Mundo Verde experiences

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what you gotta know about Mundo, OP. There are more kids than can fit in DCI, so not everyone who graduates from Mundo (either campus) is going to get a spot at DCI. And siblings of DCI students get preference, so non-sibling chances are way worse. Now, in the past few years everyone's been able to get into DCI-- but that's because Mundo's attrition is so high that their graduating classes are pretty small. If Mundo becomes a better elementary school, then attrition won't be so high, and DCI chances will go down. If Mundo stays a bad, high-attrition elementary school, then DCI chances are better. But Mundo can't fix its problems and maintain a good rate of DCI access.

People will tell you DCI might expand but I don't believe it because I see no progress.

This isn't a knock on your assessment but this feels like the situation at LAMB and I have to wonder why people are willing to accept bad elementary schooling for decent MS and HS versus trying to improve DCPS middle and HS through those feeder pipelines.

Because it really, really, truly is very hard to improve MS and HS in-boundary options. If you have a child old enough that you understand the problems at LAMB and MV, then it's too late for that child to benefit. Because it takes SO long. Decades.

Sincerely, a Stuart-Hobson mom who is old.

Can I ask what the specific problems are? Or at least generally? It seems like a lack of community buy in leads DCPS to neglect a lot of these pipelines. Obviously no one wants to be a test case but that's what it feels like people are accepting at MV and LAMB just for the feeder. Wells seems to be able to buck the trend a bit because it's brand new and the ward has grown so much some parents don't have a choice to go elsewhere.

Well, in general.... I don't actually feel like DCPS is neglecting middle schools so badly, it's more like DCPS has many many funding priorities and administrative priorities and nobody ever gets the amount of cash or attention they feel is needed.

One factor is the lack of a desirable high school-- that will really hold any middle school back. If Eastern were high-performing and still by-right, Stuart-Hobson would be transformed immediately. I'm cautiously optimistic that the EPIC program at Eastern may get some results, but the bottom line is Eastern's CAPE scores are still pretty bad. It's hard to believe their rhetoric about academic excellence when hardly anyone in any grade is passing any math CAPE at all.

Another factor is the dang students. It's a difficult age. It just is. Elementary parents buckle up, because my kids were WAY more difficult in 6th and 7th than they ever were in 4th and 5th. Behavior like euphemism for misbehavior, but also they're just struggling so hard to cope with life's challenges at this age, and they're so emotional, it's hard. Even kids who aren't behaving "badly" or have an actual behavior problem per se, are just harder to manage.

Another factor is parents have higher expectations for middle school academics than they do for upper elementary. It takes more to satisfy them. People who in elementary supplemented at home and claimed to value diversity... well, that changes and they're going to want their kid on track for the highest level high school classes, plus quality extras.

Another factor is the achievement gap. It's present in PK3, and it grows every year so by middle school it's really big. A middle school has to teach across like 6 grade levels. It's complex, it takes time and costs money. Middle schools are just much more complicated than elementary schools.

Another factor is parent engagement can be fleeting. With a 3-year age range, most parents know they aren't there for a long haul the way they are for a PK3-5 elementary school where they might have one or another of their children there for 10 years or more. It's harder to get people to invest and it's harder to build up parent institutional knowledge.

I wish DCPS middle schools the very best, and I'm heartened by how things are going at Stuart-Hobson, Wells, MacFarland, Eliot-Hine, and others. But when a middle school starts doing well, it's like a magnet attracting more kids-- higher-income kids who need more differentiation and whose parents bring resources but also bring certain expectations and take up time, but also kids who aren't doing well at their current school and so they're below-grade and that's why their parents are switching them to a better school. So it's this constant game of catch-up and incorporating new kids. It's a challenge. A challenge well worth undertaking! But I hope this has helped you understand why it's a long, difficult process.

This is a very thorough response. Thank you. I do wonder how other areas are able to address some of these issues in ways DCPS is not. It does seem like, from experience, some of the issues begin with families who say they like diversity and local schools in elementary and always have one foot out the door.

Other areas like other cities? I think you'll find middle school performance in general is lackluster throughout the country?

