Entering Dual Immersion at 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

Good morning! We are considering moving to the DCC area next year and are interesting in the dual Spanish immersion schools (looks like the 2 that have it are Oakland Terrace and Rolling Terrace).

My kids will be going into Kindergarten, 3rd grade and 6th grade. I am concerned about my 3rd grader entering with no Spanish experience.

Does anyone have any experience with their child entering one of these 2 schools at a higher grade level? Was it an issue or was your child able to catch up with the language portion?

Thanks in advance for your input!

[Anonymous]

OP, I have kids in the TWI program at OTES. I highly recommend you directly contact the principals at both schools with this question. They'll have a broader perspective than anyone here.

Good luck! We love the TWI program and OTES generally, as well as the surrounding neighborhood. People are very friendly.

[Anonymous]

You're assuming there will be an opening for your child to enter the program. Spots that do open seem to fill quickly, and parents often had their child in tutoring or some sort of language program to help prepare them.

[Anonymous]

Would they take a monolingual third grader? My kid's dual language school would only take bilingual kids after first. And, in any case, I would not do this to a kid.

[Anonymous]

Prior two PPs: the TWI programs are not lottery-based, they're for all children in the school. Well, starting next year at OTES they will be, since the current fifth grade class is the last not to have it. I'm not sure about Rolling Terrace.

These aren't like the single-language immersion programs, e.g., at RCF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would they take a monolingual third grader? My kid's dual language school would only take bilingual kids after first. And, in any case, I would not do this to a kid.

OP here. I'm confused by these statements about them "not getting in" or "won't take them". If we move into that schools zone, can they just not let my kid in? If so, where would they go?

I want the dual immersion for my kindergarten, but I am wondering how hard it would be on my 3rd grader. I realize full immersion would be difficult but I assume the dual immersion is a little more forgiving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would they take a monolingual third grader? My kid's dual language school would only take bilingual kids after first. And, in any case, I would not do this to a kid.

OP here. I'm confused by these statements about them "not getting in" or "won't take them". If we move into that schools zone, can they just not let my kid in? If so, where would they go?

I want the dual immersion for my kindergarten, but I am wondering how hard it would be on my 3rd grader. I realize full immersion would be difficult but I assume the dual immersion is a little more forgiving.

OP, I'm 11:12/11:31, the PP who actually has kids in the TWI at OTES.

Yes, they will take your kids, including your third grader.

Again: contact the schools' principals with your question. As you can see, even people on DCUM who have no experience with these schools/TWI will answer, as if they have useful information to provide. They don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would they take a monolingual third grader? My kid's dual language school would only take bilingual kids after first. And, in any case, I would not do this to a kid.

OP here. I'm confused by these statements about them "not getting in" or "won't take them". If we move into that schools zone, can they just not let my kid in? If so, where would they go?

I want the dual immersion for my kindergarten, but I am wondering how hard it would be on my 3rd grader. I realize full immersion would be difficult but I assume the dual immersion is a little more forgiving.

Ignore those posters. They are thinking of lottery based immersion which is not what you are looking at.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid in immersion and there is zero chance I'd stick a 3rd grader who doesn't know the language in immersion. They'll miss too much content while they pick up the language.

OP, is math taught in the immersion language?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in immersion and there is zero chance I'd stick a 3rd grader who doesn't know the language in immersion. They'll miss too much content while they pick up the language.

OP, is math taught in the immersion language?

This is a dual language school, not immersion. If they buy a house there, her kid will have to go there (or private). The school will have experience with monolingual kids (both Spanish learners and English learners) and will know what to do. Agree to ask OTES - I live just outside the boundary but our friends all love the school and neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

The third grader does not have to go there (OTES) and may not be able to due to limited Spanish abilities. The current sister school is Flora Singer (a neighborhood next to otes) and that is where students can go who are not a fit for dual language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The third grader does not have to go there (OTES) and may not be able to due to limited Spanish abilities. The current sister school is Flora Singer (a neighborhood next to otes) and that is where students can go who are not a fit for dual language.

OTES and Singer are not “sister schools” in any official sense of the word. Getting a Change of School Assignment (COSA) is not trivial and they’re almost certainly not going to proactively grant one for a kid starting TWI in third grade.

Again, OP, just contact the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The third grader does not have to go there (OTES) and may not be able to due to limited Spanish abilities. The current sister school is Flora Singer (a neighborhood next to otes) and that is where students can go who are not a fit for dual language.

OTES and Singer are not “sister schools” in any official sense of the word. Getting a Change of School Assignment (COSA) is not trivial and they’re almost certainly not going to proactively grant one for a kid starting TWI in third grade.

Again, OP, just contact the schools.

Yes, definitely contact the school. However, I just went through the process with an incoming 2nd grader and was assigned to what they deemed their “sister school”, Singer. It is separate from the COSA process. They assessed my child’s abilities in Spanish and recommended Singer. So, you have learned something new today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The third grader does not have to go there (OTES) and may not be able to due to limited Spanish abilities. The current sister school is Flora Singer (a neighborhood next to otes) and that is where students can go who are not a fit for dual language.

OTES and Singer are not “sister schools” in any official sense of the word. Getting a Change of School Assignment (COSA) is not trivial and they’re almost certainly not going to proactively grant one for a kid starting TWI in third grade.

Again, OP, just contact the schools.

Yes, definitely contact the school. However, I just went through the process with an incoming 2nd grader and was assigned to what they deemed their “sister school”, Singer. It is separate from the COSA process. They assessed my child’s abilities in Spanish and recommended Singer. So, you have learned something new today.

Yes, each of the two-way immersion schools have an option like this, for students that would not be well-served by the TWI program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The third grader does not have to go there (OTES) and may not be able to due to limited Spanish abilities. The current sister school is Flora Singer (a neighborhood next to otes) and that is where students can go who are not a fit for dual language.

OTES and Singer are not “sister schools” in any official sense of the word. Getting a Change of School Assignment (COSA) is not trivial and they’re almost certainly not going to proactively grant one for a kid starting TWI in third grade.

Again, OP, just contact the schools.

Yes, definitely contact the school. However, I just went through the process with an incoming 2nd grader and was assigned to what they deemed their “sister school”, Singer. It is separate from the COSA process. They assessed my child’s abilities in Spanish and recommended Singer. So, you have learned something new today.

Great! I love learning new things. If only you had omitted the bold, I could have done it without the side of condescension.