Current WIS parents

[Anonymous]

Can you please share what you feel are the pros and cons of the International Baccalaureate approach to education? What are you opinions on how your child's progress is measured and how assessment is done? What is your sense on how the program works for either children who are ahead of or behind the curve?

[Anonymous]

My child is still in Pre-K at WIS, so my direct experience about learning assessment in an IB environment is very limited for the moment. However, from what I have seen during the current year, an unquestionable asset of the IB at WIS ( beyond the foreign-language immersion, which is, in my view, exceptional) is the interconnectedness of the various subject matters. Students learn to make meaningful connections among different disciplines because the academic units are conceived precisely with that purpose in mind. Furthermore, the perspective of the IB program at WIS is really global, hence it creates awareness of cultural diversity and stimulates critical thinking because it exposes students to multiple realities. And all this can be perceived very clearly already at my child's level.
My only hope is that the school will continue to offer the same intellectual stimulation throughout the years. So far I wouldn't trade this environment with any other school in DC, no matter what most people seem to think in this thread. Actually, I think the school should be far more visible, considering that it offers an unbeatable education, with tangible cogntive results (and far less frivolous than cotillons and other forms snobbishness), and excellent college placement.
In more general terms, regarding pros and cons of the IB, the only drawback I might think of is the fact that, precisely because of its emphasis on a more global (and less parochial) perspective, the IB college preparation may devote less attention to the obsessive testing that seems to occur in most other traditional schools. Which means that students may not learn all the tricks that are necessary to score at the top in the SATs for US admissions. But this can be compensated, I think, by the excellent overall preparation in all the subject matters during the IB exams, and by the critical thinking component of the IB program as a whole. And WIS in particular has a truly excellent tradition in terms of students' performance in the IB exams.
I assume you are familiar with the ongoing debate about Advanced Placement vs IB. The most recent trend in secondary education in the US seems to be in favor of the IB (which is rapidly gaining ground in schools all over the US for the depth and breadth of its program). Regarding IB and testing, you may want to read the recent book by Jay Mathews titled Supertest. You will find very eloquent reasons for treasuring the IB.

[Anonymous]

We have our three DCs at WIS and think it's absolutely fabulous. WIS was actually our second choice school for our first child, mostly because we were uncertain about the language immersion program. Neither my husband nor I are proficient foreign language speakers.

The IB program is great. The PP mentioned how integrated it is, and I agree that that is a huge strength. I think the assessment system is great too. It feels authentic to my kids and requires that they show a real understanding and ability to apply what they're learning. I am constantly surprised at how quickly my DCs' writing, speaking, and thinking abilities are developing - probably because they're constantly being challenged in a healthy and meaningful way.

By the way, WIS was our first choice for our other two DCs

[Anonymous]

And I forgot to mention, we think the immersion program is great now!

[Anonymous]

to the pp - you said you & your dh don't speak a foreign language - does this make it difficult to understand/help with what your children are studying/homework at WIS? we were really interested in applying to WIS for our ds, but nervous that we wouldn't be able to help since we wouldn't understand much past what he learned in Pre-K! and, knowing that the majority of families probably have at least one parent who speaks the language the children specialize in, we wondered if that would be a significant disadvantage for ds.
thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

I'm the pp above, and to answer your question - If there is a disadvantage, it's a pretty miniscule one. WIS has afterschool homework help if the parents don't feel comfortable helping with homework, and the school is great about making sure explanations and directions are available in English. By time our oldest started getting much homework, he was speaking fluently enough to translate things for us. We also have a babysitter who speaks Spanish pretty well who we've called on to help at the odd time when we felt a bit out of our league - which has been very rarely. Google's free translation service is great too! DH and I are even picking up a bit of Spanish now, and that's without doing anything intentionally on our part.

[Anonymous]

I am interested in how easy it is for WIS kids to transition to a high school that may be very different... that is, when they are used to language immersion and the IB program focused around units, what is it like for them to transition to a high school where everything is in English and does NOT work in an IB framework?

Do they lose some of the language ability once they are no longer immersed? Is it hard to switch from learning in this global, integrated, unit-centered approach to a more traditional approach?

I am trying to think long-term here, though of course it will be MANY years down the road.

Have any current parents heard stories from families with kids who have gone on the more traditional, non-immersion high schools and what are their experiences?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am interested in how easy it is for WIS kids to transition to a high school that may be very different... that is, when they are used to language immersion and the IB program focused around units, what is it like for them to transition to a high school where everything is in English and does NOT work in an IB framework?

Do they lose some of the language ability once they are no longer immersed? Is it hard to switch from learning in this global, integrated, unit-centered approach to a more traditional approach?