How some charters do it is by attaching their middle schools to a desirable high school. And by very sharply limiting the addition of new students after the entry year. DCPS by-right schools can't do those things. I think you'll see that freestanding charter middle schools tend not to do great (Howard, Capital Village, Social Justice are examples). And of course, by finding ways to manipulate their demographics. And having the level of control over their number of students served that DCPS by-right schools could never have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's what you gotta know about Mundo, OP. There are more kids than can fit in DCI, so not everyone who graduates from Mundo (either campus) is going to get a spot at DCI. And siblings of DCI students get preference, so non-sibling chances are way worse. Now, in the past few years everyone's been able to get into DCI-- but that's because Mundo's attrition is so high that their graduating classes are pretty small. If Mundo becomes a better elementary school, then attrition won't be so high, and DCI chances will go down. If Mundo stays a bad, high-attrition elementary school, then DCI chances are better. But Mundo can't fix its problems and maintain a good rate of DCI access.

People will tell you DCI might expand but I don't believe it because I see no progress.

This is not true. This year is the first year there are two mundo classes going to DCI and there are enough spaces for all students. So it hasn’t been a problem for years. Next year will probably not be so bad because there won’t be very many with sibling preference at Calle ocho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what you gotta know about Mundo, OP. There are more kids than can fit in DCI, so not everyone who graduates from Mundo (either campus) is going to get a spot at DCI. And siblings of DCI students get preference, so non-sibling chances are way worse. Now, in the past few years everyone's been able to get into DCI-- but that's because Mundo's attrition is so high that their graduating classes are pretty small. If Mundo becomes a better elementary school, then attrition won't be so high, and DCI chances will go down. If Mundo stays a bad, high-attrition elementary school, then DCI chances are better. But Mundo can't fix its problems and maintain a good rate of DCI access.

People will tell you DCI might expand but I don't believe it because I see no progress.

This is not true. This year is the first year there are two mundo classes going to DCI and there are enough spaces for all students. So it hasn’t been a problem for years. Next year will probably not be so bad because there won’t be very many with sibling preference at Calle ocho.

Well, it's a problem that's been known about for years, even though it wasn't a problem last year due to MV's high attrition. And high attrition is probably making the current year okay. But after that? I still don't see how MV improves retention without creating a bottleneck at the transition to DCI.

[Anonymous]

I don’t have kids there, but I I do know an experienced teacher that worked there briefly. They were surprised at how disorganized and random it was in its curriculum and setup, much worse than its sought after reputation would suggest. I personally wouldn’t put it very high on a lottery list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t have kids there, but I I do know an experienced teacher that worked there briefly. They were surprised at how disorganized and random it was in its curriculum and setup, much worse than its sought after reputation would suggest. I personally wouldn’t put it very high on a lottery list.

Random? They use Eureka math like DCPS and Benchmark for reading. Perhaps your teacher friend was not a recent employee but these are fairly well known scripted programs.

[Anonymous]

we left after PK4. i could see the oncoming educational disaster.

great mission, however. sounds great on paper, but poorly put into practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a child in 2nd and in pre-K 4 at Calle Ocho, the oldest started there in Prek-3 so it is our 5th year at the school.
Overall our experience has been extremely positive. Yes, the first year or so back after covid was bumpy but that was pretty universally true. This year has been incredibly smooth including the transition from the old ED to the interim ED to the new ED. FWIW- the new ED has two kids at C8 so she has a lot of skin in the game.
My kids have thrived in the immersion experience and have had skilled and dedicated teachers. They love going to school each day. Is that everyone's experience? Of course not. Every family is bringing their own needs and expectations to the table and no school is perfect for every family. We do not have experience with IEP's etc. so I cannot speak to that.

+1. We have been at CO for 6 years and have had similar great experience. Post covid was bumpy.

Staff and teachers are great and really dedicated.

+Same experience here. In addition, the families are very involved. We have been at Calle Ocho since 2019. My DD started in pk3 and we plan to stay until 5th grade.

Op, I recommend you try to talk to parents that attend the schools. There is a lot of opinions here from people that don’t even attend the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what you gotta know about Mundo, OP. There are more kids than can fit in DCI, so not everyone who graduates from Mundo (either campus) is going to get a spot at DCI. And siblings of DCI students get preference, so non-sibling chances are way worse. Now, in the past few years everyone's been able to get into DCI-- but that's because Mundo's attrition is so high that their graduating classes are pretty small. If Mundo becomes a better elementary school, then attrition won't be so high, and DCI chances will go down. If Mundo stays a bad, high-attrition elementary school, then DCI chances are better. But Mundo can't fix its problems and maintain a good rate of DCI access.

People will tell you DCI might expand but I don't believe it because I see no progress.

This is not true. This year is the first year there are two mundo classes going to DCI and there are enough spaces for all students. So it hasn’t been a problem for years. Next year will probably not be so bad because there won’t be very many with sibling preference at Calle ocho.

