Immersion program may leave gunston

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how long until they just nix the entire immersion program past elementary.

Nix it there too

Why would they do this? It’s a very popular program with a lot of educational benefits?

It doesn’t really benefit APS as a whole and numbers greatly drop off once middle school hits. We should be doing what is best for APS not a select group of families. Option schools in general should be reevaluated in APS.

Immersion isn't any more of a select group than is attending Jamestown, Discovery or Taylor. All those kids have the economic means to buy in bounds. At least immersion kids have a lottery chance regardless of their background or economic means.

None of those schools you mentioned offer immersion Spanish instruction. If what you are implying is that immersion offers a better level of instruction or better group of peers, I don’t know what to say to that other than work on fixing the neighborhood schools. It doesn’t assuage my conscience to have APS filled with the haves, the have nots, and the have nots who got lucky in the lottery.

No, it's just refuting the notion that immersion is some "select" group and should therefore be actively disfavored by APS to avoid creating an inequity. It's not. It's kids in public school. And it's no more a special interest group than the parents at Jamestown or Discovery. Those parents want what's best for their kids, as do the parents of those in Immersion.

If anything, option schools have been overly favored for reasons that have never been clear to me. This is a public education system - the idea that we should have all kinds of “options” not directly related to educational need (ie ESL, special needs, gifted services) is bizarre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how long until they just nix the entire immersion program past elementary.

Nix it there too

Why would they do this? It’s a very popular program with a lot of educational benefits?

It doesn’t really benefit APS as a whole and numbers greatly drop off once middle school hits. We should be doing what is best for APS not a select group of families. Option schools in general should be reevaluated in APS.

Immersion isn't any more of a select group than is attending Jamestown, Discovery or Taylor. All those kids have the economic means to buy in bounds. At least immersion kids have a lottery chance regardless of their background or economic means.

None of those schools you mentioned offer immersion Spanish instruction. If what you are implying is that immersion offers a better level of instruction or better group of peers, I don’t know what to say to that other than work on fixing the neighborhood schools. It doesn’t assuage my conscience to have APS filled with the haves, the have nots, and the have nots who got lucky in the lottery.

No, it's just refuting the notion that immersion is some "select" group and should therefore be actively disfavored by APS to avoid creating an inequity. It's not. It's kids in public school. And it's no more a special interest group than the parents at Jamestown or Discovery. Those parents want what's best for their kids, as do the parents of those in Immersion.

If anything, option schools have been overly favored for reasons that have never been clear to me. This is a public education system - the idea that we should have all kinds of “options” not directly related to educational need (ie ESL, special needs, gifted services) is bizarre.

Huh? Immersion is important to many ESL students. It allows parents who don't speak English to converse with their child's teacher, administration, guidance counselor, PTA, etc. Spanish speaking families and, in turn, educational outcomes of ESL students are strongly supported by having their kids in immersion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how long until they just nix the entire immersion program past elementary.

Nix it there too

Why would they do this? It’s a very popular program with a lot of educational benefits?

It doesn’t really benefit APS as a whole and numbers greatly drop off once middle school hits. We should be doing what is best for APS not a select group of families. Option schools in general should be reevaluated in APS.

Immersion isn't any more of a select group than is attending Jamestown, Discovery or Taylor. All those kids have the economic means to buy in bounds. At least immersion kids have a lottery chance regardless of their background or economic means.

None of those schools you mentioned offer immersion Spanish instruction. If what you are implying is that immersion offers a better level of instruction or better group of peers, I don’t know what to say to that other than work on fixing the neighborhood schools. It doesn’t assuage my conscience to have APS filled with the haves, the have nots, and the have nots who got lucky in the lottery.

No, it's just refuting the notion that immersion is some "select" group and should therefore be actively disfavored by APS to avoid creating an inequity. It's not. It's kids in public school. And it's no more a special interest group than the parents at Jamestown or Discovery. Those parents want what's best for their kids, as do the parents of those in Immersion.

If anything, option schools have been overly favored for reasons that have never been clear to me. This is a public education system - the idea that we should have all kinds of “options” not directly related to educational need (ie ESL, special needs, gifted services) is bizarre.

