Similar situation in Robinson pyramid (kids go out of pyramid for ES and middle if they choose centers, then back for hs).

Many families opt to do ES at center and then transition back for MS (to avoid another transition).

I don’t think starting in HS is a massive deal though. At these massive schools, kids have not even met everyone by the end of middle school. A new high schooler may be in a class with non-new kids who don’t have friends in that class.

It would be a little tough but not a sucky experience transitioning back to base in 9th. But transitioning in 7th is also an option. My opinion is AAP in middle is not as big of a deal (since advanced math track is separate).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have some concerns about choosing an AAP Center over staying at our base school.

If we switch to our Center school we would go to Bull Run ES. If our kid decides to do Center MS, then we go to Rocky Run. Rocky Run feeds to Chantilly, and it is my understanding that kid would NOT be able to go to Chantilly, and would have to switch back to our base High School.

Therefore he would lose all the friendships he made at Bull Run and Rocky Run leaving him to have a sucky HS experience. Is that correct?

BTDT with our oldest.
There is a cohort of non-AAP students from Bull Run who go to Westfield as well as AAP kids who went to Rocky Run from middle school so it's likely your child will keep some friends throughout. Our youngest two did not do AAP and there were a lot of problems at the base MS that were unheard of at Rocky Run. It was like night and day.

Anonymous wrote:If you have a kid at a center school, I was told the sibling can attend as well. If they graduate and younger sibling isn’t in aap they have to go back to their home school

Only some center schools allow sibling placement. Ours does not.

If you have a kid at a center school, I was told the sibling can attend as well. If they graduate and younger sibling isn’t in aap they have to go back to their home school

Anonymous wrote:I have some concerns about choosing an AAP Center over staying at our base school.

If we switch to our Center school we would go to Bull Run ES. If our kid decides to do Center MS, then we go to Rocky Run. Rocky Run feeds to Chantilly, and it is my understanding that kid would NOT be able to go to Chantilly, and would have to switch back to our base High School.

Therefore he would lose all the friendships he made at Bull Run and Rocky Run leaving him to have a sucky HS experience. Is that correct?

BTDT with our oldest.
There is a cohort of non-AAP students from Bull Run who go to Westfield as well as AAP kids who went to Rocky Run from middle school so it's likely your child will keep some friends throughout. Our youngest two did not do AAP and there were a lot of problems at the base MS that were unheard of at Rocky Run. It was like night and day.

Anonymous wrote:I think this really varies by school. We are at a huge non-center school and most kids stay there instead of transferring to the center. We have more than one dedicated advanced math, but the language arts is mixed.

I did the old school FCPS GT program, and I do not like what that separation does to kids. (Making kids feel superior or inferior). I would be wary of having that happen within my family.

This is the way.

Find a house in a non-center school neighborhood that still has enough AAP kids to fill up a couple of classes.

Anonymous wrote:

If we switch to our Center school we would go to Bull Run ES. If our kid decides to do Center MS, then we go to Rocky Run. Rocky Run feeds to Chantilly, and it is my understanding that kid would NOT be able to go to Chantilly, and would have to switch back to our base High School.

Therefore he would lose all the friendships he made at Bull Run and Rocky Run leaving him to have a sucky HS experience. Is that correct?

I don't know about the sucky HS experience part, but yes, he would likely lose a few friendships. All of Rocky Run feeds into Chantilly except for some AAP kids who would end up going to (I think) Westfields HS or Centreville HS. The vast majority of Rocky Run would go to Chantilly. They might have a few fellow AAP friends that would go to their HS with them. I agree it sucks.

It seems unlikely that you would be able to student transfer to Chantilly given how overcrowded Chantilly is, unless there's a good reason. Just my impression.

I have some concerns about choosing an AAP Center over staying at our base school.

If we switch to our Center school we would go to Bull Run ES. If our kid decides to do Center MS, then we go to Rocky Run. Rocky Run feeds to Chantilly, and it is my understanding that kid would NOT be able to go to Chantilly, and would have to switch back to our base High School.

Therefore he would lose all the friendships he made at Bull Run and Rocky Run leaving him to have a sucky HS experience. Is that correct?

I teach at a LL4. My class makeup of Level 4 kids range from 50 percent to 75 percent. It varies by year. The rest of the class are other high achieving kids. I will say this. There are many kids who are labeled Level 4 (at center and at LL4) who you question how they got in, because their performance isn’t great. There are Level 3 kids who out perform some Level 4 kids. This is true for ALL schools. Also, AAP teachers have three years to get certified. Not all schools have certified teachers. You want to find a school that has a strong AAP team with years of experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can look up the numbers for the past 3 years for any elementary school in FCPS.
https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13::::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P0_EDSL:017,0
For the 2023-24 school year Colvin Run had:
548 General Education Students
181 Level IV AAP Students
179 Level II, III AAP Students
29 English Language Learners
152 Special Education Students

But this doesn’t tell you anything about whether non-AAP IV students are in the AAP IV classes. At Colvin Run there are three general education classes, and two AAP IV classes. AAP III kids rotate in for math but otherwise the classrooms are self contained outside of specials.
I had never considered that some of the kids in the AAP IV classes were actually principal placed.
If a kid is principal placed, do you as a parent know this? Like you get the no from central AAP and then end up in one of the AAP classes anyway? Or do you get a yes like everyone else and never know it was a principal placement?

