Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are base school Franklin, but have DC1 in the Carson Center. So I can't speak from first hand knowledge. But, both the Franklin kids and parents in our neighborhood love the school, and say many of the things as PP: despite being a large school, it has a nurturing, community feeling and does a great job at making each student feel like an individual.

In fact, DC2 is looking at going LLIV Franklin next year instead of Carson Center (if there is still a choice). Maybe a Franklin parent can help me out. Franklin's website says they have about 120 students a grade (240 total) in Level 4. The school board's official tally says there are only 20 per grade that a Level 4 qualified. Which number is right? 120 per grade would be great, but seems unlikely given the number of Franklin zoned kids at Carson. Is Franklin taking kids who are LII & LIII qualified, using them to fill out an LLIV team, and counting them as level IV

Was looking for this data on the website but didn't see it -- would you mind providing a link? TIA!

http://m.fcps.edu/?task=get&url=http%3A%2F%2Fschoolprofiles.fcps.edu%2Fschlprfl%2Ff%3Fp%3D108%3A13%3A%3A%3A%3A%3AP0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID%3A331

Hopefully this works. It says 28% of tHe school (235 kids total) is level IV. That seems way off with so many kids at Carson.

Anonymous wrote: Is Franklin taking kids who are LII & LIII qualified, using them to fill out an LLIV team, and counting them as level IV

I don't know about the 8th grade, but I know the 7th grade classes (science, English, and history) are Level-IV-eligible-only. The whole team is not Level IV, but the classes the Level IV kids are in are only Level IV. The teachers who teach Level IV also teach regular classes, so the whole team is not Level IV.

Anonymous wrote:We are base school Franklin, but have DC1 in the Carson Center. So I can't speak from first hand knowledge. But, both the Franklin kids and parents in our neighborhood love the school, and say many of the things as PP: despite being a large school, it has a nurturing, community feeling and does a great job at making each student feel like an individual.

In fact, DC2 is looking at going LLIV Franklin next year instead of Carson Center (if there is still a choice). Maybe a Franklin parent can help me out. Franklin's website says they have about 120 students a grade (240 total) in Level 4. The school board's official tally says there are only 20 per grade that a Level 4 qualified. Which number is right? 120 per grade would be great, but seems unlikely given the number of Franklin zoned kids at Carson. Is Franklin taking kids who are LII & LIII qualified, using them to fill out an LLIV team, and counting them as level IV

Was looking for this data on the website but didn't see it -- would you mind providing a link? TIA!

We are base school Franklin, but have DC1 in the Carson Center. So I can't speak from first hand knowledge. But, both the Franklin kids and parents in our neighborhood love the school, and say many of the things as PP: despite being a large school, it has a nurturing, community feeling and does a great job at making each student feel like an individual.

In fact, DC2 is looking at going LLIV Franklin next year instead of Carson Center (if there is still a choice). Maybe a Franklin parent can help me out. Franklin's website says they have about 120 students a grade (240 total) in Level 4. The school board's official tally says there are only 20 per grade that a Level 4 qualified. Which number is right? 120 per grade would be great, but seems unlikely given the number of Franklin zoned kids at Carson. Is Franklin taking kids who are LII & LIII qualified, using them to fill out an LLIV team, and counting them as level IV

Anonymous wrote:

It may be good, but your comments are pure educrat babble. Could you maybe say something real about Franklin?

Such as?

What I said is real. The teachers are nurturing and the curriculum is rigorous. The teachers seem to genuinely care about the students' emotional well-being AND their intellectual well-being. The classes aren't easy at all, but the kids are excited to do what their teachers ask them to do. When asked about those teachers, the kids describe them very positively, which doesn't happen often at that age.

All of the above is real.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard some parents talking about Franklin getting AAP and Carson downsizing. Not sure what exactly is happening, anyone knows? Our MS is Franklin, AAP is Carson. Where would we go few years down the road?

We're in this situation. We're told at 6th grade BTS night that Carson should still be the Center next year. But I keep hearing it's coming. Wouldn't be terrible. Franklin is an excellent school already with a fantastic reputation among its parents and 1/2 of Carson kids are Franklin base and would move. It would become a robust "critical mass" Center. If it changed for next year, I would be fine (and DC could walk to school!)

