Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. thanks so much for the thoughtful responses! My son doesn't say he's broed in class or say anything in class negatively. He's a Young Scholar (as of 1st grade) and at 1Q teacher conference, it was clear that she didnt know him or that he should have been getting more advanced materials. When asked what he could improve on, she said - nothing. he's helpful to others, pleasant, and always does his best in class. no mention of anything to work on... aside from him being very quiet in class

He was admitted into Young Scholars using an IQ and ability test, yes? Can you submit those with an appeal? Young Scholars should be past 99.9% IQ correct? >145 on a WISC? Hard to fake that. IQ test should have taken hours.

I have an adult kid who was 2E & a Young Scholar in FCPS. They did AAP & later TJHSST before university. Honestly, kid getting into AAP was much more aggravating than TJ admission. I felt like AAP was always used as a gate keeping system and certain teachers & friends who were cozy with the principal got admitted easily.

helpful to hear your experience. I'm working on an appeal now and will submit all these materials and do new work samples to help fill any gaps in HOPE

All - thank you for the advice, anecdotes, and experiences!
My child was accepted on appeal. We did take the wisc - it confirmed that his aptitude is very high AND that relatively, his processing speed is much lower. Makes sense for my Level 1 Autism kid. His abilities are amazing but he has a harder time translating them fully onto paper and especially in tight timeframes. With that in mind, I transcribed his thinking on new work samples and wow - what a difference! I explained this on his appeal and ultimately, them deemed him eligible. Now to advocate for 504 updates to reflect this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. thanks so much for the thoughtful responses! My son doesn't say he's broed in class or say anything in class negatively. He's a Young Scholar (as of 1st grade) and at 1Q teacher conference, it was clear that she didnt know him or that he should have been getting more advanced materials. When asked what he could improve on, she said - nothing. he's helpful to others, pleasant, and always does his best in class. no mention of anything to work on... aside from him being very quiet in class

He was admitted into Young Scholars using an IQ and ability test, yes? Can you submit those with an appeal? Young Scholars should be past 99.9% IQ correct? >145 on a WISC? Hard to fake that. IQ test should have taken hours.

I have an adult kid who was 2E & a Young Scholar in FCPS. They did AAP & later TJHSST before university. Honestly, kid getting into AAP was much more aggravating than TJ admission. I felt like AAP was always used as a gate keeping system and certain teachers & friends who were cozy with the principal got admitted easily.

helpful to hear your experience. I'm working on an appeal now and will submit all these materials and do new work samples to help fill any gaps in HOPE

Anonymous wrote:OP here. thanks so much for the thoughtful responses! My son doesn't say he's broed in class or say anything in class negatively. He's a Young Scholar (as of 1st grade) and at 1Q teacher conference, it was clear that she didnt know him or that he should have been getting more advanced materials. When asked what he could improve on, she said - nothing. he's helpful to others, pleasant, and always does his best in class. no mention of anything to work on... aside from him being very quiet in class

He was admitted into Young Scholars using an IQ and ability test, yes? Can you submit those with an appeal? Young Scholars should be past 99.9% IQ correct? >145 on a WISC? Hard to fake that. IQ test should have taken hours.

I have an adult kid who was 2E & a Young Scholar in FCPS. They did AAP & later TJHSST before university. Honestly, kid getting into AAP was much more aggravating than TJ admission. I felt like AAP was always used as a gate keeping system and certain teachers & friends who were cozy with the principal got admitted easily.

He sounds like a wonderful kid OP. Are there no advanced classes at his current school. We were in FCPS and while the AAP program was at Haycock, kids at our elementary could take AAP classes as needed. Does your kid need it for every class? Mine took it for Math and Science, but not Language Arts and History and that worked well. He was grouped with other AAP kids for Math and Science.

Also, once they get to middle school they easily can take honors-though every class was called honors, they teachers placed those who needed advanced coursework in an advanced class. My other kid who was solidly average were in the "honors" regular classes. Then you chose in high school=regular honors or AP. Just making sure you know this all in case the appeal doesn't work.

OP here. thanks so much for the thoughtful responses! My son doesn't say he's broed in class or say anything in class negatively. He's a Young Scholar (as of 1st grade) and at 1Q teacher conference, it was clear that she didnt know him or that he should have been getting more advanced materials. When asked what he could improve on, she said - nothing. he's helpful to others, pleasant, and always does his best in class. no mention of anything to work on... aside from him being very quiet in class

Set up an IQ test a GWU to submit with appeal. On the parent letter explain your child’s diagnosis and how it manifests in class and also how the child would benefit from AAP.

