Op here. I have no agenda other than to end the arguing and make FCPS better. As I said, our experience is close to great at our school. It's integrated. Level 2 and 3 students get extra enrichment most years and the only reason they don't some years is because of lack of funds which I hope can be fixed. Level 4 students have an advanced curriculum most of the day with additional enrichment for some. Special ed needs some work at our school, but that is a separate issue. I'm just tired of hearing all the back and forth accusations and I'm tired of FCPS not doing anything about the situation. The arguments that start out "You don't understand.... are pointless. I believe everyone understands what each side wants. They just don't seem to be willing to work together. All I'm looking for is for the back and forth accusations to end.

I just wanted people to write in their suggestions. I support change A because it will help AAP here and it will help general ed here. I'm willing to listen to any suggestions and hope others are too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of these posts are very off topic. Instead of writing about experiences this thread was supposed to be about suggestions for improvement based on evidence. And the suggestions were supposed to be ones that benefitted general Ed and AAP at the same time. I'm a little surprised at how difficult it is for people to not just write about their experience and focus on FCPS as a whole. No wonder schools are pushing more collaboration and critical thinking when even some of the smartest parents in the nation don't seem to have these skills. In the future I may report comments that don't have suggestions for both general Ed and AAP as they are off topic.

You only want reponses that say eliminate AAP and/or make it open enrollment based off parent placement only.

I think you're right. This is definitely a fishing expedition to support some unstated ideal and OP wants to be able to say they are backed by AAP parents. If OP would replace the passive-aggressive attitude with a more proactive and transparent approach, folks might actually be able to contribute what little puzzle pieces they can to whatever picture OP is trying to piece together.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of these posts are very off topic. Instead of writing about experiences this thread was supposed to be about suggestions for improvement based on evidence. And the suggestions were supposed to be ones that benefitted general Ed and AAP at the same time. I'm a little surprised at how difficult it is for people to not just write about their experience and focus on FCPS as a whole. No wonder schools are pushing more collaboration and critical thinking when even some of the smartest parents in the nation don't seem to have these skills. In the future I may report comments that don't have suggestions for both general Ed and AAP as they are off topic.

Not sure if you're OP, but OP has stated she will not identify her school and does not want to reveal her own suggestions until hearing those of others. Also that any suggestions must be backed by non-anecdotal evidence. OP also has asked questions about which Level IV may rightly have no clue and has expressed lack of concern about whether this is the best forum. So it seems efficient fact gathering is not actually OP's priority. The whole expectation that suggestions improve both AAP and Gen Ed is also unrealistic, as demonstrated by OPs own reticence. Now the karma police are threatening to report posts for being off topic. This thread is increasingly surreal, and that doesn't even include the whole "HOMEROOM" thing. I suggest everyone just stop posting. Now please report this post before someone with a brain sees it.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of these posts are very off topic. Instead of writing about experiences this thread was supposed to be about suggestions for improvement based on evidence. And the suggestions were supposed to be ones that benefitted general Ed and AAP at the same time. I'm a little surprised at how difficult it is for people to not just write about their experience and focus on FCPS as a whole. No wonder schools are pushing more collaboration and critical thinking when even some of the smartest parents in the nation don't seem to have these skills. In the future I may report comments that don't have suggestions for both general Ed and AAP as they are off topic.

You only want reponses that say eliminate AAP and/or make it open enrollment based off parent placement only.

Anonymous wrote:this thread was supposed to be about suggestions for improvement based on evidence

What sort of evidence do you require, thread originator?

A lot of these posts are very off topic. Instead of writing about experiences this thread was supposed to be about suggestions for improvement based on evidence. And the suggestions were supposed to be ones that benefitted general Ed and AAP at the same time. I'm a little surprised at how difficult it is for people to not just write about their experience and focus on FCPS as a whole. No wonder schools are pushing more collaboration and critical thinking when even some of the smartest parents in the nation don't seem to have these skills. In the future I may report comments that don't have suggestions for both general Ed and AAP as they are off topic.

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of the extreme angst here about AAP classrooms has to do with a lot of you being of the generation that was told you're all SUPER special and entitled to a big prize.

