Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could agree with OP I suppose, i just do not understand why one would even compare public elementary school with private universities.

Correct. FCPS is NOT Harvard. We are all taxpayers. It’s like paying tuition and getting no classes your child needs.

You missed the point. No one is equating LIV AAP to Harvard. The point is that you could and most likely a gifted child may make it into Harvard, irrespective of LIV AAP. It doesn't mean that the gifted child will not success if they don't get into LIV AAP. You don't have the data to support it. In fact, most truly gifted children are able to tap into outside resources to help them flourish. If your kid scored a 150 on the WISC, think about looking at the Phillips Exeter(s) of the world. There are plenty of local programs that can support your child and with a score like that, many of such places offer parents tuition reimbursement because a very small percentage of kids test in that range. Very small.

No, I’d suggest you/OP missed the point. The point of LIV AAP is not to get into Harvard. Though I will agree if you want a orivate school education, do not look to FCPS to provide it for free.

I'm the PP, and I agree. The point of AAP is not to get into Harvard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could agree with OP I suppose, i just do not understand why one would even compare public elementary school with private universities.

Correct. FCPS is NOT Harvard. We are all taxpayers. It’s like paying tuition and getting no classes your child needs.

You missed the point. No one is equating LIV AAP to Harvard. The point is that you could and most likely a gifted child may make it into Harvard, irrespective of LIV AAP. It doesn't mean that the gifted child will not success if they don't get into LIV AAP. You don't have the data to support it. In fact, most truly gifted children are able to tap into outside resources to help them flourish. If your kid scored a 150 on the WISC, think about looking at the Phillips Exeter(s) of the world. There are plenty of local programs that can support your child and with a score like that, many of such places offer parents tuition reimbursement because a very small percentage of kids test in that range. Very small.

No, I’d suggest you/OP missed the point. The point of LIV AAP is not to get into Harvard. Though I will agree if you want a orivate school education, do not look to FCPS to provide it for free.

Anonymous wrote:
You're making that statement because you don't really understand what the LIV AAP program at FCPS entails. It is NOT a true gifted program. There are pages and pages of threads on this almost every single year. You're confusing the program to meet the needs of a truly gifted child. If your child is in the 140+ WISC range, FCPS is not the solution for your child. I'm sorry you believe that paying taxes is all that is necessary for your child to get the benefit of the LIV AAP program, but that's not how it works. The same can be said for TJ.

Nope. I fully understand what the LIV AAP program entails, and I have a highly gifted kid for whom it wasn't the right solution. FCPS really needs to work on its messaging and outreach. Right now, they're telling parents of kids with high IQ scores that their kids aren't good enough for AAP and will be fine in gen ed. They also have the party line that AAP is enough to meet the needs of any gifted learner. If instead, they sent rejections to kids with a designation that the kid was too advanced for the program to be a good fit, and then offered a meeting time with a gifted liaison who would help the families navigate resources that would help their specific child have his or her needs met, that would be an entirely different thing than essentially recommending FCPS gen ed for these highly gifted kids.

I wasted 1st-4th grade for my highly gifted DC, because FCPS told me in 1st and 2nd that my child would find a peer group and be challenged in AAP. They also gave the impression that Fairfax was filled with gifted children, and AAP would be a true gifted program. After one year in AAP, I assumed that maybe my kid just had a bad teacher. During the 2nd year, my DC was constantly complaining that school was really boring, they didn't learn anything, were picked on by the other kids for being too smart and too nerdy, and they wanted to be homeschooled.

tl;dr: FCPS needs to stop lying about what AAP is and whether they are able or willing to educate highly gifted children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But, they don’t. There is a broad cross section in America and, frankly, the world that too needs access to the best. They too bring unique skills and perspectives that can never be captured in a 2-3 hour test. If you have a bright child he or she will flourish in life with or without AAP. Trust this advice. Continue to nurture that intellect and prepare for the following year and beyond. Moreover, the super bright can likely advance a grade level to really move ahead.

-100 The bolded is completely incorrect and flies in the face of decades of giftedness research. The bright, high achieving kids will flourish in life with or without AAP. Kids who are actually gifted have a much larger chance of falling through the cracks in gen ed than the high achievers. Kids who are scoring above 130 and especially above 140 on a WISC are the ones who are undoubtedly gifted by any definition and need services. If they also have a low GBRS, that's an even stronger signal that the child is a gifted child who is not going to be successful in a general education classroom.