Huh? Immersion is important to many ESL students. It allows parents who don't speak English to converse with their child's teacher, administration, guidance counselor, PTA, etc. Spanish speaking families and, in turn, educational outcomes of ESL students are strongly supported by having their kids in immersion.

There are plenty of schools in Arlington with similar or higher EL rates. Perhaps they should get some attention too?

EL Rate for all Arlington County Elementary: 28.96%
Claremont: 32.96%
Key: 35.21%
Barrett: 50%
Barcroft: 46.09%
Abingdon:39.07%
Campbell: 36.87%
Carlin Springs 66.15%
Innovation: 33.47%
Hoffman Boston: 48.15%
Drew: 38.49%
Arlington Traditional: 35.04%
Long Branch: 32.52%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how long until they just nix the entire immersion program past elementary.

Nix it there too

Why would they do this? It’s a very popular program with a lot of educational benefits?

It doesn’t really benefit APS as a whole and numbers greatly drop off once middle school hits. We should be doing what is best for APS not a select group of families. Option schools in general should be reevaluated in APS.

Immersion isn't any more of a select group than is attending Jamestown, Discovery or Taylor. All those kids have the economic means to buy in bounds. At least immersion kids have a lottery chance regardless of their background or economic means.

None of those schools you mentioned offer immersion Spanish instruction. If what you are implying is that immersion offers a better level of instruction or better group of peers, I don’t know what to say to that other than work on fixing the neighborhood schools. It doesn’t assuage my conscience to have APS filled with the haves, the have nots, and the have nots who got lucky in the lottery.

No, it's just refuting the notion that immersion is some "select" group and should therefore be actively disfavored by APS to avoid creating an inequity. It's not. It's kids in public school. And it's no more a special interest group than the parents at Jamestown or Discovery. Those parents want what's best for their kids, as do the parents of those in Immersion.

If anything, option schools have been overly favored for reasons that have never been clear to me. This is a public education system - the idea that we should have all kinds of “options” not directly related to educational need (ie ESL, special needs, gifted services) is bizarre.

Huh? Immersion is important to many ESL students. It allows parents who don't speak English to converse with their child's teacher, administration, guidance counselor, PTA, etc. Spanish speaking families and, in turn, educational outcomes of ESL students are strongly supported by having their kids in immersion.

There are plenty of schools in Arlington with similar or higher EL rates. Perhaps they should get some attention too?

EL Rate for all Arlington County Elementary: 28.96%
Claremont: 32.96%
Key: 35.21%
Barrett: 50%
Barcroft: 46.09%
Abingdon:39.07%
Campbell: 36.87%
Carlin Springs 66.15%
Innovation: 33.47%
Hoffman Boston: 48.15%
Drew: 38.49%
Arlington Traditional: 35.04%
Long Branch: 32.52%

I'm not aware of a waitlist for Spanish speakers to enroll in immersion. If parents are uncomfortable with English, immersion is an option for all Spanish speaking students in Arlington. Supply matches demand. For many Spanish dominant parents, immersion is an important option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how long until they just nix the entire immersion program past elementary.

Nix it there too

Why would they do this? It’s a very popular program with a lot of educational benefits?

It doesn’t really benefit APS as a whole and numbers greatly drop off once middle school hits. We should be doing what is best for APS not a select group of families. Option schools in general should be reevaluated in APS.

Immersion isn't any more of a select group than is attending Jamestown, Discovery or Taylor. All those kids have the economic means to buy in bounds. At least immersion kids have a lottery chance regardless of their background or economic means.

None of those schools you mentioned offer immersion Spanish instruction. If what you are implying is that immersion offers a better level of instruction or better group of peers, I don’t know what to say to that other than work on fixing the neighborhood schools. It doesn’t assuage my conscience to have APS filled with the haves, the have nots, and the have nots who got lucky in the lottery.

No, it's just refuting the notion that immersion is some "select" group and should therefore be actively disfavored by APS to avoid creating an inequity. It's not. It's kids in public school. And it's no more a special interest group than the parents at Jamestown or Discovery. Those parents want what's best for their kids, as do the parents of those in Immersion.

