Mundo Verde accepting late applications--PK, K, 1st & 2nd

[Anonymous]

Mundo Verde is accepting new applications for up to 13 new students in PK, K, 1st & 2nd. If you are interested, reach out to MV admin (this according to their board meeting last night).

[Anonymous]

Wow. It's almost like people are holding it against "HR" charters who did next to nothing last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. It's almost like people are holding it against "HR" charters who did next to nothing last year.

As someone who passed up a few of those spots myself, I didn't so much hold it against them that they did nothing last year, as I learned what the education was like once you are in early and upper elementary. It used to be viewed as a better option than the IB schools in the neighborhood (at least in the Cook campus neighborhood), but that's no longer true.

[Anonymous]

Where did you get this info?

[Anonymous]

Is this P St or 8th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. It's almost like people are holding it against "HR" charters who did next to nothing last year.

As someone who passed up a few of those spots myself, I didn't so much hold it against them that they did nothing last year, as I learned what the education was like once you are in early and upper elementary. It used to be viewed as a better option than the IB schools in the neighborhood (at least in the Cook campus neighborhood), but that's no longer true.

Not to beat a dead horse (since this has been discussed ad nauseum the past few days), but we passed on MV seats in favor of a DCPS as well. Others may reasonably conclude differently, but assuming our above grade level child stays above grade level, I'd rather have credentialed teachers and a solid curriculum, then have to advocate for the differentiation or attention my child needs, than have a weaker curriculum and underqualified teachers who are actually unable to provide appropriate differentiation. We spoke to a lot of upper elementary families at all of the schools we considered, and got very different responses from the parents of older kids at MV than younger kids. And judging by the number of OOB families in my DC's class, I don't think I'm the only one that came to the same conclusions. Time will tell if this is a bigger trend, but for now I think it's good that families are considering a wider range of options and are able to choose a school they think will work best for them.

[Anonymous]

Are you sure for PreK? I am still on the waitlist. I had an abysmal number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. It's almost like people are holding it against "HR" charters who did next to nothing last year.

As someone who passed up a few of those spots myself, I didn't so much hold it against them that they did nothing last year, as I learned what the education was like once you are in early and upper elementary. It used to be viewed as a better option than the IB schools in the neighborhood (at least in the Cook campus neighborhood), but that's no longer true.

Not to beat a dead horse (since this has been discussed ad nauseum the past few days), but we passed on MV seats in favor of a DCPS as well. Others may reasonably conclude differently, but assuming our above grade level child stays above grade level, I'd rather have credentialed teachers and a solid curriculum, then have to advocate for the differentiation or attention my child needs, than have a weaker curriculum and underqualified teachers who are actually unable to provide appropriate differentiation. We spoke to a lot of upper elementary families at all of the schools we considered, and got very different responses from the parents of older kids at MV than younger kids. And judging by the number of OOB families in my DC's class, I don't think I'm the only one that came to the same conclusions. Time will tell if this is a bigger trend, but for now I think it's good that families are considering a wider range of options and are able to choose a school they think will work best for them.

I am a teacher and I see this concern over the credentialed teachers a fair amount. The lead teachers in classrooms are certified teachers. The teaching fellows are working towards certification. Many urban schools use these types of fellows, including my school division in NOVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure for PreK? I am still on the waitlist. I had an abysmal number.

The Short Websites page on Myschooldc seems to be not working correctly.

[Anonymous]

MOTH is reporting immediate openings in 1st & 2nd at P St. Possible openings in PK & K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MOTH is reporting immediate openings in 1st & 2nd at P St. Possible openings in PK & K.

Crikey. How the mighty are fallen!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. It's almost like people are holding it against "HR" charters who did next to nothing last year.

As someone who passed up a few of those spots myself, I didn't so much hold it against them that they did nothing last year, as I learned what the education was like once you are in early and upper elementary. It used to be viewed as a better option than the IB schools in the neighborhood (at least in the Cook campus neighborhood), but that's no longer true.

Not to beat a dead horse (since this has been discussed ad nauseum the past few days), but we passed on MV seats in favor of a DCPS as well. Others may reasonably conclude differently, but assuming our above grade level child stays above grade level, I'd rather have credentialed teachers and a solid curriculum, then have to advocate for the differentiation or attention my child needs, than have a weaker curriculum and underqualified teachers who are actually unable to provide appropriate differentiation. We spoke to a lot of upper elementary families at all of the schools we considered, and got very different responses from the parents of older kids at MV than younger kids. And judging by the number of OOB families in my DC's class, I don't think I'm the only one that came to the same conclusions. Time will tell if this is a bigger trend, but for now I think it's good that families are considering a wider range of options and are able to choose a school they think will work best for them.

I am a teacher and I see this concern over the credentialed teachers a fair amount. The lead teachers in classrooms are certified teachers. The teaching fellows are working towards certification. Many urban schools use these types of fellows, including my school division in NOVA.

On paper, but in practice many lead teachers have bachelor's in unrelated fields and very recent teacher certification. That was the experience in at least 3 classrooms I've known kids in and is not allowed in DCPS. It is allowed in Virginia and you have a substantial body of teachers that went into teaching as a second career (I know three teachers in VA and only one has a teaching degree). A high school science teacher with a biology degree is one thing, but if I have the choice, I want my elementary student taught by someone with a master's in education. The socioemotional development and foundational skills developed in elementary school are too important to assume everything will probably be fine. Plus MV has very high turn over, so the average teacher doesn't even have years of experience to develop the skillset they missed academically. So no, a teacher certification with 1-2 years of experience just isn't good enough for me when there's a school down the street with more rigorous qualifications and less turnover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. It's almost like people are holding it against "HR" charters who did next to nothing last year.

