Reply to Try FCPS AAP center for 2-3 weeks and switch to private?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would talk to the AAP school and see if your child can visit at some point this year. The schools are more accommodating than you think. They can do things like give a private tour, connect you with other families who have made similar decisions, etc.

I understand wanting your child to be part of the decision making. But this is one of those things where you have to confidently make a choice and move forward. What you’re describing is possible… but there are good reasons people don’t prolong the decision this way.[/quote]

[b]NP... our ES has rejected any/all requests for parents and/or prospective student to do a private tour or sit in on a classroom[/b]. We have considered doing exact same thing as OP is suggesting for the same reason (but so far haven't followed through, because we recognize it's disruptive and only so helpful). We have no insight whatsoever as to how the classrooms are run, what the interaction amongst the students is like, etc. We have concerns because we know a number of kids at the school (through sports and other ECs) and there are a few kids who seem great / normal, a few who were surface polite but kind of "othered" our kid (annoying but not unusual for kids), and one in particular who was verbally abusive and tried to physically bully our kid. We'd like to get a better sense of what the mix of kids is like (and whether the bully's behavior is noticed/tolerated) before committing to a full year in that environment. But the school won't allow anyone to observe a class, so the only alternative we're left with is what OP proposes.

Several have said in this thread something like "this approach is imperfect and you won't get a fully accurate sense of the classroom day during those first 2-3 weeks". Which is true, of course, but moreso for academics than for the social and behavioral side. Most would also agree that some imperfect information is better than nothing, and the school has basically set things up that this is the only way for a student to get any sense of what the school is like before committing to a year. If you think this is disruptive, I'd direct your ire to the school for not providing a reasonable alternative.[/quote]

If the administration is generally unhelpful and unwilling to meet with your or organize a tour, then you should expect that the administration will likewise be unhelpful and difficult when/if your kid is enrolled there.  Some principals are warm and welcoming.  Others never reply to emails and are generally rude and hostile to all of the parents.  [/quote]

DP.  I don't agree with this.  There isn't a general culture in this area of tours of public schools (the way there is in this area for private schools).  How principals respond to requests from prospective parents, particularly parents who want to be sold on the school or convinced to choose one school over another, has nothing to do with how a principal responds to a parent of a student who may have a concern.  [/quote]

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