Great post, pp. Well said.

We have one kid in AAP and one not in AAP. It's an excellent situation for both of them, for several reasons:

--the AAP child has been bored silly for years in school. This curriculum, while still not ideal, is a bit more stimulating. Children like that, when faced with years of coasting without any challenge, do not develop a work ethic, do not learn resilience because they were always "the best" at everything, and have their enthusiasm for school and learning completely dulled from being always so bored. They pay the price for this for years thereafter. I speak from personal experience.

--the non AAP child is developing solid foundations at a pace that is appropriate for him.

--the math program that is generally used in AAP is NOT good for kids who aren't' truly gifted in math and don't instantly get it and live and breathe math. The regular curriculum is much better for kids who need to work at it.

--in 10-20 years, none of this will matter in terms of career outcome, except for the fact that my AAP kid would be at higher risk of failure without a curriculum more adapted to his needs.

Chill out, everybody.

ps. There are lots of parts of the country with top top schools where nobody, I mean nobody, has ever heard of the AMC exams or Math Olympiads and they truly don't give a damn. If you're having your kids do these for any reason other than that they love math, you are wasting your time.

you're on the wrong thread.

Stress from projects? What stress? Oh, you have to actually sit with your child for 15 minutes while they work out what they want to do, then go shop for posterboard and markers. My stress has been getting dd to STOP working and go to bed!

Are you sure your non AAP kid is going to be able to get into that advanced class in middle school? By middle school, the AAP kids would have be into the advanced math track for YEARS. It's definitely possible, but the AAP kids will have an easier time of it.

Wow a lot of parents posting about why they don't want their kid in aap who don't know squat about AAP kids.
My kid is in AAP and is NOT a member of the chess club. We haven't been pressured to join any chess club. DD has Girl Scouts and two other activities she picked and enjoys. We're not interested in going to TJ. Finally, I have a child who is NOT bored by repetitive drills, and is not being held back in class by kids who still haven't gotten the basics down or are just disruptive.

It is a good list, but it is not quite accurate. My child is in AAP and he doesn't have a ton of projects. Homework takes him less than 30-40 minutes a night (a good deal of time even less), he isn't going to apply to TJ because he wants to attend our local high school for certain NON-Academic activities, He plays soccer (although admittedly he isn't great at it) and he is counting the days until he can join the the Civil Air Patrol and is already a Boy Scout. He is active in our church, and still gets good grades.

Maybe you need to worry less about who is in the AAP program just like parents who want their kids in need to worry less about that?

8. Won't feel any peer pressure to enroll your 3rd grader in the chess club at the AAP center's elementary school... The chess club that is so big that it is held in the cafeteria with 100+ students most of whom that if asked will tell you that they hate it.

Everyone has their reasons for wanting their kids in the APP program or not. I am not even thinking about it cause my children are still infants, but I love reading all these posts.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, so many "how to get into AAP" threads. How about coming up with 10 reasons why you are fine with your child not getting the invite for or accepting the invite to AAP:

I can think of these:

1. After they siphon off the really smart kids to the AAP center, my kid is more noticeable as top of the class at the base school.
2. Base school kids get home an hour earlier each day compared to the AAP kids b/c of the later start and bus riding at AAP.
3. Less homework stress b/c we don't have to do so many projects.
4. My child can still get advanced math at the base school with out having all the other advanced subjects/projects.


Help me finish the list!

5. Don't have to get caught up in the madness about applying to TJ.
6. Don't have to get caught up in the madness for AMC 8 or AMC 10.
7. Can enroll in enrichment activities that are not necessarily STEM focused (especially due to #5 above).

Anonymous wrote:So, for a parent in another county, can a child eligible for AAP services get the same thing in their home school? If their parents decide not to send them to the AAP center, what will they get in their home school?

A child in FCPS that has been identified as Level 4 Center eligible can opt not to receive Level 4 services and can stay at the base school and receive Level 3 services instead. Level 4 services can be activated any school year between grades 3 and 8.

So, for a parent in another county, can a child eligible for AAP services get the same thing in their home school? If their parents decide not to send them to the AAP center, what will they get in their home school?

Level 3 services?

This is an excellent list for those who end up in level 3 services.

Yes, so many "how to get into AAP" threads. How about coming up with 10 reasons why you are fine with your child not getting the invite for or accepting the invite to AAP:

I can think of these:

1. After they siphon off the really smart kids to the AAP center, my kid is more noticeable as top of the class at the base school.
2. Base school kids get home an hour earlier each day compared to the AAP kids b/c of the later start and bus riding at AAP.
3. Less homework stress b/c we don't have to do so many projects.
4. My child can still get advanced math at the base school with out having all the other advanced subjects/projects.


Help me finish the list!