Any cons to Dual Language Immersion Program?

[Anonymous]

I am contemplating entering the lottery for a Spanish dual language immersion programming starting in K and am wondering if there are any cons to this. Also interested in others’ experience and any info/pros and cons they are willing to share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am contemplating entering the lottery for a Spanish dual language immersion programming starting in K and am wondering if there are any cons to this. Also interested in others’ experience and any info/pros and cons they are willing to share.

There is another post on the immersion program from a few days ago, a couple of cons are mentioned there.

[Anonymous]

Cons:

Lots of LI schools have a divided feel because the kids are in different programs. Some do a better job of mixing the kids for specials then others.

Kids that are struggling with reading or math will fall behind if they stay in LI.

Some people think that there can be a problem with kids learning math while learning a new language.

Pros:

Learning a new language develops different pathways in the brain.

Kids develop some skills in a new language, but don’t expect them to be fluent when they finish ES.

Kids tend to have parents who are really involved in their kids education, that means that they tend to be more receptive to monitoring their kids behavior and helping with school work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am contemplating entering the lottery for a Spanish dual language immersion programming starting in K and am wondering if there are any cons to this. Also interested in others’ experience and any info/pros and cons they are willing to share.

Are you or your partner literate in Spanish?

[Anonymous]

Your child will be stuck with the same peers all 7 years.

[Anonymous]

These are not academic issues, but things to think about.

If the school is not your base school, you will have to provide transportation to get your child to/from school. Are you willing to do that for 7 years? They will not get bus transportation and you're probably too far for them to walk. Also, your child will be in class with children from many neighborhoods and may not have any classmates from your neighborhood. Their friends from school might live a significant difference away, which makes getting together outside of school challenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your child will be stuck with the same peers all 7 years.

Our school had 2 classes for LI and the grouping was mixed up every year. In 5th grade the homerooms were based on being in Advanced Math or not. In 6th grade, the school mixes all the kids and has them change teachers for each subject, like in MS. The only class that is taught in the target language is math.

My kid was fine with this, there were limited complaints by some kids but I think those kids wanted to not be in LI and their parents kept them in the program.

[Anonymous]

No cons to entering the lottery! Do it, then if you get a spot, there is a decision to make.

Test-drive the route from your home to school for all of the ones you are considering. Do this during the relevant times of day in order to get an accurate picture of the drive time. Then add about 5-10 minutes to the morning time and about 10-20 minutes to the afternoon time to account for the waiting involved in drop-off and pick-up. Only apply for the schools where you can realistically picture yourself doing this twice a day every day for the entirety of elementary school. It is a commitment.

I agree with what others said above. If you do it, don’t expect fluency, but know that there are a lot of benefits. Each school holds an information session in winter before the lottery opens. That’s a great way to find out more about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cons:



Some people think that there can be a problem with kids learning math while learning a new language.

If this were true we’d likely see significantly lower math scores coming out of most European countries…

[Anonymous]

We moved to fcps after living overseas for a few years. My kids came back fluent in spanish but we decided not to pursue the program because 1)the immersion is only partial day, with reports many kids are not near fluent by elem graduation, 2) it's only offered at select schools and you have to provide your own transportation. Due to the hours of school, this would mean I would be unable to work.

Between the two, I didn't think it would be worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cons:



Some people think that there can be a problem with kids learning math while learning a new language.

If this were true we’d likely see significantly lower math scores coming out of most European countries…

Is math taught in English in Europe or the countries native tongue? Math and Science are taught in the immersion language in FCPS. The argument is that trying to learn math while being taught in a new language makes learning math more difficult.

One of the knocks on the program is that some of the kids come out of it weak in math. I am less certain that those kids would have been stronger in math if they took the class in English because there are kids who struggle with ES math, it takes a while and lots of practice for some of those skills to be fully understood. Plenty of kids in the regular curriculum at our school struggled with math when taught completely in English.

Someone pointed out that more kids in the LI program take some type of math enrichment or attend math support. Some explain this as the kids are struggling with math. I would offer the counter argument that parents who placed their kids in LI tend to be more involved in their kids' education and are more likely to be looking at enrichment opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved to fcps after living overseas for a few years. My kids came back fluent in spanish but we decided not to pursue the program because 1)the immersion is only partial day, with reports many kids are not near fluent by elem graduation, 2) it's only offered at select schools and you have to provide your own transportation. Due to the hours of school, this would mean I would be unable to work.

Between the two, I didn't think it would be worth it.

Plenty of working parents have their kids in after care programs, which would have been available at your kids LI school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to fcps after living overseas for a few years. My kids came back fluent in spanish but we decided not to pursue the program because 1)the immersion is only partial day, with reports many kids are not near fluent by elem graduation, 2) it's only offered at select schools and you have to provide your own transportation. Due to the hours of school, this would mean I would be unable to work.

Between the two, I didn't think it would be worth it.

Plenty of working parents have their kids in after care programs, which would have been available at your kids LI school.

The school I wanted had a long before care waiting list. But even if i had managed to find something, between shuttling my kid an hour a day and my own commute, it was going to be too much and I didn't think it was worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cons:



Some people think that there can be a problem with kids learning math while learning a new language.

If this were true we’d likely see significantly lower math scores coming out of most European countries…

Is math taught in English in Europe or the countries native tongue? Math and Science are taught in the immersion language in FCPS. The argument is that trying to learn math while being taught in a new language makes learning math more difficult.

One of the knocks on the program is that some of the kids come out of it weak in math. I am less certain that those kids would have been stronger in math if they took the class in English because there are kids who struggle with ES math, it takes a while and lots of practice for some of those skills to be fully understood. Plenty of kids in the regular curriculum at our school struggled with math when taught completely in English.

Someone pointed out that more kids in the LI program take some type of math enrichment or attend math support. Some explain this as the kids are struggling with math. I would offer the counter argument that parents who placed their kids in LI tend to be more involved in their kids' education and are more likely to be looking at enrichment opportunities.

Or maybe it’s just that language kids aren’t as mathy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to fcps after living overseas for a few years. My kids came back fluent in spanish but we decided not to pursue the program because 1)the immersion is only partial day, with reports many kids are not near fluent by elem graduation, 2) it's only offered at select schools and you have to provide your own transportation. Due to the hours of school, this would mean I would be unable to work.

Between the two, I didn't think it would be worth it.

Plenty of working parents have their kids in after care programs, which would have been available at your kids LI school.

The school I wanted had a long before care waiting list. But even if i had managed to find something, between shuttling my kid an hour a day and my own commute, it was going to be too much and I didn't think it was worth it.

That is every ES, people use private services that pick up and drop off, even when they are at their base school.

I get that you chose not to participate because of the commute, others choose to participate even with that. Our kids' program is probably 1/2 out of boundary kids and 1/2 in boundary kids.