Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people think Massachusetts has the best schools and they don’t really do anything like AAP in majority of districts and schools… can’t name one district that does, but could be a few. So no, I don’t think it’s necessary.

Because its school systems are much smaller and segregated. The best schools have mostly well off parents. Biggest predictor of academic success is family SES/parents educational level. They don't need AAP. Read between the lines in this forum. AAP is as much about selecting a "good peer group" as it is about the academic challenge.

The problem is that in FCPS, "selecting a good peer group" and receiving "academic challenge" are basically the same thing. Since FCPS prioritizes focusing on the kids who are behind and ignoring the kids who are ahead, it is impossible to get academic challenge for an above average kid in a gen ed class with too many kids who are behind. UMC kids with educated parents don't need AAP or any self contained program. They do still need some reasonable share of the teacher's attention as well as some reasonable attempt by the teacher to challenge them.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people think Massachusetts has the best schools and they don’t really do anything like AAP in majority of districts and schools… can’t name one district that does, but could be a few. So no, I don’t think it’s necessary.

Because its school systems are much smaller and segregated. The best schools have mostly well off parents. Biggest predictor of academic success is family SES/parents educational level. They don't need AAP. Read between the lines in this forum. AAP is as much about selecting a "good peer group" as it is about the academic challenge.

Anonymous wrote:AAP isn’t tracking. It’s segregation.

Basically. My school did tracking for math amongst AAP. So had a class with higher scores for AAP math and a class for lower scores. Did not really make sense to me.

A lot of people think Massachusetts has the best schools and they don’t really do anything like AAP in majority of districts and schools… can’t name one district that does, but could be a few. So no, I don’t think it’s necessary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents have a choice to send their kids to the Center or not. If you are worried about TJ, then keep your kid at the base. If you think that it is in your kids best interest to send them to the Center, then that is on you. Only your family can decide that for your kid.

You know what the variables are, make a choice that fits your family.

Work on your reading comprehension. Many parent do not have a choice of center vs base. They are zoned to the center and must attend. Bright gen Ed kids zoned to Carson or Longfellow have almost no chance of TJ admissions since they have to compete with overly many AAP kids. Your argument is only valid if gen Ed kids zoned to the canter can instead choose to attend a non AAP school.

Check you reading comprehension. My kids base school is Carson so I get it. And Carson still has a large number of kids who attend TJ. Well above the 1.5% that they are allotted. Stop thinking that TJ is everything and understand that your kid will be fine where ever they go to high school.

But how many gen ed kids zoned to Carson have any real chance of being admitted to TJ? Your main concern appears to be giving gen ed kids have a fair shot. If so, why is it okay for one group of gen ed kids to have a very easy time with TJ admissions due to almost no competition for the spots, while other groups of gen ed kids have slim to no chances of being admitted? Your position makes no sense at all, unless you're trying to tokenize gen ed kids rather than give them a truly fair shot at TJ.

I don’t care if kids who are accepted are in AAP or in Gen Ed. You have to have taken Honors/AAP Math, Science, and at least one other class in 7th and 8th grade to be considered for TJ. I do think that TJ should represent all of FCPS and have no issues with the 1.5% seat allotment for each MS. I think that it helps to make sure that kids from every school have a chance to attend TJ. The students have to meet basic requirements. Which means that the kids who are capable of handling 3 honors classes and meeting the 3.5 GPA requirement are considered. I would be fine with them raising the GPA to 3.75, requiring all honors classes where possible, and requiring Geometry. I think they could make the requirements more stringent. I just don’t have a problem with allotting seats for each MS.

And yes, I know that the kids whose base schools are Centers are in a touch spot. They have more competition for those 1.5% spots. But those same Center schools are still sending a much higher number of kids then other schools so I don’t see them as being harmed by the policy. Parents who are choosing to send their kids to from the base to the center are the ones who have a choice. I would imagine that the TJ driven families will start to keep their kids at the base schools.

The reality is that kids were not accepted at TJ who passed the Q test, had good letter of recommendations, and were strong candidates before the current set up. I think the school should look like the County with representation from each MS. I am less worried about the racial balance at the school. I doubt that there is going to be much change there until we can figure out how to close the education gap that exists. That is a far bigger problem then TJ. But making sure that kids from all MS who meet the standards are able to attend TJ is a good thing.