You as a parent know. I have friends whose kids were principal placed who didn't apply in any way to level IV. Their teachers identified the kids as good candidates, the parents agreed, and that was that. Princpal placement is for a single year only and not a guarantee. Most importantly to people who care, it doesn't impact middle school.

This is important. My kid was in and out depending on capacity. I think they ended in for 2 years, out for 2 years. As a gen ed parent, it's angering how much better the LA curriculum is. Not just the pacing, but the quality of the curriculum

Anonymous wrote:It’s always changing. Our local level iv groups kids differently each year based on numbers.

In the end, do what’s right for your family. Most kids will succeed in any environment.

Another potential option is to sibling-place your younger at the center school. My kid is at an AAP center, and I know a few who do that. At the orientation, the principal gave the caveat that in theory, sibling placements are evaluated year to year (but that in practice, they have never denied a sibling placement).

It's generally tied to capacity. Oak Hill for example is currently undergoing renovations and was not accepting sibling placements last year or the current one. That position will likely change as renovations finish and capacity normalizes again.

It’s always changing. Our local level iv groups kids differently each year based on numbers.

In the end, do what’s right for your family. Most kids will succeed in any environment.

Another potential option is to sibling-place your younger at the center school. My kid is at an AAP center, and I know a few who do that. At the orientation, the principal gave the caveat that in theory, sibling placements are evaluated year to year (but that in practice, they have never denied a sibling placement).

Our school is not a center school, and it is unusual for kids to leave to attend the center, which is just a few minutes away.

I have a 4th grader in Level IV. This year, there is at least one Level IV-specific class in each grade. Last year, kids were clustered across all of the classrooms, AFAIK. I don't know if they will stick with the current system going forward. In short, it varies between schools and from year to year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can look up the numbers for the past 3 years for any elementary school in FCPS.
https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13::::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P0_EDSL:017,0
For the 2023-24 school year Colvin Run had: 548 General Education Students
181 Level IV AAP Students
179 Level II, III AAP Students
29 English Language Learners
152 Special Education Students

But this doesn’t tell you anything about whether non-AAP IV students are in the AAP IV classes. At Colvin Run there are three general education classes, and two AAP IV classes. AAP III kids rotate in for math but otherwise the classrooms are self contained outside of specials.
I had never considered that some of the kids in the AAP IV classes were actually principal placed.
If a kid is principal placed, do you as a parent know this? Like you get the no from central AAP and then end up in one of the AAP classes anyway? Or do you get a yes like everyone else and never know it was a principal placement?

This can help by looking up the specific elementary schools where your kids would be zoned if you move. If the school is a center school has less than the number of kids to make one class per grade of AAP, that would be a good indication that the classes have principal placement into AAP. Similar if the numbers indicate enough for 1.5 AAP classes per grade. It takes a bit of digging, but if you are only looking at a few specific schools this is a good start.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can look up the numbers for the past 3 years for any elementary school in FCPS.
https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13::::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P0_EDSL:017,0
For the 2023-24 school year Colvin Run had:
548 General Education Students
181 Level IV AAP Students
179 Level II, III AAP Students
29 English Language Learners
152 Special Education Students

But this doesn’t tell you anything about whether non-AAP IV students are in the AAP IV classes. At Colvin Run there are three general education classes, and two AAP IV classes. AAP III kids rotate in for math but otherwise the classrooms are self contained outside of specials.
I had never considered that some of the kids in the AAP IV classes were actually principal placed.
If a kid is principal placed, do you as a parent know this? Like you get the no from central AAP and then end up in one of the AAP classes anyway? Or do you get a yes like everyone else and never know it was a principal placement?

You as a parent know. I have friends whose kids were principal placed who didn't apply in any way to level IV. Their teachers identified the kids as good candidates, the parents agreed, and that was that. Princpal placement is for a single year only and not a guarantee. Most importantly to people who care, it doesn't impact middle school.

Anonymous wrote:You can look up the numbers for the past 3 years for any elementary school in FCPS.
https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13::::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P0_EDSL:017,0
For the 2023-24 school year Colvin Run had:
548 General Education Students
181 Level IV AAP Students
179 Level II, III AAP Students
29 English Language Learners
152 Special Education Students

But this doesn’t tell you anything about whether non-AAP IV students are in the AAP IV classes. At Colvin Run there are three general education classes, and two AAP IV classes. AAP III kids rotate in for math but otherwise the classrooms are self contained outside of specials.
I had never considered that some of the kids in the AAP IV classes were actually principal placed.
If a kid is principal placed, do you as a parent know this? Like you get the no from central AAP and then end up in one of the AAP classes anyway? Or do you get a yes like everyone else and never know it was a principal placement?