Cooke vs Mundo verde

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you aren't comfortable with full immersion? Your 3 year old won't be fazed by it one bit. After a month or two he/she will naturally understand that at school he/she will be using these other words. They'll just switch over automatically. You keep reading to your kid at home in English and when he/she is in kindergarten, you'll have the beginnings of a biliterate kid. When it all comes together they'll have such an advantage of learning in two languages.

my child is at MV in PreS and it was not as seamless as this poster makes it. my child much prefers 'english' days.

the fall was challenging - part of it was the new school - there were a lot of tears at drop off not just from my child but from classmates as well. Drop offs during spanish days were particularly challenging for my child and children who did not speak spanish. (my observation)

this became easier as time progresses - maybe if it was only spanish all the time the window would have been shorter ?


If you are on the fence - maybe you can go visit MV and see what it looks and feels like. Obviously April is a lot different than Sept in a classroom of now mostly 4 YOs but it will give you a sense of what to expect.

This makes me go "arggg"! I don't mean to offend the pp, it's not personal but I feel so frustrated. We would KILL for a space in an immersion school. I am native Spanish speaker and couldn't get our child in any of the immersion schools last year. She is in an English only school now and even though we applied again for immersion schools, it looks like this year we will be just as unlucky. My daughter is LOSING her Spanish and it's killing me. It makes me so sad. Even though at home we only speak Spanish she is losing tons by not having the opportunity to be at an immersion school. Here's the thing, for us it's more than "It would be cool/neat for her to speak another language" The other day she was chatting online with my mom who is at my home country and she was struggling, couldn't find the words, words she knew one year ago! Only English words would come.

The fact that we can't get into an immersion school and spots are being occupied by kids who don't really want to be in the Spanish classes, or whose parents do it because they think it's neat but they will never follow through with it... it just hurts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to be in at Mundo Verde and would certainly choose that over Cooke for all the reasons given above--plus I am a fluent Spanish speaker who would love to support this at home. And I'm into sustainability. For me the choice would be clear for those reasons.

But I also think that immersion schools are harmed by parents who half-heartedly enroll despite not being into immersion (and the other focuses of the school in this case).

What do immersion parents think about this theory?

Agree one-hundred percent! We are both native Spanish speakers and would love for my girls to be in an immersion program, since I'm a sucky teacher all on my own. Plus they're already learning about recycling, conservation and sustainability at home that would benefit from school. We got high 100s for the first girl in PS3, so I'm truly bummed about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
my child is at MV in PreS and it was not as seamless as this poster makes it. my child much prefers 'english' days.

the fall was challenging - part of it was the new school - there were a lot of tears at drop off not just from my child but from classmates as well. Drop offs during spanish days were particularly challenging for my child and children who did not speak spanish. (my observation)

this became easier as time progresses - maybe if it was only spanish all the time the window would have been shorter ?


If you are on the fence - maybe you can go visit MV and see what it looks and feels like. Obviously April is a lot different than Sept in a classroom of now mostly 4 YOs but it will give you a sense of what to expect.

This makes me go "arggg"! I don't mean to offend the pp, it's not personal but I feel so frustrated. We would KILL for a space in an immersion school. I am native Spanish speaker and couldn't get our child in any of the immersion schools last year. She is in an English only school now and even though we applied again for immersion schools, it looks like this year we will be just as unlucky. My daughter is LOSING her Spanish and it's killing me. It makes me so sad. Even though at home we only speak Spanish she is losing tons by not having the opportunity to be at an immersion school. Here's the thing, for us it's more than "It would be cool/neat for her to speak another language" The other day she was chatting online with my mom who is at my home country and she was struggling, couldn't find the words, words she knew one year ago! Only English words would come.

The fact that we can't get into an immersion school and spots are being occupied by kids who don't really want to be in the Spanish classes, or whose parents do it because they think it's neat but they will never follow through with it... it just hurts.

why are you frustrated with me? I did not say I was not commited to language immersion. We are not native speakers - sorry, I grew up in the U.S. and our child is learning a new language and culture.

I just shared our experience with the OP so they understand what it might actually look and feel like based on my observations this year.

have you thought about enrolling your child in a weekend or afterschool immersion program? or summer camp?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you aren't comfortable with full immersion? Your 3 year old won't be fazed by it one bit. After a month or two he/she will naturally understand that at school he/she will be using these other words. They'll just switch over automatically. You keep reading to your kid at home in English and when he/she is in kindergarten, you'll have the beginnings of a biliterate kid. When it all comes together they'll have such an advantage of learning in two languages.

my child is at MV in PreS and it was not as seamless as this poster makes it. my child much prefers 'english' days.

the fall was challenging - part of it was the new school - there were a lot of tears at drop off not just from my child but from classmates as well. Drop offs during spanish days were particularly challenging for my child and children who did not speak spanish. (my observation)

this became easier as time progresses - maybe if it was only spanish all the time the window would have been shorter ?


