Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if that's what they want, they wont be satisfied.

Sounds like the spouse wants the children to receive a classical education. There’s a whole movement for that, but it’s outside public schools. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_education_movement.

How does encouraging reading full length books constitute a separate educational movement?? I don't believe Langley has any affiliation to this, but there were several assigned novels. Will 6th grade be more robust, maybe I can convince spouse that we return for 6th, as awkward that is socially...

You seem to be insistent upon finding the answer you're looking for when it just isn't there. APS reading and writing curriculum does not have the same baseline expectations as a private school. Period. That isn't going to change next year. As a parent of two APS students since kindergarten, now both in high school, APS has gone DOWN in quality. Still have great teachers; but when those great teachers are not allowed to vary the curriculum or venture beyond it, it doesn't matter how great they are. The curriculum you are looking for is not likely going to be in APS.

Talk directly with the principals at the schools your child will be attending (5th, MS, and HS) Ask parents specifically from those schools what their kids' experiences were/are. Listen to what they tell you - don't keep trying to get them to confirm what you're hoping to hear so you can persuade your spouse.

FWIW, 6th grade is a much more logical time to transition than 5th in Arlington because we have the middle school system that begins with 6th. 5th grade is just being the new kid for one year. Does your elementary school all go to the same MS? Your kid is not guaranteed to be in classes with their 5th grade friends and friendships change throughout middle school - and even high school. Much easier to be the new kid when all their classmates are new to the school than it is to be the new kid at the end of elementary school.

She wouldn’t be new, she’d be returning to old friends, who OP states she misses

Regardless, 6th grade is not a bad time to return. Those old friends will be there, too, right?
But if the deciding factor is the reading curriculum, as evidenced by the comments in this thread, it doesn't get better through middle or high school. You and your spouse need to discuss what is really most important and how you are willing and able to accommodate those priorities: how much of a burden is the private school tuition? Is your child unhappy there or just missing old friends? Are there ways to keep in touch with the old friends while continuing at the private school? Is the social familiarity for 5th grade more important than the reading assignments, and can you supplement the reading in other ways in order to have both the social and the academics you want? Why do you really want to return to APS, and why does your spouse really not want to? Is it really about more than how many books are assigned -- 'cause it seems to me, that's just an indicator of an overall academic expectation and level of rigor and that's it's probably not just about the number of books a teacher assigns because a kid can always read more than what's assigned. For you, is this really about the tuition or that you feel really bad that your child misses their old friends so you're basing your decision on your child's feelings rather than actual needs and development?

You have your answer about APS reading expectations. It isn't what you were hoping for. So, if you're just looking for a way to persuade your spouse to return to APS, maybe it's time for a thorough chat to iron out all the real concerns and issues and just make a difficult decision together.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if that's what they want, they wont be satisfied.

Sounds like the spouse wants the children to receive a classical education. There’s a whole movement for that, but it’s outside public schools. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_education_movement.

How does encouraging reading full length books constitute a separate educational movement?? I don't believe Langley has any affiliation to this, but there were several assigned novels. Will 6th grade be more robust, maybe I can convince spouse that we return for 6th, as awkward that is socially...

You seem to be insistent upon finding the answer you're looking for when it just isn't there. APS reading and writing curriculum does not have the same baseline expectations as a private school. Period. That isn't going to change next year. As a parent of two APS students since kindergarten, now both in high school, APS has gone DOWN in quality. Still have great teachers; but when those great teachers are not allowed to vary the curriculum or venture beyond it, it doesn't matter how great they are. The curriculum you are looking for is not likely going to be in APS.

Talk directly with the principals at the schools your child will be attending (5th, MS, and HS) Ask parents specifically from those schools what their kids' experiences were/are. Listen to what they tell you - don't keep trying to get them to confirm what you're hoping to hear so you can persuade your spouse.

FWIW, 6th grade is a much more logical time to transition than 5th in Arlington because we have the middle school system that begins with 6th. 5th grade is just being the new kid for one year. Does your elementary school all go to the same MS? Your kid is not guaranteed to be in classes with their 5th grade friends and friendships change throughout middle school - and even high school. Much easier to be the new kid when all their classmates are new to the school than it is to be the new kid at the end of elementary school.

She wouldn’t be new, she’d be returning to old friends, who OP states she misses

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if that's what they want, they wont be satisfied.

Sounds like the spouse wants the children to receive a classical education. There’s a whole movement for that, but it’s outside public schools. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_education_movement.

