Advanced Academic Program (AAP) Basics

Fairfax County Public Schools offers a continuum of advanced academic services for students K-12 that builds upon students' individual strengths and skills and maximizes academic potential for all learners.

Beginning in first and second grade, all FCPS students are screened for eligibility for Advanced Academic Services using a variety of assessments. Official AAP services begin in third grade. However, all of our teachers in all grade levels use differentiated instruction within the classroom to enrich the program of studies for those students who can benefit from the additional material.

Like all elementary schools in Fairfax County, Laurel Hill Elementary offers school-based Level III Advanced Academic Program (AAP) services to students who qualify. The services are provided on a pull-out basis once a week by our Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART) Misty Clatterbuck.

Laurel Hill also offers full-time Level IV services to selected students in grades 3 through 6. Those qualified students may also choose to attend the full-time Level IV center at nearby Lorton Station Elementary School.

The AAP Level IV program offers students a highly challenging instructional program that follows the FCPS Program of Studies. Differentiation in the depth, breadth, and pace of instruction is designed to meet the needs of advanced learners with a strong emphasis on higher-level thinking skills. Adaptations are made to the curriculum in order to provide an appropriate level of challenge for gifted learners with a strong emphasis on critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making. Students pursue independent investigations and ongoing research appropriate to the disciplines. They have ongoing opportunities for reflection and self-assessment that develop an understanding of the characteristics, demands, and responsibilities of advanced intellectual development.