I see a lot of gaps. So do others. But it might depend on your school and your expectations. I think a lot of parents in FCPS can relate to the post on the thread in the link, below, at 13:30 (not mine, but it really summed up what the next 10-15 years will probably look like for our family)

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/75/858349.page#16587056

All that being said, every teacher and staff member I have met/interacted with is doing their best with the resources and support they have. It would be great if I could just drop my kid off at the bus and they would some how, magically, get the perfect level of directed education that their potential could meet. That is a grossly unreasonable expectation given what the public school system faces - specifically, a wide range of needs from all comers, as they are when they show up.

In fact, that is one of the main benefits of public school, in my view. Adult life is full a situations where you need to be able to identify what resources you need to succeed, and get them for yourself. You don’t just get to show up and be given what you need. Only you are responsible for finding out what you need and only you are responsible for obtaining it. I tell myself that my DC is experiencing this skill first hand. Time will tell.

So, recognizing that my expectations for what I should give my DC are different from what the school system could possibly supply, I supplement, and that is fine. To each their own, I say.

Anonymous wrote:We have a full time AART at our school. There are no pullouts before third grade level III. There is no local level IV at our school.

While there was some in-class differentiation in 1st grade, there has been none in second. We asked about level II in K, they told us it would be differentiations, starting in grade 1. That?s it. No letters home to parents about ?level II,? nothing on the report card to reflect in-class differentiation. And no in-class differentiation in grade 2.

Having a full time AART does not guarantee the type of services your school will provide. You need to advocate and ask. At the end of the day, all you can really do is educate yourself about the metes and bounds of what your school provides and fill in the gaps yourself. You can?t FORCE someone to give your DC a certain level of education at their school if they have no interest/support/resources to do so simply because you read here that some other school does have the interest/support/resources.

Given this reality, I really don?t understand the backlash I see on this forum against parents who fill these gaps with AOPS/Mathnasium/Russian School of Math. As parents, it is our responsibility to prepare our kids. Why is that a big deal?

I have no problem with parents choosing any type of enrichment if the child wants it. I have no idea how many kids actually want to attend those programs. The few people I know who send their kids or have sent their kids have told me that their kids don't want to do the work but do it because their parents make them. I read all the anecdotes here of kids who love it and ask for it, and if that is the case great, but the kids I know who are in those programs are not there because they want to be there. Nor do they need to be there, their grades are fine.

DS enjoys math and science. He asks to enroll in the after school clubs that involve coding and robotics. He also asks to go to art club, plays baseball/basketball, and enjoys Scouting. This summer he choose two weeks of science camp and a inventors camp. We have not enrolled him in math enrichment programs because he is not interested in those, we have asked because he really likes math.

I don't think the extra work is needed. I think that the schools here do a perfectly good job of prepping kids for STEM programs, as evidence but the number of kids who go to engineering schools and the like, without extra tutoring. I work with rocket scientists and while all of them had an interest in math and science at a young age they all took a more traditional math path. The gaps that parents see are not really gaps. But that is my take on things.

DS was in the advanced math group in K. His teacher told us that and his report card had the box checked for working above grade level. There was nothing in first grade, but he was in language immersion and math is taught in the language. I suspect that there is no Level II for kids in language immersion at our school only because of the need to focus on the subject and the language. He received a letter for Level II in class differentiation at the end of first grade for Reading and Math. His Teachers told us that means work sheets and in class differentiation.

If you are interested at your school you should talk to the AART because it is different at each school.

We have a full time AART at our school. There are no pullouts before third grade level III. There is no local level IV at our school.

While there was some in-class differentiation in 1st grade, there has been none in second. We asked about level II in K, they told us it would be differentiations, starting in grade 1. That?s it. No letters home to parents about ?level II,? nothing on the report card to reflect in-class differentiation. And no in-class differentiation in grade 2.

Having a full time AART does not guarantee the type of services your school will provide. You need to advocate and ask. At the end of the day, all you can really do is educate yourself about the metes and bounds of what your school provides and fill in the gaps yourself. You can?t FORCE someone to give your DC a certain level of education at their school if they have no interest/support/resources to do so simply because you read here that some other school does have the interest/support/resources.

Given this reality, I really don?t understand the backlash I see on this forum against parents who fill these gaps with AOPS/Mathnasium/Russian School of Math. As parents, it is our responsibility to prepare our kids. Why is that a big deal?

I think it often depends if the school has a full time AART. If that is the case, there is more opportunity for pullouts to happen in Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade.

Our school doesn't do this, or if they do, they don't tell us. They do, however group all the "smart kids" into one first and second grade class together. Look at the class directory and see if there are any first grade classes that have more caucasian+asian last names and fewer hispanic last names.

It is entirely school dependent. My child, who is in Kindergarten, is receiving Math enrichment with the AART. He is pulled out twice a week, and is working on Math 2-3 grade levels ahead. We were informed that he would be receiving this enrichment during the first month of school.

Anonymous wrote:Level II is in class differentiation. Kids are given different math sheets and are in the higher reading groups. We got a letter at the end of first grade for second grade.

I think, like everything in FCPS, Level II is school dependent. When my DS was in 1st and 2nd grade he got pull outs and was labeled level II.

Level II is in class differentiation. Kids are given different math sheets and are in the higher reading groups. We got a letter at the end of first grade for second grade.

Level II works out differently at different schools. It is my understanding that at the end of K, the K teachers "flag" certain students for Level II starting in 1st grade. My oldest (who is now in Level IV fwiw) was never "flagged" for Level II. My middle kid had "Level II" just start showing up on the bottom right corner of his report card starting with first quarter of 1st grade. Level II basically means nothing at our school - no pullouts.

My youngest will start K in the fall. I'm certainly not going to show her K teacher any testing or current teacher feedback.

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-school-academics-k-6/advanced-academics/differentiated-lessons-areas-academic

No, this isn't a thing.

It seems like teachers can select certain students to start aap programs in fairfax county in k. Does anyone know more about this or if there is a way to start a child in this from the jump (maybe by showing testing or current teacher feedback?).