Maryvale and Sligo Creek ES French Immersion programs

[Anonymous]

Talk to me about them... How involved is the parent community? Opportunities to volunteer? Did you give up a great "home elementary" for the immersion school? How is that going with not having classmates live nearby? Heard SC has an outdoor garden program.. Any outdoor learning/teaching? Any info you want to share please do! Good or bad! Want to be prepared in case if we do get lucky and are offered a spot anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Both of these schools have regional preferences, so, given the number of applicants, I think realistically you have a shot at one of them but not both. (You’ll get a WL number for both, but if outside the regional zone for one, your number will be below everyone else who is in the zone.)

[Anonymous]

Assuming your kid learns typically, take a seat at SCES if you get it. There have been issues for kids who need special ed services—probably others can say more about this—but for a kid who does not, it has been a once in a lifetime, trajectory-altering opportunity. I literally cannot believe we got this lucky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assuming your kid learns typically, take a seat at SCES if you get it. There have been issues for kids who need special ed services—probably others can say more about this—but for a kid who does not, it has been a once in a lifetime, trajectory-altering opportunity. I literally cannot believe we got this lucky.

Have the teachers been consistently good? Any complaints about the Principal? Parent community/involvement at the school as a whole?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming your kid learns typically, take a seat at SCES if you get it. There have been issues for kids who need special ed services—probably others can say more about this—but for a kid who does not, it has been a once in a lifetime, trajectory-altering opportunity. I literally cannot believe we got this lucky.

Have the teachers been consistently good? Any complaints about the Principal? Parent community/involvement at the school as a whole?

Also can you share more about you feeling that lucky?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming your kid learns typically, take a seat at SCES if you get it. There have been issues for kids who need special ed services—probably others can say more about this—but for a kid who does not, it has been a once in a lifetime, trajectory-altering opportunity. I literally cannot believe we got this lucky.

Have the teachers been consistently good? Any complaints about the Principal? Parent community/involvement at the school as a whole?

Also can you share more about you feeling that lucky?

Yes, no, and yes, respectively.

My kid is bilingual and this required no additional effort from me. It would not have been possible in our household otherwise.

What are your hesitations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming your kid learns typically, take a seat at SCES if you get it. There have been issues for kids who need special ed services—probably others can say more about this—but for a kid who does not, it has been a once in a lifetime, trajectory-altering opportunity. I literally cannot believe we got this lucky.

Have the teachers been consistently good? Any complaints about the Principal? Parent community/involvement at the school as a whole?

Yes, no, yes. I'm not the PP. we love SCES and we also can't believe we got this lucky. Kid is just finishing 2nd grade. We lived a bus ride away during K, but have lived in walking distance since. I'd say it's easier to live in walking distance since many classmates also live close-by. But ultimately, it's a great place.

[Anonymous]

Is it common for younger siblings to get into the program? I know they get two shots in the lottery but I’m wondering if it feels common for younger siblings to get in. I’d love my child to attend an immersion program but I’m worried about the logistics down the road with potentially having siblings at different schools. I’ve also heard that sometimes the school lets siblings into the regular/“academy” program…?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it common for younger siblings to get into the program? I know they get two shots in the lottery but I’m wondering if it feels common for younger siblings to get in. I’d love my child to attend an immersion program but I’m worried about the logistics down the road with potentially having siblings at different schools. I’ve also heard that sometimes the school lets siblings into the regular/“academy” program…?

The lottery can go either way. I know families who have had no problem COSA-int into RCF and SCES as recently this year fwiw. Sometimes you have to appeal the first decision. Fwiw I have heard very mixed things about the academy at SCES recently, particularly the current K class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it common for younger siblings to get into the program? I know they get two shots in the lottery but I’m wondering if it feels common for younger siblings to get in. I’d love my child to attend an immersion program but I’m worried about the logistics down the road with potentially having siblings at different schools. I’ve also heard that sometimes the school lets siblings into the regular/“academy” program…?

The lottery can go either way. I know families who have had no problem COSA-int into RCF and SCES as recently this year fwiw. Sometimes you have to appeal the first decision. Fwiw I have heard very mixed things about the academy at SCES recently, particularly the current K class.

I think that was due to the behavior of a single student. That could happen at any school. Happened in the Immersion program six years back.

