The committee said yes and we did too. No regrets

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not separate siblings. They are not THAT different. Neither is such an outliner that they can't be educated together. It sets up a life-long perceived division.

People say this all the time. I don't get it. If one of your kids gets into TJ, would you not send her because her sibling didn't go. If they get in Harvard, will you hold them back? Your kids will be fine, place them where each of them belongs academically. If you build strong self esteem, they can handle life.

Couldn't agree more with this PP.

I couldn’t disagree with this more.
TJ / Harvard and top ten elementary avcllls are different things.
For one thing: parents need to shuttle their elem kids everywhere. Not in high school (or college).
2 elem schools for one family is a nightmare (back to school night, school events, friends, play dates, friends circles for extra curriculars, etc).
My neighbor separated her boys and neither can ever do anything, because they can’t figure out to how to be two places at once. And the mom can’t hardly get involved with the schools for the same reason.

A lot of are managing ok with kids who can do things and parents involved at both schools. Im not saying it's easy but it's doable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not separate siblings. They are not THAT different. Neither is such an outliner that they can't be educated together. It sets up a life-long perceived division.

People say this all the time. I don't get it. If one of your kids gets into TJ, would you not send her because her sibling didn't go. If they get in Harvard, will you hold them back? Your kids will be fine, place them where each of them belongs academically. If you build strong self esteem, they can handle life.

Couldn't agree more with this PP.

I couldn’t disagree with this more.
TJ / Harvard and top ten elementary avcllls are different things.
For one thing: parents need to shuttle their elem kids everywhere. Not in high school (or college).
2 elem schools for one family is a nightmare (back to school night, school events, friends, play dates, friends circles for extra curriculars, etc).
My neighbor separated her boys and neither can ever do anything, because they can’t figure out to how to be two places at once. And the mom can’t hardly get involved with the schools for the same reason.

Yes, it would be hard, but as a parent if you believe this is right for your children, then you make sacrifices.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not separate siblings. They are not THAT different. Neither is such an outliner that they can't be educated together. It sets up a life-long perceived division.

People say this all the time. I don't get it. If one of your kids gets into TJ, would you not send her because her sibling didn't go. If they get in Harvard, will you hold them back? Your kids will be fine, place them where each of them belongs academically. If you build strong self esteem, they can handle life.

Couldn't agree more with this PP.

I couldn’t disagree with this more.
TJ / Harvard and top ten elementary avcllls are different things.
For one thing: parents need to shuttle their elem kids everywhere. Not in high school (or college).
2 elem schools for one family is a nightmare (back to school night, school events, friends, play dates, friends circles for extra curriculars, etc).
My neighbor separated her boys and neither can ever do anything, because they can’t figure out to how to be two places at once. And the mom can’t hardly get involved with the schools for the same reason.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not separate siblings. They are not THAT different. Neither is such an outliner that they can't be educated together. It sets up a life-long perceived division.

People say this all the time. I don't get it. If one of your kids gets into TJ, would you not send her because her sibling didn't go. If they get in Harvard, will you hold them back? Your kids will be fine, place them where each of them belongs academically. If you build strong self esteem, they can handle life.

Couldn't agree more with this PP.

My kid was accepted into Level IV last year and we decided to defer for at least a year. I think it ended up being a very good choice for our child and our family. DC was adamant about not wanting to switch schools and we have been very happy at the base school. We also have two younger kids there, and while I realize that yes, eventually they won't all be at the same school, it's definitely convenient to have them at the same place for now. If the younger two get into the Level IV center, I guess we'll reevaluate.

Anonymous wrote:I would not separate siblings. They are not THAT different. Neither is such an outliner that they can't be educated together. It sets up a life-long perceived division.

People say this all the time. I don't get it. If one of your kids gets into TJ, would you not send her because her sibling didn't go. If they get in Harvard, will you hold them back? Your kids will be fine, place them where each of them belongs academically. If you build strong self esteem, they can handle life.

There is no Level IV at our base. I didn't parent refer. DH and I agreed if DC1 got in with test scores on his own - we would consider, but if not, we would leave DC1 at the base school in walking distance, with neighborhood kids and younger siblings, over parent referring. In the end, DC1 tested in so we had to consider whether to send him.

We accepted but it was a hard decision due to having younger siblings still at the base. (Some poster on here always says don't separate siblings. I don't think it's always that cut and dry. In this case my oldest is 2E with ADHD and I can see that the center teachers and the AAP program have more experience with 2E than our base and it is a better fit for DC1. Our psychologist and pediatrician also recommended DC1 do AAP, but I digress). It ended up being an easier decision because it ended up that many of DC1's friends were going to the center as well and I also really agree that he's found "his tribe" there. I told DC1 that I thought he would like the accelerated math offered and he liked the school at the open house and was on board. Idk what would have happened if he didn't want to go.

Virtually everyone at our base who is admitted goes to the center. The few people who don't usually don't go due to being military and not wanting to do another school change. Not at our base school, but some others choose language immersion over AAP. And finally, if they think their kid really wouldn't do well with a school change, for whatever reason, they keep at our base but this is a very small minority.

In the end, I decided if it was a mistake to go to the center, we could easily switch back to base. I thought it would be preferable for my kid to go to the center in 3rd grade when everyone else would be new and also start with the accelerated math rather than possibly being behind with that if DC1 stayed at base and went to the center in a later grade.

I would not separate siblings. They are not THAT different. Neither is such an outliner that they can't be educated together. It sets up a life-long perceived division.

Anonymous wrote:Curious as to why you applied for AAP if you felt she was receiving a fine education at her base?

NP. Maybe she was in pool and they didn't "apply." I also had a friend who applied because she wasn't sure whether continuing in Spanish immersion was the right choice, so she wanted to keep her options open. She ultimately decided to keep her child in immersion. I think many people want to keep their options open in case continuing at base school or immersion in third and beyond doesn't continue to provide the quality of education they would like.

Curious as to why you applied for AAP if you felt she was receiving a fine education at her base?

We did (I go to DCUM via Recent Topics so end up here sometimes).

We kept our daughter at our base school and are VERY happy with our decision. We felt she was receiving a fine education there and she has always been self-motivated to learn outside the classroom.

She is a junior in HS now, excels in her APs, and still loves to learn.

Good point!

Anonymous wrote:And just keep their kid in gen ed? If so, why?

Anyone who decided against AAP will not be in AAP forum

And just keep their kid in gen ed? If so, why?