MCPS Spanish immersion schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you like about your Spanish immersion program? What don't you like about it? Are you happy or is your kid happy with the style and level of Spanish taught? How about the teachers your child has?

When your child goes to middle school from immersion, what level Spanish do they take in 6th grade?

Trying to move to a neighborhood that houses Spanish immersion, tho I know it is lottery and living in the neighborhood does not necessarily matter.

You may want to consider moving to a neighborhood of a two-way immersion school, as there is no lottery for those programs; all students are included.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/esol/es/#twowayimmersion

The downside of the two-way immersion programs is that there is no plan for MS. They do not feed into a MS immersion program. Full immersion programs feed into middle school immersion programs.

[Anonymous]

Some or maybe all MCPS high schools offer a class Spanish for Spanish speakers (SfSs) which has students that may speak Spanish at home or hear it from others at home but do not know much reading and writing in Spanish.

The SfSs students, if they get into a Spa ish immersion program for K-5, do they start with Spanish 1 in middle school? Or do they need to test into Spanish 2 or even try for Spanish 3 in 6th grade? Will the K-5 Spanish immersion prepare students for something other than Level 1 Spanish in 6th? We do speak and children do too some not fluent though. We want them to be able to keep it up when they begin school and think an immersion program could help them stay or become more bilingual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some or maybe all MCPS high schools offer a class Spanish for Spanish speakers (SfSs) which has students that may speak Spanish at home or hear it from others at home but do not know much reading and writing in Spanish.

The SfSs students, if they get into a Spa ish immersion program for K-5, do they start with Spanish 1 in middle school? Or do they need to test into Spanish 2 or even try for Spanish 3 in 6th grade? Will the K-5 Spanish immersion prepare students for something other than Level 1 Spanish in 6th? We do speak and children do too some not fluent though. We want them to be able to keep it up when they begin school and think an immersion program could help them stay or become more bilingual.

Silver Spring International and Westland Middle School have spanish immersion classes. They are a lot harder than normal spanish 1,2 and 3. If your goal is to make your child speak more spanish you should try to get them into one of these middle schools. Spanish 1,2 and 3 is very easy and not for someone who has experience with spanish. Skipping spanish 1 would not be effective as you won’t get 3 full years. Spanish for Spanish Speakers is more for kids who speak Spanish at home fluently. The class is more focused on grammar and proper Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Looking down the line at Westland. Do you like the Spanish immersion at WMS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you like about your Spanish immersion program? What don't you like about it? Are you happy or is your kid happy with the style and level of Spanish taught? How about the teachers your child has?

When your child goes to middle school from immersion, what level Spanish do they take in 6th grade?

Trying to move to a neighborhood that houses Spanish immersion, tho I know it is lottery and living in the neighborhood does not necessarily matter.

You may want to consider moving to a neighborhood of a two-way immersion school, as there is no lottery for those programs; all students are included.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/esol/es/#twowayimmersion

The downside of the two-way immersion programs is that there is no plan for MS. They do not feed into a MS immersion program. Full immersion programs feed into middle school immersion programs.

There’s a new MS feeder pattern so I guess this is changing? Maybe it was true? But the dual immersion programs I know of feed into middle schools with an immersion program, or at least they do now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some or maybe all MCPS high schools offer a class Spanish for Spanish speakers (SfSs) which has students that may speak Spanish at home or hear it from others at home but do not know much reading and writing in Spanish.

The SfSs students, if they get into a Spa ish immersion program for K-5, do they start with Spanish 1 in middle school? Or do they need to test into Spanish 2 or even try for Spanish 3 in 6th grade? Will the K-5 Spanish immersion prepare students for something other than Level 1 Spanish in 6th? We do speak and children do too some not fluent though. We want them to be able to keep it up when they begin school and think an immersion program could help them stay or become more bilingual.

Silver Spring International and Westland Middle School have spanish immersion classes. They are a lot harder than normal spanish 1,2 and 3. If your goal is to make your child speak more spanish you should try to get them into one of these middle schools. Spanish 1,2 and 3 is very easy and not for someone who has experience with spanish. Skipping spanish 1 would not be effective as you won’t get 3 full years. Spanish for Spanish Speakers is more for kids who speak Spanish at home fluently. The class is more focused on grammar and proper Spanish.

So, since there’s no HS immersion, what do immersion kids usually take to continue Spanish in high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some or maybe all MCPS high schools offer a class Spanish for Spanish speakers (SfSs) which has students that may speak Spanish at home or hear it from others at home but do not know much reading and writing in Spanish.

The SfSs students, if they get into a Spa ish immersion program for K-5, do they start with Spanish 1 in middle school? Or do they need to test into Spanish 2 or even try for Spanish 3 in 6th grade? Will the K-5 Spanish immersion prepare students for something other than Level 1 Spanish in 6th? We do speak and children do too some not fluent though. We want them to be able to keep it up when they begin school and think an immersion program could help them stay or become more bilingual.

Silver Spring International and Westland Middle School have spanish immersion classes. They are a lot harder than normal spanish 1,2 and 3. If your goal is to make your child speak more spanish you should try to get them into one of these middle schools. Spanish 1,2 and 3 is very easy and not for someone who has experience with spanish. Skipping spanish 1 would not be effective as you won’t get 3 full years. Spanish for Spanish Speakers is more for kids who speak Spanish at home fluently. The class is more focused on grammar and proper Spanish.

So, since there’s no HS immersion, what do immersion kids usually take to continue Spanish in high school?

