school, with no hoops to jump through as the GE student must.

Another example is the family who moves into a "lesser" school boundary, but can send their AAP child to a better school simply because s/he gets into AAP.  Meanwhile, the GE kids at this base school have no such option for leaving.

Can you and others possibly see the incredible inequities the families of GE children (not to mention these kids themselves) see every day?  If the situations were reversed, and your child was stuck unhappily at one school, but a large group of his/her peers were able to opt for another school - you'd be furious and speaking up about it too.  The system is clearly sending a message to our General Ed kids - they are second class citizens within FCPS.[/quote]

I think something Gen Ed parents are missing that a lot of AAP parents are saying is that a lot of our kids are not better than your kids, but they can be very  different.  Smart helps in life, but so do things like EQ, Grit, the ability to adapt, etc., and AAP kids can have real issues in these areas. Sure, we all want our kids to be smart. But being exceptionally smart can comes with a whole host of other issues are very concerning for parents: ADHD (huge, especially among the smartest percent and hence the 2e phenomenon), social awkwardness, anxiety, difficulty with athletics, Aspergers.  We worry about our kids a lot--not that they won't succeed academically (although that is not a given for 2e kids) but because they are struggling with so many other skills that are also necessary to be a successful adult. Because they know they are different than the other kids and are excluded and are deeply unhappy.  An AAP Center or strong base school program is more than an "enriched curriculum."  It 's teachers and administrators trained to deal with these issues.  And yes, it's the chance for kids like mine to feel connected to peers and like they are not deeply flawed.   My son's MS AAP Center team understands how to successfully implement his 504 plan-- because they are trained to work with kids like my son and implement dozens of similar plans each year. My DDs ES Center team knows what do do when I contact them to say that she is getting so anxious about "failing" her SoL that she is throwing up. And know how to implement her 504. Because they work with a dozen kids like her. This is what makes AAP special Ed.

So, yes, if 's nice to get a letter saying that your kid is smart.  But realize that in comes with significant strings attached. Be happy your kids is "normal" ( even though by the standards of 95% of the U.S. they are way above average). In this area, that usually means plenty of friends, a sports team, a good college and a good career.  There is nothing second class about that.  And nobody is saying there is.  Be grateful for what you have, because a happy well adjusted child is an enormous gift. Try to find compassion for kids who are struggling.  Even better, teach your kids compassion. [/quote]

Honestly, I don't feel this is an issue of compassion, but rather of equity.  You mention that there are often kids in AAP who are socially awkward, unathletic, overly anxious, etc.  What you've just described is a portion of General Ed kids as well - my own child included.  Another one of my children also throws up over severe SOL anxiety, yet she's not in AAP.  And she unfortunately doesn't have "a team that knows what to do" when this occurs!  How nice that your daughter does.

Unfortunately, there is no "group" that consists wholly of well-adjusted and confident kids.  There is a [i]huge overlap[/i] between Gen Ed and AAP kids, as most people acknowledge.  AAP kids are no longer what GT kids used to be considered - kind of quirky and a little awkward, often due to extremely high intelligence.  Sure, there may be some kids like this in AAP, but due to opening it up to far more kids, this phenomenon has been severely diluted.

So when I hear that a child who was bullied, or unable to find his "peer group" is allowed to switch schools, yet my own child - in a very similar situation - is not, I see it as inequity, plain and simple.  [/quote]

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