Anonymous wrote:200 - 300 kids designated as gifted at one middle school? That's ridculous. If that's true, APS needs to re-define "gifted." That's about 1/4-1/3 of that school's population. When I was a kid, we had about 6-10 kids in our entire elementary school designated as gifted, and it was a school on Long Island with a similar demographic to North Arlington with about 700 kids K-6. (We were pulled out for 1/2 day once a week and bused to a center for district-wide services.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am not the OP, but I am interested in the bolded part above. The gifted resource teacher at my sons' school said that Swanson does differentiate in middle school. She had a name for it, but I can't remember what it was. It sounded to me like it was a full program that was almost like tracking in that if your student was labeled as gifted they would go through middle school with other kids who were also gifted. She said that is also trickling down to the elementary school level where the gifted students would be put in classes together as well. I know Arlington's gifted program is subject specific so I am not sure how that would all work, but she thought it was important that my son was identified by the time he got to middle school for this reason (he's in 4th now).


This resource teacher is lying. There is no such program in APS middle schools. There are different levels of math only. In every other subject, students are designated as gifted, but get nothing for it, except that the classroom teacher is aware of it, and will try their best to offer enrichment to those students in a regular classroom. There is one GT resource teacher per middle school. Think about that: one person is supposed to provide a full program to some 200-300 designated kids in each middle school? Not.


I really don't think she was lying as she has nothing to gain from doing that. In a way, putting those kids together in one class would make it easier for the gifted teacher - she could hit them all in one full swoop. It was surprising for me to hear her say that, but she said our school is moving that way, and I know of another N. Arlington elementaries where they are doing the same thing.

Is your child in the gifted program and are they are Swanson?

Yes, she does have something to gain by lying, which is to create a public perception that there is a viable gifted program in Arlington middle schools. And your suggestion that it is easier to put them in one class for her is ridiculous--gifted teachers in middle schools do not actually teach classes or pull students out, they come into classes and help the general ed teacher. Even the gifted math classes are taught by general ed teachers, not by the gifted resource teacher.

I completely disagree with you. If you have an entire class of gifted students, the general ed teacher along with the gifted teacher is going to be able to do different types of activities in that class. They could do a whole class activity that used more higher order thinking skills, or some other type of "gifted" activity. It would also allow the gifted teacher to just come into one class rather than trying to split her time to work with 4-5 students in 4-5 classes. It is easier for the general ed teacher, too, if all of her students are working at a similar level. I am not saying this is PC or something that schools would admit to doing because it is tracking, but it does make sense to me. And as a PP stated, it is something that Williamsburg does or used to do so it is not ridiculous at all.

Anonymous wrote:My son went to APS and had a score that would have gotten him into FCPS AAP at 6. They would not consider him until I pushed for 3 years. He was found eligible but I realized he would not get more than 30 minutes of pull out with a sub they used as a swing teacher. The general ed teachers he had did not seem to think GT existed and said things like, "If he's that smart, why isn't he more organized?".

I was so frustrated I took all of the classes needed to become a g/t teacher so I could help him. I also put him in a smaller Catholic school with a more nurturing set of teachers.

Anonymous wrote:

NP here who is also interested in what's offered at the middle school level. (I posted earlier today asking about what "intensified" courses were offered at the middle school level.)

There is differentiation, but it is much more subtle. There are higher level math classes. Kids that were in FLES in elementary go to transitional Spanish until they hit a language arts option in 7th. I know that several science-advanced kids are in a special cluster (not advertised.) None of this is a formal AAP program, of course. Even though my kid was identified as "gifted" in elementary, I'm frankly sick of thinking about what it means. It's easy to get hysterical wondering if you will somehow fail your kid if you don't give them the absolute most specialized attention possible. It's just not feasible in public school and may not be in most privates, as well.

I finally asked myself, is my kid happy or bored? What is the quality of the teaching across the board? And are there enough enrichment opportunities through clubs, specials etc. to satisfy a growing intellect? We have been satisfied that our APS middle school is answering those questions positively. Anything additional DC may need will be provided by us.

Anonymous wrote:




I am not the OP, but I am interested in the bolded part above. The gifted resource teacher at my sons' school said that Swanson does differentiate in middle school. She had a name for it, but I can't remember what it was. It sounded to me like it was a full program that was almost like tracking in that if your student was labeled as gifted they would go through middle school with other kids who were also gifted. She said that is also trickling down to the elementary school level where the gifted students would be put in classes together as well. I know Arlington's gifted program is subject specific so I am not sure how that would all work, but she thought it was important that my son was identified by the time he got to middle school for this reason (he's in 4th now).


This resource teacher is lying. There is no such program in APS middle schools. There are different levels of math only. In every other subject, students are designated as gifted, but get nothing for it, except that the classroom teacher is aware of it, and will try their best to offer enrichment to those students in a regular classroom. There is one GT resource teacher per middle school. Think about that: one person is supposed to provide a full program to some 200-300 designated kids in each middle school? Not.


I really don't think she was lying as she has nothing to gain from doing that. In a way, putting those kids together in one class would make it easier for the gifted teacher - she could hit them all in one full swoop. It was surprising for me to hear her say that, but she said our school is moving that way, and I know of another N. Arlington elementaries where they are doing the same thing.

Is your child in the gifted program and are they are Swanson?


