Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m left with many questions after looking at Arlington Tech’s “Physical Therapy” program.

None of the DE classes listed are part of the PTA program at NOVA. None of this is transferring to any real PT program.

And the AT website states students will be prepared to take the Physical Therapy Technician/Aide Exam. (Note: there’s no such thing.)

Physical Therapy is a doctoral degree now. Even a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) needs an A.S. degree and must pass a national board exam in order to practice.

This program prepares a student to be an AIDE (unlicensed), not an ASSISTANT (licensed). And guess what? Most clinics hire aides without any training at all. They can be taught to get a hot pack without any formal physical therapy training.

Anyone wanting to become an actual PT would be better served focusing on traditional science courses in high school, rather than wasting time on this.

Physical therapy is not a mandatory doctoral program? Please ask questions when they have their tours, I’d like answers, too. I also have questions about some of the pathways.

A quick google search shows that the entry level degree for physical therapists is a DPT. Some older therapists got masters degrees, before the switch occurred.

Anonymous wrote:I’m left with many questions after looking at Arlington Tech’s “Physical Therapy” program.

None of the DE classes listed are part of the PTA program at NOVA. None of this is transferring to any real PT program.

And the AT website states students will be prepared to take the Physical Therapy Technician/Aide Exam. (Note: there’s no such thing.)

Physical Therapy is a doctoral degree now. Even a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) needs an A.S. degree and must pass a national board exam in order to practice.

This program prepares a student to be an AIDE (unlicensed), not an ASSISTANT (licensed). And guess what? Most clinics hire aides without any training at all. They can be taught to get a hot pack without any formal physical therapy training.

Anyone wanting to become an actual PT would be better served focusing on traditional science courses in high school, rather than wasting time on this.

Physical therapy is not a mandatory doctoral program? Please ask questions when they have their tours, I’d like answers, too. I also have questions about some of the pathways.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m left with many questions after looking at Arlington Tech’s “Physical Therapy” program.

None of the DE classes listed are part of the PTA program at NOVA. None of this is transferring to any real PT program.

And the AT website states students will be prepared to take the Physical Therapy Technician/Aide Exam. (Note: there’s no such thing.)

Physical Therapy is a doctoral degree now. Even a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) needs an A.S. degree and must pass a national board exam in order to practice.

This program prepares a student to be an AIDE (unlicensed), not an ASSISTANT (licensed). And guess what? Most clinics hire aides without any training at all. They can be taught to get a hot pack without any formal physical therapy training.

Anyone wanting to become an actual PT would be better served focusing on traditional science courses in high school, rather than wasting time on this.

Kids at AT also take the traditional science courses so…

That’s great. But, make no mistake, this PT program is fluff.

Now, when we look at the offerings and rigor at TJ, that’s a different story.

I’m not saying that AT is bad, but the two schools are in no way comparable.

No one said they were.

Kids aren't really "better served focusing on traditional science courses in high school" because they still have take those courses anyway. These are electives.

I understand. But, these courses are a bit misleading and may make some families believe that taking them will help their student get into PT school. They won’t.

Students only have room for so many electives. Some courses are more meaningful than others. These are for funsies. (Unlike many TJ electives.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with a previous poster who implied that kids at TJ aren’t interested in science or engineering—that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Did not say or imply that no kids at TJ are interested in science or engineering.

Did say that many are really pre-med with no interest in working in either science or engineering -- and that both has long been true at TJ and also remains true at TJ.

"Many" is neither "most" nor "all". Please read posts carefully.

Are you familiar with pre-med coursework? It's mostly science.

Pre-med is STEM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m left with many questions after looking at Arlington Tech’s “Physical Therapy” program.

None of the DE classes listed are part of the PTA program at NOVA. None of this is transferring to any real PT program.

And the AT website states students will be prepared to take the Physical Therapy Technician/Aide Exam. (Note: there’s no such thing.)

Physical Therapy is a doctoral degree now. Even a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) needs an A.S. degree and must pass a national board exam in order to practice.

This program prepares a student to be an AIDE (unlicensed), not an ASSISTANT (licensed). And guess what? Most clinics hire aides without any training at all. They can be taught to get a hot pack without any formal physical therapy training.

Anyone wanting to become an actual PT would be better served focusing on traditional science courses in high school, rather than wasting time on this.

Kids at AT also take the traditional science courses so…

That’s great. But, make no mistake, this PT program is fluff.

Now, when we look at the offerings and rigor at TJ, that’s a different story.

I’m not saying that AT is bad, but the two schools are in no way comparable.

No one said they were.

Kids aren't really "better served focusing on traditional science courses in high school" because they still have take those courses anyway. These are electives.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with a previous poster who implied that kids at TJ aren’t interested in science or engineering—that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Did not say or imply that no kids at TJ are interested in science or engineering.

Did say that many are really pre-med with no interest in working in either science or engineering -- and that both has long been true at TJ and also remains true at TJ.

"Many" is neither "most" nor "all". Please read posts carefully.