The problem is that you're living in a wealthy area and have no clue what it's like elsewhere in the county. Sometimes the AAP center is the much lower income school, while the feeder base school is pretty wealthy. Here's a good example: Thoreau vs. Luther Jackson. Luther Jackson is the lower SES school with many more FARMS kids. It's also the AAP center fed into by wealthier areas. Lower income kids zoned to Luther Jackson, both gen ed and AAP alike, have to compete with the wealthy AAP kids who are zoned to Thoreau but attending the Jackson AAP center. The wealthy, mediocre kids at Thoreau who weren't smart enough to qualify for AAP despite having motivated UMC parents now have a red carpet rolled out for TJ admissions. Jackson does not have an overabundance of kids getting admitted to TJ. A bright gen ed kid or a lower income but not quite FARMS AAP kid at Jackson is horribly hurt by the policy that preferences mediocre wealthy Thoreau kids over them. There is literally no reason that the Thoreau kids shouldn't have to compete with the Jackson kids in the same allocated pool for AAP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents have a choice to send their kids to the Center or not. If you are worried about TJ, then keep your kid at the base. If you think that it is in your kids best interest to send them to the Center, then that is on you. Only your family can decide that for your kid.

You know what the variables are, make a choice that fits your family.

Work on your reading comprehension. Many parent do not have a choice of center vs base. They are zoned to the center and must attend. Bright gen Ed kids zoned to Carson or Longfellow have almost no chance of TJ admissions since they have to compete with overly many AAP kids. Your argument is only valid if gen Ed kids zoned to the canter can instead choose to attend a non AAP school.

Check you reading comprehension. My kids base school is Carson so I get it. And Carson still has a large number of kids who attend TJ. Well above the 1.5% that they are allotted. Stop thinking that TJ is everything and understand that your kid will be fine where ever they go to high school.

But how many gen ed kids zoned to Carson have any real chance of being admitted to TJ? Your main concern appears to be giving gen ed kids have a fair shot. If so, why is it okay for one group of gen ed kids to have a very easy time with TJ admissions due to almost no competition for the spots, while other groups of gen ed kids have slim to no chances of being admitted? Your position makes no sense at all, unless you're trying to tokenize gen ed kids rather than give them a truly fair shot at TJ.

I don’t care if kids who are accepted are in AAP or in Gen Ed. You have to have taken Honors/AAP Math, Science, and at least one other class in 7th and 8th grade to be considered for TJ. I do think that TJ should represent all of FCPS and have no issues with the 1.5% seat allotment for each MS. I think that it helps to make sure that kids from every school have a chance to attend TJ. The students have to meet basic requirements. Which means that the kids who are capable of handling 3 honors classes and meeting the 3.5 GPA requirement are considered. I would be fine with them raising the GPA to 3.75, requiring all honors classes where possible, and requiring Geometry. I think they could make the requirements more stringent. I just don’t have a problem with allotting seats for each MS.

And yes, I know that the kids whose base schools are Centers are in a touch spot. They have more competition for those 1.5% spots. But those same Center schools are still sending a much higher number of kids then other schools so I don’t see them as being harmed by the policy. Parents who are choosing to send their kids to from the base to the center are the ones who have a choice. I would imagine that the TJ driven families will start to keep their kids at the base schools.

The reality is that kids were not accepted at TJ who passed the Q test, had good letter of recommendations, and were strong candidates before the current set up. I think the school should look like the County with representation from each MS. I am less worried about the racial balance at the school. I doubt that there is going to be much change there until we can figure out how to close the education gap that exists. That is a far bigger problem then TJ. But making sure that kids from all MS who meet the standards are able to attend TJ is a good thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents have a choice to send their kids to the Center or not. If you are worried about TJ, then keep your kid at the base. If you think that it is in your kids best interest to send them to the Center, then that is on you. Only your family can decide that for your kid.

You know what the variables are, make a choice that fits your family.

Work on your reading comprehension. Many parent do not have a choice of center vs base. They are zoned to the center and must attend. Bright gen Ed kids zoned to Carson or Longfellow have almost no chance of TJ admissions since they have to compete with overly many AAP kids. Your argument is only valid if gen Ed kids zoned to the canter can instead choose to attend a non AAP school.

Check you reading comprehension. My kids base school is Carson so I get it. And Carson still has a large number of kids who attend TJ. Well above the 1.5% that they are allotted. Stop thinking that TJ is everything and understand that your kid will be fine where ever they go to high school.

Also, if you "get it" and have adequate reading comprehension, why do you keep posting the following, even after people have explained ad nauseam to you that it doesn't work that way. You keep saying [quote = previous poster]Parents have a choice to send their kids to the Center or not. If you are worried about TJ, then keep your kid at the base.