Walter Reed transfer back on schedule for DCI

[Anonymous]

Kids do get off the 6th grade waiting lists at both Latin and BASIS over the summer, and sometimes as late as during the first week of school. BASIS opened another 5th grade class in August. This developed meant that several of our feeder's kids who were heading to DCI didn't go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a feeder. Although it was great when the kids were young, it seems more and more like they are ignoring the needs of children who are not outright failing.

Not all feeders seem to be created equal...

My concern is that this is a feeder that is considered good. If the good feeders aren't ensuring the needs of successful students aren't being met, how can DCI? Moreover, is DCI actually trying? I'm not trolling. I desperately want to know the answer to these questions before we make serious decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a feeder. Although it was great when the kids were young, it seems more and more like they are ignoring the needs of children who are not outright failing.

Not all feeders seem to be created equal...

My concern is that this is a feeder that is considered good. If the good feeders aren't ensuring the needs of successful students aren't being met, how can DCI? Moreover, is DCI actually trying? I'm not trolling. I desperately want to know the answer to these questions before we make serious decisions.

Please define the "needs of successful students." PARRC scores of 4s and 5s for both reading and math across the board? Fluency in the target language by 5th grade?

Put your faith in DCI for the education of an academically advanced or fully bilingual student (in English and one of the DCI target languages) and don't be surprised if the joke is on your family eventually. Why trust a public charter board blithely ignoring the academic literature on what works in language immersion studies for young people? The leadership won't even allow native speakers FARMs students to test in to replace dropouts at this city's ES immersion charters, a basic concession to both fairness and best educational practices.

I want to know how they get away with it year after year, using hundreds of millions in tax payers money to support one-way immersion by design. Somebody's about to post, it's all Congress' fault, for the way they wrote federal charter law. Total BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a feeder. Although it was great when the kids were young, it seems more and more like they are ignoring the needs of children who are not outright failing.

Not all feeders seem to be created equal...

My concern is that this is a feeder that is considered good. If the good feeders aren't ensuring the needs of successful students aren't being met, how can DCI? Moreover, is DCI actually trying? I'm not trolling. I desperately want to know the answer to these questions before we make serious decisions.

Please define the "needs of successful students." PARRC scores of 4s and 5s for both reading and math across the board? Fluency in the target language by 5th grade?

Our charter does well on fluency, and not so well on PARRC scores. Neither of these are my concern. My concern is that there are so many students who are misbehaving in the classroom that there is no teaching other than remedial. All of the time is spent in dealing with the misbehaving students. All of the energy is put into making sure that the misbehaving students do not feel disciplined. None of the energy is put into making sure that students who are on grade level are actually learning anything.

The initial question is whether DCI provides a grade level education without daily (or hourly, if not more) interruptions for the children who actually want to learn. The follow-up is whether they provide additional support for students who may be more advanced or are those children just written off as not causing problems. If it is just more of the same with everyday wasted watching people misbehave, that won't work.

[Anonymous]

That sounds terrible. Why are you sticking it out at this feeder? Because the immersion instruction is strong, and very important to you? One hears about rowdy kids at DCI, but not on an epic scale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a feeder. Although it was great when the kids were young, it seems more and more like they are ignoring the needs of children who are not outright failing.

Not all feeders seem to be created equal...

My concern is that this is a feeder that is considered good. If the good feeders aren't ensuring the needs of successful students aren't being met, how can DCI? Moreover, is DCI actually trying? I'm not trolling. I desperately want to know the answer to these questions before we make serious decisions.

Please define the "needs of successful students." PARRC scores of 4s and 5s for both reading and math across the board? Fluency in the target language by 5th grade?

Put your faith in DCI for the education of an academically advanced or fully bilingual student (in English and one of the DCI target languages) and don't be surprised if the joke is on your family eventually. Why trust a public charter board blithely ignoring the academic literature on what works in language immersion studies for young people? The leadership won't even allow native speakers FARMs students to test in to replace dropouts at this city's ES immersion charters, a basic concession to both fairness and best educational practices.

I want to know how they get away with it year after year, using hundreds of millions in tax payers money to support one-way immersion by design. Somebody's about to post, it's all Congress' fault, for the way they wrote federal charter law. Total BS.

The Spanish immersion charter programs practically offer two-way immersion, the others not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That sounds terrible. Why are you sticking it out at this feeder? Because the immersion instruction is strong, and very important to you? One hears about rowdy kids at DCI, but not on an epic scale.

At this point, the issue comes down to whether it is worth it to stay to send the children to DCI or if that will just be more of the same. The feeder does not seem to think that this is an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That sounds terrible. Why are you sticking it out at this feeder? Because the immersion instruction is strong, and very important to you? One hears about rowdy kids at DCI, but not on an epic scale.

At this point, the issue comes down to whether it is worth it to stay to send the children to DCI or if that will just be more of the same. The feeder does not seem to think that this is an issue.

Go on a tour of DCI and talk to current parents - here's how to get in touch with the PTO. http://dcinternationalschool.org/about-us/pto/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That sounds terrible. Why are you sticking it out at this feeder? Because the immersion instruction is strong, and very important to you? One hears about rowdy kids at DCI, but not on an epic scale. [/quote
I have not heard about rowdy kids at DCI. I've heard about rowdy kids at Wilson and Coolidge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That sounds terrible. Why are you sticking it out at this feeder? Because the immersion instruction is strong, and very important to you? One hears about rowdy kids at DCI, but not on an epic scale.

At this point, the issue comes down to whether it is worth it to stay to send the children to DCI or if that will just be more of the same. The feeder does not seem to think that this is an issue.

This sounds like MV. I have 4 friends who have taken their children out of MV (over the past two years) because of a lack of classroom discipline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI is having a problem attracting the strongest students from our feeder. The better speakers of the language of instruction in my child's 5th grade class, as well as the strongest math and English students, didn't make the jump. They went to BASIS, Latin, Deal the burbs and privates. Wish it weren't so.

Which feeder? And what percentage of the class opted out?

I know of a few YY students who left. Two were strong students. Two were weak and good riddances. On balance it stays the same.

YY lost 8- 12between 3rd and 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That sounds terrible. Why are you sticking it out at this feeder? Because the immersion instruction is strong, and very important to you? One hears about rowdy kids at DCI, but not on an epic scale. [/quote
I have not heard about rowdy kids at DCI. I've heard about rowdy kids at Wilson and Coolidge.

I have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That sounds terrible. Why are you sticking it out at this feeder? Because the immersion instruction is strong, and very important to you? One hears about rowdy kids at DCI, but not on an epic scale. [/quote
I have not heard about rowdy kids at DCI. I've heard about rowdy kids at Wilson and Coolidge.

I have.

Me too.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely rowdy kids at DCI. My kid complians about them and the disruptions to class on a daily basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI is having a problem attracting the strongest students from our feeder. The better speakers of the language of instruction in my child's 5th grade class, as well as the strongest math and English students, didn't make the jump. They went to BASIS, Latin, Deal the burbs and privates. Wish it weren't so.

Which feeder? And what percentage of the class opted out?

I know of a few YY students who left. Two were strong students. Two were weak and good riddances. On balance it stays the same.

YY lost 8- 12between 3rd and 5th.

There are around 200 students in those grades so losing 8-12 works out to about <5% attrition. Not exactly leaving in droves.