Anonymous wrote:How drastic is the difference in education and peer group. My first is in AAP and it’s a good fit. My second one is bright and in advanced math, but otherwise gen ed. Have you noticed major differences in both ES and middle school?

Anonymous wrote:We are at our base school and in 3rd grade some of the AAP kids are those that tested in, and the rest are the kids of the parents who complained the loudest. By 6th grade, the AAP class is twice the size of the gen Ed class and all PTA mom kids and wealthy children are in it. Gen Ed is full of non-Asian immigrants, less wealthy children, and those with learning differences. Many AAP kids have a very entitled attitude. My child in AAP misses time with her gen Ed friends and doesn’t enjoy the AAP peer group.

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Anonymous wrote:Of course there are differences. The peer group is most different.

Both my kids are in AAP and they do not get mixed with gen Ed kids. It is like a segregated school at their AAP center.

I’m an AAP parent and parents like you are so insufferable. The reality is that except for a small minority, the difference between bright gen ed kids and AAP is minimal. In middle school, it matters less and in high school, it doesn’t matter at all.

This made me laugh out loud, heartily.

We were at an AAP Center school and I assure you that "segregated" is more or less how it was run. They did not mix for electives, field trips, nothing. When 6th grade graduation came around -a big deal at our school- the AAP parents wanted a separate ceremony for them. And I had one parent tell me, thinking my child was in AAP, that they were nervous about MS but hoped the "AAP kids could just stick to themselves."

Insufferable applies here but not to who you think it does.

Anonymous wrote:I have two kids in level III services. It's hard not to feel like I've failed my kids when reading DCUM. Like any decently intelligent kid coming from educated parents should just be able to get their kids into level IV. And not just DCUM. I've had parents ask me on playdates if my kids are in AAP. It's just weird. Like I both feel awful that they are not in level IV services and I think this whole system is royally F-up.

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Anonymous wrote:I keep reading on this thread that AAP vs non AAP is a wash once the kids get to middle school.

If this is the case, why have AAP in elementary at all?

You probably don’t have a 2E kid so your kid doesn’t need it. I think AAP is best for 2E kids.

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Anonymous wrote:I know AAP parents don’t want I hear this but it’s a washout come high school. If the kid is bright and has good home support, they will end up in the same classes. Things that made a difference-love of reading, solid extracurriculars, encouraging them to pursue their interests.
The saddest part of all of this is that kids pick up on this whole AAP vs. not AAP in lower grades.

I think if you study the data - most AAP kids will do better in high school. There will be some outliers who don’t. And the reverse is true - there will be some outliers not in AAP who do just as well as the kids in AAP but it won’t be the majority.

What data? Please link to a specific FCPS study that backs up your claim.

Feel feted to share your data that shows the opposite. My data is only based on one school math data as a teacher.

What if a child is in advanced math but not AAP? Any data for that?

Or advanced language arts but not math? There are too many kids who are advanced in one subject but not in others to lump them al into one “advanced” grouping.

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Anonymous wrote:We are at our base school and in 3rd grade some of the AAP kids are those that tested in, and the rest are the kids of the parents who complained the loudest. By 6th grade, the AAP class is twice the size of the gen Ed class and all PTA mom kids and wealthy children are in it. Gen Ed is full of non-Asian immigrants, less wealthy children, and those with learning differences. Many AAP kids have a very entitled attitude. My child in AAP misses time with her gen Ed friends and doesn’t enjoy the AAP peer group.

It's just silly at this point.

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Anonymous wrote:I know AAP parents don’t want I hear this but it’s a washout come high school. If the kid is bright and has good home support, they will end up in the same classes. Things that made a difference-love of reading, solid extracurriculars, encouraging them to pursue their interests.
The saddest part of all of this is that kids pick up on this whole AAP vs. not AAP in lower grades.

I think if you study the data - most AAP kids will do better in high school. There will be some outliers who don’t. And the reverse is true - there will be some outliers not in AAP who do just as well as the kids in AAP but it won’t be the majority.

What data? Please link to a specific FCPS study that backs up your claim.

Feel feted to share your data that shows the opposite. My data is only based on one school math data as a teacher.

What if a child is in advanced math but not AAP? Any data for that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know AAP parents don’t want I hear this but it’s a washout come high school. If the kid is bright and has good home support, they will end up in the same classes. Things that made a difference-love of reading, solid extracurriculars, encouraging them to pursue their interests.
The saddest part of all of this is that kids pick up on this whole AAP vs. not AAP in lower grades.

I think if you study the data - most AAP kids will do better in high school. There will be some outliers who don’t. And the reverse is true - there will be some outliers not in AAP who do just as well as the kids in AAP but it won’t be the majority.

What data? Please link to a specific FCPS study that backs up your claim.

Feel feted to share your data that shows the opposite. My data is only based on one school math data as a teacher.

Anonymous wrote:AAP center kid: 13-15 kids per classroom per year; western Fairfax; title 1 school but wealthier overall compared to title 1 base school

Base school kid: 1 point lower on CoGAT; good GBRS; immersion program (went from 3 to 1 class from K to 6); better teachers overall BUT they admit that they are unable to do as much with Level 3 kids like DC bc after breaks other kids need A LOT more hand holding — it sucks

The biggest difference is the expectations that FCPS has for non-AAP students. When I was in school, the AAP stuff was the standard for everyone. FCPS has not figured out how to walk and chew gum simultaneously. That is, keeping pace up for LEvel 2-3 kids while bringing up the rear. Vast majority of ESL kids here are bilingual by the time they get to K, so understanding instructions is not the issue. Attendance is, as well as rewards for truant kids (may help truant kids stay in school, but others decide to follow suit, because they see the boss kids getting rewarded. Ugh.) All the kids are smart — just in different ways. It is just that the system is not set up right now to provide an education for most kids not in Level 4 despite best efforts of teachers. The system is broken.

Anonymous wrote:We are at our base school and in 3rd grade some of the AAP kids are those that tested in, and the rest are the kids of the parents who complained the loudest. By 6th grade, the AAP class is twice the size of the gen Ed class and all PTA mom kids and wealthy children are in it. Gen Ed is full of non-Asian immigrants, less wealthy children, and those with learning differences. Many AAP kids have a very entitled attitude. My child in AAP misses time with her gen Ed friends and doesn’t enjoy the AAP peer group.