Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) Advisory Committee

AAPAC norms were introduced and member looked over the normsand shared if revisions were warranted.

During introductions, members shared who they represent and whatbrought them to serve on the AAPAC committee.

Holly Glaser has agreed to continue on as a chair. It was asked of
the committee if anyone would like to be a co-chair. Time was givento consider, anyone from the committee who is interested please
email Ms. Maloney.

• Staff response to the 2022-23 SY report recommendations were
  shared with the committee.
• A reminder that the FCPS Local Plan for the Gifted is how our
  district meets the Virginia regulations that govern how gifted
  education is conducted in FCPS.
• Language change with the service model. Focus has always been
  on the need of the student and matching that need with a service.
  Service descriptors have changed. We no longer use labels such as
  Levels I-IV. To support better understanding of AAP services,
  schools and central office now use full-time AAP, part-time AAP,
  subject specific AAP and Tier 1 access to rigor.
• The HOPE Gifted RATING Scale will replace the GBRS in SY
  2023-2024.
  • There were concerns with the GBRS noted in the external review
    (no psychometric tests, parental influence) and from schools (not
    enough variance in ratings they could give and workload for writing
    commentary was not sustainable).
  • HOPE Gifted Rating Scale was developed at Purdue, focused on
    improving identification for students in low-income and culturally
    diverse communities. There are two types of prompts in academic
    and social realms. This student went through multiple studies and
    was improved based on those studies.
  • Question from member about 2e students being represented in the
    scale. Some will showcase the strengths where the student may
    shine – the process is a strength-based look at matching students to
    services on the continuum. Reminder to look at this holistically, no
    one piece has more value. The rating scale is one piece of the
    information, just like other single pieces (test scores, progress
    reports, work samples, parent input).
• AAPAC Charge for this: AAPAC will learn about research in the field
  of twice-exceptional (23) and hear about central and school-based
  efforts to meet the need of 2e learners in FCPS.
  • Randi from ASCD shared how the committee looked at the area of
    dyslexia and assistive technology. Based on feedback from
    committee and other community groups that had anecdotal evidence
    that 2e students may not get as much access to higher level
    opportunities as neurotypical students. This anecdotal evidence was
    especially true for middle school and high school. To answer those
    needs they worked with the administration. They discovered there
    was the inability to pull data of those with 504 or IEP and identify
    them for services. In addition to data privacy around special
    education, there are currently two different databases used that do
    not currently merge information. Thus, they were unable to prove or
    disprove the anecdotal findings due to database needs. Randi will
    share the report if requested by members or they can read it on the
    ASCD page .

Dr. Oladimeji began by sharing how FCPS Strategic Planning Goalsconnect to the goals and needs of 2e students.

This is an equity issue. Not only do students need to have access,
but the question is do they find success when engaged inopportunities for advanced learning? This means, we are on a
journey to help change mindsets about 2e students.

Dr. Oladimeji shared recent research focused on 2e students withmembers.

She shared about her background and experiences as well as her
current role as a 2e specialist focused on collaboration with schools,
multiple central offices, and members of the FCPS community.

This work is a shared responsibility and the importance of increasing
capacity through ongoing teacher and staff training. There is a need
for stakeholders to work with parents to assess and plan for
appropriate inclusive programs at different levels and to reflect on
the impact of the programs on 2e students.

She shared about the need for flexibility in providing organized
structures that support staff in meeting Individualized education plan
(IEP) goals and accommodation and implementing strategies such
as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) , curriculum differentiation, and
the appropriate learning environment to meet eh diverse needs of 2e
learners and different school contexts.

Members unpacked and discussed part 1 of the Fairfax County
Public Schools 2e Handbook .

A shared understanding of what is a 504 versus an IEP wasdiscussed.

A member mentioned that identification and 2e students and needsmay not be prevalent in all places such as the AAP Website

Ms. Maloney will send out a link to gather questions about 2e.The link to the 2e Webinar will be sent out.

Webinars can be found on the Family Resource Center page .