Brace yourself, because here's the reality: not all of us are that bright, or athletic, or talented. And in this area, which is so status conscious and driven, it hurts that much more. So we can't handle it that our kids didn't score highly and go into certain programs, and we project our own issues onto them instead of teaching them self-acceptance, and how to find their strengths and passions themselves.

You're the one projecting here. Not everyone views AAP as a status item or something desirable. I could care less about status and what other people think. I know more than a handful of kids, including mine actually, whose parents CHOSE to keep them in GE even though they were accepted to an AAP center. In our case, the center is our base school and while it's the same physical building, the center is a school within a school and there's little integration.

It's incorrect to imply that all of the kids in GE are there because they're not "bright" enough to be in AAP and that they just didn't measure up. Speaking for myself and the parents I know who have made the same choice, we just don't agree with the premise that the center is the best place for our children or that they can only be challenged if they're surrounded by kids with comparable test scores. Most people disagree with us, but they have to make the right choice for their children, and that's fine. But when I say I'd rather that my child get to choose a different, non-center school where the classrooms aren't segregated and there's more of a normal range of abilities, I mean it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCAG has been posting about social issues in centers for years too. Here's an excerpt from 2006.

Develop a framework for constructive, two-way communication to aid schools in promoting a positive climate in GT center schools. The framework would provide a menu of options to allow GT center schools to customize their own program to meet the individual needs of the school. The framework should also address barriers that might prevent positive communication, suggest possible solutions to overcome the challenges, and include models of partnerships that may be useful.
Schools that host GT centers often face challenges in managing the expectations and communications between parents, teachers, administrators and students in a respectful, mutually cooperative manner. Although all schools must manage issues of climate, their complexity can be heightened in schools with GT centers. The administrators at GT center schools must address the often distinct needs of GT center and general education teachers and students as well as promote respectful interactions between center and non-center students.
Respect in GT center schools needs to be intentionally built with committed leadership that seeks to improve communication between all parties. Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying. Schools can also integrate center populations through team building among teachers and increased awareness of the benefits of this team building among parents.
It is suggested that a framework be formulated by consulting with a panel of principals, parents, and teachers from GT center schools that have successfully promoted integrated communities and positive climates. Based on these discussions, a framework of recommendations for creating and fostering a positive school climate would be developed to help manage these diverse expectations. This may include improved communication, affirmation of advanced academic achievement, stronger peer relationships between GT center and non GT center students, and others. Parent Teacher Associations may also serve as a bridge for better communication.

Ha - I had to laugh at this line: "Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying." Nowadays, it's not the AAP kids who have to be "integrated" into the school - it's the Gen Ed kids. AAP kids are the majority in many centers, for crying out loud.

This is true for our neighborhood school. It's a center and 3rd, 5th, & 6th grades each have 2 GE classes and 3 AAP classes (4th is 3 & 3). AAP is not the minority, GE is.

Would you be happy if it were even? Or if Gen Ed was 3 classes and AAP were 2? Would that solve everything?

No, of course not. I would rather have the option to send my GE child to a non-center school and avoid the issue entirely. Surely there's a spot left vacant somewhere due to someone else sending their AAP child to our school. Wouldn't it even out?

Why would that be necessary if there was enough integration between general ed and AAP and your child was able to learn at their pace taking advanced classes as necessary. Why do people want their kids segregated so much on either side?

Not the PP, and I'm sorry to be snarky, but you just.don't.get.it. If you are not the parent of a Gen Ed child, you will not understand why sending a Gen Ed child to a center, particularly one that is AAP-heavy, is damaging. Many of you pooh-pooh this, by saying the child needs to toughen up, or that the parents are the ones being overly sensitive, not the kids, etc. The fact is, unless you've had your child come home - daily - asking why so many kids at his school are in AAP but s/he is not, then you have NO CLUE what it's like for them. Many of you like to dismiss this, as if we're making it up or being melodramatic. But again - if the situation was reversed, and it was your child feeling completely less than because of the very in-your-face segregation, more AAP classes than Gen Ed, etc., you'd be the first ones up in arms about it.

But of course, it's not your child, is it? As long as your child isn't affected negatively, then who the hell cares, right? It's all just much ado about nothing.

It's a hard balance.