The Academy (non-Immersion) classes at SCES are fine and many teachers well loved. Wish there could be more immersion available, though -- there certainly is the interest among families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it common for younger siblings to get into the program? I know they get two shots in the lottery but I’m wondering if it feels common for younger siblings to get in. I’d love my child to attend an immersion program but I’m worried about the logistics down the road with potentially having siblings at different schools. I’ve also heard that sometimes the school lets siblings into the regular/“academy” program…?

The lottery can go either way. I know families who have had no problem COSA-int into RCF and SCES as recently this year fwiw. Sometimes you have to appeal the first decision. Fwiw I have heard very mixed things about the academy at SCES recently, particularly the current K class.

I think that was due to the behavior of a single student. That could happen at any school. Happened in the Immersion program six years back.

The Academy (non-Immersion) classes at SCES are fine and many teachers well loved. Wish there could be more immersion available, though -- there certainly is the interest among families.

We have had kids in both programs (Academy and Immersion) and there are excellent teachers in both programs. Yes, there are occasional duds - which is true of most if not all schools. Overall, the school is well-run, and the PTA is extremely active and well-funded. We've been very happy there.

That said, I wouldn't spend lot of time getting feedback until you have actual lottery results as the chances of getting in are pretty slim. If your DC gets a slot, I'd recommend accepting it (you can always change your mind) and then coming back here and reading the numerous old threads on the immersion program and SCES in general.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it common for younger siblings to get into the program? I know they get two shots in the lottery but I’m wondering if it feels common for younger siblings to get in. I’d love my child to attend an immersion program but I’m worried about the logistics down the road with potentially having siblings at different schools. I’ve also heard that sometimes the school lets siblings into the regular/“academy” program…?

The lottery can go either way. I know families who have had no problem COSA-int into RCF and SCES as recently this year fwiw. Sometimes you have to appeal the first decision. Fwiw I have heard very mixed things about the academy at SCES recently, particularly the current K class.

I think that was due to the behavior of a single student. That could happen at any school. Happened in the Immersion program six years back.

The Academy (non-Immersion) classes at SCES are fine and many teachers well loved. Wish there could be more immersion available, though -- there certainly is the interest among families.

We have had kids in both programs (Academy and Immersion) and there are excellent teachers in both programs. Yes, there are occasional duds - which is true of most if not all schools. Overall, the school is well-run, and the PTA is extremely active and well-funded. We've been very happy there.

That said, I wouldn't spend lot of time getting feedback until you have actual lottery results as the chances of getting in are pretty slim. If your DC gets a slot, I'd recommend accepting it (you can always change your mind) and then coming back here and reading the numerous old threads on the immersion program and SCES in general.

+1 for trying not to get too invested in advance. The lottery results day heartbreak is real!

[Anonymous]

I will say on the lottery that we were told that kids with numbers up to about 30 likely will get a spot off the wait list. We were in the high single digits and were offered a spot in mid June

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will say on the lottery that we were told that kids with numbers up to about 30 likely will get a spot off the wait list. We were in the high single digits and were offered a spot in mid June

Yes, and I think this guidance is conservative, especially for schools with two immersion classes. They often get to more like 40 before the start of the year. In recent years I've known families with WL numbers in the 50s and 60s to get an offer sometime during the fall. Note that when there is an opening after school starts, the WL can go faster because people are more likely to decline the offer.

That said, we were very unlucky last year! I'm wondering what kind of wait list numbers have a shot for first grade, but I never see that mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will say on the lottery that we were told that kids with numbers up to about 30 likely will get a spot off the wait list. We were in the high single digits and were offered a spot in mid June

Possibly. Just wouldn't count on it. DCCAPS would know, but it probably isn't good for them to put out a "typical" number publicly and then have people unhappy if it doesn't get there.

It depends very much on who is in front in the offer queue/where they might live (farther tends to equal less likely to accept a spot once the logistics are seriously considered, though some are willing and others actually move to be closer once in). Also, I think there was more declining of offers in the past few years due to the prospect of additional hassle during the pandemic (and then stories from that), where there was plenty of adjustment to deal with already, and a new language would make that all the more difficult. Last year might be a better indicator, but that would be an n of 1.

Several years back, I want to say it might have been in the high teens through mid-summer, but that, again would be an n of 1. Still, there are occasional drops leading up to and during the school year from the program that open up seats.