As someone who passed up a few of those spots myself, I didn't so much hold it against them that they did nothing last year, as I learned what the education was like once you are in early and upper elementary. It used to be viewed as a better option than the IB schools in the neighborhood (at least in the Cook campus neighborhood), but that's no longer true.

Not to beat a dead horse (since this has been discussed ad nauseum the past few days), but we passed on MV seats in favor of a DCPS as well. Others may reasonably conclude differently, but assuming our above grade level child stays above grade level, I'd rather have credentialed teachers and a solid curriculum, then have to advocate for the differentiation or attention my child needs, than have a weaker curriculum and underqualified teachers who are actually unable to provide appropriate differentiation. We spoke to a lot of upper elementary families at all of the schools we considered, and got very different responses from the parents of older kids at MV than younger kids. And judging by the number of OOB families in my DC's class, I don't think I'm the only one that came to the same conclusions. Time will tell if this is a bigger trend, but for now I think it's good that families are considering a wider range of options and are able to choose a school they think will work best for them.

I am a teacher and I see this concern over the credentialed teachers a fair amount. The lead teachers in classrooms are certified teachers. The teaching fellows are working towards certification. Many urban schools use these types of fellows, including my school division in NOVA.

On paper, but in practice many lead teachers have bachelor's in unrelated fields and very recent teacher certification. That was the experience in at least 3 classrooms I've known kids in and is not allowed in DCPS. It is allowed in Virginia and you have a substantial body of teachers that went into teaching as a second career (I know three teachers in VA and only one has a teaching degree). A high school science teacher with a biology degree is one thing, but if I have the choice, I want my elementary student taught by someone with a master's in education. The socioemotional development and foundational skills developed in elementary school are too important to assume everything will probably be fine. Plus MV has very high turn over, so the average teacher doesn't even have years of experience to develop the skillset they missed academically. So no, a teacher certification with 1-2 years of experience just isn't good enough for me when there's a school down the street with more rigorous qualifications and less turnover.

All of this. Especially when teachers have two classrooms of kids to think about. Obviously some people are fine with this, but I'm not a fan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure for PreK? I am still on the waitlist. I had an abysmal number.

It's very late in the season, I'd call and ask the registrar. What's your WL number now? They won't go out of order, but if they know you'll take the seat, they may move a little faster to avoid the seat being unfilled on count day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. It's almost like people are holding it against "HR" charters who did next to nothing last year.

As someone who passed up a few of those spots myself, I didn't so much hold it against them that they did nothing last year, as I learned what the education was like once you are in early and upper elementary. It used to be viewed as a better option than the IB schools in the neighborhood (at least in the Cook campus neighborhood), but that's no longer true.

Not to beat a dead horse (since this has been discussed ad nauseum the past few days), but we passed on MV seats in favor of a DCPS as well. Others may reasonably conclude differently, but assuming our above grade level child stays above grade level, I'd rather have credentialed teachers and a solid curriculum, then have to advocate for the differentiation or attention my child needs, than have a weaker curriculum and underqualified teachers who are actually unable to provide appropriate differentiation. We spoke to a lot of upper elementary families at all of the schools we considered, and got very different responses from the parents of older kids at MV than younger kids. And judging by the number of OOB families in my DC's class, I don't think I'm the only one that came to the same conclusions. Time will tell if this is a bigger trend, but for now I think it's good that families are considering a wider range of options and are able to choose a school they think will work best for them.

I am a teacher and I see this concern over the credentialed teachers a fair amount. The lead teachers in classrooms are certified teachers. The teaching fellows are working towards certification. Many urban schools use these types of fellows, including my school division in NOVA.

On paper, but in practice many lead teachers have bachelor's in unrelated fields and very recent teacher certification. That was the experience in at least 3 classrooms I've known kids in and is not allowed in DCPS. It is allowed in Virginia and you have a substantial body of teachers that went into teaching as a second career (I know three teachers in VA and only one has a teaching degree). A high school science teacher with a biology degree is one thing, but if I have the choice, I want my elementary student taught by someone with a master's in education. The socioemotional development and foundational skills developed in elementary school are too important to assume everything will probably be fine. Plus MV has very high turn over, so the average teacher doesn't even have years of experience to develop the skillset they missed academically. So no, a teacher certification with 1-2 years of experience just isn't good enough for me when there's a school down the street with more rigorous qualifications and less turnover.

All of this. Especially when teachers have two classrooms of kids to think about. Obviously some people are fine with this, but I'm not a fan.

Right. It would be very challenging with 20 kids, but 40 kids alternating days is a lot for any teacher, let alone an inexperienced MV teacher. And to be clear, 68% of MV teachers have between 0-5 years of teaching experience, compared to 35% in DC overall. Same with the administrators, where according to stats it's 100% of administrators with 0-1 years leadership experience (Is that true? That feels hard to believe). It's arguably equally important to have stable leaders as teachers. A great administration can go a long way in supporting new and weaker classroom teachers.