Asking for Advice - Rejection from Oyster-Adams Preschool

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to say that this is the least hate-filled Oyster thread I've come across in a long time. Thanks and keep it up, guys.

(Cue the Oyster Troll and the screaming librarian story...)

Lots of people are telling the OP is not a nurturing place. Not sure if that counts in your eyes?

I agree with that btw- not very warm and fuzzy.

I heard oof teachers yelling at students- the librarian yells too?

The "screaming librarian" story surfaces from time to time in Oyster threads. Some people believe that one person keeps telling that story and that the one person has it in for Oyster and makes unfair negative comments. I would not know the truth of that.

As for comments saying that Oyster is not nurturing - I would take that into account and wouldn't necessarily discount that as trolling. It depends on the tone and/or the specific evidence used to back up the opinion.

Definitely not a warm and fuzzy place. Diego I would look at Mundo verde 8th. I feel like they’ll run through their waitlist for pk4. It has its negatives but it is sweet and nurturing (at least the P st location) and great for lower grades.

Yet there are several families who left Mundo- and found Oyster to be nurturing. (On the whole, I would say Mundo does great in PS3/PK4, but it’s the challenges from k onwards that detract.)

Didnt Mundo 8 just open? How could there be “challenges”?

Schoolwide challenges already experienced at P Street, only to be exacerbated with the expansion based on the administration and leadership of MV.

How unsurprising for a thread on oyster to contain nasty reviews on other schools for no reason.

Op you have no chance of getting in at P st Mundo, the suggestion was 8th street Mundo which is brand new.

Sensitive much? The comment was both supportive- and factual. DC can actually have more than one good school, immersion or otherwise. Both PP confirmed that in lower grades MV was nurturing. The other problems there are well documented, and have been surfaced/resurfaced in multiple threads.

My kids are not at Mundo, but I question the fact that parents from oyster name call when someone brings up the questionable disciplinary tactics used on young children but feel free to trash Mundo.

FWIW I’ve heard first hand some bad stories about oyster- special needs issues, yes, yelling, questionable curriculum choices but I don’t even bother elaborating. I have definitely heard some stories about Mundo too, but I would not say that either is an established fact.

Please just focus on your child’s education (also known as the Mundo Verde experiment), and keep scrolling past OA’s posts that don’t concern you. If your child attends MV, you have bigger concerns ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never send my kid to a school where they are incapable of interacting with my child. Your child is clearly Spanish dominant, and if the teachers are of such poor quality they can’t understand a four year old, that would be a hard pass for me. Move on and be happy you did. I echo the posters telling you there are better options out there.

Not necessarily if the mom only speaks English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of you suggesting that it would be beneficial to prioritize ELL students in immersion schools -- I agree in principle on the benefits but using ELL status as an enrollment criteria seems legally suspect (just as it would be to use non-ELL status as a criteria).

Non-ELL status is not a protected class. On the other hand, using "proficiency" would be far more suspect, as it would mean that a Spanish dominant preschooler with a language delay, something associated with several protected classes, would have less chance than a Spanish dominant preschooler without a language delay.

So, dominance is what makes sense. A child's dominant language is the one that they speak in their home with their parents. If the parents more than one different languages, it would be the one the family speaks when they are together, or the one the child speaks to them in most of the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never send my kid to a school where they are incapable of interacting with my child. Your child is clearly Spanish dominant, and if the teachers are of such poor quality they can’t understand a four year old, that would be a hard pass for me. Move on and be happy you did. I echo the posters telling you there are better options out there.

Not necessarily if the mom only speaks English.

+1 This. Most children that are Spanish dominant at that age is because both parents speak Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to say that this is the least hate-filled Oyster thread I've come across in a long time. Thanks and keep it up, guys.

(Cue the Oyster Troll and the screaming librarian story...)

Lots of people are telling the OP is not a nurturing place. Not sure if that counts in your eyes?

I agree with that btw- not very warm and fuzzy.

I heard oof teachers yelling at students- the librarian yells too?

The "screaming librarian" story surfaces from time to time in Oyster threads. Some people believe that one person keeps telling that story and that the one person has it in for Oyster and makes unfair negative comments. I would not know the truth of that.