When my DD was in 1st grade, she was in the "Young Scholars" class at our neighborhood school. She was young for the class (summer birthday and we perhaps mistakenly sent her to school on time instead of red-shirt) and she would spend recess watching the ants and their ant trails along the edge of the playground. She had a small number of friends, and the teachers tried to get her to mix and play with other kids, but she was simply fascinated by the ants.

In 2nd grade, she was once again in the Young Scholars class, where there were two teachers (math/science and language arts) who split the day in the class. Recess was tough for my DD, as she was mocked and laughed at by a group of girls, and the few friends she had made that liked to watch the ants, or watch the birds, etc., were boys, and they ran off to play soccer at recess.

We started DD with the therapist towards the end of 1st grade. We took her to a psychologist (at Children's) at the recommendation of the therapist. DD was evaluated for and then diagnosed with ADHD. We kept up the therapy all the way into 3rd grade. DD would have frequent nightmares, calling out names of the girls from school/the playground, with shrieks of "No! Stop it!" at night. She didn't want to eat as she thought she could be skinny and be like the popular artists the girls on the playground seemed to admire. She started having tics. She made marks on her arms -- as a 2nd grader.

In the spring of 2nd grade we started DD with a psychiatrist (working with the therapist) and started medication for ADHD. The psychiatrist did not want to medicate for anxiety but only the ADHD symptoms.

The psychologist at Children's suggested we ask for accommodations in school, so we started the process to obtain a 504 Plan. As part of the process, we worked with the AART at our neighborhood school. We submitted the reports and testing results from the psychologist at Children's. DD was found Center-eligible.

We had to decide between the Local Level IV at our neighborhood school, which would usually have only 2 or 3 Center-eligible students, or the Center program. We decided to stay at our neighborhood school, as the AART and school counselor said they could support DD as they had been for years.

In the fall of 3rd grade, things went from bad to worse. DD was having more frequent nightmares, and in her weekly visits to the therapist, she would end up crying and shaking in terror at recalling what was going on at school, not only at recess but also in the classroom. We met with the 3rd grade teacher at least 4 times before the parent-teacher conference time, and the teacher had tried shifting seats in the classroom, allowing DD to select her own seat, allowing DD to get up and move to another part of the rug when they were reading, etc. DD's tics increased. After consulting the psychiatrist, the psychologist, the therapist, and the pediatrician, we made the decision to switch to the Center school after the holiday break.

The transition to the Center school was a little tough, because the 3rd graders had already made friends over the prior four months, and there were only a few students from our neighborhood school. We worked with the school counselor, who completely re-wrote the 504 Plan to add many more accommodations. She also had lunch bunches with our DD and other classmates. Everything else stayed the same -- the ADHD meds and the weekly therapist visits continued.

During Spring Break of 3rd grade, we visited NYC and spent some time visiting museums, as well as the playground in Central Park. DD had no more tics, and the nightmares stopped. While playing on the playground and seeing museum exhibits, DD mentioned how such-and-such person from her class would really like the slide, or really like the dinosaur exhibit. It was a substantial transformation from where she had been for several years.

Looking back, I think I was a failure as a parent as I had continued her at our neighborhood school in 3rd grade. (And I was a failure as I sent her to Kindergarten on time -- bad move on my part.)

I guess I am saying -- unless you have had your child go through the situations I described above -- and go through these for years -- then you have no clue what it is like for them.

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of the extreme angst here about AAP classrooms has to do with a lot of you being of the generation that was told you're all SUPER special and entitled to a big prize.

Brace yourself, because here's the reality: not all of us are that bright, or athletic, or talented. And in this area, which is so status conscious and driven, it hurts that much more. So we can't handle it that our kids didn't score highly and go into certain programs, and we project our own issues onto them instead of teaching them self-acceptance, and how to find their strengths and passions themselves.

So if your child had not gotten into AAP, but was surrounded by kids who did (at say, a center school), you'd be a-ok with the fact that s/he was in the distinct minority, right?

I think a lot of the extreme angst here about AAP classrooms has to do with a lot of you being of the generation that was told you're all SUPER special and entitled to a big prize.

Brace yourself, because here's the reality: not all of us are that bright, or athletic, or talented. And in this area, which is so status conscious and driven, it hurts that much more. So we can't handle it that our kids didn't score highly and go into certain programs, and we project our own issues onto them instead of teaching them self-acceptance, and how to find their strengths and passions themselves.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCAG has been posting about social issues in centers for years too. Here's an excerpt from 2006.

