Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

Don't do this. If you throw around the FAPE buzzword to try to get an IEP for a gifted and not a disabled student, you will lose ALL credibility. This isn't a thing.

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

Anonymous wrote:Sigh.

This post every year. North Arlington parents, who went to HLS or Georgetown or UVA, believe their snowflake is gifted. Smarter than the other stupid children from, say, dumb Va Tech that they are stuck in school with. I mean, your poor child’s cohort must be filled with absolute idiots. I sympathize

Then the whole they aren’t learning anything all day from the really terrible teachers in APS. I feel your pain. I mean, you should definitely get them into a CHALLENGING elementary school. Look at Sidwell or Beauvoir or GDS or Potomac, where those kids are being taught some hard core stuff. Oh wait. Have you actually looked at what the top elementary programs consist of?

You need some perspective. In 3rd grade, your kid needs mostly to learn some social skills. And to learn how to get along with other nice smart kids, which is who actually attends your kids elementary school. And then read a bunch. That’s it. Maybe discover love of, I dunno, skateboarding. Your kid is going to be way better off if you let them enjoy their childhood. But whatever you push. And see what it gets you. My take is this is your first kid/first rodeo, you have no perspective, and you are one of those overly competitive people who actually have difficultly in the real world.

Anonymous wrote:For those with younger kids, the bar to get into the IB program is not high. It does not siphon off the students from the top of the heap like other programs in other districts might. I believe any student with an I believe any student with a B average or above is welcome to apply. Also, HB is a lottery that has nothing to do with academics.

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Anonymous wrote:It’s not a coincidence that each of Langley and McLean has more National Merit Semifinalists this year than all four of the high schools in APS combined. If you want a more challenging pyramid (and many in APS don’t), that is where you should go.

Yeah, this definitely has nothing to do with the average household income of McLean vs Arlington/SES/demographics.🙄 I’m not saying that accounts for all of the difference, but it’s not insignificant.

Yorktown is very high SES but it has only a handful of NMSF semifinalists. If your hypothesis is right it should be like Mclean

Not a direct comparison because of APS's option program. The top kids transfer to WL for IB

No. Not even close. A lot of top students don't transfer. Someone here keeps pushing this lie.

I'm very familiar with YHS, thanks. You are correct that a lot of top students do not leave YHS. But also, some do go to IB at WL. A few more go to HB. This is different from the FCPS system, so I don't think you can just make the direct comparison that you so desperately want to make. And for what it's worth, I do agree with you that FCPS is stronger for high achieving students. Just pointing out the flaw in your "methodology."

Wait, some "top" students go to H-B? There aren't enough of those kinds of kids enrolled there anymore for your numbers to add up given that there are two other high schools in the county they pull from.

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade gifted kid is just being failed by this school system. No differentiation, no peers in their class that I can see, ridiculous low level instruction. Think 2-letter spelling tests. There are tears every night about how terrible school is and how they aren’t learning anything.

Please, any advice? What’s a viable option? Move to Fairfax? I hear AAP is no great thing. Are there any privates that are more challenging? Thanks for any advice or lessons learned.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

They are way more than 2 grades ahead. But I thought gifted kids are not disabled and you need some sort of disability for an IEP. They are not autistic or anything.

I don’t want to advance my kid in school, I want them to be a kid and have a social life. But all the supplementation in the world is not going to help the pain of having to sit through basic phonics lessons every day and the other simple stuff.

I really wanted to avoid moving because it’s a pain but it looks like that’s what will need to happen. Thanks everyone for the input.

The basics phonics stuff can have value. Many gifted kids learn to read in preschool before they've been explicitly taught more advanced phonics blends. It can be helpful to see these explicitly taught, catagorized, and applied to words, even if it's not preventing the student from reading. It can give them skills to approach even harder words. It's helpful if the teacher differentiates by asking students who have the ability to apply the phonics skills to more challenging words, but that doesn't always happen.

Anonymous wrote:Meeting your profoundly gifted child is more than just challenging them in spelling or math. It's also socializing them, giving them the opportunity to find solutions to being bored, teaching them to exist with others who may be different from them. It's about PE, and recess, and music, and art class. Not just math and reading. It's all the things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

They are way more than 2 grades ahead. But I thought gifted kids are not disabled and you need some sort of disability for an IEP. They are not autistic or anything.

I don’t want to advance my kid in school, I want them to be a kid and have a social life. But all the supplementation in the world is not going to help the pain of having to sit through basic phonics lessons every day and the other simple stuff.

I really wanted to avoid moving because it’s a pain but it looks like that’s what will need to happen. Thanks everyone for the input.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

They are way more than 2 grades ahead. But I thought gifted kids are not disabled and you need some sort of disability for an IEP. They are not autistic or anything.

I don’t want to advance my kid in school, I want them to be a kid and have a social life. But all the supplementation in the world is not going to help the pain of having to sit through basic phonics lessons every day and the other simple stuff.

I really wanted to avoid moving because it’s a pain but it looks like that’s what will need to happen. Thanks everyone for the input.

Anonymous wrote:I'm not from DMV but I recognize all of the symptoms presented here from my local district which is safe, clean, cheerful and great for average students.

Gifted is a euphemism. We should all recognize that. Many of us had that tag as kids without being geniuses.

People want their kids to be appropriately challenged when the kids demonstrate good classroom behavior, can rapidly complete assignments, are reading well above grade level, and have good math skills that would permit advancement to material in the grade(s) ahead.

Current detracking trends in education unquestionably are worse for the learning and skill mastery of the top end of the classes. At my school, they also failed to make good on enrichment worksheets.

My kids were bored a lot in school until high school when ability tracking became more possible. We don't have APs for all. Kids have to step up.

However, as others pointed out, my kids did have to develop social skills. And had more time to be kids. As I told them, the time to get serious is high school.

I'm one of the many who recommended reading for interest. That can help a lot.

Also, if your kid is 2 grades ahead in competence for a subject, you may be able to insist on an IEP. Schools usually resist "gifted" IEPs at the elementary level but they do exist. Throw around the FAPE buzzword and see if you can get specific advanced needs addressed.

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grader at an AAP canter school in FFX county is definitely spelling much more difficult words. Her test last week had illicit, immobile, and exercise on it.