Anonymous
Post 11/18/2023 17:25     Subject: New to APS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids in APS, each teacher sends out a weekly newsletter about what was done and what is coming up. I find teacher conferences very helpful if you have specific questions. Which school are you in?



The more important questions is what school are you at? I've never had an APS teacher send home a weekly message about what kids did that week. This is our 7th year with 2 kids at 2 different elementary schools.

Sorry OP. What you describe sounds pretty normal. Parentsquare is an improvement but would love a weekly email from the teacher about what they learned. It's a black box and hard to know when there's a problem or it's just your kid going through a phase.


We are at Cardinal


We just finished putting two kids through Cardinal. We had some amazing teachers, but also some truly awful teachers. Cardinal is also one of the largest elementary schools in APS. My perspective is that Cardinal caters to the kids with big personalities-- if your kid is outgoing and an amazing student, they will get noticed; if your kid is disruptive and has behavioral issues and low test results, they will get noticed. If your kid is the type to just do their work and not make waves, they will float through Cardinal mostly unnoticed by the teachers and staff. That's the downside of a huge school, and I have heard it gets worse as you progress through APS. It is one reason why we just pulled our oldest out and put him in private for high school. Maybe that makes me a needy parent, but I heard too many stories of guidance counselors at WL who didn't even know the kids they were recommending for colleges.


+1

We are also at cardinal and this has been our experience both there and previously at Glebe. The bar is set so low, that they have to be pretty terrible to catch attention. And if they aren’t Tracy Flick types (or you are not a PTA groupie) they just float throught
Anonymous
Post 11/18/2023 13:07     Subject: New to APS
I had many teachers name other kids in elementary school. Johnny is a sweetheart.... your kid is hanging out with Susie and that's going well, you may want to arrange some playdates, etc.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 22:49     Subject: New to APS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We’ve been in APS for over a decade and also have experience in private. Here’s what I will say. The teachers in APS are as good as the private ones. There are some duds. There are some duds on the private side. There is a huge difference in their ability to communicate with parents given the numbers. But overall the teachers in APS are generally not the problem. All of the ones we have had would’ve been able to answer the kinds of questions about social development and basic learning about of child at a parent teacher conference. Well, besides one teacher who couldn’t string two sentences together.

So, you either got very unlucky and happen to have a bad teacher. It happens. It’s rare. Usually though this can be gleaned from a cohort of parents—you shouldn’t be the only one in your boat. If that’s the case, then it’s probably you. There are definitely needy parents in APS and, if the can, they end up pulling their child for private school which does a much better job at coddling needy parents. I will say that it can make for a bit of a weird makeup of kids in the those classrooms but you do you.


Thank you for a useful perspective. I saw someone commented above about Claremont. We are an immersion family also. Many of the parents whose kids are brand new to the language seem thrilled as the student is picking up something they wouldn't otherwise. As a native speaker I am on the fence. If teacher can't answer my basic questions about Suzie, and my student already had a good grasp of the language before school started, then I'm doubting what they know about my daughter and what she is learning. I suppose it's not as apparent as it would be for the non-native speakers.


In my experience at APS most teachers won't name other students at all. I think there are rules related to privacy, so I wouldn't give up on immersion because of this. You'll find this at other APS schools.

Most of what kids learn in kindergarten are social skills. It took me a few years past kindergarten to believe this.

When I've asked teachers what the kids are learning I am often referred to the Virginia standards of learning. This is true for multiple grades, not just kindergarten.

If your child already speaks Spanish, I'd look at what she is learning like what an english speaking child learns in an english speaking kindergarten. They're still learning even though they know a lot of the language already. For example, maybe the kids are learning to read in Spanish if they already speak Spanish well? Maybe they're learning to count to higher numbers? I remember my english speaking child learning to count to 100 in english. It was definitely something they learned even though they already spoke english.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 09:24     Subject: New to APS
OP, it sounds like your teacher isn't very good. We had many great teachers in elementary, some pretty good ones and one total dud. The dud year was awful.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 07:26     Subject: New to APS
I think you probably don’t have a great teacher, but just like in any work setting you’ll have a handful of people who stick out because they’re really difficult, a handful who stick out because they’re very nice or charismatic and the rest of the people you probably don’t have much to say about. I have found that’s true in most classrooms as well.
Anonymous
Post 11/16/2023 22:47     Subject: New to APS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids in APS, each teacher sends out a weekly newsletter about what was done and what is coming up. I find teacher conferences very helpful if you have specific questions. Which school are you in?



The more important questions is what school are you at? I've never had an APS teacher send home a weekly message about what kids did that week. This is our 7th year with 2 kids at 2 different elementary schools.