As for comments saying that Oyster is not nurturing - I would take that into account and wouldn't necessarily discount that as trolling. It depends on the tone and/or the specific evidence used to back up the opinion.

Definitely not a warm and fuzzy place. Diego I would look at Mundo verde 8th. I feel like they’ll run through their waitlist for pk4. It has its negatives but it is sweet and nurturing (at least the P st location) and great for lower grades.

Yet there are several families who left Mundo- and found Oyster to be nurturing. (On the whole, I would say Mundo does great in PS3/PK4, but it’s the challenges from k onwards that detract.)

Didnt Mundo 8 just open? How could there be “challenges”?

Schoolwide challenges already experienced at P Street, only to be exacerbated with the expansion based on the administration and leadership of MV.

How unsurprising for a thread on oyster to contain nasty reviews on other schools for no reason.

Op you have no chance of getting in at P st Mundo, the suggestion was 8th street Mundo which is brand new.

Sensitive much? The comment was both supportive- and factual. DC can actually have more than one good school, immersion or otherwise. Both PP confirmed that in lower grades MV was nurturing. The other problems there are well documented, and have been surfaced/resurfaced in multiple threads.

My kids are not at Mundo, but I question the fact that parents from oyster name call when someone brings up the questionable disciplinary tactics used on young children but feel free to trash Mundo.

FWIW I’ve heard first hand some bad stories about oyster- special needs issues, yes, yelling, questionable curriculum choices but I don’t even bother elaborating. I have definitely heard some stories about Mundo too, but I would not say that either is an established fact.

Please just focus on your child’s education (also known as the Mundo Verde experiment), and keep scrolling past OA’s posts that don’t concern you. If your child attends MV, you have bigger concerns ahead.

We turned down Mundo and oyster. I feel like we dodged two bullets!! Haha

[Anonymous]

Just a pointer:
Oyster Adams is an amazing school despite trolls here making stuff up about it.

Half of DC would send their kid there if given the chance (no, don’t even think about a #NotAllParents post).

Oyster is great. Don’t listen to the haters. Go there in K. It will be great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you suggesting that it would be beneficial to prioritize ELL students in immersion schools -- I agree in principle on the benefits but using ELL status as an enrollment criteria seems legally suspect (just as it would be to use non-ELL status as a criteria).

Non-ELL status is not a protected class. On the other hand, using "proficiency" would be far more suspect, as it would mean that a Spanish dominant preschooler with a language delay, something associated with several protected classes, would have less chance than a Spanish dominant preschooler without a language delay.

So, dominance is what makes sense. A child's dominant language is the one that they speak in their home with their parents. If the parents more than one different languages, it would be the one the family speaks when they are together, or the one the child speaks to them in most of the time.

ELL isn't either -- it's emergent from national origin, which is what would make it IMO suspect to distinguish either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you suggesting that it would be beneficial to prioritize ELL students in immersion schools -- I agree in principle on the benefits but using ELL status as an enrollment criteria seems legally suspect (just as it would be to use non-ELL status as a criteria).

Non-ELL status is not a protected class. On the other hand, using "proficiency" would be far more suspect, as it would mean that a Spanish dominant preschooler with a language delay, something associated with several protected classes, would have less chance than a Spanish dominant preschooler without a language delay.

So, dominance is what makes sense. A child's dominant language is the one that they speak in their home with their parents. If the parents more than one different languages, it would be the one the family speaks when they are together, or the one the child speaks to them in most of the time.

ELL isn't either -- it's emergent from national origin, which is what would make it IMO suspect to distinguish either way.

Correction: ELL (or just English Learners) is not determined solely by nationality. It is based on the Home Language Survey. Testing is required by law for any student for whom any of the following are indicated. 1. A language other than English is spoken at home (no matter how much of the non-English language the child speaks), 2. the child communicates in a language other than English (no matter how English-fluent the parents are), or 3. the student was born outside the United States.

