Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP. I was having a frustrating day yesterday. My son's best friend is so smart and of course everyone knows it. He should be at a center and is going. The difference is when they play, they play like kids and don't stress over AAP. My son is proud over his friend's academic accomplishments because he's won awards. He knows they each have different strengths.

Some other friends keep bringing up AAP as somethings stressful, not knowing if they got in or if they didn't and specifically talking about levels. It's too much for kids to be worrying about on a hot July afternoon.

You must live in the TJ Mania zone.

I'm the OP. I was having a frustrating day yesterday. My son's best friend is so smart and of course everyone knows it. He should be at a center and is going. The difference is when they play, they play like kids and don't stress over AAP. My son is proud over his friend's academic accomplishments because he's won awards. He knows they each have different strengths.

Some other friends keep bringing up AAP as somethings stressful, not knowing if they got in or if they didn't and specifically talking about levels. It's too much for kids to be worrying about on a hot July afternoon.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

Nor do yours. In fact, it sounds as if your kids are the least representative of all.

Yes, let's ignore the needs of kids with LDs as they are the least representative.

It's only illegal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

NP here. It is good your child's needs were met. I know a couple of other brilliant children with disabilities who were served very well by AAP. That said, I think they would be even better served if AAP was still an actual gifted program. As PPs have noted, too many kids of similar abilities arbitrarily consigned to in GE, too many prepped and parentally pushed children getting a better education than their intellectual peers simply because mom and dad know how to work the system. Too many gifted SES kids dropping through the cracks, while well-heeled parents brag that their non-gifted child still needs AAP. Too much entitlement, not enough equity. The current method for separating kids into AAP and GE is a scam.

EXACTLY.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

Nor do yours. In fact, it sounds as if your kids are the least representative of all.

My child just got into AAP and will begin next year. I have met numerous new moms this summer who when I ask about where their kids go to school (to see if our kids will meet), they go into a long diatribe about being at the local center and AAP. I don't say anything about it. We opted not to go to the center. We're staying and doing LLIV. I just say "ok." I don't even mention that my child is also in AAP. It's just not that exciting to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

NP here. It is good your child's needs were met. I know a couple of other brilliant children with disabilities who were served very well by AAP. That said, I think they would be even better served if AAP was still an actual gifted program. As PPs have noted, too many kids of similar abilities arbitrarily consigned to in GE, too many prepped and parentally pushed children getting a better education than their intellectual peers simply because mom and dad know how to work the system. Too many gifted SES kids dropping through the cracks, while well-heeled parents brag that their non-gifted child still needs AAP. Too much entitlement, not enough equity. The current method for separating kids into AAP and GE is a scam.

Anonymous wrote:

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good.

P!ease do not speak for my kids, who benefitted greatly from attending AAP Center classes where teachers and staff partnered to identify, document, and implement the necessary supports for my children with LDs. We tried the Local Level IV option at our base school and it was a failure. At the recommendation of our kids' doctors, we switched them to the Center program, where both kids were successful.

Maybe the Center did not work well for your kids. However, your kids do not represent the needs of all kids.

Separate gifted education is evil

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good. It simply perpetuates this myth that AAP kids are SO much smarter than the GE kids. Are some of them? Sure. But the huge overlap in abilities means that most of them are all about the same - whether GE or AAP. FCPS is doing all kids a huge disservice by pretending there is some kind of vast divide between groups of utterly similar children. While I realize some parents enjoy believing this myth, many parents, of both AAP and GE kids, realize the damage this type of labeling does.

+1000

Anonymous wrote:Why do people always blame the parents? Kids know who is smart! We certainly did in the 80's and did not have an AAP program. You just know when your friend is smart - you just do. And if you spend time in a elementary classroom, the little kids say "Larlo, you are smart or you are a good reader." Some kids may internalize that.

Our neighborhood kids leave their ES to go to an AAP center. Different start times and different bus stop. Some of their friends' siblings went. Kids notice.

When mine was in K or 1, he asked why certain kid went there. I did the whole dance-around that its's just an option FCPS has, kids learn differently, may want different experiences, etc. etc. He was not fooled and figured it out on his own. Kids talk. Mine is quiet. He ended up going and I told know one. Guess who did.....all the other kids!!

Putting kids in separate AAP classrooms, as is done at center schools, does no one any good. It simply perpetuates this myth that AAP kids are SO much smarter than the GE kids. Are some of them? Sure. But the huge overlap in abilities means that most of them are all about the same - whether GE or AAP. FCPS is doing all kids a huge disservice by pretending there is some kind of vast divide between groups of utterly similar children. While I realize some parents enjoy believing this myth, many parents, of both AAP and GE kids, realize the damage this type of labeling does.

Why do people always blame the parents? Kids know who is smart! We certainly did in the 80's and did not have an AAP program. You just know when your friend is smart - you just do. And if you spend time in a elementary classroom, the little kids say "Larlo, you are smart or you are a good reader." Some kids may internalize that.

Our neighborhood kids leave their ES to go to an AAP center. Different start times and different bus stop. Some of their friends' siblings went. Kids notice.

When mine was in K or 1, he asked why certain kid went there. I did the whole dance-around that its's just an option FCPS has, kids learn differently, may want different experiences, etc. etc. He was not fooled and figured it out on his own. Kids talk. Mine is quiet. He ended up going and I told know one. Guess who did.....all the other kids!!

My DD is going into 3rd grade AAP at a center (it is our base school anyway) and it never comes up except for with other parents. I haven't mentioned it to her and she's never asked. I had an experience a few years back where I asked an 8 yr old if they were excited to go back to school and their response was that they were accepted into AAP for all topics because they are smart. I was really turned off by that response - felt it must have been the parents talking - and decided to try to make it a non-issue in our house. In or not - we weren't going to talk about it as if it was some sort of accomplishment or failure.

My son is a rising 4th grader and was in Local level IV last year. One of his classmates asked him if we was going to the AAP middle school "because that's where the smart kids go to middle school."

This question keeps coming up between my rising 3rd grader and his friends this summer. My son is in general ed and that is absolutely where he should be. We never spoke to him about the screening tests or even showed him the results. He's a happy kid and does well in school. All of his friends keep saying they don't know if they are or if they aren't and there is obviously so much talk at home. I'm just sad 8 year olds are stressing over this. FYI, I am a teacher so I think I'm even more frustrated that we are putting this academic stress on children so young.

Just a vent. He has a friend over right now and it came up over lunch.