qualified for APP but stayed in W.Seattle?

[therese]

I would be interested in hearing from any parents whose children tested into the APP program at Lowell but opted to remain at their home school in West Seattle. We are divided over what to do next year with our daughter, who could go to Lowell next year, but who is quite happy at her current school. We’ve talked to a few Lowell parents, but would also like to hear the perspectives from people who decided to stay close to home.

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[add]

Our son was eligible for APP/Spectrum since 1st grade, but we opted to keep him at Pathfinder for his elementary years because, simply, he was thriving there. I have always thought that he will always be smart, but we really wanted to make sure he could also be a happy and socially adjusted member of a community, and that is an important element of Pathfinder’s vision/mission.

In elementary, I think the social/emotional aspect is equally, if not more, important than academics – especially for kids who test into APP. Again, each of our kids is unique, with different learning styles & needs, but I would ask you, if your child (and you?) are happy at your current school – what might you gain from moving?

A big factor for us was also the extra-long bus commute to/from Lowell, and I just like the idea of my kids having friends in their WS neighborhood. It depends how old your child is, too – for us, at a certain age we felt bad about moving him away from his friends.

Good luck with your decision, I know it’s a tough one!!

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[charlabob]

ADD, I thank you and I’m pretty sure your kids will always thank you too. As you said, your kids will always be smart — there are other things. It’s amazing how many parents don’t seem to get that — could it be that sending kids to Lowell (or any prestige/APP program) is really good for the parents’ self-esteem???

As a very old former kid whose alleged intelligence was my rents’ most valued status symbol….again, I thank you.

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[Jerald]

All of our kids qualified for Spectrum. We kept one in the regular program because he was happy and challenged (in elementary).

For the others, we moved them into Lafayette’s Spectrum program, after lots of agonizing.

I was a “bright” kid in the old days and remembered what it was like to wait while most of the class took longer to learn things. I asked myself, would I have been happier in a class made up of just the others like me, and I had to say, yes. So we moved the younger kids after kindergarten, before they’d gotten very attached to their friends.

I know this doesn’t totally apply to moving to Lowell, because that’s a bigger step to go so far away.

Our younger kids did go on to Washington Middle School, where APP kids go too. Although they made lots of friends from around the city, their closest ties have been with those from West Seattle because they ride the bus together.

BTW, if you asked him now, I think our oldest son believes he’d have been better off going into Spectrum or APP. He eventually ended up at Garfield because West Seattle schools were not enough for him.

Being a parent is difficult…there’s never a right answer. You do the best you can.

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[therese]

add, the reasons you cite for staying at your home school are the same ones that we have. So thank you for the affirmation!

Our main question is the one that Jerald raised somewhat…will our child continue to be challenged throughout elementary school? I personally went to a “regular” school (in a different city) for elementary, was pretty bored, and then my parents switched me to a magnet school across town for middle school. It was the best decision they could have made for me academically. But also,(and this is a big difference from there and here) my middle school drew kids from all over the city from VERY diverse backgrounds and in retrospect, part of what I’ve come to appreciate about my education was that I was taken out of a very homogeneous neighborhood and thrown into a literal melting pot. That our daughter has classmates/friends from many cultures is one of the things we really appreciate about our home school, yet from what I’ve seen/heard, that diversity just doesn’t exist yet at Lowell.

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[Bernicki]

Our daughter has been in Spectrum at Lafayette since first grade. I’ve never re-tested her for possible inclusion in APP, because even if she qualified, I wouldn’t want to send her to Lowell. I have nothing against Lowell. We just really like Lafayette, and I don’t see the point in bussing her across town when we have a good neighborhood school that she’s doing well in.

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[tippy]

Sorry about the duplicate post but my reply was supposed to go here.

My two children are currently at Lowell. It was a difficult decision to move them from Lafayette and the agonizing decision took two years. It was the right decision for my children however. The idea of community which has been discussed in this thread is the heart of the matter. The definition of community is the point of difference. Lowell is a very tight community. When we first arrived the term “cohort” was bantered around but I just didn’t get it until after the first year. “Cohort” being community. The bond that the kids have there is different than the bond I saw at Lafayette. However, it could be the age and peculiarities with my children. Whatever the reason, I am glad we went.

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[JW]

All very good information; thanks! Sorry for the dumb question, but when does all this testing happen? Is it something we (the parents) need to seek out, prior to enrollment in Kindergarten (we’re looking at the 09/10 school year) or is it offered to children, based on ability, during their year in K?

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[add]

It is offered at every public school in the fall, the deadline for applying is usually October 1. I’m pretty sure it starts in 1st grade. Ask your school’s principal or secretary for more info. If your application is accepted your child will be scheduled for , which is held at the school. A warning: testing for the younger ones (grades 1-3, I believe) is done in groups and is mostly verbal. For some kids that’s a hindrance.

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[Jerald]

Something to keep in mind is that you must be pro-active in getting your child into a highly-capable program. It is in the neighborhood school’s interest to keep the high achievers where they are, improving their school’s test scores. Many teachers don’t believe in separating out the highly-capable and won’t be supportive.

If your kids don’t qualify through the district’s testing, you may need to pursue private testing and appeal the decision.

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[suzanne]

I have one child who qualified for Spectrum and one who qualified for APP and we opted to keep them both at Arbor Heights because they were very happy and were still being challenged. I am a strong believer in neighborhood schools and I was fortunate that we had a neighborhood school we were very happy with. I agree with add’s comments about the social/emotional factors being almost more important than the academic factors. My husband and I have not regretted our decision and our kids have thrived.

We looked at the situation again when deciding on a middle school and we chose to enroll our older child in Denny Spectrum instead of APP for the same reasons. Our younger child will also go into Denny Spectrum next year. If the APP program had been in West Seattle, we would have probably gone that route. I just feel that we can be more involved in the school when it’s closer to our home. By the way, we have been very happy with Denny and absolutely love the diversity. That was also a big reason for enrolling them there.

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