Can't take Language 3 in Middle School

[Anonymous]

My LO's middle school doesn't offer his language in level 3 (even though it has appeared in the course bulletin for years). The option given was to be bused to the nearby high school for a first period language 3 class and then bused back to middle school for second period. Or to switch to the first level of the other language offered (the school only offers French and Spanish)

There are a variety of reasons starting the day in a high school won't work for our family, but how common is this? Why do they let kids start language in sixth grade if they know there won't be a cohort in eighth grade? Do all middle schools only offer French and Spanish?

So, is it best to start a new language (which is not the one we wanted LO to learn or we would have chosen it in the first place)? Take a year off? If LO takes a year off, should LO retake Language 2 in 9th grade for an easy A? Are there things to do to keep mastery on level so they can take Language 3 in 9th grade?

[Anonymous]

My kid was bused to the high school for math, and back to her middle school for second period. She got lost in the high school corridors a few times but apart from that it was a positive experience.

MCPS and other public school systems have difficulty finding foreign language teachers, OP, and this is why they sometimes cannot maintain the level 3 in a language, despite offering the first levels starting in 6th. Yes, it's very irritating!!!

I don't know what your restrictions are, but I would highly encourage your kid to do first period language 3 at the high school. He or she will have to wake up a bit earlier, that's all. And the advantage is that they will have a smooth transition to high school next year!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My LO's middle school doesn't offer his language in level 3 (even though it has appeared in the course bulletin for years). The option given was to be bused to the nearby high school for a first period language 3 class and then bused back to middle school for second period. Or to switch to the first level of the other language offered (the school only offers French and Spanish)

There are a variety of reasons starting the day in a high school won't work for our family, but how common is this? Why do they let kids start language in sixth grade if they know there won't be a cohort in eighth grade? Do all middle schools only offer French and Spanish?

So, is it best to start a new language (which is not the one we wanted LO to learn or we would have chosen it in the first place)? Take a year off? If LO takes a year off, should LO retake Language 2 in 9th grade for an easy A? Are there things to do to keep mastery on level so they can take Language 3 in 9th grade?

No level 3 languages in my middle school either. I would not recommend taking a year off. Then you just have language loss. If you can't do high school for year 3 of second language, start a new language. If it's a language with a similar base (e.g., Latin-based), there can be positive transfers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't know what your restrictions are, but I would highly encourage your kid to do first period language 3 at the high school. He or she will have to wake up a bit earlier, that's all. And the advantage is that they will have a smooth transition to high school next year!

Appreciate this! Restrictions are a combination of parent work schedules, home/work/bus stop locations, and medical needs for the student. Also, due to split articulation - the high school is not the high school the student will attend. It would be a huge logistical challenge and I'm not sure it's worth it.

[Anonymous]

There are three viable options, OP:

1. Get bused to first period high school. Why can't you do that? Honestly it's the best solution because you get continuity of curriculum.

2. Enroll for that year in a weekend language school, intermediary level. My bilingual kids go to Les Classes du Samedi, and I believe they also have intermediary levels for kids like yours. If the language is Spanish, call the Escuela Argentina and inquire if they have intermediary level. I've also heard of the Isabella and Ferdinand School, but I don't know them personally.

3. Hire a tutor.

DO NOT have your kid skip an entire year's worth of the language they started. It's not stabilized yet and they will forget everything. It would be infuriating to go back to level 2 in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't know what your restrictions are, but I would highly encourage your kid to do first period language 3 at the high school. He or she will have to wake up a bit earlier, that's all. And the advantage is that they will have a smooth transition to high school next year!

Appreciate this! Restrictions are a combination of parent work schedules, home/work/bus stop locations, and medical needs for the student. Also, due to split articulation - the high school is not the high school the student will attend. It would be a huge logistical challenge and I'm not sure it's worth it.

My teen with severe ADHD was able to walk to his bus stop. My other teen with medical needs too. Are your kid's medical issues that restrictive?
And for the high school choice, can't you pick the one your kid will eventually end up in? That seems like a reasonable request.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't know what your restrictions are, but I would highly encourage your kid to do first period language 3 at the high school. He or she will have to wake up a bit earlier, that's all. And the advantage is that they will have a smooth transition to high school next year!