How does encouraging reading full length books constitute a separate educational movement?? I don't believe Langley has any affiliation to this, but there were several assigned novels. Will 6th grade be more robust, maybe I can convince spouse that we return for 6th, as awkward that is socially...

You seem to be insistent upon finding the answer you're looking for when it just isn't there. APS reading and writing curriculum does not have the same baseline expectations as a private school. Period. That isn't going to change next year. As a parent of two APS students since kindergarten, now both in high school, APS has gone DOWN in quality. Still have great teachers; but when those great teachers are not allowed to vary the curriculum or venture beyond it, it doesn't matter how great they are. The curriculum you are looking for is not likely going to be in APS.

Talk directly with the principals at the schools your child will be attending (5th, MS, and HS) Ask parents specifically from those schools what their kids' experiences were/are. Listen to what they tell you - don't keep trying to get them to confirm what you're hoping to hear so you can persuade your spouse.

FWIW, 6th grade is a much more logical time to transition than 5th in Arlington because we have the middle school system that begins with 6th. 5th grade is just being the new kid for one year. Does your elementary school all go to the same MS? Your kid is not guaranteed to be in classes with their 5th grade friends and friendships change throughout middle school - and even high school. Much easier to be the new kid when all their classmates are new to the school than it is to be the new kid at the end of elementary school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given that she’s a sensitive developmental age (close to starting middle school) and wants to return I would send her back to APS, hire a tutor to assign reading and writing if you feel it’s necessary. My kid just finished 4th at ATS and did a lot of writing but no novels at home outside of his choice.

I want to send her back but spouse is skeptical that a school that doesn’t encourage reading is falling down in more ways than we can see.

Listen to your spouse. He's right.

Anonymous wrote:

Why in the world does have LC reading units prevent teachers from also saying "everyone pick a novel, read it over the next month, then write a paragraph about the book"?? I'm not looking for dissertations here.

Sounds like you're looking for old-fashioned book reports done as homework, which are not considered best practices anymore, since there is no guarantee that the kid is writing it themselves.

Oh please. BS. No guarantees the student is doing the work, therefore don't assign anything outside of class? Teachers ultimately can determine whether the student is doing their own work - if it doesn't match what they do on an in-class assignment or test, it raises suspicions If a teacher can't figure that out, they shouldn't be in a classroom.

Lady, no one has the answer for you. It is teacher/school dependent. I will say that in 6th grade all APS students take a separate reading and English class. So there is some assigned reading but it is mostly choice books rather than whole class assignments because of the wide variation in reading levels.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if that's what they want, they wont be satisfied.

Sounds like the spouse wants the children to receive a classical education. There’s a whole movement for that, but it’s outside public schools. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_education_movement.

How does encouraging reading full length books constitute a separate educational movement?? I don't believe Langley has any affiliation to this, but there were several assigned novels. Will 6th grade be more robust, maybe I can convince spouse that we return for 6th, as awkward that is socially...

Anonymous wrote:Given that she’s a sensitive developmental age (close to starting middle school) and wants to return I would send her back to APS, hire a tutor to assign reading and writing if you feel it’s necessary. My kid just finished 4th at ATS and did a lot of writing but no novels at home outside of his choice.

I want to send her back but spouse is skeptical that a school that doesn’t encourage reading is falling down in more ways than we can see.

Given that she’s a sensitive developmental age (close to starting middle school) and wants to return I would send her back to APS, hire a tutor to assign reading and writing if you feel it’s necessary. My kid just finished 4th at ATS and did a lot of writing but no novels at home outside of his choice.

Anonymous wrote:if that's what they want, they wont be satisfied.

Sounds like the spouse wants the children to receive a classical education. There’s a whole movement for that, but it’s outside public schools. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_education_movement.

if that's what they want, they wont be satisfied.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I’d recommend you stay in private. Not because I’m not a fan of APS- I’m a generally content APS parent. But because you are expecting a level of influence over teaching and curriculum common in private school (where you are paying for it) but not available at public school. You won’t be happy.

I don’t want much influence, I’m just asking what the baseline is to convince my spouse. They wanted emphasis on reading and writing, not just reading passages for SOL.

Honestly, I’d recommend you stay in private. Not because I’m not a fan of APS- I’m a generally content APS parent. But because you are expecting a level of influence over teaching and curriculum common in private school (where you are paying for it) but not available at public school. You won’t be happy.