I am trying to think long-term here, though of course it will be MANY years down the road.

Have any current parents heard stories from families with kids who have gone on the more traditional, non-immersion high schools and what are their experiences?

By the time WIS kids are in high school, most of the curriculum is taught in English, so from the linguistic point of view there shouldn't be any problem adapting to a more traditional school. At the same time, the foreign language by then is very much ingrained in the students' minds, thus they will not lose that skill either (they may forget some details, but the "template" remains in place, and fluency can be easily revived with minimal efforts. And even if the IB program may seem to do things differently, it covers all the fundamental elements that are taught in more traditional schools (and even more material, and more deeply), which means that kids who transfer to another school are very well prepared to adjust to that new situation. I would not worry at all, if this is your concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have our three DCs at WIS and think it's absolutely fabulous. WIS was actually our second choice school for our first child, mostly because we were uncertain about the language immersion program. Neither my husband nor I are proficient foreign language speakers.

The IB program is great. The PP mentioned how integrated it is, and I agree that that is a huge strength. I think the assessment system is great too. It feels authentic to my kids and requires that they show a real understanding and ability to apply what they're learning. I am constantly surprised at how quickly my DCs' writing, speaking, and thinking abilities are developing - probably because they're constantly being challenged in a healthy and meaningful way.

By the way, WIS was our first choice for our other two DCs

It is so refreshing to read an intelligent, informed, and objective thread about WIS, finally! I wonder why WIS parents don't speak up more frequently about the wonderful experience that students get at this school. The academic preparation is outstanding (certainly on a par, if not better, than that at the so-called "big 3" schools that generate so much frenzy and anxiety), teachers are excellent, the student-teacher ratio difficult to beat, outplacement is first-rate. From some recent, very superficial posts one may get the impression that it is easy to get into WIS (read: it is not a demanding school). Well....prospective applicants and detractors should do their homework before expressing opinions!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: From some recent, very superficial posts one may get the impression that it is easy to get into WIS (read: it is not a demanding school). Well....prospective applicants and detractors should do their homework before expressing opinions!

I wouldn't say that WIS was easy to get into. I would say that the admission process is somewhat superficial (probably more so than the Big 3) in terms of the "types" of families (yes families, not children) they admit.

[Anonymous]

Is it the case that WIS now offers Chinese immersion as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it the case that WIS now offers Chinese immersion as well?

Yes, starting from the 2007-2008 school year, all incoming 6th grades can receive language instruction leading to the International Baccalaureate exam in Chinese. You can also pursue Chinese language as an extracurricular activity starting from kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it the case that WIS now offers Chinese immersion as well?

Yes, starting from the 2007-2008 school year, all incoming 6th grades can receive language instruction leading to the International Baccalaureate exam in Chinese. You can also pursue Chinese language as an extracurricular activity starting from kindergarten.

For additional information regarding Chinese offering at WIS, and for an overview of the school's international initiatives (among which new connections being created with Chinese institutions), you can take a look at the following link, related to the Prize WIS was awarded for Excellence in International Education:

http://www.internationaled.org/prizes/washingtoninternational.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the pp above, and to answer your question - If there is a disadvantage, it's a pretty miniscule one. WIS has afterschool homework help if the parents don't feel comfortable helping with homework, and the school is great about making sure explanations and directions are available in English. By time our oldest started getting much homework, he was speaking fluently enough to translate things for us. We also have a babysitter who speaks Spanish pretty well who we've called on to help at the odd time when we felt a bit out of our league - which has been very rarely. Google's free translation service is great too! DH and I are even picking up a bit of Spanish now, and that's without doing anything intentionally on our part.

I fully agree. The "disadvantage" of not speaking the language at home is very minor (there are more families than you think that are in this condition, and many children enrolled at WIS are neither English native speakers nor native speakers of the other foreign languages being taught at WIS). The school knows how to cope with this student population and gives all them all the opportunities to develop native proficiency without impairing the level of the contents being taught through the language.
Cognitively, full-immersion in a foreign language at an early age is the best possible learning experience. The brain is trained to make connections that otherwise would not come up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: From some recent, very superficial posts one may get the impression that it is easy to get into WIS (read: it is not a demanding school). Well....prospective applicants and detractors should do their homework before expressing opinions!

I wouldn't say that WIS was easy to get into. I would say that the admission process is somewhat superficial (probably more so than the Big 3) in terms of the "types" of families (yes families, not children) they admit.

If by "superficial" you mean that the school is open to real diversity when it comes to family backgrounds,and has no specific privileged categories in mind (such as very rich, powerful, and well connected people), I think this is another very positive aspect of WIS.