Language Immersion dilemma
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Anonymous
We got waitlisted for French at both school... number in the 100s! so so so sad  Those were our top choices.
BUT, we were invited into Rock Creek Forest for Spanish. Our kid is fluent in Spanish though and we are having a hard time deciding whether to take the spot as our local ES, which is fantastic! Commute would not be bad at all going to RC, for context. Spouse thinks we should just send kiddo to local ES and do Spanish classes for grammar/reading. Would love to hear perspectives on this from those in a similar situation. |
Anonymous
| There’s so much to be said about being at the home school. Play dates. Short commute for all those evening events. My kid switched schools for another reason (CES) and we all missed the home school a lot. If it’s a good school, I would just stay. |
Anonymous
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I think it depends on your goals and family situation. "Fluent" can mean able to speak, read and write as comfortably as in the primary language, or it can mean can sound ok when speaking but has trouble expressing themselves verbally and in writing due to limited vocabulary.
As someone who grew up in a Spanish speaking household but with no Spanish speaking friends, I am definitely in the second category. I look a Spanish for native speakers class in college so I understand basic grammar but it's just really hard to express myself even though I sound "fluent". I think unless your kid will have a LOT of exposure to Spanish outside of school including close relationships with Spanish speakers outside of the immediate family, the best way to ensure confidence in the language is the immersion program. Of course language ability is not the end all and be all so if that's not your goal, that is totally fine. The grammar classes will help but don't expect miracles. It is hard when 95% of your world is in English. |
Anonymous
typo.. our local ES *is* fantastic! |
Anonymous
| Why were you so set on French immersion, but not Spanish immersion if (I assume) you speak Spanish at home. From my perspective Spanish immersion school is key to supporting our child's bilingualism -so don't really even understand where you're coming from. But yeah if you're already not into it - don't do it. |
Anonymous
| Honestly you have two great options. We are a fluent in French family, who got a spot at SCES in French and it's been so great to see my kid become even more fluent, to write, read etc in French. It's awesome. That said, we would have sent our kid to the neighborhood school in a heart beat. |
Anonymous
| Your child will have MCPS options to take Spanish for native speakers starting in middle school. Stay on the waitlist for French and re apply for 1st grade. Trilingual is unparalleled. |
Anonymous
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Elementary immersion may result more in language familiarity/comfort than grammatical mastery. Sort of like elementary ELA, though there certainly are high flyers who run well with it. Middle school is more where that more formal instruction occurs, though, like all things middle school, there appears to be a bit of a disconnect and possible watering down, and there is a more complete disconnect upon entering high school (though Spanish continues to offer the greatest breadth of options).
Meanwhile, immersion can be a great and relatively unique experience, and would support/broaden your child's existing competency. It may also present wonderful cultural touch points. The challenge provided may not be as applicable to a student arriving with fluency and regular at-home exposure, but many families in that circumstance still have found it worth pursuing. On the other hand, the lack of ELA may result in lower-than-representative-of-ability standardized test scores when taken in English. There are some tests for which Spanish is supported, whereas French and Mandarin typically are not (it also is harder to source material in these languages, though that is less applicable to Mandarin, where only Math and Science are formally taught in the target language), but I do not believe this to be the case for MAP, which is currently used by MCPS as the test factor for CES (4th-5th humanities enrichment magnets) and criteria-based MS magnets (Humanities or Math/Science/CS). |
Anonymous
| I have a child at RCF. We are a bilingual family but this child did not speak Spanish. My other children did. For those who already had language skills I'm very happy we decided to send them to their home school. There are so many benefits to being in the neighborhood and I don't think giving those up is worth it for a kid who already has the language skills. |
Anonymous
| Since your kid is fluent in Spanish and you love your home school, imo you should go to home school. |
Anonymous
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I’m a little surprised by so many comments suggesting you stay at the home school. Personally I’d give immersion a try, if the location works, even if it’s not your top pick. These are popular programs and you may not get another chance. Your home school will always be an option.
We did get in for first grade today but our second choice was in the 60s, which just underscores how easy it is to get completely shut out. |
Anonymous
| Does anyone know up to what number RCF accepted off the waitlist last year? |