Entering Dual Immersion at 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

I would be concerned about an older kid with no Spanish going into these programs and would ask for a transfer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're assuming there will be an opening for your child to enter the program. Spots that do open seem to fill quickly, and parents often had their child in tutoring or some sort of language program to help prepare them.

Rolling Terrace is a whole school program. You only need to live in the area to go to the school.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid who completed a dual-language elementary school last year. For 3rd grade entry, I would think about personality and ability. If you have a kid with a facility for languages who either loves a challenge or is unphased by being the only kid who doesn't know stuff, it could work. For a shy, sensitive, average kid (this is my child) I think it will be way more pain than it is worth. Overall I think dual language is great for bilingual kids (and there are many in my community) and good for monolingual kids who need an extra challenge. It was not good for my child who did not fall into either of those groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have kids in the TWI program at OTES. I highly recommend you directly contact the principals at both schools with this question. They'll have a broader perspective than anyone here.

Good luck! We love the TWI program and OTES generally, as well as the surrounding neighborhood. People are very friendly.

OP here. Thanks. I did email the principal at OTES and she said that kids coming in after 2nd grade would need to test in and if they didn't qualify, they would go to the sister school Flora Singer.

My concern with this is the middle schools. Flora Singer is zoned for Sligo Middle and OTES zoned for Newport Mill. Since my 3rd grader is my shy/sensitive one, I worry about him making new friends at school and then having all those friends go to a different middle school.

You would think they would pick a "sister school" that goes to the same middle school? So that was really disappointing. As much as I want my youngest to benefit from the immersion, I don't want to throw my 7yo under the bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have kids in the TWI program at OTES. I highly recommend you directly contact the principals at both schools with this question. They'll have a broader perspective than anyone here.

Good luck! We love the TWI program and OTES generally, as well as the surrounding neighborhood. People are very friendly.

OP here. Thanks. I did email the principal at OTES and she said that kids coming in after 2nd grade would need to test in and if they didn't qualify, they would go to the sister school Flora Singer.

My concern with this is the middle schools. Flora Singer is zoned for Sligo Middle and OTES zoned for Newport Mill. Since my 3rd grader is my shy/sensitive one, I worry about him making new friends at school and then having all those friends go to a different middle school.

You would think they would pick a "sister school" that goes to the same middle school? So that was really disappointing. As much as I want my youngest to benefit from the immersion, I don't want to throw my 7yo under the bus.

That's a fair point, OP. You might ask someone (from the county, maybe) if you could send your 7yo to Rock View instead of Singer if he doesn't get into OTES. Rock View goes to Newport Mill, too. Because, yeah, it's not ideal to have your kid start entirely fresh in middle. Or, could you make a case for your son to go to Sligo for middle? Probably the former would be an easier sell, but who knows with MCPS.

If you feel comfortable, you might ask the OTES principal if she knows whom to contact at MCPS with this question. In any case, good for you for asking, and good luck, either way!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have kids in the TWI program at OTES. I highly recommend you directly contact the principals at both schools with this question. They'll have a broader perspective than anyone here.

Good luck! We love the TWI program and OTES generally, as well as the surrounding neighborhood. People are very friendly.

OP here. Thanks. I did email the principal at OTES and she said that kids coming in after 2nd grade would need to test in and if they didn't qualify, they would go to the sister school Flora Singer.

My concern with this is the middle schools. Flora Singer is zoned for Sligo Middle and OTES zoned for Newport Mill. Since my 3rd grader is my shy/sensitive one, I worry about him making new friends at school and then having all those friends go to a different middle school.

You would think they would pick a "sister school" that goes to the same middle school? So that was really disappointing. As much as I want my youngest to benefit from the immersion, I don't want to throw my 7yo under the bus.

While I understand this concern, just a note that the density of this part of the county + the abundance of special programs (gifted centers, language immersion programs, random COSAs) + families that do private only through 5th means that a lot of kids are going to be joining and/or leaving between 5th and 6th.

If your child joins an activity (Scout troop, soccer team) that is mostly neighborhood kids, it should give a good foundation going into MS.