Even if Carson is still the center for your neighborhood, you could still send your DC to Franklin, where he/she could still receive AAP services (as Franklin has a Local Level IV setting). Franklin's AAP team is absolutely fantastic. The 7th grade team works together very closely and the environment they've created is both exceptionally nurturing and intellectually/academically rigorous. The 8th grade team is also outstanding, encouraging more independence and higher-level thinking as they help transition the students to high school.

It may be good, but your comments are pure educrat babble. Could you maybe say something real about Franklin?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard some parents talking about Franklin getting AAP and Carson downsizing. Not sure what exactly is happening, anyone knows? Our MS is Franklin, AAP is Carson. Where would we go few years down the road?

We're in this situation. We're told at 6th grade BTS night that Carson should still be the Center next year. But I keep hearing it's coming. Wouldn't be terrible. Franklin is an excellent school already with a fantastic reputation among its parents and 1/2 of Carson kids are Franklin base and would move. It would become a robust "critical mass" Center. If it changed for next year, I would be fine (and DC could walk to school!)

Even if Carson is still the center for your neighborhood, you could still send your DC to Franklin, where he/she could still receive AAP services (as Franklin has a Local Level IV setting). Franklin's AAP team is absolutely fantastic. The 7th grade team works together very closely and the environment they've created is both exceptionally nurturing and intellectually/academically rigorous. The 8th grade team is also outstanding, encouraging more independence and higher-level thinking as they help transition the students to high school.

Anonymous wrote:This year you have the option to pick between Franklin Vs. Carson.

That option also existed last year for students for whom Franklin is the base school. It is only an option for the students for whom Franklin is the base school.

There is nothing "special" about Carson. It is an outstanding school, and there is no doubt that it is an outstanding school.

Those students who are getting in TJ are getting in because of THEIR ability, not because the school is doing anything special. If those same students were at Franklin, Herndon, Hughes, or wherever else, they would still get in. It is the STUDENT, not the school, that is getting those students into TJ.

This year you have the option to pick between Franklin Vs. Carson.

Anonymous wrote:I heard some parents talking about Franklin getting AAP and Carson downsizing. Not sure what exactly is happening, anyone knows? Our MS is Franklin, AAP is Carson. Where would we go few years down the road?

We're in this situation. We're told at 6th grade BTS night that Carson should still be the Center next year. But I keep hearing it's coming. Wouldn't be terrible. Franklin is an excellent school already with a fantastic reputation among its parents and 1/2 of Carson kids are Franklin base and would move. It would become a robust "critical mass" Center. If it changed for next year, I would be fine (and DC could walk to school!)

Here's what Carson is doing right: challenging my bright, quirky kid, employing across the board great teachers, actively working with us to implement a successful 504, offering a huge range of great after school activities, from jazz band to Math Counts, and year after year, passing 100% of their kids in Algebra & Geometry SOLs (white kids & non Center kids take those too). Could not be move impressed with a school for DC-- and I'm white. I think the Asian parents may be more focused on TJ, but the school does a great job preparing all of the kids. My DC is getting what he needs to be successful in any high school-- TJ, AP or IB.

I heard some parents talking about Franklin getting AAP and Carson downsizing. Not sure what exactly is happening, anyone knows? Our MS is Franklin, AAP is Carson. Where would we go few years down the road?

Anonymous wrote:not a single post on here discussing anything RCMS does that accounts for the number of students it sends to TJ. Yap all you want. It's all demographics folks.

Criminy, RCMS is one of the large GT Centers. Not hard to understand! The GT Middle School Centers send more to TJ than regular Middle Schools because those kids are smarter and/or work harder. The GT Middle School Centers with the largest numbers therefore will send more to TJ. Comprende??

Don't know what to make of your comment about demographics. Rocky Run MS in Chantilly sends more per student population than RCMS.

We are zoned for RCMS and I hear people rave about it. Not sure what they are doing that is so special, but them must be doing something right if parents are happy, lots of kids go onto TJ and the kids from around here all WANT to go there.