Anonymous
Post 05/27/2010 22:39     Subject: Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
Hi there,

After we sent out the appeal, we received a school notice saying that she is eligible for local school-based services (level III).

Base on your experience, plese advise which one is better: GT center or local GT program?

Thanks!
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2010 21:51     Subject: Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
I asked the same question of the AAP office, and according to a voicemail I received, the WISC report does NOT count towards the 10 page max. Good luck with the appeal.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2010 21:51     Subject: Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
The AART at DC's school told me that the WISC scores do not count toward the page limit.
Anonymous
Post 05/27/2010 21:22     Subject: Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
We're submitting an ineligibility appeal. The instructions say to include a maximum of 10 pages (student work and additional information). My question is, does anyone know if a WISC IV report counts within the 10 page maximum, or can we exceed that limit if we have 5 pages of student work, 1 page of additional information, and 5 pages of the WISC IV report (making 11 pages total)?

The wording of the instructions makes it look like the WISC IV report would not count towards the 10 page maximum.

Thanks in advance!
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2010 13:15     Subject: Re:Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
Anonymous wrote:We are preparing an appeal pkg for ur son and I am at a loss as to what to write in the parents info. Can someone give some examples they used in a successful appeal?

His scores were 132 COGAT and NNAT and he was marked very low by his teacher, 5 on the other score. He was just diaganosed with ADHD two weeks ago and we feel that really impacted his scores. His teacher has mentioned to us he would have done much better on the testing if he could sit still and focus. He gets all Ss and Os on his report card and would really benfit from the AAP education track.

THX.


I would write a letter with this "new information" (bolded above).
Anonymous
Post 05/26/2010 10:29     Subject: Re:Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
We are preparing an appeal pkg for ur son and I am at a loss as to what to write in the parents info. Can someone give some examples they used in a successful appeal?

His scores were 132 COGAT and NNAT and he was marked very low by his teacher, 5 on the other score. He was just diaganosed with ADHD two weeks ago and we feel that really impacted his scores. His teacher has mentioned to us he would have done much better on the testing if he could sit still and focus. He gets all Ss and Os on his report card and would really benfit from the AAP education track.

THX.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2010 09:55     Subject: Re:Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
Our daughter is GT-center eligible and we have decided to have her go to GT center instead of staying at her local school's GT class. She came home one day and told me that her teacher asked students to raise their hands if they will not be staying in the school next school year, and she was the only one. I have been getting emails from her teacher pressuring why we made the decision to transfer her to GT center.

Does anyone here have similar experiences?



This is totally unacceptable. I would be in the principal's office TODAY raising hell. There is NO excuse for the teacher singling out your child in front of the whole class. That is NOT ok. We're talking about a 2nd-grader, for goodness sake!

If the teacher has legitimate concerns about you moving your child to another school, she should set up a meeting to talk with you.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2010 10:24     Subject: Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
Anonymous wrote:Our daughter is GT-center eligible and we have decided to have her go to GT center instead of staying at her local school's GT class. She came home one day and told me that her teacher asked students to raise their hands if they will not be staying in the school next school year, and she was the only one. I have been getting emails from her teacher pressuring why we made the decision to transfer her to GT center.

Does anyone here have similar experiences?


I am sorry you and your daughter are facing such pressure. I would contact your school's principal. I might even contact the school counselor as well.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2010 10:22     Subject: Re:Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
Anonymous wrote:PP, that is horrible and I would complain!!!!

At our school, there is nothing that overt, but there is definitely a subtle pressure to keep center eligible kids at the school. And the reality for them is that the more Level IV eligible kids that go to the center, the less strong the Local Level IV program will be. But at our school it's more of a "we're such a happy family here and they are cold and cruel there, so why would you want to leave?" kind of vibe. And for some people that is true, but not all.


Wow, you are describing our base school. The school principal really pushed hard on me (not on my DC, thank goodness) to stay at the base school where there would be two other Center-eligible kids. DC went to the Center and has had the first great school year ever in his life.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2010 10:16     Subject: Re:Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
PP, that is horrible and I would complain!!!!

At our school, there is nothing that overt, but there is definitely a subtle pressure to keep center eligible kids at the school. And the reality for them is that the more Level IV eligible kids that go to the center, the less strong the Local Level IV program will be. But at our school it's more of a "we're such a happy family here and they are cold and cruel there, so why would you want to leave?" kind of vibe. And for some people that is true, but not all.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2010 10:09     Subject: Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
Our daughter is GT-center eligible and we have decided to have her go to GT center instead of staying at her local school's GT class. She came home one day and told me that her teacher asked students to raise their hands if they will not be staying in the school next school year, and she was the only one. I have been getting emails from her teacher pressuring why we made the decision to transfer her to GT center.

Does anyone here have similar experiences?
Anonymous
Post 05/18/2010 16:44     Subject: Re:Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
Need advice. I just got my son'sWISC score:

FSIQ - 130
VCI - 126
PRI - 135
WMI - 123
PSI - 106

Is this a good score for making an appeal? His NNAT is 143, CogAt is 129, GBRS is 6.

GMU didn't give us the GAI report. Should we request for that? Some pprevious posts said GAI score might be higher because it doesn't include WMI and PSI. Which one will FCPS accept, FSIQ or GAI? Any experience? Thanks!
Anonymous
Post 05/17/2010 14:30     Subject: Re:Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
Anonymous wrote:My son got very good scores (NNAT-143, CogAt-129) yet still got rejected because his GBRS was very low(6). His teacher said he talked a lot and could not get school work completed, though she also admitted he did very well academically in math and reading. GBRS is very subjective because it is only based on his t eacher's opinion. All the other members in his local committe don't even have much interaction with my son. When we met his AAP teacher last week, she pulled out his files and said two work samples were not impressive. When we questioned why she didn't let us know before submitting the package, she avoided the question and said let's look forward. She kept saying she had 65 kids and couldn't look through each of them carefully. I don't think we've got support from the school. I'm waiting for my son's WISC score to make the appeal.


Sorry, PP!

I think your experience is not uncommon, though. The AARTs seem to play favorites or they vary in quality greatly from one school to the next.
Anonymous
Post 05/17/2010 14:25     Subject: Re:Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
My son got very good scores (NNAT-143, CogAt-129) yet still got rejected because his GBRS was very low(6). His teacher said he talked a lot and could not get school work completed, though she also admitted he did very well academically in math and reading. GBRS is very subjective because it is only based on his t eacher's opinion. All the other members in his local committe don't even have much interaction with my son. When we met his AAP teacher last week, she pulled out his files and said two work samples were not impressive. When we questioned why she didn't let us know before submitting the package, she avoided the question and said let's look forward. She kept saying she had 65 kids and couldn't look through each of them carefully. I don't think we've got support from the school. I'm waiting for my son's WISC score to make the appeal.
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2010 20:04     Subject: Fairfax County GT/AAP Decisions
I bet she'll find some friends at the GT center. DD has a friend that's got no academic peers (she's way way ahead) at their AAP center but she has found friendship and kindred spirits there. It's definitely been a better fit for her.