Reply to Longfellow MS AAP overcrowding plans?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'll just point out again that it's not Longfellow enrollment trends that will force changes at Cooper.  It's the declining enrollment at Cooper and the overcrowding at Kilmer, which gets the Cooper AAP kids from Great Falls. [/quote]

PP here-I believe I already stated that I wasn't qualified to comment on Kilmer, so the above snotty comment wasn't necessary.

I really don't get why the school board feels it makes sense to have AAP in all middle achools. In Cluster 1, it makes most sense for Longfellow to be THE center for middle school. They clearly have the teaching resources and extracurricular infrastructure already in place as well as the renovated building. It would also solve the problems of critical mass and AAP vs Non AAP populations. If transportation is the issue do limited or no bussing. I would gladly drive my kid for an advanced education in an established center-and I'm sure others feel the same, since clearly the main issue here is money (or lack thereof in FCPS) driving these decisions.[/quote]

It doesn't make sense when Cooper is under capacity because they send AAP students to Longfeloow and Longfellow is over capacity becasue of those same students.  There are plenty of AAP students  in the Cooper district for a robust AAp program.  I would also send half the expereince AAP teachers at Longfellow to Cooper so they can benefit from the experienced teacher resources.  The extracurricular stuff could easily be done at Cooper now.  I don't know why they don't do it currently.  The issue isn't money (as it wouldn't save all that much), it is space and the fact that the over large AAP population at Longfellow adversely affects the Gen- Ed population at Longfellow.    [/quote]

Therein lies the problem-none of the Longfellow teachers would be willing to come over to Cooper to get a new center up and running-if there were, I'm sure parents at Churchill and Spring Hill would feel differently about allowing their kids to be a "guinea pig" for a new center. It takes time and energy as well as appropriate, qualified center teachers to lead a new center-and despite all of the recent talk on the subject, Cooper seems to be doing nothing in the meantime to make itself more attractive to kids currently at the Churchill Road Center or Spring Hill local level IV.

I sure as heck don't want my 5th grader to be part of the pseudo-center at Cooper they keep talking about creating, and I doubt many would-and given property taxes I pay to live in the Langley pyramid, it should be my choice to do what's best for my kid.[/quote]

First of all, don't forget about Colvin Run which also feeds into Cooper, Longfellow, and Cooper.

As a current Cooper parent, I am very happy that Cooper is "doing nothing to make itself more attractive" to the AAP population.  Cooper, as it is right now, is a wonderful school and doesn't need to make itself more appealing for a select group of students.  Why would they?  I agree with a PP who said Cooper should remain a Gen Ed school, taking Gen Ed kids from Longfellow as well.  I think making Longfellow an AAP only center is a great idea.  Let's not forget why there is overcrowding in the AAP centers in the first place:  FCPS has admitted far too many kids into the program in recent years.  It's not Cooper's fault that there are fewer and fewer Gen Ed kids; it's FCPS!  Why should Cooper have to absorb the AAP overflow when the Gen Ed population has gotten the short end of the stick for years?  Why on earth should Gen Ed kids have to bend over backwards to accomodate a "special" program at Cooper?  We [b]also [/b]live in the Langley pyramid and we [b]also [/b]pay exorbitant property taxes; frankly, the one benefit we parents of Gen Ed kids have is a middle school that has NO AAP!  Long may that last.[/quote]

+1,000  I'm with you.[/quote]

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