Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had the same issue with AP Music Theory. Never offered at our high school. Never even offered at the neighboring high school so DC hasn't been able to take it, period. Not enough kids wanting to sign up. Such is life.

Math is a core subject.

Multivariable and linear are not part of the core. They are electives that students take after they have met their math requirement.

Similarly, science is a core subject, but there are higher level electives such as AP Physics C that aren't offered everywhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your child is choosing the class, OP. No one is required to take that class.

Not OP. But that's the next class in the sequence if you take Algebra 1 in 7th grade, which FCPS offers. Also, those classes are listed in the Falls Church HS catalog, and there is nothing that says you need to provide transportation in order to take that class. I get that OP's kid doesn't have to take the class, but if you list something in the catalog as a class that is offered, wouldn't you be annoyed if your kid signed up for the class and doesn't find out until the beginning of the year that transportation isn't provided? I looked at the courses offered and assumed things in the school's catalog were classes offered at the school. Now I know better. I think this should be noted in the catalog.

Isn't it an assumption that other than core classes required for graduation, classes will only run if they get enough numbers? My kid is in MCPS, but he has always needed to provide alternative choices for electives. I teach in a private school and we do the same thing. It's not infrequent for classes not to run, or for classes to conflict so that a student doesn't get their first choice.

This also isn't "the next class in the sequence", it's one of several sequences. Students can take AB in 11th and BC in 12th, or AB or BC followed by AP Stats, or stop after calculus and take an additional science or an additional foreign language or something.

Anonymous wrote:We've had the same issue with AP Music Theory. Never offered at our high school. Never even offered at the neighboring high school so DC hasn't been able to take it, period. Not enough kids wanting to sign up. Such is life.

Math is a core subject.

We've had the same issue with AP Music Theory. Never offered at our high school. Never even offered at the neighboring high school so DC hasn't been able to take it, period. Not enough kids wanting to sign up. Such is life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your child is choosing the class, OP. No one is required to take that class.

Not OP. But that's the next class in the sequence if you take Algebra 1 in 7th grade, which FCPS offers. Also, those classes are listed in the Falls Church HS catalog, and there is nothing that says you need to provide transportation in order to take that class. I get that OP's kid doesn't have to take the class, but if you list something in the catalog as a class that is offered, wouldn't you be annoyed if your kid signed up for the class and doesn't find out until the beginning of the year that transportation isn't provided? I looked at the courses offered and assumed things in the school's catalog were classes offered at the school. Now I know better. I think this should be noted in the catalog.

Course listing says that it's a college level course which may be taken with a dual enrollment agreement from George Mason University. Usually you sign that agreement before your kid is enrolled in the course.

Did the agreement not specify where the course would be held? Is this at another HS or actually on the GMU campus? If it's on the GMU campus your kid would need a GMU ID card. He would also need a parking sticker if he intends to drive and park on campus. Dual enrollment kids typically check their textbooks out of the campus library.

College and HS schedules vary somewhat. College classes will still be in session, for example, on HS teacher work days. Be sure to be aware of both schedules.

How is this working out for your son, Op?

The class is held a multiple HS in FCPS. In fact, a few have more than one session. The problem is that not enough students signed up for it at the aoP’s son’s school and he has to go to a neighboring HS to take the course. The other problem is that this was not told to them when her son signed up for the class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your child is choosing the class, OP. No one is required to take that class.

Not OP. But that's the next class in the sequence if you take Algebra 1 in 7th grade, which FCPS offers. Also, those classes are listed in the Falls Church HS catalog, and there is nothing that says you need to provide transportation in order to take that class. I get that OP's kid doesn't have to take the class, but if you list something in the catalog as a class that is offered, wouldn't you be annoyed if your kid signed up for the class and doesn't find out until the beginning of the year that transportation isn't provided? I looked at the courses offered and assumed things in the school's catalog were classes offered at the school. Now I know better. I think this should be noted in the catalog.

Course listing says that it's a college level course which may be taken with a dual enrollment agreement from George Mason University. Usually you sign that agreement before your kid is enrolled in the course.