If anything, option schools have been overly favored for reasons that have never been clear to me. This is a public education system - the idea that we should have all kinds of “options” not directly related to educational need (ie ESL, special needs, gifted services) is bizarre.

Huh? Immersion is important to many ESL students. It allows parents who don't speak English to converse with their child's teacher, administration, guidance counselor, PTA, etc. Spanish speaking families and, in turn, educational outcomes of ESL students are strongly supported by having their kids in immersion.

There are plenty of schools in Arlington with similar or higher EL rates. Perhaps they should get some attention too?

EL Rate for all Arlington County Elementary: 28.96%
Claremont: 32.96%
Key: 35.21%
Barrett: 50%
Barcroft: 46.09%
Abingdon:39.07%
Campbell: 36.87%
Carlin Springs 66.15%
Innovation: 33.47%
Hoffman Boston: 48.15%
Drew: 38.49%
Arlington Traditional: 35.04%
Long Branch: 32.52%

I'm not aware of a waitlist for Spanish speakers to enroll in immersion. If parents are uncomfortable with English, immersion is an option for all Spanish speaking students in Arlington. Supply matches demand. For many Spanish dominant parents, immersion is an important option.

It’s an OPTION. As in “not mandatory or required.” And not one the public school systems should be prioritizing over what is required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how long until they just nix the entire immersion program past elementary.

Nix it there too

Why would they do this? It’s a very popular program with a lot of educational benefits?

It doesn’t really benefit APS as a whole and numbers greatly drop off once middle school hits. We should be doing what is best for APS not a select group of families. Option schools in general should be reevaluated in APS.

Immersion isn't any more of a select group than is attending Jamestown, Discovery or Taylor. All those kids have the economic means to buy in bounds. At least immersion kids have a lottery chance regardless of their background or economic means.

None of those schools you mentioned offer immersion Spanish instruction. If what you are implying is that immersion offers a better level of instruction or better group of peers, I don’t know what to say to that other than work on fixing the neighborhood schools. It doesn’t assuage my conscience to have APS filled with the haves, the have nots, and the have nots who got lucky in the lottery.

No, it's just refuting the notion that immersion is some "select" group and should therefore be actively disfavored by APS to avoid creating an inequity. It's not. It's kids in public school. And it's no more a special interest group than the parents at Jamestown or Discovery. Those parents want what's best for their kids, as do the parents of those in Immersion.

If anything, option schools have been overly favored for reasons that have never been clear to me. This is a public education system - the idea that we should have all kinds of “options” not directly related to educational need (ie ESL, special needs, gifted services) is bizarre.

Huh? Immersion is important to many ESL students. It allows parents who don't speak English to converse with their child's teacher, administration, guidance counselor, PTA, etc. Spanish speaking families and, in turn, educational outcomes of ESL students are strongly supported by having their kids in immersion.

There are plenty of schools in Arlington with similar or higher EL rates. Perhaps they should get some attention too?

EL Rate for all Arlington County Elementary: 28.96%
Claremont: 32.96%
Key: 35.21%
Barrett: 50%
Barcroft: 46.09%
Abingdon:39.07%
Campbell: 36.87%
Carlin Springs 66.15%
Innovation: 33.47%
Hoffman Boston: 48.15%
Drew: 38.49%
Arlington Traditional: 35.04%
Long Branch: 32.52%

I'm not aware of a waitlist for Spanish speakers to enroll in immersion. If parents are uncomfortable with English, immersion is an option for all Spanish speaking students in Arlington. Supply matches demand. For many Spanish dominant parents, immersion is an important option.

It’s an OPTION. As in “not mandatory or required.” And not one the public school systems should be prioritizing over what is required.

You're probably the same poster who complains about APs teaching to the SOL. After all, the point is minimum requirements only, right?

[Anonymous]

Still wondering if this is a start to an end for immersion at the middle school level. APS needs to reconsider “lottery” schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how long until they just nix the entire immersion program past elementary.

Nix it there too

Why would they do this? It’s a very popular program with a lot of educational benefits?

It doesn’t really benefit APS as a whole and numbers greatly drop off once middle school hits. We should be doing what is best for APS not a select group of families. Option schools in general should be reevaluated in APS.