Sorry OP. What you describe sounds pretty normal. Parentsquare is an improvement but would love a weekly email from the teacher about what they learned. It's a black box and hard to know when there's a problem or it's just your kid going through a phase.


We are at Cardinal


We just finished putting two kids through Cardinal. We had some amazing teachers, but also some truly awful teachers. Cardinal is also one of the largest elementary schools in APS. My perspective is that Cardinal caters to the kids with big personalities-- if your kid is outgoing and an amazing student, they will get noticed; if your kid is disruptive and has behavioral issues and low test results, they will get noticed. If your kid is the type to just do their work and not make waves, they will float through Cardinal mostly unnoticed by the teachers and staff. That's the downside of a huge school, and I have heard it gets worse as you progress through APS. It is one reason why we just pulled our oldest out and put him in private for high school. Maybe that makes me a needy parent, but I heard too many stories of guidance counselors at WL who didn't even know the kids they were recommending for colleges.


Each guidance counselor is in charge of like 300 students. Of course they don’t know the kids they are “recommending”’ they are just handling paperwork for admission depts
Anonymous
Post 11/16/2023 17:53     Subject: New to APS
1. I don’t think pulling for high school makes you needy. You know a lot more about your kiddo then. It’s like the second grade cohort of parents I am talking about who can’t figure out why the teacher hasn’t figured out that little Johnny is actually a mathematical genius.

2. I wouldn’t pull my kid for private for a more insightful (read “better”) college counselor recommendation/experience. Just pay for that on your own. There are loads of private counselors.

So bottom line: I think you are not dumb for pulling but the reason you put on this board is dumb.
Anonymous
Post 11/16/2023 17:52     Subject: New to APS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids in APS, each teacher sends out a weekly newsletter about what was done and what is coming up. I find teacher conferences very helpful if you have specific questions. Which school are you in?



The more important questions is what school are you at? I've never had an APS teacher send home a weekly message about what kids did that week. This is our 7th year with 2 kids at 2 different elementary schools.

Sorry OP. What you describe sounds pretty normal. Parentsquare is an improvement but would love a weekly email from the teacher about what they learned. It's a black box and hard to know when there's a problem or it's just your kid going through a phase.


We are at Cardinal


We just finished putting two kids through Cardinal. We had some amazing teachers, but also some truly awful teachers. Cardinal is also one of the largest elementary schools in APS. My perspective is that Cardinal caters to the kids with big personalities-- if your kid is outgoing and an amazing student, they will get noticed; if your kid is disruptive and has behavioral issues and low test results, they will get noticed. If your kid is the type to just do their work and not make waves, they will float through Cardinal mostly unnoticed by the teachers and staff. That's the downside of a huge school, and I have heard it gets worse as you progress through APS. It is one reason why we just pulled our oldest out and put him in private for high school. Maybe that makes me a needy parent, but I heard too many stories of guidance counselors at WL who didn't even know the kids they were recommending for colleges.



This is pretty much the norm for public high schools (unless it's a really small school). Unless your student has some reason to be engaging regularly with the counselor, they aren't going to know them well. Parents should put in the time to write a detailed brag sheet so they have info for the recommendations.

WL counselors are definitely hit-and-miss. We were lucky to have a good one. DD (who just graduated) said her friends started going to DD's counselor when they had questions because she was much more helpful that their assigned to one.



I’d recommend for all motivated students (at any large public high school) to really get to know their hs guidance counselor. Most counselors allow for visits throughout the day even if a visit conflicts with a little bit of class time.
Anonymous
Post 11/16/2023 17:31     Subject: New to APS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids in APS, each teacher sends out a weekly newsletter about what was done and what is coming up. I find teacher conferences very helpful if you have specific questions. Which school are you in?



The more important questions is what school are you at? I've never had an APS teacher send home a weekly message about what kids did that week. This is our 7th year with 2 kids at 2 different elementary schools.

Sorry OP. What you describe sounds pretty normal. Parentsquare is an improvement but would love a weekly email from the teacher about what they learned. It's a black box and hard to know when there's a problem or it's just your kid going through a phase.


We are at Cardinal


We just finished putting two kids through Cardinal. We had some amazing teachers, but also some truly awful teachers. Cardinal is also one of the largest elementary schools in APS. My perspective is that Cardinal caters to the kids with big personalities-- if your kid is outgoing and an amazing student, they will get noticed; if your kid is disruptive and has behavioral issues and low test results, they will get noticed. If your kid is the type to just do their work and not make waves, they will float through Cardinal mostly unnoticed by the teachers and staff. That's the downside of a huge school, and I have heard it gets worse as you progress through APS. It is one reason why we just pulled our oldest out and put him in private for high school. Maybe that makes me a needy parent, but I heard too many stories of guidance counselors at WL who didn't even know the kids they were recommending for colleges.