Develop a framework for constructive, two-way communication to aid schools in promoting a positive climate in GT center schools. The framework would provide a menu of options to allow GT center schools to customize their own program to meet the individual needs of the school. The framework should also address barriers that might prevent positive communication, suggest possible solutions to overcome the challenges, and include models of partnerships that may be useful.
Schools that host GT centers often face challenges in managing the expectations and communications between parents, teachers, administrators and students in a respectful, mutually cooperative manner. Although all schools must manage issues of climate, their complexity can be heightened in schools with GT centers. The administrators at GT center schools must address the often distinct needs of GT center and general education teachers and students as well as promote respectful interactions between center and non-center students.
Respect in GT center schools needs to be intentionally built with committed leadership that seeks to improve communication between all parties. Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying. Schools can also integrate center populations through team building among teachers and increased awareness of the benefits of this team building among parents.
It is suggested that a framework be formulated by consulting with a panel of principals, parents, and teachers from GT center schools that have successfully promoted integrated communities and positive climates. Based on these discussions, a framework of recommendations for creating and fostering a positive school climate would be developed to help manage these diverse expectations. This may include improved communication, affirmation of advanced academic achievement, stronger peer relationships between GT center and non GT center students, and others. Parent Teacher Associations may also serve as a bridge for better communication.

Ha - I had to laugh at this line: "Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying." Nowadays, it's not the AAP kids who have to be "integrated" into the school - it's the Gen Ed kids. AAP kids are the majority in many centers, for crying out loud.

This is true for our neighborhood school. It's a center and 3rd, 5th, & 6th grades each have 2 GE classes and 3 AAP classes (4th is 3 & 3). AAP is not the minority, GE is.

Would you be happy if it were even? Or if Gen Ed was 3 classes and AAP were 2? Would that solve everything?

No, of course not. I would rather have the option to send my GE child to a non-center school and avoid the issue entirely. Surely there's a spot left vacant somewhere due to someone else sending their AAP child to our school. Wouldn't it even out?

Why would that be necessary if there was enough integration between general ed and AAP and your child was able to learn at their pace taking advanced classes as necessary. Why do people want their kids segregated so much on either side?

I rather appreciate PP's frankness. Some folks want nothing to do with AAP and just want it and all the carpetbagger families it brings out of their neighborhood school. It’s folly to think that their deepest desire is really to be more like AAP or to spend more time with AAP kids. To them, that may seem like offering someone who hates living next to an airport free plane tickets and thinking it remedies the noise and rattling windows.

Likewise, as one of those carpetbagger parents, I’m not enthusiastic about changing Level IV at centers solely to integrate those who don't qualify. It would rather defeat the point of centers. That being said, I don't specifically prefer my kid segregated. Such separation is simply a cost and result of the way the county implements its Level IV curriculum for the kids identified for it. It's not much different than how kids in band are auditioned and separated into groups. I'd have no problem if everyone qualified for Level IV AAP. I suppose in some schools most kids do, though not all. So I can see how someone in that situation would dislike AAP, and not necessarily because they long to be a part of it.

Maybe the solution for neighborhoods with tje highest concentrations of Level IV is to flip the model and have a Gen Ed center.

I would just like to say THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for your post. It is one of the truest and most sincere I've read on this entire thread, and my child is in Gen Ed. You really seem to get it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCAG has been posting about social issues in centers for years too. Here's an excerpt from 2006.

Develop a framework for constructive, two-way communication to aid schools in promoting a positive climate in GT center schools. The framework would provide a menu of options to allow GT center schools to customize their own program to meet the individual needs of the school. The framework should also address barriers that might prevent positive communication, suggest possible solutions to overcome the challenges, and include models of partnerships that may be useful.
Schools that host GT centers often face challenges in managing the expectations and communications between parents, teachers, administrators and students in a respectful, mutually cooperative manner. Although all schools must manage issues of climate, their complexity can be heightened in schools with GT centers. The administrators at GT center schools must address the often distinct needs of GT center and general education teachers and students as well as promote respectful interactions between center and non-center students.
Respect in GT center schools needs to be intentionally built with committed leadership that seeks to improve communication between all parties. Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying. Schools can also integrate center populations through team building among teachers and increased awareness of the benefits of this team building among parents.
It is suggested that a framework be formulated by consulting with a panel of principals, parents, and teachers from GT center schools that have successfully promoted integrated communities and positive climates. Based on these discussions, a framework of recommendations for creating and fostering a positive school climate would be developed to help manage these diverse expectations. This may include improved communication, affirmation of advanced academic achievement, stronger peer relationships between GT center and non GT center students, and others. Parent Teacher Associations may also serve as a bridge for better communication.