Immersion isn't any more of a select group than is attending Jamestown, Discovery or Taylor. All those kids have the economic means to buy in bounds. At least immersion kids have a lottery chance regardless of their background or economic means.

None of those schools you mentioned offer immersion Spanish instruction. If what you are implying is that immersion offers a better level of instruction or better group of peers, I don’t know what to say to that other than work on fixing the neighborhood schools. It doesn’t assuage my conscience to have APS filled with the haves, the have nots, and the have nots who got lucky in the lottery.

No, it's just refuting the notion that immersion is some "select" group and should therefore be actively disfavored by APS to avoid creating an inequity. It's not. It's kids in public school. And it's no more a special interest group than the parents at Jamestown or Discovery. Those parents want what's best for their kids, as do the parents of those in Immersion.

If anything, option schools have been overly favored for reasons that have never been clear to me. This is a public education system - the idea that we should have all kinds of “options” not directly related to educational need (ie ESL, special needs, gifted services) is bizarre.

Huh? Immersion is important to many ESL students. It allows parents who don't speak English to converse with their child's teacher, administration, guidance counselor, PTA, etc. Spanish speaking families and, in turn, educational outcomes of ESL students are strongly supported by having their kids in immersion.

There are plenty of schools in Arlington with similar or higher EL rates. Perhaps they should get some attention too?

EL Rate for all Arlington County Elementary: 28.96%
Claremont: 32.96%
Key: 35.21%
Barrett: 50%
Barcroft: 46.09%
Abingdon:39.07%
Campbell: 36.87%
Carlin Springs 66.15%
Innovation: 33.47%
Hoffman Boston: 48.15%
Drew: 38.49%
Arlington Traditional: 35.04%
Long Branch: 32.52%

Wow that’s surprising the EL rate Claremont of Claremont is slower than some of the other schools.

[Anonymous]

my family left immersion after last year and I wish we would have done it sooner. I hope they figure out the plan for things soon because the program is suffering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Still wondering if this is a start to an end for immersion at the middle school level. APS needs to reconsider “lottery” schools.

We can all only hope?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how long until they just nix the entire immersion program past elementary.

Nix it there too

Why would they do this? It’s a very popular program with a lot of educational benefits?

It doesn’t really benefit APS as a whole and numbers greatly drop off once middle school hits. We should be doing what is best for APS not a select group of families. Option schools in general should be reevaluated in APS.

Immersion isn't any more of a select group than is attending Jamestown, Discovery or Taylor. All those kids have the economic means to buy in bounds. At least immersion kids have a lottery chance regardless of their background or economic means.

None of those schools you mentioned offer immersion Spanish instruction. If what you are implying is that immersion offers a better level of instruction or better group of peers, I don’t know what to say to that other than work on fixing the neighborhood schools. It doesn’t assuage my conscience to have APS filled with the haves, the have nots, and the have nots who got lucky in the lottery.

No, it's just refuting the notion that immersion is some "select" group and should therefore be actively disfavored by APS to avoid creating an inequity. It's not. It's kids in public school. And it's no more a special interest group than the parents at Jamestown or Discovery. Those parents want what's best for their kids, as do the parents of those in Immersion.

If anything, option schools have been overly favored for reasons that have never been clear to me. This is a public education system - the idea that we should have all kinds of “options” not directly related to educational need (ie ESL, special needs, gifted services) is bizarre.

Huh? Immersion is important to many ESL students. It allows parents who don't speak English to converse with their child's teacher, administration, guidance counselor, PTA, etc. Spanish speaking families and, in turn, educational outcomes of ESL students are strongly supported by having their kids in immersion.

There are plenty of schools in Arlington with similar or higher EL rates. Perhaps they should get some attention too?

EL Rate for all Arlington County Elementary: 28.96%
Claremont: 32.96%
Key: 35.21%
Barrett: 50%
Barcroft: 46.09%
Abingdon:39.07%
Campbell: 36.87%
Carlin Springs 66.15%
Innovation: 33.47%
Hoffman Boston: 48.15%
Drew: 38.49%
Arlington Traditional: 35.04%
Long Branch: 32.52%

Wow that’s surprising the EL rate Claremont of Claremont is slower than some of the other schools.