This is pretty much the norm for public high schools (unless it's a really small school). Unless your student has some reason to be engaging regularly with the counselor, they aren't going to know them well. Parents should put in the time to write a detailed brag sheet so they have info for the recommendations.

WL counselors are definitely hit-and-miss. We were lucky to have a good one. DD (who just graduated) said her friends started going to DD's counselor when they had questions because she was much more helpful that their assigned one.

Anonymous
Post 11/16/2023 16:59     Subject: New to APS
OP, you asked if you could request teachers. No. The administration does not take teacher requests and will make sure that message is heard at the end of the year.
Anonymous
Post 11/16/2023 16:20     Subject: New to APS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids in APS, each teacher sends out a weekly newsletter about what was done and what is coming up. I find teacher conferences very helpful if you have specific questions. Which school are you in?



The more important questions is what school are you at? I've never had an APS teacher send home a weekly message about what kids did that week. This is our 7th year with 2 kids at 2 different elementary schools.

Sorry OP. What you describe sounds pretty normal. Parentsquare is an improvement but would love a weekly email from the teacher about what they learned. It's a black box and hard to know when there's a problem or it's just your kid going through a phase.


We are at Cardinal


We just finished putting two kids through Cardinal. We had some amazing teachers, but also some truly awful teachers. Cardinal is also one of the largest elementary schools in APS. My perspective is that Cardinal caters to the kids with big personalities-- if your kid is outgoing and an amazing student, they will get noticed; if your kid is disruptive and has behavioral issues and low test results, they will get noticed. If your kid is the type to just do their work and not make waves, they will float through Cardinal mostly unnoticed by the teachers and staff. That's the downside of a huge school, and I have heard it gets worse as you progress through APS. It is one reason why we just pulled our oldest out and put him in private for high school. Maybe that makes me a needy parent, but I heard too many stories of guidance counselors at WL who didn't even know the kids they were recommending for colleges.
Anonymous
Post 11/16/2023 14:36     Subject: New to APS
Anonymous wrote:We’ve been in APS for over a decade and also have experience in private. Here’s what I will say. The teachers in APS are as good as the private ones. There are some duds. There are some duds on the private side. There is a huge difference in their ability to communicate with parents given the numbers. But overall the teachers in APS are generally not the problem. All of the ones we have had would’ve been able to answer the kinds of questions about social development and basic learning about of child at a parent teacher conference. Well, besides one teacher who couldn’t string two sentences together.

So, you either got very unlucky and happen to have a bad teacher. It happens. It’s rare. Usually though this can be gleaned from a cohort of parents—you shouldn’t be the only one in your boat. If that’s the case, then it’s probably you. There are definitely needy parents in APS and, if the can, they end up pulling their child for private school which does a much better job at coddling needy parents. I will say that it can make for a bit of a weird makeup of kids in the those classrooms but you do you.


Thank you for a useful perspective. I saw someone commented above about Claremont. We are an immersion family also. Many of the parents whose kids are brand new to the language seem thrilled as the student is picking up something they wouldn't otherwise. As a native speaker I am on the fence. If teacher can't answer my basic questions about Suzie, and my student already had a good grasp of the language before school started, then I'm doubting what they know about my daughter and what she is learning. I suppose it's not as apparent as it would be for the non-native speakers.
Anonymous
Post 11/15/2023 13:50     Subject: New to APS
I would just add that if you are concerned about your child's interactions with other kids, you could reach out to the school counselor. They often do weekly lessons with the kids -- I remember a specific one about filling someone else's bucket - and they may also be able to give you more insight. Some schools the counselors are great, others not so much, but it's another avenue to try without going up the chain of command.
Anonymous
Post 11/15/2023 13:45     Subject: New to APS
We’ve been in APS for over a decade and also have experience in private. Here’s what I will say. The teachers in APS are as good as the private ones. There are some duds. There are some duds on the private side. There is a huge difference in their ability to communicate with parents given the numbers. But overall the teachers in APS are generally not the problem. All of the ones we have had would’ve been able to answer the kinds of questions about social development and basic learning about of child at a parent teacher conference. Well, besides one teacher who couldn’t string two sentences together.

So, you either got very unlucky and happen to have a bad teacher. It happens. It’s rare. Usually though this can be gleaned from a cohort of parents—you shouldn’t be the only one in your boat. If that’s the case, then it’s probably you. There are definitely needy parents in APS and, if the can, they end up pulling their child for private school which does a much better job at coddling needy parents. I will say that it can make for a bit of a weird makeup of kids in the those classrooms but you do you.
Anonymous
Post 11/15/2023 13:43     Subject: Re:New to APS
It sounds like you have a bad teacher OP.