Anonymous wrote:Can anyone answer why LCPS only has a 1 day/week program? And have any of you had success convincing the base school to group all the FUTURA kids into one classroom and allowing them to be around like-minded peers the rest of the days of the week? How do other schools organize their FUTURA kids? (My son's school disperses the kids among the different classes) AND once they move on to Middle School how is the quality of the Honors courses? Are they challenging?

We were new to LCPS last year and both my kids (DS in ES and DD in MS) were admitted into Futura (ES) and Spectrum (MS). They explained to us that ES kids are bused to the closest school that has Futura. I think that is why it is only 1 day/wk because all the kids have to be bused from their base ES to an ES that has space. As for MS, Spectrum is at the school and is during the kids Resource classes (study hall). This is when most kids opt out of Spectrum because they rather have 45 mins to do homework, meet with teachers, take tests, etc. Both kids are now in MS and love their Spectrum classes. They have no problem finishing hw. When you are in 8th grade, Resource is 90 mins instead of 45 mins so you have Spectrum for 45 mins and Resource the other 45 mins. LCPS follows the alternating schedule so you have classes/resources/spectrum every other day.

As for Honors classes, my kids are in all honors classes so I cannot tell you the difference between regular and honors. But from what my kids tell me, regular classes can be a jungle. Most kids in honors are more concerned about their grades (not all, but most). So you have more effective use of class time vs regular where there are more kids who don't care about school.

Can anyone answer why LCPS only has a 1 day/week program? And have any of you had success convincing the base school to group all the FUTURA kids into one classroom and allowing them to be around like-minded peers the rest of the days of the week? How do other schools organize their FUTURA kids? (My son's school disperses the kids among the different classes) AND once they move on to Middle School how is the quality of the Honors courses? Are they challenging?

Hi, how do you go about viewing your child's portfolio? Make an appointment with the SEARCH teacher?

DS was in Future, now in Spectrum in Loudoun. He was one percentile below the cut off to go in the automatic pool. But his third grade teacher believed strongly he should be in and wrote a recommendation. We did nothing other than submit the application with her recommendation.

We got the response, but my kid didn't accept.
I hope that your son or daughter is accepted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi,
Did anyone receive the decision on their FUTURA Appeal? Thank you.

yes, we got it

Does that mean you got a response or does it mean your child was accepted?

Anonymous wrote:Hi,
Did anyone receive the decision on their FUTURA Appeal? Thank you.

yes, we got it

Hi,
Did anyone receive the decision on their FUTURA Appeal? Thank you.

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

I am appealing for the LCPS, Futura program. My DD has the qualifying scores, but didn't have teacher recommendation.

I have 2 recommendation letters, one from piano teacher and one from a non-profit organization. I also have a robotics work sample. Can someone give me couple more examples of what can be submitted that would a bigger impact?

I'm the poster from 06/07/2016 07:02 above, where you can see what we submitted. I'm not sure why your DD didn't get a teacher recommendation. Is he/she only allowed to only write so many? I would think it would be pretty hard to get in w/out a recommendation from the teacher who knows your child the best.

Hi,

I am appealing for the LCPS, Futura program. My DD has the qualifying scores, but didn't have teacher recommendation.

I have 2 recommendation letters, one from piano teacher and one from a non-profit organization. I also have a robotics work sample. Can someone give me couple more examples of what can be submitted that would a bigger impact?

Thank you for the prompt response and appreciate the information.

Anonymous wrote:PP, Did you submit a recommendation letter too in addition to the art work and story? I was wondering if appealing is worth without a recommendation letter. Would anyone whose appeal worked let us know if they didn't have to submit a recommendation letter?

PP here. Her 3rd grade teacher recommended her, but I don't think we pursued another recommendation from her 4th grade teacher. In fact, she had a sub for the last half of 4th grade, which is probably why. If your child is doing well in 4th grade, it probably wouldn't hurt to ask, though. I think the more information, the better, especially if it helps your case.

PP, Did you submit a recommendation letter too in addition to the art work and story? I was wondering if appealing is worth without a recommendation letter. Would anyone whose appeal worked let us know if they didn't have to submit a recommendation letter?

Also, I'm reminded we submitted some of her art work and a short story she'd written. She's really good at both.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our daughter was denied for 4th grade, appealed , and was admitted for 5th grade. I'm told this was a rare exception.

May I ask if you don't mind, what materials you submitted to the appeal? I'm sending and appeal and trying to think what materials to send over when they ask for it. I have talked to the search teacher and the portfolio they sent wasn't impressive at all. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks!

As I recall, there's a questionaire you fill out to assess your child in different areas. The first time we submitted it we assigned values to each of the different questions but didn't elaborate in the space space provided. That was a mistake, so we made sure to explain in words why she was strong in, say, problem solving, by providing examples. I would say it was worth it because they do some really neat things. Now she's in spectrum (MS) and is still with most of her friends from Futura.