Ha - I had to laugh at this line: "Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying." Nowadays, it's not the AAP kids who have to be "integrated" into the school - it's the Gen Ed kids. AAP kids are the majority in many centers, for crying out loud.

This is true for our neighborhood school. It's a center and 3rd, 5th, & 6th grades each have 2 GE classes and 3 AAP classes (4th is 3 & 3). AAP is not the minority, GE is.

Would you be happy if it were even? Or if Gen Ed was 3 classes and AAP were 2? Would that solve everything?

No, of course not. I would rather have the option to send my GE child to a non-center school and avoid the issue entirely. Surely there's a spot left vacant somewhere due to someone else sending their AAP child to our school. Wouldn't it even out?

Why would that be necessary if there was enough integration between general ed and AAP and your child was able to learn at their pace taking advanced classes as necessary. Why do people want their kids segregated so much on either side?

Not the PP, and I'm sorry to be snarky, but you just.don't.get.it. If you are not the parent of a Gen Ed child, you will not understand why sending a Gen Ed child to a center, particularly one that is AAP-heavy, is damaging. Many of you pooh-pooh this, by saying the child needs to toughen up, or that the parents are the ones being overly sensitive, not the kids, etc. The fact is, unless you've had your child come home - daily - asking why so many kids at his school are in AAP but s/he is not, then you have NO CLUE what it's like for them. Many of you like to dismiss this, as if we're making it up or being melodramatic. But again - if the situation was reversed, and it was your child feeling completely less than because of the very in-your-face segregation, more AAP classes than Gen Ed, etc., you'd be the first ones up in arms about it.

But of course, it's not your child, is it? As long as your child isn't affected negatively, then who the hell cares, right? It's all just much ado about nothing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCAG has been posting about social issues in centers for years too. Here's an excerpt from 2006.

Develop a framework for constructive, two-way communication to aid schools in promoting a positive climate in GT center schools. The framework would provide a menu of options to allow GT center schools to customize their own program to meet the individual needs of the school. The framework should also address barriers that might prevent positive communication, suggest possible solutions to overcome the challenges, and include models of partnerships that may be useful.
Schools that host GT centers often face challenges in managing the expectations and communications between parents, teachers, administrators and students in a respectful, mutually cooperative manner. Although all schools must manage issues of climate, their complexity can be heightened in schools with GT centers. The administrators at GT center schools must address the often distinct needs of GT center and general education teachers and students as well as promote respectful interactions between center and non-center students.
Respect in GT center schools needs to be intentionally built with committed leadership that seeks to improve communication between all parties. Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying. Schools can also integrate center populations through team building among teachers and increased awareness of the benefits of this team building among parents.
It is suggested that a framework be formulated by consulting with a panel of principals, parents, and teachers from GT center schools that have successfully promoted integrated communities and positive climates. Based on these discussions, a framework of recommendations for creating and fostering a positive school climate would be developed to help manage these diverse expectations. This may include improved communication, affirmation of advanced academic achievement, stronger peer relationships between GT center and non GT center students, and others. Parent Teacher Associations may also serve as a bridge for better communication.

Ha - I had to laugh at this line: "Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying." Nowadays, it's not the AAP kids who have to be "integrated" into the school - it's the Gen Ed kids. AAP kids are the majority in many centers, for crying out loud.

This is true for our neighborhood school. It's a center and 3rd, 5th, & 6th grades each have 2 GE classes and 3 AAP classes (4th is 3 & 3). AAP is not the minority, GE is.

Would you be happy if it were even? Or if Gen Ed was 3 classes and AAP were 2? Would that solve everything?