One of my kids deferred AAP enrollment and chose to remain in gen ed. She's a bright, hardworking, high achieving kid who had test scores in the 120s and a 15 GBRS. She was fine in gen ed, and even though she had hours of free time each day, she spent the time constructively. If space for AAP is limited, white and Asian kids with my DD's profile are the ones who should be rejected -- not the kids who legitimately need gifted services.

You're making that statement because you don't really understand what the LIV AAP program at FCPS entails. It is NOT a true gifted program. There are pages and pages of threads on this almost every single year. You're confusing the program to meet the needs of a truly gifted child. If your child is in the 140+ WISC range, FCPS is not the solution for your child. I'm sorry you believe that paying taxes is all that is necessary for your child to get the benefit of the LIV AAP program, but that's not how it works. The same can be said for TJ.

Some say it’s an advanced program. Some say gifted. But it’s not fair to deny the Gifted kids a chance when their scores obviously qualify them and say “go somewhere else. We are going to reject you I do you a favor. Go find better resources.” There needs to be a clear threshold. Over a certain score, IN. We need cleared criteria. And if it’s NOT for the gifted, then the school should offer a separate program or class!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could agree with OP I suppose, i just do not understand why one would even compare public elementary school with private universities.

Correct. FCPS is NOT Harvard. We are all taxpayers. It’s like paying tuition and getting no classes your child needs.

You missed the point. No one is equating LIV AAP to Harvard. The point is that you could and most likely a gifted child may make it into Harvard, irrespective of LIV AAP. It doesn't mean that the gifted child will not success if they don't get into LIV AAP. You don't have the data to support it. In fact, most truly gifted children are able to tap into outside resources to help them flourish. If your kid scored a 150 on the WISC, think about looking at the Phillips Exeter(s) of the world. There are plenty of local programs that can support your child and with a score like that, many of such places offer parents tuition reimbursement because a very small percentage of kids test in that range. Very small.

if that's the case then why have level IV- you siphon off resources to students who objectively don't need them to get the level of education a school is required to provide.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could agree with OP I suppose, i just do not understand why one would even compare public elementary school with private universities.

Correct. FCPS is NOT Harvard. We are all taxpayers. It’s like paying tuition and getting no classes your child needs.

You missed the point. No one is equating LIV AAP to Harvard. The point is that you could and most likely a gifted child may make it into Harvard, irrespective of LIV AAP. It doesn't mean that the gifted child will not success if they don't get into LIV AAP. You don't have the data to support it. In fact, most truly gifted children are able to tap into outside resources to help them flourish. If your kid scored a 150 on the WISC, think about looking at the Phillips Exeter(s) of the world. There are plenty of local programs that can support your child and with a score like that, many of such places offer parents tuition reimbursement because a very small percentage of kids test in that range. Very small.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But, they don’t. There is a broad cross section in America and, frankly, the world that too needs access to the best. They too bring unique skills and perspectives that can never be captured in a 2-3 hour test. If you have a bright child he or she will flourish in life with or without AAP. Trust this advice. Continue to nurture that intellect and prepare for the following year and beyond. Moreover, the super bright can likely advance a grade level to really move ahead.

-100 The bolded is completely incorrect and flies in the face of decades of giftedness research. The bright, high achieving kids will flourish in life with or without AAP. Kids who are actually gifted have a much larger chance of falling through the cracks in gen ed than the high achievers. Kids who are scoring above 130 and especially above 140 on a WISC are the ones who are undoubtedly gifted by any definition and need services. If they also have a low GBRS, that's an even stronger signal that the child is a gifted child who is not going to be successful in a general education classroom.

One of my kids deferred AAP enrollment and chose to remain in gen ed. She's a bright, hardworking, high achieving kid who had test scores in the 120s and a 15 GBRS. She was fine in gen ed, and even though she had hours of free time each day, she spent the time constructively. If space for AAP is limited, white and Asian kids with my DD's profile are the ones who should be rejected -- not the kids who legitimately need gifted services.

You're making that statement because you don't really understand what the LIV AAP program at FCPS entails. It is NOT a true gifted program. There are pages and pages of threads on this almost every single year. You're confusing the program to meet the needs of a truly gifted child. If your child is in the 140+ WISC range, FCPS is not the solution for your child. I'm sorry you believe that paying taxes is all that is necessary for your child to get the benefit of the LIV AAP program, but that's not how it works. The same can be said for TJ.

Anonymous wrote:I could agree with OP I suppose, i just do not understand why one would even compare public elementary school with private universities.

