Anonymous
Post 05/17/2025 17:01     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised to hear the negative comments concerning AARTs. Our school has an incredible person in this role. She teaches a specials class (all grade levels) that is super engaging and enriching. I see her working with children in one-to-one or small group pull outs. I know for my child, these were a highlight of the day in K-2. She handles a ton of administrative work for AAP - packets for sure but also curriculum and new initiatives. Maybe my perspective is different because I volunteer in the school every week and I actually see her interacting with students, but in my opinion, her role is vital. I know for my family, she advocated for my gifted child to have additional acceleration beyond level IV, which took a lot of coordination with the county to achieve. Without her work, we would be removing our children to private school or possibly home school. Our situation is perhaps unique, but I am immensely grateful for our AART. It sounds to me that other schools may have a personnel problem and not a full time vs part time problem.


Obviously, you are very fortunate! AARTs, like classroom teachers, vary a lot in terms of effort and effectiveness. Ours did what she was obligated to do (AAP packets), was prompt in responding to questions, didn't lose anything, or miss any deadlines that I know of. But she wasn't engaging as PP described and was sometimes dismissive about certain kids (a la maybe he'll be an athlete or he'll be okay). If they have to reduce AARTs, she'd be a candidate, except if the plan is to put them into classrooms, she probably won't be too inspiring there either.
Anonymous
Post 05/17/2025 12:39     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Anonymous wrote:I volunteer in the school, too, and the AART spends most of her time in the front office. I wish FCPS was consistent with these things. This is why they need to break it into smaller school systems, it's too big.


You spend your entire day volunteering at the school, every day? Maybe you should apply since you have so much time on your hands and an abundance of ideas on how to do the job properly!
Anonymous
Post 05/17/2025 12:15     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
I volunteer in the school, too, and the AART spends most of her time in the front office. I wish FCPS was consistent with these things. This is why they need to break it into smaller school systems, it's too big.
Anonymous
Post 05/17/2025 09:14     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised to hear the negative comments concerning AARTs. Our school has an incredible person in this role. She teaches a specials class (all grade levels) that is super engaging and enriching. I see her working with children in one-to-one or small group pull outs. I know for my child, these were a highlight of the day in K-2. She handles a ton of administrative work for AAP - packets for sure but also curriculum and new initiatives. Maybe my perspective is different because I volunteer in the school every week and I actually see her interacting with students, but in my opinion, her role is vital. I know for my family, she advocated for my gifted child to have additional acceleration beyond level IV, which took a lot of coordination with the county to achieve. Without her work, we would be removing our children to private school or possibly home school. Our situation is perhaps unique, but I am immensely grateful for our AART. It sounds to me that other schools may have a personnel problem and not a full time vs part time problem.


+1 this is the issue.
Anonymous
Post 05/17/2025 08:55     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
I'm surprised to hear the negative comments concerning AARTs. Our school has an incredible person in this role. She teaches a specials class (all grade levels) that is super engaging and enriching. I see her working with children in one-to-one or small group pull outs. I know for my child, these were a highlight of the day in K-2. She handles a ton of administrative work for AAP - packets for sure but also curriculum and new initiatives. Maybe my perspective is different because I volunteer in the school every week and I actually see her interacting with students, but in my opinion, her role is vital. I know for my family, she advocated for my gifted child to have additional acceleration beyond level IV, which took a lot of coordination with the county to achieve. Without her work, we would be removing our children to private school or possibly home school. Our situation is perhaps unique, but I am immensely grateful for our AART. It sounds to me that other schools may have a personnel problem and not a full time vs part time problem.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2025 08:50     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Our AART told me that "maybe DS will be an athlete?" She single-handedly dismissed the academic career of a 10 year old who didn't get into AAP on our first try. Lol. This was a kid who had super high test scores, but a terrible application (we were from out of state... when the FCPS website state "optional" on parent forms, work samples, etc., I thought they meant it!).
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2025 06:24     Subject: Re:New Budget Cutting AART positions
My kids ES had a 1/2 time AART, the Principal told us she was a half time AART and what other school that she worked at. LII was worksheets and an advanced reading group, she didn’t do pull outs with the LII kids. LIII was regular and my kid liked it. A lot of other kids did not and dropped out of the LIII pull out. The AART at our school did not give feedback on parent submissions for packets and was generally speaking unavailable.

Like any job, the performance is more on the person in the role than the job description. The current group of kids at the school don’t like the AART and it doesn’t sound like there is anything more going on than when we were there.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2025 00:51     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our ES AART provided no value. The pull outs were meh. They also didn’t work with the LLIV program. They focused on level III in the upper grades and then K-2. At the center school the AART played no role with the program that I could discern. I’m sure there are great ones, but I don’t think they make a real difference. I put them right up there with the coaches.

