I have three children. Our base elementary is both an AAP center and a Title 1 school - large number of FARMS and ESOL students. Two of my children were in Gen Ed and one was in AAP. My children were in elementary school a few years ago so I have the advantage of watching their peers go through middle school and high school. Once students get into high school, a motivated Gen Ed student is able to be a more successful student than an unmotivated AAP student.

There were pros and cons to being a Gen Ed student. Like a PP said, I was able to keep my children in the same elementary school. We were walkers, so when my middle DS was accepted into the program, it was a no-brainer to send him. The accelerated/advanced math (whatever they call it) started in 3rd grade. My two Gen Ed kids were strong in math, so they both were able to access the math program. Because we were a Title 1 school, the Gen Ed classes tended to be smaller than the AAP classes.

My oldest didn't feel "inferior" to the AAP kids. The parents in that cohort were super chill, which I think helped ALOT. My younger one though, had a completely different experience. He came home from school on the first day of 3rd game, crying because he was in the "dumb" class. All the children know which classes are the Gen Ed classes and which are the AAP. Another incident I remember - my AAP DS told me about a time on the playground when some kids from the Gen Ed class wouldn't let him play basektball, or some other sport. He told me they were teasing him that he was a smarty pants.

I do think the AAP curriculum is needed but I don't like the AAP segregation model. My middle DS benefited from the curriculum and my other two children were much more successful students in the Gen Ed curriculum.

We are at Sangster. If you don’t think your child will be in AAP, it’s not a great place to be. So many kids are in the AAP program that the gen ed classes definitely feel behind and less than. There ‘s lots of AAP talk and parents who think their kids are just extraordinary and that it’s such a glorious honor to be in AAP. I do think it negatively affects their self esteem and they definitely don’t get exposed to the AAP curriculum in the gen ed class from what I have seen.
We have about half and half but each year is different, especially with COVID. This past year’s third grade AAP group was small.
However, it is convenient if you have one kid in AAP and one not in it because you can stay in the same school and not split between two schools. So, there’s pros and cons.

Snorlax wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The schools we are considering are: Sangster, Keene Mill, Springfield Estates, and West Springfield.

I think the most important thing is which high school your home address map to. For example, if you live in Springfield Estate, you probably end up in Lewis (Formerly Robert E Lee), college readiness index is 33.3%. West Springfield HS college readiness index is 55%.
Be aware that not everyone in the same elementary goes to the same middle/high school. It's highly address specific.
Hope this will narrow your list down a little.

The references to US News as a reliable source are very misleading and must be carefully cross-checked before spouting off numbers as facts. I'm not here to argue that Lewis is 'better' than WSHS as obviously Lewis serves more kids in poverty while WSHS serves a tiny fraction by comparison. Anyway, the "College Readiness Index" is an arbitrary value made up by US News where they weigh some exam number calculations without careful thought or analysis.
For example, Lewis is primarily an IB school with a couple AP class offerings. 90% of seniors at Lewis who took an IB exam scored a 4+ (equivalent to a 3 in AP). Contrast this to WSHS where 82% of seniors who took an AP exam scored a 3+.

One might argue AP is harder than IB and therefore the AP exam pass rate at WSHS is lower for that reason. IB isn't easy, but sure, whatever. My real point is that college-bound seniors taking IB are succeeding convincingly even somewhere like Lewis.

Lewis' "College Readiness index" is getting strongly penalized because only 30% of seniors at Lewis took an AP exam. So the fact that Lewis offers a few APs but a greater percentage of seniors take IB instead is actually hurting it's US News score. This happens at all IB schools which are knocked down for lacking AP enrollment despite the IB seniors' success.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an AAP forum you should move this question to

No, she should not, because Gen Ed parents won't be looking there.

OP, my kids are in AAP at a Center but it is also our base s they have lots of friends they made in K-2 who are not in AAP. I can say all of these parents loved the school during K-2 and feelings are mixed now in upper ES. Some are still happy but would prefer not to be at a Center (and many expected to get into AAP so actively selected a Center school when buying a house) and others are pretty unhappy and say their kids feel "dumb" because they are not in AAP. At our Center, the AAP kids outnumber the Gen Ed kids starting in 3rd grade.

