Leave Immersion for CES?

[Anonymous]

Hi! Has anyone here left an immersion program for CES? Our kid has been invited to Oak View but is currently in immersion. We’d hate to leave immersion, but we’ve been very underwhelmed by the enrichment provided by his teachers and by the school administration. Our kid consistently tests at 98-99th percentile and has really lost his enthusiasm for school this year. We attended the Oak View visit night and were really impressed. Appreciate any thoughts!

[Anonymous]

I have a friend whose kid left a two way immersion school for CES. Same situation with lack of enrichment and the child was not happy. Sounds like it was the right choice for my friend's kid who is now in 5th grade (I am not super close with the family so take with a grain of salt)

[Anonymous]

At my kids es many kids left Chinese immersion for HGC (old name). I think many did Chinese immersion to avoid their local school so they may have not been too wed to the language

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi! Has anyone here left an immersion program for CES? Our kid has been invited to Oak View but is currently in immersion. We’d hate to leave immersion, but we’ve been very underwhelmed by the enrichment provided by his teachers and by the school administration. Our kid consistently tests at 98-99th percentile and has really lost his enthusiasm for school this year. We attended the Oak View visit night and were really impressed. Appreciate any thoughts!

Because of that sentence/observation I would choose CES. A second language is great but not at the expense of enthusiasm for learning and for the place he spends 6+ hours per day.

[Anonymous]

One thing to consider is that acceleration/enrichment don't really start until 4th in MCPS anyway, so a lot of kids are bored through 3rd.

Have you talked to the immersion coordinator about what is available? Will compacted math be delivered in the target language, for example?

Do they differentiate the target language reading groups?

[Anonymous]

For two-way immersion and half-day (Chinese) immersion, the immersive experience isn’t really there so I would probably switch in those scenarios. If it’s one-way, the enrichment they are getting is hearing and using the language most of the day. I especially like my kid’s exposure to technical language in math. I am fluent in another language but the technical language I am lost in.

[Anonymous]

If it’s one way fu immersion hang on for another two years - especially if you like the school. Then, when it’s more important, send him to a magnet for middle school. He’s getting more than you think from immersion. Plus, anecdotally, sometimes kids who do CES for 4th and 5th are tired of it and want to go back to their home middle school- but that’s exactly the wrong time to do that. Kids develop their identity as adolescent learners in 6th-8th and you want them with an uplifting peer group. My two cents. And we had this decision twice and chose to stay in (full) immersion both times. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Immersion it self is an enrichment program.
My kid when to Spanish OWI and best decision.

[Anonymous]

Leave the immersion program for enrichment. Immersion schools don't have the capacity to enrich and provide immersion. Additionally, your kid can study abroad later. They cannot however apply for gifted programming later.

Consider yourself lucky and take the offer. MCOS elsewhere has declined.

[Anonymous]

I can't speak to the immersion aspect, but my 5th grader has loved and thrived at Oak View (though adjustment, particularly regarding homework, took a couple months), and I personally think the staff and environment at Oak View is excellent.

[Anonymous]

My child went to Oak View CES and is now in 7th grade. I don't think I would recommend going there. We had a fantastic fourth grade experience and the teacher provided a lot of enrichment, but they left after the school year ended. We had a terrible experience in 5th grade. Teacher did not challenge the kids, seemed to actively dislike most of the students, did not teach the curriculum but seemed to have random assignments instead, only graded one or two assignments per subject area, and made frequent mistakes in at least one or two subject areas. My kid came home crying a few times, it was that bad at times. Their experience was not unique. That teacher is still there, at least as of last year. I will say, my child got to meet other likeminded individuals who were motivated and had unique shared interests which was great. I think it was the social component that was the best part of CES, not the academics or enrichment. They would really challenge and inspire each other to do well. That said, there is still a huge gap even within CES between those who got in and scored in the 80th percentile and those who came in scoring 98-99 percent.

The specials teachers are pretty great though! I don't think the principal is a big fan of CES being there, so that can create a weird vibe at times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi! Has anyone here left an immersion program for CES? Our kid has been invited to Oak View but is currently in immersion. We’d hate to leave immersion, but we’ve been very underwhelmed by the enrichment provided by his teachers and by the school administration. Our kid consistently tests at 98-99th percentile and has really lost his enthusiasm for school this year. We attended the Oak View visit night and were really impressed. Appreciate any thoughts!

Because of that sentence/observation I would choose CES. A second language is great but not at the expense of enthusiasm for learning and for the place he spends 6+ hours per day.

Agree with this--we were on the fence about CES just because of logistics, but we attended the open house this week, and DC's excitement is what convinced us to make it work. Seeing my kid grinning and nodding when hearing about reading 10+ novels for literature circles and lighting up when the teacher presenter mentioned the projects for Greek myths... that kind of enthusiasm is priceless. If your kid had that same enthusiasm for learning a second language, I would stay with immersion, but it doesn't sound like it. I know leaving such a prized spot in an immersion program seems crazy when so many people are hard-pressed to get one, but in your case it sounds like CES is the better fit.

[Anonymous]

We are facing the same decision and I think have (finally) decided to stay with immersion.
We don’t want to leave a program we generally feel really lucky to be part of for the last two years.
There probably isn’t a bad choice here. But it is a tough one.

[Anonymous]

We have known a couple of families who left left for CES, but there is no way we would personally do this. There are pros and cons but ultimately if you value the language skills your child has been working on, they are pretty much use or lose, especially at this age. We wouldn't throw away the investment we've made in making our kids bilingual.

[Anonymous]

You have two really great options. One thing to add to your consideration is middle school. If you go to CES, the only sure thing is going to your home middle school. If you stay in immersion, you can continue immersion into middle school.