Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a first grader at Janney and while I loved kindergarten, I'm realizing that I'm not as thrilled with first grade. It seems like most of the year has been spent getting the "stragglers" (for lack of a better word) up to speed in reading and math. I definitely feel like they want to move the class along as one big cohort. There is very little differentiation in terms of advanced learning (while there is plenty of support for kids that are lagging behind). My child is not super advanced but I'm not sure he/she has learned much this year. I honestly don't see it. He/she mastered reading and most elementary addition/subtraction last year and has been in a holding pattern of sorts this year.
I know I'm not alone in thinking this as I've had this conversation with several other parents.

However, that all said--"Average" is very high at Janney mostly because every.single.child is the product of highly educated, engaged parents. Most kids I know ended kindergarten reading and doing math at a first or second grade level. The only problem is--now they're stuck waiting around for the last 20 or 30% to catch up. I feel badly for the 1 or 2 kids I know that are truly academic outliers (you know the type of kids who are independently doing long division or writing sonnets in first grade). I could see them taking off with the right encouragement and I wonder if a different school would be a better fit.

I am not OP, but a future wotp parent and appreciate this honest response.

Anonymous wrote:I have a first grader at Janney and while I loved kindergarten, I'm realizing that I'm not as thrilled with first grade. It seems like most of the year has been spent getting the "stragglers" (for lack of a better word) up to speed in reading and math. I definitely feel like they want to move the class along as one big cohort. There is very little differentiation in terms of advanced learning (while there is plenty of support for kids that are lagging behind). My child is not super advanced but I'm not sure he/she has learned much this year. I honestly don't see it. He/she mastered reading and most elementary addition/subtraction last year and has been in a holding pattern of sorts this year.
I know I'm not alone in thinking this as I've had this conversation with several other parents.

However, that all said--"Average" is very high at Janney mostly because every.single.child is the product of highly educated, engaged parents. Most kids I know ended kindergarten reading and doing math at a first or second grade level. The only problem is--now they're stuck waiting around for the last 20 or 30% to catch up. I feel badly for the 1 or 2 kids I know that are truly academic outliers (you know the type of kids who are independently doing long division or writing sonnets in first grade). I could see them taking off with the right encouragement and I wonder if a different school would be a better fit.

Anonymous wrote:I have a first grader at Janney and while I loved kindergarten, I'm realizing that I'm not as thrilled with first grade. It seems like most of the year has been spent getting the "stragglers" (for lack of a better word) up to speed in reading and math. I definitely feel like they want to move the class along as one big cohort. There is very little differentiation in terms of advanced learning (while there is plenty of support for kids that are lagging behind). My child is not super advanced but I'm not sure he/she has learned much this year. I honestly don't see it. He/she mastered reading and most elementary addition/subtraction last year and has been in a holding pattern of sorts this year.
I know I'm not alone in thinking this as I've had this conversation with several other parents.

However, that all said--"Average" is very high at Janney mostly because every.single.child is the product of highly educated, engaged parents. Most kids I know ended kindergarten reading and doing math at a first or second grade level. The only problem is--now they're stuck waiting around for the last 20 or 30% to catch up. I feel badly for the 1 or 2 kids I know that are truly academic outliers (you know the type of kids who are independently doing long division or writing sonnets in first grade). I could see them taking off with the right encouragement and I wonder if a different school would be a better fit.

Anonymous wrote:I have a first grader at Janney and while I loved kindergarten, I'm realizing that I'm not as thrilled with first grade. It seems like most of the year has been spent getting the "stragglers" (for lack of a better word) up to speed in reading and math. I definitely feel like they want to move the class along as one big cohort. There is very little differentiation in terms of advanced learning (while there is plenty of support for kids that are lagging behind). My child is not super advanced but I'm not sure he/she has learned much this year. I honestly don't see it. He/she mastered reading and most elementary addition/subtraction last year and has been in a holding pattern of sorts this year.
I know I'm not alone in thinking this as I've had this conversation with several other parents.

However, that all said--"Average" is very high at Janney mostly because every.single.child is the product of highly educated, engaged parents. Most kids I know ended kindergarten reading and doing math at a first or second grade level. The only problem is--now they're stuck waiting around for the last 20 or 30% to catch up. I feel badly for the 1 or 2 kids I know that are truly academic outliers (you know the type of kids who are independently doing long division or writing sonnets in first grade). I could see them taking off with the right encouragement and I wonder if a different school would be a better fit.

Anonymous wrote:I have a first grader at Janney and while I loved kindergarten, I'm realizing that I'm not as thrilled with first grade. It seems like most of the year has been spent getting the "stragglers" (for lack of a better word) up to speed in reading and math. I definitely feel like they want to move the class along as one big cohort. There is very little differentiation in terms of advanced learning (while there is plenty of support for kids that are lagging behind). My child is not super advanced but I'm not sure he/she has learned much this year. I honestly don't see it. He/she mastered reading and most elementary addition/subtraction last year and has been in a holding pattern of sorts this year.
I know I'm not alone in thinking this as I've had this conversation with several other parents.

However, that all said--"Average" is very high at Janney mostly because every.single.child is the product of highly educated, engaged parents. Most kids I know ended kindergarten reading and doing math at a first or second grade level. The only problem is--now they're stuck waiting around for the last 20 or 30% to catch up. I feel badly for the 1 or 2 kids I know that are truly academic outliers (you know the type of kids who are independently doing long division or writing sonnets in first grade). I could see them taking off with the right encouragement and I wonder if a different school would be a better fit.