All three of my kids were gen ed at an AAP center and it was not a problem — it all washes out in middle and high school anyway (non-AAP kids can take Honors in MS, and in HS everyone is grouped together). One of my gen ed kids is now a senior and taking 4 APs this year, has above a 4.0 gpa, etc. — just like her AAP friends.

The way I look at it is this: gen ed is still giving your child a foundation from which to work and improve. All my kids got that foundation and thrived as they got older.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One DC in GenEd at a center felt inferior because she knew she wasn’t in the AAP. This lowered her self esteem throughout elementary school.

She'll be happy in Middle School and High School knowing she wasn't part of the "weird" group. LOL.

Good lord the parents are the absolute worst part of FCPS. Are you 13, pp?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Can't gen ed kids elect to take honors classes at that point? BTW, My AAP 7th grader only has core AA classes; the rest of the classes are not "separated."

Yes, but the AAP classes are different and this is a school where everyone is encouraged to take honors

It depends on the MS school. Some AAP and honors are the same.

The students are separated. At schools with a lot of farms students encouraged to try honors, the classes will end up moving at very different paces.

Anonymous wrote:One DC in GenEd at a center felt inferior because she knew she wasn’t in the AAP. This lowered her self esteem throughout elementary school.

She'll be happy in Middle School and High School knowing she wasn't part of the "weird" group. LOL.

OP, you asked re: elementary school. Back to your question. Yes, it sucks. I hate the existence of AAP. We were at a Center school. We worked at strengthening friendships in whatever class they were in and riding it out. Oldest was pupil placed into AAP w/out help from me or additional testing or prep, eventually. I wasn't going to push to make it happen because I was glad both of my kids, for most of the time, had the same experience, some of the same teachers.

The existence of AAP however, was the worst part of attending FCPS. It gets better. It gets better as they progress into MS and HS and advanced classes are open to all. They kids remember though, who was in AAP and who wasn't. Some of the Gen Ed kids take pride in kicking some AAP academic butt in the later grades.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Can't gen ed kids elect to take honors classes at that point? BTW, My AAP 7th grader only has core AA classes; the rest of the classes are not "separated."

Yes, but the AAP classes are different and this is a school where everyone is encouraged to take honors

It depends on the MS school. Some AAP and honors are the same.

I don’t think local level iv is any better than aap centers at this point. They both separate kids and make one feel below the other. And quite frankly, getting into the program seems pretty random to me.

I’d like to see the whole program be eliminated and then the kids should be put into different groups for individual subjects. Just my opinion though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Can't gen ed kids elect to take honors classes at that point? BTW, My AAP 7th grader only has core AA classes; the rest of the classes are not "separated."

Yes, but the AAP classes are different and this is a school where everyone is encouraged to take honors

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Can't gen ed kids elect to take honors classes at that point? BTW, My AAP 7th grader only has core AA classes; the rest of the classes are not "separated."

No but there are probably some AAP kids in these mixed classes since it’s a center school. There are more AAP kids roaming the halls overall at center middle schools. Better environment overall.

PP you are responding to...my kid does go to a center AAP but since there other centers in the area (Vienna/McLean), it is not mostly AAP kids roaming the halls. Kids can elect to take regular or honor classes starting in 7th grade if they are not AAP. I would think that kids who elect all honors are similar peer wise to AAP kids.

Cooper and Longfellow in McLean are both AAP "centers," but only in-boundary kids go to those schools, so they aren't like Carson, which has hundreds of AAP kids who live outside Carson's base boundaries. So they are a bit more balanced.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the AAP culture at our elementary school. I have 2 kids in AAP and many students seem to have outside academic enrichment so if your smart kid goes to math class, s/he is already behind since the majority of the class already knows the material.

I have a kindergarten child and considering switching her to private school because I hate this AAP culture. There are also so much emphasis on academic extracurriculars like chess, math, science Olympiad, spelling bee, etc.

I wonder if it is normal students and parents if kids are not in the AAP program.

Yes, the kids aren’t ‘gifted’, they are just ‘advanced’ in math because they have been taking Kumon classes, Mathnasium, Russian Math, Singapore Math, Beast, etc. as a way to get ahead of the curriculum. They have tutors and the Tutoring Club, so your smart, typical child is behind them. It’s a poor design. And parents are spending a lot of extra money on these tutoring programs.

So they’re advanced in math or whatever, they doesn’t mean FCPS should stop teaching them at school. Teachers are supposed to meet them where they are.

The problem is that the population of students are over the place in terms of capability. The teacher can't differentiate 25 different paths. Not enough time for that. Therefore, many complain that the teacher is not helpful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Can't gen ed kids elect to take honors classes at that point? BTW, My AAP 7th grader only has core AA classes; the rest of the classes are not "separated."

No but there are probably some AAP kids in these mixed classes since it’s a center school. There are more AAP kids roaming the halls overall at center middle schools. Better environment overall.

Tes they can. Where are you getting you incorrect info from. Some MS are “All Honors” as well. Same exact curriculum 2019 for mine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Yes. My kid can attend a better middle school due to AAP. Way less problems, drugs, behavior issues. More academic focus and kids on the right track. Thank God for AAP!

Then go to high school with those you done want in your middle school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Can't gen ed kids elect to take honors classes at that point? BTW, My AAP 7th grader only has core AA classes; the rest of the classes are not "separated."

No but there are probably some AAP kids in these mixed classes since it’s a center school. There are more AAP kids roaming the halls overall at center middle schools. Better environment overall.

PP you are responding to...my kid does go to a center AAP but since there other centers in the area (Vienna/McLean), it is not mostly AAP kids roaming the halls. Kids can elect to take regular or honor classes starting in 7th grade if they are not AAP. I would think that kids who elect all honors are similar peer wise to AAP kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Can't gen ed kids elect to take honors classes at that point? BTW, My AAP 7th grader only has core AA classes; the rest of the classes are not "separated."

No but there are probably some AAP kids in these mixed classes since it’s a center school. There are more AAP kids roaming the halls overall at center middle schools. Better environment overall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP goes out the door in 7th grade. I have had kids in both programs. When your child is young and the "first kid", this seems to be when most parents are more anxious about getting into AAP.. By the time they get to middle school and certainly high school you realize it wasn't worth the stress. One "possible" perk could be peer group but I will say, my middle child did not have the positive peer group in AAP that my older one did. So, at least for me, my belief is that is just depends on the class year as a whole. Youngest is not in AAP at a center and all has been fine. In fact it has been the smallest AAP class this school has had. 3rd grade GE teacher incorporated a ton of "AAP" curriculum-could be teacher dependent. Things seem to be really changing.

Funny, for our pyramid, 7th and 8th being separated is the biggest benefit

Can't gen ed kids elect to take honors classes at that point? BTW, My AAP 7th grader only has core AA classes; the rest of the classes are not "separated."