Did the agreement not specify where the course would be held? Is this at another HS or actually on the GMU campus? If it's on the GMU campus your kid would need a GMU ID card. He would also need a parking sticker if he intends to drive and park on campus. Dual enrollment kids typically check their textbooks out of the campus library.

College and HS schedules vary somewhat. College classes will still be in session, for example, on HS teacher work days. Be sure to be aware of both schedules.

How is this working out for your son, Op?

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Yes, high school senior. There's just a handful of the kids taking it -- combination of this being one of the (if not the) smallest high schools in Fairfax and drawing from schools with smaller AAP populations (which is how you accelerate in math in Fairfax).

Apparently this has been the practice for several years -- I pushed the guidance counselor to make sure kids know it when they sign up for the class, since it wasn't clear to us. And yes, they're not providing a bus.

My 17 year old had a commute for a similar reason all last year. But we knew when he signed up for the classes that it would involve some driving on his part. He did fine with it and never missed a class as a matter of fact.

I'm surprised that you had such little warning that he would be going in between two schools for his classes. For us it was crystal clear that our son would be doing that.

Anonymous wrote:Your child is choosing the class, OP. No one is required to take that class.

Not OP. But that's the next class in the sequence if you take Algebra 1 in 7th grade, which FCPS offers. Also, those classes are listed in the Falls Church HS catalog, and there is nothing that says you need to provide transportation in order to take that class. I get that OP's kid doesn't have to take the class, but if you list something in the catalog as a class that is offered, wouldn't you be annoyed if your kid signed up for the class and doesn't find out until the beginning of the year that transportation isn't provided? I looked at the courses offered and assumed things in the school's catalog were classes offered at the school. Now I know better. I think this should be noted in the catalog.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very creative humblebrag. I never would have thought of it. Bravo!

Why is this a humble brag? My DC is on this track and I'd be livid if I only found out about the driving at the beginning of the school year. This is something that the previous year's math teacher should stress. Not every high school kid has a car and not every parent can provide transportation during the school day to and from one class. OP, that's for this info.

I agree.

Anonymous wrote:Very creative humblebrag. I never would have thought of it. Bravo!

Why is this a humble brag? My DC is on this track and I'd be livid if I only found out about the driving at the beginning of the school year. This is something that the previous year's math teacher should stress. Not every high school kid has a car and not every parent can provide transportation during the school day to and from one class. OP, that's for this info.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very creative humblebrag. I never would have thought of it. Bravo!

You are being ridiculous. This is a legitimate complaint.

Different poster here.
It's a legitimate issue to consider when signing up for classes, but not a cause for complaint. The transportation options or lack of them is usually made clear--sounds like OP's kid's school was not on the ball about that information and OP is right to say they need to be clearer. But OP also should have asked early. Many parents don't realize that in high school, schools are not obligated to provide transportation for every student to any class the student could take. Students who switch high schools to get IB or AP curriculum are not provided with transportation to the new school--no "right" to an FCPS bus. Neither are students like OP's teen, who are taking single classes not offered at their high schools. Students in the FCPS Academy programs are, I believe, provided with transportation, but there is not going to be a bus taking one student from school A to school B (and back) in a case like OP's. It would be ideal to have that, sure. But it's not realistic.

Your child is choosing the class, OP. No one is required to take that class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It has to be HS. I can not imagine a MS taking that math course; it is a 200 level math course in college.

There would be a very small segment of the population that could. I know one who would be on track; he was doing Algebra II at the beginning of the last school year, and is 9 or 10 years old.

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2017/Program-Summary-Report-2017.pdf
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2016/Program-Summary-Report-2016.pdf

In 2017, of all students taking AP Calculus BC, 70 were not yet in 9th grade. In 2016, it was 62. So a handful of those kids could be in seventh grade, though I'm sure most of them are in eighth.

Anonymous wrote:
It has to be HS. I can not imagine a MS taking that math course; it is a 200 level math course in college.

There would be a very small segment of the population that could. I know one who would be on track; he was doing Algebra II at the beginning of the last school year, and is 9 or 10 years old.

Anonymous wrote:Very creative humblebrag. I never would have thought of it. Bravo!

You are being ridiculous. This is a legitimate complaint.