If any of these 3 things apply, testing is required by law to determine if the student is eligible for language support services. There are different levels of eligibility and testing is done annually until English proficiency is established. Parents don't have to accept the support and services, but testing ensures that children's language needs aren't overlooked or underestimated. Afterall, every child is different.

https://dcps.dc.gov/service/supports-english-learners-els

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Correction: ELL (or just English Learners) is not determined solely by nationality. It is based on the Home Language Survey. Testing is required by law for any student for whom any of the following are indicated. 1. A language other than English is spoken at home (no matter how much of the non-English language the child speaks), 2. the child communicates in a language other than English (no matter how English-fluent the parents are), or 3. the student was born outside the United States.

If any of these 3 things apply, testing is required by law to determine if the student is eligible for language support services. There are different levels of eligibility and testing is done annually until English proficiency is established. Parents don't have to accept the support and services, but testing ensures that children's language needs aren't overlooked or underestimated. Afterall, every child is different.

https://dcps.dc.gov/service/supports-english-learners-els

So is it possible for a child to be found to be ELL Spanish speaker and still fail Oyster's test for Spanish dominance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Correction: ELL (or just English Learners) is not determined solely by nationality. It is based on the Home Language Survey. Testing is required by law for any student for whom any of the following are indicated. 1. A language other than English is spoken at home (no matter how much of the non-English language the child speaks), 2. the child communicates in a language other than English (no matter how English-fluent the parents are), or 3. the student was born outside the United States.

If any of these 3 things apply, testing is required by law to determine if the student is eligible for language support services. There are different levels of eligibility and testing is done annually until English proficiency is established. Parents don't have to accept the support and services, but testing ensures that children's language needs aren't overlooked or underestimated. Afterall, every child is different.

https://dcps.dc.gov/service/supports-english-learners-els

So is it possible for a child to be found to be ELL Spanish speaker and still fail Oyster's test for Spanish dominance?

Of course.

Criteria #1 above is so broad it's a joke.

[Anonymous]

Criteria 1 is determined by the federal government. Same definitions everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Correction: ELL (or just English Learners) is not determined solely by nationality. It is based on the Home Language Survey. Testing is required by law for any student for whom any of the following are indicated. 1. A language other than English is spoken at home (no matter how much of the non-English language the child speaks), 2. the child communicates in a language other than English (no matter how English-fluent the parents are), or 3. the student was born outside the United States.

If any of these 3 things apply, testing is required by law to determine if the student is eligible for language support services. There are different levels of eligibility and testing is done annually until English proficiency is established. Parents don't have to accept the support and services, but testing ensures that children's language needs aren't overlooked or underestimated. Afterall, every child is different.

https://dcps.dc.gov/service/supports-english-learners-els

So is it possible for a child to be found to be ELL Spanish speaker and still fail Oyster's test for Spanish dominance?

There is no "ELL Spanish Speaker" designation.

For example, my younger brother who was born to English speaking American parents who were living in Australia, would been tested, since he was born in another country. Since he had a disability that impacted his reading and writing (part of what they test) he would have qualified for ELL services. However, there's no question that he was English language dominant.

Similarly, a child with a new Spanish speaking au pair (e.g. part of the household) who otherwise speaks only English, would be tested. If their English speaking, listening, reading or writing wasn't strong, they'd qualify for ELL. That doesn't make them Spanish dominant. It just means that they can't rule out the reason why they need extra support is, in part, because they aren't exposed to fluent English role models all day long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a pointer:
Oyster Adams is an amazing school despite trolls here making stuff up about it.

Half of DC would send their kid there if given the chance (no, don’t even think about a #NotAllParents post).

Oyster is great. Don’t listen to the haters. Go there in K. It will be great.

It is not great for all kids.

Don’t listen to the boosters. No one is making anything up.

[Anonymous]

I’m disgusted by the arrogance displayed. No, half of dc would not want to attend oyster. Please don’t invent statistics to justify your choices.

[Anonymous]

Parents love Oyster.

If you have problems with Oyster- real problems- put up or shut up. Tell your stories so we can determine if they are real.

I’m not sure why there is an Oyster troll here at DCUM. But let’s see what kind of truth there actually is.