Well, it's a problem that's been known about for years, even though it wasn't a problem last year due to MV's high attrition. And high attrition is probably making the current year okay. But after that? I still don't see how MV improves retention without creating a bottleneck at the transition to DCI.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Pp above you is correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what you gotta know about Mundo, OP. There are more kids than can fit in DCI, so not everyone who graduates from Mundo (either campus) is going to get a spot at DCI. And siblings of DCI students get preference, so non-sibling chances are way worse. Now, in the past few years everyone's been able to get into DCI-- but that's because Mundo's attrition is so high that their graduating classes are pretty small. If Mundo becomes a better elementary school, then attrition won't be so high, and DCI chances will go down. If Mundo stays a bad, high-attrition elementary school, then DCI chances are better. But Mundo can't fix its problems and maintain a good rate of DCI access.

People will tell you DCI might expand but I don't believe it because I see no progress.

This is not true. This year is the first year there are two mundo classes going to DCI and there are enough spaces for all students. So it hasn’t been a problem for years. Next year will probably not be so bad because there won’t be very many with sibling preference at Calle ocho.

Well, it's a problem that's been known about for years, even though it wasn't a problem last year due to MV's high attrition. And high attrition is probably making the current year okay. But after that? I still don't see how MV improves retention without creating a bottleneck at the transition to DCI.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Pp above you is correct.

So what happens if retention improves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we left after PK4. i could see the oncoming educational disaster.

great mission, however. sounds great on paper, but poorly put into practice.

I wish we had also left after PK4 but extended our leaving out to after 2nd grade hoping that things would get better. I totally agree with you about having a great mission but poor execution. There are good teachers and then there are also teachers that leave a lot to be desired. Unorganization and lack of disciplining come to mind when I think of some other issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what you gotta know about Mundo, OP. There are more kids than can fit in DCI, so not everyone who graduates from Mundo (either campus) is going to get a spot at DCI. And siblings of DCI students get preference, so non-sibling chances are way worse. Now, in the past few years everyone's been able to get into DCI-- but that's because Mundo's attrition is so high that their graduating classes are pretty small. If Mundo becomes a better elementary school, then attrition won't be so high, and DCI chances will go down. If Mundo stays a bad, high-attrition elementary school, then DCI chances are better. But Mundo can't fix its problems and maintain a good rate of DCI access.

People will tell you DCI might expand but I don't believe it because I see no progress.

This is not true. This year is the first year there are two mundo classes going to DCI and there are enough spaces for all students. So it hasn’t been a problem for years. Next year will probably not be so bad because there won’t be very many with sibling preference at Calle ocho.

Well, it's a problem that's been known about for years, even though it wasn't a problem last year due to MV's high attrition. And high attrition is probably making the current year okay. But after that? I still don't see how MV improves retention without creating a bottleneck at the transition to DCI.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Pp above you is correct.

So what happens if retention improves?

Middle school is going to be an issue for almost all DCI feeders as most have expanded. Bottom line is some people stay at a school because they like the school.

[Anonymous]

Op, in case aftercare is important to you, I have never had issues finding a spot at before or after care at MV.

They also have summer school for 3-4 weeks in July. Your kid can keep practicing their Spanish during that time. It isn’t free (unless you qualified for FARM) but it is cheaper than camps. However, so far it is always at P St but kids from both campuses can attend.

[Anonymous]

I will take my 50% chance at DCI than my 100% chance at MacFarland.

[Anonymous]

We have kids in PK4 and 3rd at Calle Ocho, starting when the eldest was in Kinder. That was the first year after covid and it was nuts. But it was nuts everywhere. Each year since then the school has improved and gotten more into its groove. This year is by far the smoothest and calmest it's been, and that's even with the 3rd grade English teacher leaving right after Thanksgiving. The school worked very hard to find a great replacement quickly, and she's easily stepped into the lead teacher role. We're happy we made the switch and our kids are doing well there. The upper school principal now has a kid in PK3 so has a vested interest even more so in the school, and the lower school principal is just great. I was happy to see that a parent was selected as the new ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will take my 50% chance at DCI than my 100% chance at MacFarland.

THIS. My kid is in 2nd now at Calle Ocho and we well knew that there wasn't a guarantee for DCI but Im am still happy to have a shot at DCI over Brookland Middle. And fwiw- DCI is not what keeps us at Mundo, we are very happy there.