If they don’t have an IEP, mentioned that also. If they do, I recommend summarizing what services he receives.

Anonymous wrote:PP again. Also, teachers have a hard time writing glowing HOPE evaluations for students who claim boredom in class or criticize the lesson. If your child does this, coach them not to.

The students I see who truly belong in AAP read, draw,do their own passion projects like writing short stories, do early finisher activities, come up to me to ask questions, etc. when they finish their work. They always want to know more and that is something I always notice and explain in a HOPE evaluation when I see it.

I am the first PP. AAP is full of kids with excellent executive functions. My observations is that teachers focusing on who "belongs in AAP" favor kids who will be successful in the program as it is designed, rather than kids who "need" a different kind of teaching, despite what is suggested by the people in charge.

For what it's worth, my first kid who did not get in on appeal was by far the strongest reader in his class in elementary, the kid who read Percy Jackson and Harry Potter at age 6, and very advanced in Math. My younger kid who didn't get in on appeal more recently is incredibly creative and a non-stop passion project outside-the-box thinker. Both of these kids are ADHD, engaged and not at all negative, but highly distractable and chatty. My kid who was accepted into AAP (again, with the lowest scores of the three but glowing reports from teachers) is a more standard bright, responsible kid and just easy to have in class.

Anonymous wrote:Teacher with experience in the committee here. The HOPE score is meant to be more inclusive to 2e kids. If you haven’t included his/her disability in your parent statement, it might help give context when you resubmit. The committee might look for favorably at your child’s application if they understand their disability.

I have also filled out my share of HOPE evaluations and it is tough to come up with compelling evidence for children who actively avoid interaction with a teacher or look for ways to draw less attention to themselves in class. If that is the case, coach your child to participate more in class or have 1:1 conversations with the teacher/ ask the quester questions. Teachers are busy putting out fires, leading instruction, etc. and we try but don’t always get to know the quiet kids very well.

You do understand that you are perpetuating the exact kind of disability discrimination that you purport to be helping by insisting that students learn to mask their disabilities and behave in neurotypical ways to "earn" the teacher's good recommendation?

I always like to see writing samples. Is there an area of interest your son could write about to show deep passion/interest? It goes without saying it should be done on his own. It is usually obvious when parents help.

I would not reccomend art or Lego formations (we see those a lot) and they just don’t tell us much about their academic skills.

PP again. Also, teachers have a hard time writing glowing HOPE evaluations for students who claim boredom in class or criticize the lesson. If your child does this, coach them not to.

The students I see who truly belong in AAP read, draw,do their own passion projects like writing short stories, do early finisher activities, come up to me to ask questions, etc. when they finish their work. They always want to know more and that is something I always notice and explain in a HOPE evaluation when I see it.

Teacher with experience in the committee here. The HOPE score is meant to be more inclusive to 2e kids. If you haven’t included his/her disability in your parent statement, it might help give context when you resubmit. The committee might look for favorably at your child’s application if they understand their disability.

I have also filled out my share of HOPE evaluations and it is tough to come up with compelling evidence for children who actively avoid interaction with a teacher or look for ways to draw less attention to themselves in class. If that is the case, coach your child to participate more in class or have 1:1 conversations with the teacher/ ask the quester questions. Teachers are busy putting out fires, leading instruction, etc. and we try but don’t always get to know the quiet kids very well.

Anonymous wrote:Level 1 Autism
"in pool" scores
mostly 4s and a few 3s on report card
found not eligible for AAP

Any advice for those with 2Es? Requested full application and strongly suspect HOPE score was low based on teacher interactions. Also trying to figure out how to improve work samples. Child is very bored with class and would do much better among like peers. Sadly, teacher sees him as a quiet, less involved child in class who just does what he's told // melts into background.

thanks!

Have you asked on the AAP board? People will have the latest advice.

Mine is a couple years old but my two 2E kids with 140ish CogAT and 135ish WISC did not get in on appeal. They both had lukewarm teacher evaluations. My middle kid with in pool but lower CogAT scores was accepted first round.

Level 1 Autism
"in pool" scores
mostly 4s and a few 3s on report card
found not eligible for AAP

Any advice for those with 2Es? Requested full application and strongly suspect HOPE score was low based on teacher interactions. Also trying to figure out how to improve work samples. Child is very bored with class and would do much better among like peers. Sadly, teacher sees him as a quiet, less involved child in class who just does what he's told // melts into background.

thanks!