There aren't any "magnet" schools in Arlington, so I'm not sure what you are talking about PP. If you are talking about one of the schools you got into by a lottery, that is not the same thing as a magnet school.

They pull the kids out based on legitimate teacher evaluations combined with in class assessments. Most kids at are Arlington magnet are way above Ffx and Arlington baseline...and way over national standards.

I love this because it isnt a bunch of douchebag parents like in Ffx lobbying andhiring lawyers for designations or putting stress on very Young kids to test a certain way.

people have different ideas of the education they want for their children. i have gone thru the phase where my children 'teach' the other children for years, and i found it so fustrating. if my child learns something in a day, why must she teach it to your child on days 2 and 3 so that finally on day 4 the whole class can move on to something new. my kids are now in gt classrooms and i'm so happy they can move at their own pace. they are learning more and are happier.

we live in Arlington and our child started receiving gifted services in 1st grade. Pull-out 1x per week for 45 minutes to an hour. On top of that, every teacher in our school takes continuing education in gifted services so all of the DC's teachers have done extra in-class activities for all kids who are interested (not just those who have been labeled gifted). I'm fine with this. To 20:04, not all parents believe that putting their kids in a classroom with only gifted kids is in their best interest. My child has become a leader in the classroom and is able to "teach" other kids, and I believe this is an invaluable lesson that he might not get if he were in an all-gifted classroom.

op, if you are absolutely sure DC will need GT service i'd look into private or moving to FFX.

Hi, OP, 14:28 and follow-ups here; sorry for getting off track with the other PP.

The math my kids did as for their pull-outs seemed more qualitatively different than what was going on in class -- they played math dice and discussed patterns, sort of like in The Number Devil or other books that explore cool things numbers can do. There were also things that reminded me of Continental Math League, which is sort of word problems meet logic problems, or maybe Car Talk Puzzlers. All APS kids do CML though, and you don't have to be gifted to be in the Math Dice tournament.

The other pull-outs were not so much qualitatively different, as far as I could tell (although I'm the one who had to guess how often pull-outs are, so take it for what it's worth), from regular work, just more advanced -- more complicated reading, subtler analysis of subjects, more autonomy in designing projects.

Does that help?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The gifted resources teacher works with all the younger kids to get to know them. Near the end of second grade, teachers recommend students who they think are officially gifted, and then parents are given an opportunity to apply for gifted services, which are weekly (I think -- shows how involved I am) pull-outs, one per subject.

Odyssey of the Mind is separate, and all you need to do for that is sign up.

Which is why I said "odyssey of the mind TYPE ACTIVITIES" because that's what they do in the gifted program (such as it is).

I can't figure out whether you're unfamiliar with Odyssey of the Mind or Arlington's gifted program, but there is no resemblance between the two.

You are very literal and linear, aren't you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The gifted resources teacher works with all the younger kids to get to know them. Near the end of second grade, teachers recommend students who they think are officially gifted, and then parents are given an opportunity to apply for gifted services, which are weekly (I think -- shows how involved I am) pull-outs, one per subject.

Odyssey of the Mind is separate, and all you need to do for that is sign up.

Which is why I said "odyssey of the mind TYPE ACTIVITIES" because that's what they do in the gifted program (such as it is).

I can't figure out whether you're unfamiliar with Odyssey of the Mind or Arlington's gifted program, but there is no resemblance between the two.

Anonymous wrote:The gifted resources teacher works with all the younger kids to get to know them. Near the end of second grade, teachers recommend students who they think are officially gifted, and then parents are given an opportunity to apply for gifted services, which are weekly (I think -- shows how involved I am) pull-outs, one per subject.

Odyssey of the Mind is separate, and all you need to do for that is sign up.

Which is why I said "odyssey of the mind TYPE ACTIVITIES" because that's what they do in the gifted program (such as it is).

The gifted resources teacher works with all the younger kids to get to know them. Near the end of second grade, teachers recommend students who they think are officially gifted, and then parents are given an opportunity to apply for gifted services, which are weekly (I think -- shows how involved I am) pull-outs, one per subject.

Odyssey of the Mind is separate, and all you need to do for that is sign up.

I was being glib before.

http://www.apsva.us/page/1838

The reality is that gifted education is not the contrived commodity it is in FFX.

It's very low-key here. I think kids are taken out of a classroom for like an hour a week to do Odyssey of the Mind type exercises. There are no AAP centers, etc.

No real gifted program in Arlington. Every child is gifted in Arlington.

Do the children get tested in the beginning of the year, or do the teachers observe the children over time? We will be starting in Arlington public schools next year. Thanks for any information!