The FARMS rates tell the same story. They track very closely with the EL rates. The story that middle school immersion can’t move to Williamsburg is just that - a story. I would love to see the actual demographics of the middle school program, because one of the highest concentration planning units near Gunston (you know, the reason it has to stay closer) is Fairlington. Not wealthy, but also not low income. They definitely have cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how long until they just nix the entire immersion program past elementary.

Nix it there too

Why would they do this? It’s a very popular program with a lot of educational benefits?

It doesn’t really benefit APS as a whole and numbers greatly drop off once middle school hits. We should be doing what is best for APS not a select group of families. Option schools in general should be reevaluated in APS.

Immersion isn't any more of a select group than is attending Jamestown, Discovery or Taylor. All those kids have the economic means to buy in bounds. At least immersion kids have a lottery chance regardless of their background or economic means.

folks who didn’t get in a lottery school or can’t live in the north might disagree with you there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More than half of the immersion population lives in bounds for Gunston, especially the majority of Spanish speakers. It makes zero sense to bus them across the county to WMS.

All the folks talking about moving Immersion to WMS are just disgruntled Taylor parents who don't want their kids moved to WMS, even though they were 100% fine with WMS before Hamm opened. Perhaps move Immersion to Hamm and bump those Taylor students to WMS as is currently planned. That would leave the Kenmore boundary intact and Hamm is closer to transit than WMS.

That IS a better idea than moving it to WMS! But Kenmore is still better-suited/accessible for more native Spanish-speaking families, and also still more geographically accessible. But if we were doing ranked choice voting, I'd put yours as my #2!

If they went with Hamm, they'd need to switch the high school immersion tracking to WL. That should make sense as WL is projected to have more room than Wakefield, but immersion shouldn't be the only kids at Hamm tracking to Wakefield. That would be weird.

Disagree. Other kids split off from their middle schools to different high schools. If immersion is about 200 kids, that's a much bigger cohort than some other kids have going into high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More than half of the immersion population lives in bounds for Gunston, especially the majority of Spanish speakers. It makes zero sense to bus them across the county to WMS.

All the folks talking about moving Immersion to WMS are just disgruntled Taylor parents who don't want their kids moved to WMS, even though they were 100% fine with WMS before Hamm opened. Perhaps move Immersion to Hamm and bump those Taylor students to WMS as is currently planned. That would leave the Kenmore boundary intact and Hamm is closer to transit than WMS.

That IS a better idea than moving it to WMS! But Kenmore is still better-suited/accessible for more native Spanish-speaking families, and also still more geographically accessible. But if we were doing ranked choice voting, I'd put yours as my #2!

If they went with Hamm, they'd need to switch the high school immersion tracking to WL. That should make sense as WL is projected to have more room than Wakefield, but immersion shouldn't be the only kids at Hamm tracking to Wakefield. That would be weird.

Wouldn't that fix two problems then since they already need to move kids from WHS to W-L?

But it further limits the opportunity for IB transfers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More than half of the immersion population lives in bounds for Gunston, especially the majority of Spanish speakers. It makes zero sense to bus them across the county to WMS.

All the folks talking about moving Immersion to WMS are just disgruntled Taylor parents who don't want their kids moved to WMS, even though they were 100% fine with WMS before Hamm opened. Perhaps move Immersion to Hamm and bump those Taylor students to WMS as is currently planned. That would leave the Kenmore boundary intact and Hamm is closer to transit than WMS.

That IS a better idea than moving it to WMS! But Kenmore is still better-suited/accessible for more native Spanish-speaking families, and also still more geographically accessible. But if we were doing ranked choice voting, I'd put yours as my #2!

How much does geographic accessibility really matter for middle school? These aren't five year olds with extended day pickups. They are middle school students who can manage a bus ride and walking home from the bus stop.

Doesn't it matter a lot for kids who want to do sports or theater or other activities? Parents need to be able to pick kids up (a challenge for FARMs parents), or there needs to be good public transit.

I'm really tired of everyone citing FRM families as some sort of understanding and compassionate consideration. It can be a challenge for other parents, too.