Yeah, I agree. She really went off the rails.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m left with many questions after looking at Arlington Tech’s “Physical Therapy” program.

None of the DE classes listed are part of the PTA program at NOVA. None of this is transferring to any real PT program.

And the AT website states students will be prepared to take the Physical Therapy Technician/Aide Exam. (Note: there’s no such thing.)

Physical Therapy is a doctoral degree now. Even a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) needs an A.S. degree and must pass a national board exam in order to practice.

This program prepares a student to be an AIDE (unlicensed), not an ASSISTANT (licensed). And guess what? Most clinics hire aides without any training at all. They can be taught to get a hot pack without any formal physical therapy training.

Anyone wanting to become an actual PT would be better served focusing on traditional science courses in high school, rather than wasting time on this.

Kids at AT also take the traditional science courses so…

That’s great. But, make no mistake, this PT program is fluff.

Now, when we look at the offerings and rigor at TJ, that’s a different story.

I’m not saying that AT is bad, but the two schools are in no way comparable.

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with a previous poster who implied that kids at TJ aren’t interested in science or engineering—that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Did not say or imply that no kids at TJ are interested in science or engineering.

Did say that many are really pre-med with no interest in working in either science or engineering -- and that both has long been true at TJ and also remains true at TJ.

"Many" is neither "most" nor "all". Please read posts carefully.

Anonymous wrote:I’m left with many questions after looking at Arlington Tech’s “Physical Therapy” program.

None of the DE classes listed are part of the PTA program at NOVA. None of this is transferring to any real PT program.

And the AT website states students will be prepared to take the Physical Therapy Technician/Aide Exam. (Note: there’s no such thing.)

Physical Therapy is a doctoral degree now. Even a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) needs an A.S. degree and must pass a national board exam in order to practice.

This program prepares a student to be an AIDE (unlicensed), not an ASSISTANT (licensed). And guess what? Most clinics hire aides without any training at all. They can be taught to get a hot pack without any formal physical therapy training.

Anyone wanting to become an actual PT would be better served focusing on traditional science courses in high school, rather than wasting time on this.

Kids at AT also take the traditional science courses so…

I’m left with many questions after looking at Arlington Tech’s “Physical Therapy” program.

None of the DE classes listed are part of the PTA program at NOVA. None of this is transferring to any real PT program.

And the AT website states students will be prepared to take the Physical Therapy Technician/Aide Exam. (Note: there’s no such thing.)

Physical Therapy is a doctoral degree now. Even a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) needs an A.S. degree and must pass a national board exam in order to practice.

This program prepares a student to be an AIDE (unlicensed), not an ASSISTANT (licensed). And guess what? Most clinics hire aides without any training at all. They can be taught to get a hot pack without any formal physical therapy training.

Anyone wanting to become an actual PT would be better served focusing on traditional science courses in high school, rather than wasting time on this.

As a parent of an Arlington kid at TJ, I think the fact that Arlington Tech has a different model is great. Arlington kids already have access to TJ, so there’s no need (or, realistically, ability) to recreate that model here. Instead, offering something with a different approach and unique opportunities increases options for all our kids. That’s what Loudoun County does with its academies—kids in that county have access to both in-county magnet programs and TJ, offering a variety of opportunities. So, too, with Arlington.

I disagree with a previous poster who implied that kids at TJ aren’t interested in science or engineering—that couldn’t be farther from the truth. TJ supports kids across a broad spectrum of interests, and has incredible in-house lab space for engineering classes. In fact, when touring colleges, my future engineer has noted that some of the college labs he’s seen are less advanced than TJ’s.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the needs of very smart kids can be served at our current high schools, or they can apply to tj. Stem focus for kids that may not be in the 1%. Any child can take classes at tech too under the current model. I do not see a benefit to making it more exclusive, and I have a child there

100%

Arlington Tech is for STEM kids, not for prestige seekers.

Agree.

Also, TJ has many students who really are pre-med and are not really interested in working in STEM. (Aside: M = Math, not medicine). APS still sends some kids to TJ. Those in APS who want TJ have that option already.

This lets Arlington Tech be different from TJ and focus more on students who actually want to work in science, engineering, and math. I would much rather have DC go to AT than TJ.

APS is all about having options and choices. This is a very good thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish there was a middle ground between pressure cooker AAP FCPS and everyone’s a winner no homework APS.

People who post these kinds of things don't have kids in APS taking more rigorous classes.

Or they have kids in middle school. I really wish APS had more rigorous middle school options to help kids build good study habits. But by high school there are definitely opportunities for challenge!

Anonymous wrote:I think the needs of very smart kids can be served at our current high schools, or they can apply to tj. Stem focus for kids that may not be in the 1%. Any child can take classes at tech too under the current model. I do not see a benefit to making it more exclusive, and I have a child there

100%

Arlington Tech is for STEM kids, not for prestige seekers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish there was a middle ground between pressure cooker AAP FCPS and everyone’s a winner no homework APS.

No homework? Are you kidding?

PP probably doesn’t even have kids in APS.