Yes, she does have something to gain by lying, which is to create a public perception that there is a viable gifted program in Arlington middle schools. And your suggestion that it is easier to put them in one class for her is ridiculous--gifted teachers in middle schools do not actually teach classes or pull students out, they come into classes and help the general ed teacher. Even the gifted math classes are taught by general ed teachers, not by the gifted resource teacher.



I completely disagree with you. If you have an entire class of gifted students, the general ed teacher along with the gifted teacher is going to be able to do different types of activities in that class. They could do a whole class activity that used more higher order thinking skills, or some other type of "gifted" activity. It would also allow the gifted teacher to just come into one class rather than trying to split her time to work with 4-5 students in 4-5 classes. It is easier for the general ed teacher, too, if all of her students are working at a similar level. I am not saying this is PC or something that schools would admit to doing because it is tracking, but it does make sense to me. And as a PP stated, it is something that Williamsburg does or used to do so it is not ridiculous at all.

Anonymous wrote:

I am not the OP, but I am interested in the bolded part above. The gifted resource teacher at my sons' school said that Swanson does differentiate in middle school. She had a name for it, but I can't remember what it was. It sounded to me like it was a full program that was almost like tracking in that if your student was labeled as gifted they would go through middle school with other kids who were also gifted. She said that is also trickling down to the elementary school level where the gifted students would be put in classes together as well. I know Arlington's gifted program is subject specific so I am not sure how that would all work, but she thought it was important that my son was identified by the time he got to middle school for this reason (he's in 4th now).


This resource teacher is lying. There is no such program in APS middle schools. There are different levels of math only. In every other subject, students are designated as gifted, but get nothing for it, except that the classroom teacher is aware of it, and will try their best to offer enrichment to those students in a regular classroom. There is one GT resource teacher per middle school. Think about that: one person is supposed to provide a full program to some 200-300 designated kids in each middle school? Not.


I really don't think she was lying as she has nothing to gain from doing that. In a way, putting those kids together in one class would make it easier for the gifted teacher - she could hit them all in one full swoop. It was surprising for me to hear her say that, but she said our school is moving that way, and I know of another N. Arlington elementaries where they are doing the same thing.

Is your child in the gifted program and are they are Swanson?

Yes, she does have something to gain by lying, which is to create a public perception that there is a viable gifted program in Arlington middle schools. And your suggestion that it is easier to put them in one class for her is ridiculous--gifted teachers in middle schools do not actually teach classes or pull students out, they come into classes and help the general ed teacher. Even the gifted math classes are taught by general ed teachers, not by the gifted resource teacher.

I am not the OP, but I am interested in the bolded part above. The gifted resource teacher at my sons' school said that Swanson does differentiate in middle school. She had a name for it, but I can't remember what it was. It sounded to me like it was a full program that was almost like tracking in that if your student was labeled as gifted they would go through middle school with other kids who were also gifted. She said that is also trickling down to the elementary school level where the gifted students would be put in classes together as well. I know Arlington's gifted program is subject specific so I am not sure how that would all work, but she thought it was important that my son was identified by the time he got to middle school for this reason (he's in 4th now).


This resource teacher is lying. There is no such program in APS middle schools. There are different levels of math only. In every other subject, students are designated as gifted, but get nothing for it, except that the classroom teacher is aware of it, and will try their best to offer enrichment to those students in a regular classroom. There is one GT resource teacher per middle school. Think about that: one person is supposed to provide a full program to some 200-300 designated kids in each middle school? Not.


I really don't think she was lying as she has nothing to gain from doing that. In a way, putting those kids together in one class would make it easier for the gifted teacher - she could hit them all in one full swoop. It was surprising for me to hear her say that, but she said our school is moving that way, and I know of another N. Arlington elementaries where they are doing the same thing.

Is your child in the gifted program and are they are Swanson?

Anonymous wrote:

I am not the OP, but I am interested in the bolded part above. The gifted resource teacher at my sons' school said that Swanson does differentiate in middle school. She had a name for it, but I can't remember what it was. It sounded to me like it was a full program that was almost like tracking in that if your student was labeled as gifted they would go through middle school with other kids who were also gifted. She said that is also trickling down to the elementary school level where the gifted students would be put in classes together as well. I know Arlington's gifted program is subject specific so I am not sure how that would all work, but she thought it was important that my son was identified by the time he got to middle school for this reason (he's in 4th now).

This resource teacher is lying. There is no such program in APS middle schools. There are different levels of math only. In every other subject, students are designated as gifted, but get nothing for it, except that the classroom teacher is aware of it, and will try their best to offer enrichment to those students in a regular classroom. There is one GT resource teacher per middle school. Think about that: one person is supposed to provide a full program to some 200-300 designated kids in each middle school? Not.

I am not the OP, but I am interested in the bolded part above. The gifted resource teacher at my sons' school said that Swanson does differentiate in middle school. She had a name for it, but I can't remember what it was. It sounded to me like it was a full program that was almost like tracking in that if your student was labeled as gifted they would go through middle school with other kids who were also gifted. She said that is also trickling down to the elementary school level where the gifted students would be put in classes together as well. I know Arlington's gifted program is subject specific so I am not sure how that would all work, but she thought it was important that my son was identified by the time he got to middle school for this reason (he's in 4th now).