Correct. FCPS is NOT Harvard. We are all taxpayers. It’s like paying tuition and getting no classes your child needs.

I could agree with OP I suppose, i just do not understand why one would even compare public elementary school with private universities.

Anonymous wrote:
But, they don’t. There is a broad cross section in America and, frankly, the world that too needs access to the best. They too bring unique skills and perspectives that can never be captured in a 2-3 hour test. If you have a bright child he or she will flourish in life with or without AAP. Trust this advice. Continue to nurture that intellect and prepare for the following year and beyond. Moreover, the super bright can likely advance a grade level to really move ahead.

-100 The bolded is completely incorrect and flies in the face of decades of giftedness research. The bright, high achieving kids will flourish in life with or without AAP. Kids who are actually gifted have a much larger chance of falling through the cracks in gen ed than the high achievers. Kids who are scoring above 130 and especially above 140 on a WISC are the ones who are undoubtedly gifted by any definition and need services. If they also have a low GBRS, that's an even stronger signal that the child is a gifted child who is not going to be successful in a general education classroom.

One of my kids deferred AAP enrollment and chose to remain in gen ed. She's a bright, hardworking, high achieving kid who had test scores in the 120s and a 15 GBRS. She was fine in gen ed, and even though she had hours of free time each day, she spent the time constructively. If space for AAP is limited, white and Asian kids with my DD's profile are the ones who should be rejected -- not the kids who legitimately need gifted services.

Anonymous wrote:Nor do they best post-secondary institutions in America even matter. I'm a lawyer who went to Georgetown Law. I work with and supervise people who went to Havard Law and Ivy undergrads. I went to Florida State for undergrad and public school as a child. Some of my colleagues went to the best privates money could buy. We're in the same boat.

how well would you be doing without Georgetown as your final degree and how well did you have to do at Florida State to get there. There is a difference between a monopoly and an advantage that gives you a larger margin or error. No one is claiming AAP is a monopoly, but it does help and marginal differences matter

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nor do they best post-secondary institutions in America even matter. I'm a lawyer who went to Georgetown Law. I work with and supervise people who went to Havard Law and Ivy undergrads. I went to Florida State for undergrad and public school as a child. Some of my colleagues went to the best privates money could buy. We're in the same boat.

OP here.

Precisely. Even the best universities don’t have a monopoly on the best jobs.

100% Agree!

Anonymous wrote:Nor do they best post-secondary institutions in America even matter. I'm a lawyer who went to Georgetown Law. I work with and supervise people who went to Havard Law and Ivy undergrads. I went to Florida State for undergrad and public school as a child. Some of my colleagues went to the best privates money could buy. We're in the same boat.

OP here.

Precisely. Even the best universities don’t have a monopoly on the best jobs.

Nor do they best post-secondary institutions in America even matter. I'm a lawyer who went to Georgetown Law. I work with and supervise people who went to Havard Law and Ivy undergrads. I went to Florida State for undergrad and public school as a child. Some of my colleagues went to the best privates money could buy. We're in the same boat.

WISC is merely an option, and even with an extremely high score it comes without any guarantee for level 4 placement. Everything your child needs to get an approval letter from AAP is provided within the FCPS system and that is paid for with your/ our hard earned tax dollars. No public school system would compel nor require you to seek outside prep assistance - and burden you with its associated monetary cost - to gain admission to a publicly funded program. Indeed, to receive a rejection or denial letter despite the obvious true intellectual ability of so many sharp kids is very difficult to accept. But, neither AAP nor the most selective colleges and universities skim exclusively from the top.

To be sure, schools such as Yale, Princeton and others could easily skim from the top and I bet they could assemble an incoming class from the top who could also pay cash tuition. No need to hand out grants or other financial assistance. They can let their endowments grow richer.

But, they don’t. There is a broad cross section in America and, frankly, the world that too needs access to the best. They too bring unique skills and perspectives that can never be captured in a 2-3 hour test. If you have a bright child he or she will flourish in life with or without AAP. Trust this advice. Continue to nurture that intellect and prepare for the following year and beyond. Moreover, the super bright can likely advance a grade level to really move ahead.

Keep in mind that AAP and, subsequently, TJ do NOT have a monopoly on admission to the best post-secondary institutions in America.

There are many thousands of high schoolers each year who gain admittance to the most selective universities without ever knowing or benefiting from any FCPS programs.

They made it, and so will you.