100% I would really like to know what all these mommies think the AART does that requires a full-time position. So far, nobody has answered that question. I know that the AART at our school does a ton of stuff that is NOT AAP-related.


You lack reading comprehension skills. This has been addressed multiple times here.


No it hasn't - not all day every day. They've told us a little bit about what the AART does, but definitely not 8 hours a day, 5 days a week worth of work. Find it. Post it. Nobody has. Because they don't do it. They help in the office. We all know it.


It's definitely there. You find it.


Are we 10 years old? Nah nah nah boo boo?

I read what you wrote, PP, your AART teaches a specials class and does the AAP packages twice a year. First, that's not common across all schools, and second, I still don't think that warrants a full-time person. But if you want to lobby for that when almost everyone else on this thread (most of whom are AAP parents) disagree with you, by all means, let the school spend almost $6 Million on this that could go to serve ALL students instead of just a small subset of advanced kids.


For all you know the posters that hate their AART are parents at the same school referring to the same person.

I and others will continue to fight for the AAP program to stay intact because it benefits FCPS while bitter parents like you will continue to do anything you can to chip away at AAP until there is nothing left.


You're conflating two things - the AART and the AAP program. The AART does not teach AAP classes. They maybe do some pull outs to help identify advanced students, but they don't teach AAP full time. Nobody is dismantling the AAP program, you need to calm down.


You describe how AARTs are involved in actual AAP work while arguing that reducing their hours this isn't meant to dismantle AAP.
You need better reasoning skills.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2025 22:05     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our ES AART provided no value. The pull outs were meh. They also didn’t work with the LLIV program. They focused on level III in the upper grades and then K-2. At the center school the AART played no role with the program that I could discern. I’m sure there are great ones, but I don’t think they make a real difference. I put them right up there with the coaches.

100% I would really like to know what all these mommies think the AART does that requires a full-time position. So far, nobody has answered that question. I know that the AART at our school does a ton of stuff that is NOT AAP-related.


You lack reading comprehension skills. This has been addressed multiple times here.


No it hasn't - not all day every day. They've told us a little bit about what the AART does, but definitely not 8 hours a day, 5 days a week worth of work. Find it. Post it. Nobody has. Because they don't do it. They help in the office. We all know it.


It's definitely there. You find it.


Are we 10 years old? Nah nah nah boo boo?

I read what you wrote, PP, your AART teaches a specials class and does the AAP packages twice a year. First, that's not common across all schools, and second, I still don't think that warrants a full-time person. But if you want to lobby for that when almost everyone else on this thread (most of whom are AAP parents) disagree with you, by all means, let the school spend almost $6 Million on this that could go to serve ALL students instead of just a small subset of advanced kids.


For all you know the posters that hate their AART are parents at the same school referring to the same person.

I and others will continue to fight for the AAP program to stay intact because it benefits FCPS while bitter parents like you will continue to do anything you can to chip away at AAP until there is nothing left.


You're conflating two things - the AART and the AAP program. The AART does not teach AAP classes. They maybe do some pull outs to help identify advanced students, but they don't teach AAP full time. Nobody is dismantling the AAP program, you need to calm down.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2025 22:04     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:AAP should be gone everywhere including level 4 programs. I’m glad it’s happening and my kid qualified for AAP.



So you agree with Seattle and NYC:

https://reason.com/2024/04/04/seattle-is-getting-rid-of-gifted-schools-in-a-bid-to-increase-equity/


Shut up about equity, PP. We all know that the vast majority of children in AAP are neither advanced, nor gifted. They just have ambitious parents.


Source?


You're reading it, LOL!
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2025 21:34     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The AART has no role in level 4 centers.


Yes, they do, for base school students K-2, and students in level II, III


Yes, I said they don’t have a role in level 4 centers not that they don’t have a role in schools that are Level 4 centers. PPs seem to think AARTS are involved in the level 4 centers program beyond applications.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2025 21:27     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Question: does anyone on here who is saying their AART is useless actually work in an elementary school? Seems like lots of people claim to know what they do or don’t do on the daily. How do you expect us to tell you what the AART does on a daily basis if we don’t work in the school?

Question: is your AART “useless” because YOUR kid wasn’t found eligible for full time?




Anonymous
Post 05/14/2025 20:10     Subject: New Budget Cutting AART positions
Anonymous wrote:The AART has no role in level 4 centers.


Yes, they do, for base school students K-2, and students in level II, III