Appreciate this! Restrictions are a combination of parent work schedules, home/work/bus stop locations, and medical needs for the student. Also, due to split articulation - the high school is not the high school the student will attend. It would be a huge logistical challenge and I'm not sure it's worth it.

My teen with severe ADHD was able to walk to his bus stop. My other teen with medical needs too. Are your kid's medical issues that restrictive?
And for the high school choice, can't you pick the one your kid will eventually end up in? That seems like a reasonable request.

We share custody and live in different, non-contiguous clusters so the bus transportation is only accessible to the kid a couple of days a week.

I think we will probably switch to the other language next year, as much as I am annoyed about it. I would have waited to start language until 7th grade if I had known it was likely this would happen, but that was not communicated to us when we were parents to a rising 6th grader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are three viable options, OP:

1. Get bused to first period high school. Why can't you do that? Honestly it's the best solution because you get continuity of curriculum.

2. Enroll for that year in a weekend language school, intermediary level. My bilingual kids go to Les Classes du Samedi, and I believe they also have intermediary levels for kids like yours. If the language is Spanish, call the Escuela Argentina and inquire if they have intermediary level. I've also heard of the Isabella and Ferdinand School, but I don't know them personally.

3. Hire a tutor.

DO NOT have your kid skip an entire year's worth of the language they started. It's not stabilized yet and they will forget everything. It would be infuriating to go back to level 2 in high school.

Thanks! Super helpful. I knew there were probably weekend language schools but didn't really know where to begin.

[Anonymous]

This is not at all uncommon in MCPS. Lots of kids don’t take a FL in MS. I had to fight for my kids who came in with a second language to take a third as sixth graders and MCPS still forced them to take the level 1 over two years.

[Anonymous]

The bussing to HS for a 1st period class is common for both language and math. Schools don’t know in 6th grade how many kid’s will stick with a language to take level 3 in 8th at the MS.

I had one kid who paused language in 8th to be more in sync with most kids in his grade in HS. It worked out fine.

If you are choosing between a pause versus switching languages, I would pause and have your kid take a different elective in 8th grade - preferably a HS tech credit if available. Then summer before high school have you kids retake the second semester of the language in summer school to be ready for level 3 in 9th.

[Anonymous]

Retake 2 and study ahead individually

[Anonymous]

Very common for foreign language and advanced math in MCPS. I would figure out how to get the kid bussed to the HS rather than switch languages

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Retake 2 and study ahead individually

+1 tell them to challenge themselves to retake level 2 and really get into the writing and reading of it, they'll do so much better in HS and be able to keep up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't know what your restrictions are, but I would highly encourage your kid to do first period language 3 at the high school. He or she will have to wake up a bit earlier, that's all. And the advantage is that they will have a smooth transition to high school next year!

Appreciate this! Restrictions are a combination of parent work schedules, home/work/bus stop locations, and medical needs for the student. Also, due to split articulation - the high school is not the high school the student will attend. It would be a huge logistical challenge and I'm not sure it's worth it.

My teen with severe ADHD was able to walk to his bus stop. My other teen with medical needs too. Are your kid's medical issues that restrictive?
And for the high school choice, can't you pick the one your kid will eventually end up in? That seems like a reasonable request.

We share custody and live in different, non-contiguous clusters so the bus transportation is only accessible to the kid a couple of days a week.

I think we will probably switch to the other language next year, as much as I am annoyed about it. I would have waited to start language until 7th grade if I had known it was likely this would happen, but that was not communicated to us when we were parents to a rising 6th grader.

Any way to keep the kids in one place during the school week? Moving them like this must be hugely disruptive. Can it be weekday at one place, and weekend at the other? Or can the kids stay in one location, and the parents switch around?

[Anonymous]

Will the school inform you if your child is takin the language class at a high school? My child is taking French 3 in 8th and as far as I know, it’s at the middle school.