You are exactly right. Those parents parents are SERIOUS. Lol. Yes, if AAP is a better program I hope my children have access but I'm not going to spend days agonizing over it. I rather set them up for the best optimal outcome for gen Ed and if they get into AAP, great.

You brought up a lot of good points. I really want to find out what percentage of AAP students are at each center school. Even more, what are the good local level schools. I think it might be best do a great local level school with the option for kids to go to a center school if needed.

Anonymous wrote:There is an AAP forum you should move this question to

No, she should not, because Gen Ed parents won't be looking there.

OP, my kids are in AAP at a Center but it is also our base s they have lots of friends they made in K-2 who are not in AAP. I can say all of these parents loved the school during K-2 and feelings are mixed now in upper ES. Some are still happy but would prefer not to be at a Center (and many expected to get into AAP so actively selected a Center school when buying a house) and others are pretty unhappy and say their kids feel "dumb" because they are not in AAP. At our Center, the AAP kids outnumber the Gen Ed kids starting in 3rd grade.

Anonymous wrote:The schools we are considering are: Sangster, Keene Mill, Springfield Estates, and West Springfield.

I think the most important thing is which high school your home address map to. For example, if you live in Springfield Estate, you probably end up in Lewis (Formerly Robert E Lee), college readiness index is 33.3%. West Springfield HS college readiness index is 55%.

Be aware that not everyone in the same elementary goes to the same middle/high school. It's highly address specific.

Hope this will narrow your list down a little.

Anonymous wrote:There are pros and cons. The cons are that starting in 3rd grade, for my kids grades there have been 4 AAP classes and 2 Gen Ed classes. As a result, the Gen Ed kids are more “stuck” with classmates they don’t like. Gen Ed teachers end up wanting to be AAP teachers or teach at a school with no AAP and a bigger “team” to share workload with, which leads to turnover. There is some arrogance and obnoxious behavior by the AAP kids that they are smarter but that is hasn’t been as big a problem for us.

The pro for us is that both my kids need Special Ed services (ADHD and dyslexia) and because there are so many “advanced” kids, we have been able to get services without much of a fight. I think it also can be hard if most of your kid’s friends from K-2 end up in AAP and they don’t. The kids are still at the same school but are now in an “exclusive club”.

I think the answer is going to be very school dependent so you may want to ask about the particular schools you are considering.

Goodness, the arrogance starts in elementary school?!

I'm really curious to know what percentage of these schools are AAP. Is it the majority?

I wondered about how all this affects the teacher culture; thanks for that and all your feedback.

The schools we are considering are: Sangster, Keene Mill, Springfield Estates, and West Springfield.

Anonymous wrote:There is an AAP forum you should move this question to

Had no idea. Thanks

There are pros and cons. The cons are that starting in 3rd grade, for my kids grades there have been 4 AAP classes and 2 Gen Ed classes. As a result, the Gen Ed kids are more “stuck” with classmates they don’t like. Gen Ed teachers end up wanting to be AAP teachers or teach at a school with no AAP and a bigger “team” to share workload with, which leads to turnover. There is some arrogance and obnoxious behavior by the AAP kids that they are smarter but that is hasn’t been as big a problem for us.

The pro for us is that both my kids need Special Ed services (ADHD and dyslexia) and because there are so many “advanced” kids, we have been able to get services without much of a fight. I think it also can be hard if most of your kid’s friends from K-2 end up in AAP and they don’t. The kids are still at the same school but are now in an “exclusive club”.

I think the answer is going to be very school dependent so you may want to ask about the particular schools you are considering.

There is an AAP forum you should move this question to

Do any of you have a child in general education at an Advanced Academic Program (AAP) center school?

- How is that experience for your child?
- Do you feel it negatively affects your child's self esteem? Do you feel your child benefits from being in a great school even though they are not in the AAP program?
- Overall do you like that school? (Which school?)
- About what percentage of students at the school are general ed vs AAP?

Moving to the area (children in preschool). I truly appreciate any input. Thanks so much!