No, of course not. I would rather have the option to send my GE child to a non-center school and avoid the issue entirely. Surely there's a spot left vacant somewhere due to someone else sending their AAP child to our school. Wouldn't it even out?

I could have written the bolded, above. My child's elementary school experience would have been so, so different- and exponentially better - if he had not had to attend a center school (it is our zoned base school). We would have loved a "normal" neighborhood school. Sadly, FCPS felt the need to turn our wonderful community school into a center, changing the entire dynamic.

I feel strongly that just as AAP kids are given a choice between their base school and a center, so too should Gen Ed kids be given a choice if they're zoned for a center school. They should be able to choose the next closest school that is not a center, if that's what they and their parents prefer. Why one group of kids is given this choice, but the other group is not is beyond me.

I should add that I'm referring to the core classes. Things like lunch, recess, specials, field trips, can and should be mixed and are mixed at our center.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCAG has been posting about social issues in centers for years too. Here's an excerpt from 2006.

Develop a framework for constructive, two-way communication to aid schools in promoting a positive climate in GT center schools. The framework would provide a menu of options to allow GT center schools to customize their own program to meet the individual needs of the school. The framework should also address barriers that might prevent positive communication, suggest possible solutions to overcome the challenges, and include models of partnerships that may be useful.
Schools that host GT centers often face challenges in managing the expectations and communications between parents, teachers, administrators and students in a respectful, mutually cooperative manner. Although all schools must manage issues of climate, their complexity can be heightened in schools with GT centers. The administrators at GT center schools must address the often distinct needs of GT center and general education teachers and students as well as promote respectful interactions between center and non-center students.
Respect in GT center schools needs to be intentionally built with committed leadership that seeks to improve communication between all parties. Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying. Schools can also integrate center populations through team building among teachers and increased awareness of the benefits of this team building among parents.
It is suggested that a framework be formulated by consulting with a panel of principals, parents, and teachers from GT center schools that have successfully promoted integrated communities and positive climates. Based on these discussions, a framework of recommendations for creating and fostering a positive school climate would be developed to help manage these diverse expectations. This may include improved communication, affirmation of advanced academic achievement, stronger peer relationships between GT center and non GT center students, and others. Parent Teacher Associations may also serve as a bridge for better communication.

Ha - I had to laugh at this line: "Schools should integrate GT students and foster positive language choices and opportunities for interaction between students without teasing or bullying." Nowadays, it's not the AAP kids who have to be "integrated" into the school - it's the Gen Ed kids. AAP kids are the majority in many centers, for crying out loud.

This is true for our neighborhood school. It's a center and 3rd, 5th, & 6th grades each have 2 GE classes and 3 AAP classes (4th is 3 & 3). AAP is not the minority, GE is.

Would you be happy if it were even? Or if Gen Ed was 3 classes and AAP were 2? Would that solve everything?

No, of course not. I would rather have the option to send my GE child to a non-center school and avoid the issue entirely. Surely there's a spot left vacant somewhere due to someone else sending their AAP child to our school. Wouldn't it even out?

Why would that be necessary if there was enough integration between general ed and AAP and your child was able to learn at their pace taking advanced classes as necessary. Why do people want their kids segregated so much on either side?

I rather appreciate PP's frankness. Some folks want nothing to do with AAP and just want it and all the carpetbagger families it brings out of their neighborhood school. It’s folly to think that their deepest desire is really to be more like AAP or to spend more time with AAP kids. To them, that may seem like offering someone who hates living next to an airport free plane tickets and thinking it remedies the noise and rattling windows.

Likewise, as one of those carpetbagger parents, I’m not enthusiastic about changing Level IV at centers solely to integrate those who don't qualify. It would rather defeat the point of centers. That being said, I don't specifically prefer my kid segregated. Such separation is simply a cost and result of the way the county implements its Level IV curriculum for the kids identified for it. It's not much different than how kids in band are auditioned and separated into groups. I'd have no problem if everyone qualified for Level IV AAP. I suppose in some schools most kids do, though not all. So I can see how someone in that situation would dislike AAP, and not necessarily because they long to be a part of it.

Maybe the solution for neighborhoods with tje highest concentrations of Level IV is to flip the model and have a Gen Ed center.