If you are on the fence - maybe you can go visit MV and see what it looks and feels like. Obviously April is a lot different than Sept in a classroom of now mostly 4 YOs but it will give you a sense of what to expect.

My child is also in preS at MV, and we have had the same experience. It has lessened greatly throughout the year, but it wouldn't be correct to say that it wasn't hard for them. Spanish acquisition is very important to our family and we absolutely love the school, so it has been well worth it, but it was a struggle at first.

On the other hand, I have friends with kids in full immersion programs, and they don't report that experience, so I am hopeful that this issue will dissipate when the early grades move to full immersion. I think part of the problem has been that there is a moment each day in which the kids are presented with two doors, one English and one Spanish, and they realize that they are going in the classroom where they don't have full confidence over the language. As the year progressed, they have gotten more comfortable with the language and they have learned that tears will not get them into the English classroom, but I am looking forward to not having this daily distinction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
my child is at MV in PreS and it was not as seamless as this poster makes it. my child much prefers 'english' days.

the fall was challenging - part of it was the new school - there were a lot of tears at drop off not just from my child but from classmates as well. Drop offs during spanish days were particularly challenging for my child and children who did not speak spanish. (my observation)

this became easier as time progresses - maybe if it was only spanish all the time the window would have been shorter ?


If you are on the fence - maybe you can go visit MV and see what it looks and feels like. Obviously April is a lot different than Sept in a classroom of now mostly 4 YOs but it will give you a sense of what to expect.

This makes me go "arggg"! I don't mean to offend the pp, it's not personal but I feel so frustrated. We would KILL for a space in an immersion school. I am native Spanish speaker and couldn't get our child in any of the immersion schools last year. She is in an English only school now and even though we applied again for immersion schools, it looks like this year we will be just as unlucky. My daughter is LOSING her Spanish and it's killing me. It makes me so sad. Even though at home we only speak Spanish she is losing tons by not having the opportunity to be at an immersion school. Here's the thing, for us it's more than "It would be cool/neat for her to speak another language" The other day she was chatting online with my mom who is at my home country and she was struggling, couldn't find the words, words she knew one year ago! Only English words would come.

The fact that we can't get into an immersion school and spots are being occupied by kids who don't really want to be in the Spanish classes, or whose parents do it because they think it's neat but they will never follow through with it... it just hurts.

why are you frustrated with me? I did not say I was not commited to language immersion. We are not native speakers - sorry, I grew up in the U.S. and our child is learning a new language and culture.

I just shared our experience with the OP so they understand what it might actually look and feel like based on my observations this year.

have you thought about enrolling your child in a weekend or afterschool immersion program? or summer camp?

Sorry, didn't mean to offend. Not frustrated with you in particular but with parents who enrolled without really fully committed. I am sure you are, but I know some who aren't. Frustrated with the whole system too. Yes, we thought about weekend programs, but as we both work during the week, I am on the fence about enrolling her in the weekend instead of spending family time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you aren't comfortable with full immersion? Your 3 year old won't be fazed by it one bit. After a month or two he/she will naturally understand that at school he/she will be using these other words. They'll just switch over automatically. You keep reading to your kid at home in English and when he/she is in kindergarten, you'll have the beginnings of a biliterate kid. When it all comes together they'll have such an advantage of learning in two languages.

my child is at MV in PreS and it was not as seamless as this poster makes it. my child much prefers 'english' days.

the fall was challenging - part of it was the new school - there were a lot of tears at drop off not just from my child but from classmates as well. Drop offs during spanish days were particularly challenging for my child and children who did not speak spanish. (my observation)

this became easier as time progresses - maybe if it was only spanish all the time the window would have been shorter ?


If you are on the fence - maybe you can go visit MV and see what it looks and feels like. Obviously April is a lot different than Sept in a classroom of now mostly 4 YOs but it will give you a sense of what to expect.

This makes me go "arggg"! I don't mean to offend the pp, it's not personal but I feel so frustrated. We would KILL for a space in an immersion school. I am native Spanish speaker and couldn't get our child in any of the immersion schools last year. She is in an English only school now and even though we applied again for immersion schools, it looks like this year we will be just as unlucky. My daughter is LOSING her Spanish and it's killing me. It makes me so sad. Even though at home we only speak Spanish she is losing tons by not having the opportunity to be at an immersion school. Here's the thing, for us it's more than "It would be cool/neat for her to speak another language" The other day she was chatting online with my mom who is at my home country and she was struggling, couldn't find the words, words she knew one year ago! Only English words would come.

