Anonymous wrote:Two of my children were eligible for the Advanced Academic Program (AAP). Their base school is WM, however, we decided to have all of them attend HW for convenience.
From a parent's perspective, we've had a great experience with HW's administration. The principal and assistant principal have been very responsive to any issues we've had, and we've joked that HW is more suitable for our family, poor and without privilege, while WM is more for the upper class and with privilege. Their AAP teachers are amazing. Classmates are highly motivated. My youngest one is in 1st grade, the teacher is incredible (the best teacher I ever met). The down side is commuting. They usually come home at 5pm while classes are dismissed at 3.30pm. With one extra curriculum activity right after 5pm, they literally have no time left before sleep.
From my children's perspective, classmates are great but learn like crazy (???). Kids outside of their classes are much meaner (they share special classes with gened kids) than their friends at WM. Teachers are nice but stricter, not as relaxed as the ones in WM. A lot of school works (understandable because they started HW from 3rd grade, a milestone where real learning happens). The commute is too long. Generally, two younger ones like WM better.
Thank you! This is helpful information. Do your kids ride the school bus? About how large are the AAP classes, and are they mostly filled with kids from Waples Mill?