Usually they will take either Spanish 4 or 5. Spanish 5 for more advanced kids and Spanish 4 for kids who aren’t ready. After Spanish 4 then 5, AP Spanish Language and Culture and then if they want AP Spanish Literature and Culture. DD took Spanish 4 last year and said it was basically a continuation of her Spanish classes in Middle School. She said it was easy for her but some struggled as they only started learning Spanish in middle school or even high school. She was a Freshman in a class with Sophomores, Juniors and even Seniors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you like about your Spanish immersion program? What don't you like about it? Are you happy or is your kid happy with the style and level of Spanish taught? How about the teachers your child has?

When your child goes to middle school from immersion, what level Spanish do they take in 6th grade?

Trying to move to a neighborhood that houses Spanish immersion, tho I know it is lottery and living in the neighborhood does not necessarily matter.

You may want to consider moving to a neighborhood of a two-way immersion school, as there is no lottery for those programs; all students are included.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/esol/es/#twowayimmersion

The downside of the two-way immersion programs is that there is no plan for MS. They do not feed into a MS immersion program. Full immersion programs feed into middle school immersion programs.

I thought there was a plan put out last year to have two way immersion at White Oak, Lakelands Park, and Newport Mill MS, and maybe others? Did I imagine that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some or maybe all MCPS high schools offer a class Spanish for Spanish speakers (SfSs) which has students that may speak Spanish at home or hear it from others at home but do not know much reading and writing in Spanish.

The SfSs students, if they get into a Spa ish immersion program for K-5, do they start with Spanish 1 in middle school? Or do they need to test into Spanish 2 or even try for Spanish 3 in 6th grade? Will the K-5 Spanish immersion prepare students for something other than Level 1 Spanish in 6th? We do speak and children do too some not fluent though. We want them to be able to keep it up when they begin school and think an immersion program could help them stay or become more bilingual.

Silver Spring International and Westland Middle School have spanish immersion classes. They are a lot harder than normal spanish 1,2 and 3. If your goal is to make your child speak more spanish you should try to get them into one of these middle schools. Spanish 1,2 and 3 is very easy and not for someone who has experience with spanish. Skipping spanish 1 would not be effective as you won’t get 3 full years. Spanish for Spanish Speakers is more for kids who speak Spanish at home fluently. The class is more focused on grammar and proper Spanish.

So, since there’s no HS immersion, what do immersion kids usually take to continue Spanish in high school?

Usually they will take either Spanish 4 or 5. Spanish 5 for more advanced kids and Spanish 4 for kids who aren’t ready. After Spanish 4 then 5, AP Spanish Language and Culture and then if they want AP Spanish Literature and Culture. DD took Spanish 4 last year and said it was basically a continuation of her Spanish classes in Middle School. She said it was easy for her but some struggled as they only started learning Spanish in middle school or even high school. She was a Freshman in a class with Sophomores, Juniors and even Seniors.

Thanks so much! Spanish 4 sounds like a good entry point to make sure anything that was missed gets covered, and to move up from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you like about your Spanish immersion program? What don't you like about it? Are you happy or is your kid happy with the style and level of Spanish taught? How about the teachers your child has?

When your child goes to middle school from immersion, what level Spanish do they take in 6th grade?

Trying to move to a neighborhood that houses Spanish immersion, tho I know it is lottery and living in the neighborhood does not necessarily matter.

You may want to consider moving to a neighborhood of a two-way immersion school, as there is no lottery for those programs; all students are included.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/esol/es/#twowayimmersion

The downside of the two-way immersion programs is that there is no plan for MS. They do not feed into a MS immersion program. Full immersion programs feed into middle school immersion programs.

There’s a new MS feeder pattern so I guess this is changing? Maybe it was true? But the dual immersion programs I know of feed into middle schools with an immersion program, or at least they do now.

You can also request a placement assessment, if you child had a two-way immersion education and acquired sufficient skills in the target language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you like about your Spanish immersion program? What don't you like about it? Are you happy or is your kid happy with the style and level of Spanish taught? How about the teachers your child has?

When your child goes to middle school from immersion, what level Spanish do they take in 6th grade?

Trying to move to a neighborhood that houses Spanish immersion, tho I know it is lottery and living in the neighborhood does not necessarily matter.

You may want to consider moving to a neighborhood of a two-way immersion school, as there is no lottery for those programs; all students are included.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/esol/es/#twowayimmersion

The downside of the two-way immersion programs is that there is no plan for MS. They do not feed into a MS immersion program. Full immersion programs feed into middle school immersion programs.

There’s a new MS feeder pattern so I guess this is changing? Maybe it was true? But the dual immersion programs I know of feed into middle schools with an immersion program, or at least they do now.

That PP has outdated information. Two-way continuation is to their feeder MS.

[Anonymous]

Feb 1, 2024 Applications open for Spanish immersion. Know yet if Westland will feed into Woodward (spelling?) when the new HS opens in few years? RCF-Westland-Woodward?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feb 1, 2024 Applications open for Spanish immersion. Know yet if Westland will feed into Woodward (spelling?) when the new HS opens in few years? RCF-Westland-Woodward?

No, that is not known yet.

[Anonymous]

I don't know what programs Woodward HS in North Bethesda will bring. Too far west for us. We have looked into Sligo-SS I MS- don't know yet the high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask for the data form these immersion experiments. Does it make a difference for native English speakers? Or is it just a fancy excuse to bus kids in to communities with high populations of native Spanish soeajers to increase the school’s report card? Everyone I know who started in one has left once they saw what was behind the curtain

This is a weird critique, since most of the kids at WTPES and BMES are coming from elsewhere in the down-county, and RCFES is a BCC feeder.

Yes, RCF feeds into BCC which is why the immersion program is primarily made up of families trying to escape the DCC schools.