To Yu Ying Parents

[Anonymous]

Hello....My son is starting Pre-k at Yu Ying this upcoming fall...Would love an honest assessment of the past year?? Both pros and cons....Did you see your child flourish this year?? Any disappointments?? I'm looking forward to the fall....

[Anonymous]

Disappointments first: teacher turnover in my child's class mid year

[Anonymous]

Accidentally submitted previous post before I was done--disappointments were teacher turnover but that was the only thing.
Pros were much greater--my DC loves school, speaks some Chinese now, and learned how to read in English and Chinese. Nice, Nice families and kids and excellent teachers.

[Anonymous]

Yu Ying exceeded my expectations this year. I thought that there would be more bumps than there were for a school in its first year. There were some discipline issues, but I felt the school handled these issues very well. My child was enthusiastic about what he was learning, and was excited about Chinese (after the first few weeks). I think if there is one thing, I would have liked to have seen more field trips.

[Anonymous]

The principal has also just resigned (due to family issues) which is a negative. A founder/board member will be pinch-hitting and she's great but Charter schools really needs strong leadership to get through the first few years. The preK teacher turnover was a a bit disruptive but the school handled it very well IMO and that teacher was my least favorite so I wasn't that sorry to see her go. I would have liked a little more feedback throughout the year about how DC was doing but I probably need to be more assertive. The lead preK Chinese teacher, Jue Wang, is fantastic. The aftercare program is also amazing--field trips every other Friday, Kung Fu, yoga, crafts etc. There's a great feeling of fellowship among the families which is really nice. We're very happy and so is DC.

Hopefully the person with the weird grudge against Yu Ying won't chime in about how annoying we are to like our school...

[Anonymous]

Can you say more about the Yu Ying principal resigning? Is this Sarah Harris? When did she announce this? My daughter is scheduled to be a student there next year. Thx.

[Anonymous]

Yes, Sarah Harris. She just emailed parents on Monday. Apparently her mother has been diagnosed with a serious illness.

[Anonymous]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who was completely okay with the departure of the pre-K teacher. I second the positive comments about Wang Laoshi. Granted I have had little experience with the other Chinese Lead teachers, but she is by far the best teacher I have ever met. She's engaged, fun but takes teaching seriously. She is also always looking for technologically innovative ways to help both the children and parents learn. My DS adores her and whenever he wants to know the Chinese word for something he says "can you email Wang Laoshi and ask her?" So if your child is entering pre-K next fall, rest assured that they are going to have a great experience and learn a lot. In fact, you'll learn some Chinese as well. In addition, REEF and Elizabeth Hardage are the best. Their energy and commitment to the students is wonderful. Overall, Yu Ying was exactly what we were looking for. While there were some challenges, I never felt at anytime during the first year that I did not have access to the teachers or additional information which is key. I think Yu Ying could be a bit more organized and aggressive searching for private funding or facilities, but I recognize it's their first year. The parents are great, the children are diverse and bright, and I feel it is a real community. I don't know much about Carmen's experience with leading a school, but if energy, enthusiasm and interest are measures, she has them in great abundance. I am confident in the Board and leadership of the school in choosing her for an interim principal.

[Anonymous]

Was there a wait list for this year??? If so, about how long?

[Anonymous]

For preK I think they had around 3 apps per spot so that would mean a waitlist of ~100. For K, there were only two spots available so the waitlist was probably pretty long.

[Anonymous]

http://www.washingtonyuying.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=47&Itemid=69

Link to on line Yu Ying wait list. Currently zero kids for Grade 2, 30 for Grade 1, 45 for K, 73 for preK. New students to the school for grade K, 1, and 2, are required to attend a 2 week Chinese immersion summer camp in August. I suppose there may be some wait list movement if kids don't show up for camp. . .

Grade 2 is the last year Yu Ying accepts new students because after that it's too late to learn enough Chinese to function in the classrooms that are every other day in Chinese.