The fact that we can't get into an immersion school and spots are being occupied by kids who don't really want to be in the Spanish classes, or whose parents do it because they think it's neat but they will never follow through with it... it just hurts.

I don't think PP ever said that it wasn't important to her that her kid is in immersion. She was just trying to explain some of the difficulties so that they person on the fence would have a better grasp of the reality.

If you would really like immersion and you don't think you will get into any of the charters, call DCPS and talk to them about placement in DCPS immersion programs. They often have more leeway, and if you explain how important it is to you, you might be able to get assistance in getting into one of the DCPS immersion schools. Charters don't have that flexibility.

[Anonymous]

yes but what's your control group? my little nephew is still wailing occasionally in his all-English wonderful preS program. He has good days and bad.

Nothing is seamless, nothing is perfect. What I'm saying that is the educational experience lasts 9 years for elementary and about 1/9 of the way into it your child has mostly settled into the routine of learning in another language. By next year at this time she/he won't blink at Spanish.

Many many kids, native speakers alike, "prefer" English to Spanish--- Spanish is hard because we live in an English-dominant country. Well a lot of kids "prefer" days with PE not music, or "prefer" math over reading. And so what? It doesn't mean that you don't just follow through and have the kids exposed to as much as possible. Learning in two languages is a gift, and it also makes an ordinary instructional day into a great day of learning-- at the very least, even in the most boring, conventional day during the year (and there will be these days), your child is forging synapses in his/her brain that will last a lifetime. The brain literally expands with bilingualism.

I don't get the need to have school, and life, be "easy." Life is not easy, middle school is really not easy. Your kids will adapt, especially if you are enthusiastic about the program. And eventually they'll see what a gift two languages really is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you aren't comfortable with full immersion? Your 3 year old won't be fazed by it one bit. After a month or two he/she will naturally understand that at school he/she will be using these other words. They'll just switch over automatically. You keep reading to your kid at home in English and when he/she is in kindergarten, you'll have the beginnings of a biliterate kid. When it all comes together they'll have such an advantage of learning in two languages.

my child is at MV in PreS and it was not as seamless as this poster makes it. my child much prefers 'english' days.

the fall was challenging - part of it was the new school - there were a lot of tears at drop off not just from my child but from classmates as well. Drop offs during spanish days were particularly challenging for my child and children who did not speak spanish. (my observation)

this became easier as time progresses - maybe if it was only spanish all the time the window would have been shorter ?


If you are on the fence - maybe you can go visit MV and see what it looks and feels like. Obviously April is a lot different than Sept in a classroom of now mostly 4 YOs but it will give you a sense of what to expect.

This makes me go "arggg"! I don't mean to offend the pp, it's not personal but I feel so frustrated. We would KILL for a space in an immersion school. I am native Spanish speaker and couldn't get our child in any of the immersion schools last year. She is in an English only school now and even though we applied again for immersion schools, it looks like this year we will be just as unlucky. My daughter is LOSING her Spanish and it's killing me. It makes me so sad. Even though at home we only speak Spanish she is losing tons by not having the opportunity to be at an immersion school. Here's the thing, for us it's more than "It would be cool/neat for her to speak another language" The other day she was chatting online with my mom who is at my home country and she was struggling, couldn't find the words, words she knew one year ago! Only English words would come.

The fact that we can't get into an immersion school and spots are being occupied by kids who don't really want to be in the Spanish classes, or whose parents do it because they think it's neat but they will never follow through with it... it just hurts.

I don't think PP ever said that it wasn't important to her that her kid is in immersion. She was just trying to explain some of the difficulties so that they person on the fence would have a better grasp of the reality.

If you would really like immersion and you don't think you will get into any of the charters, call DCPS and talk to them about placement in DCPS immersion programs. They often have more leeway, and if you explain how important it is to you, you might be able to get assistance in getting into one of the DCPS immersion schools. Charters don't have that flexibility.

Really? What do you say? I did apply for DCPS schools too. Who do you talk to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous
I don't think PP ever said that it wasn't important to her that her kid is in immersion. She was just trying to explain some of the difficulties so that they person on the fence would have a better grasp of the reality.

If you would really like immersion and you don't think you will get into any of the charters, call DCPS and talk to them about placement in DCPS immersion programs. They often have more leeway, and if you explain how important it is to you, you might be able to get assistance in getting into one of the DCPS immersion schools. Charters don't have that flexibility.

Really? What do you say? I did apply for DCPS schools too. Who do you talk to?

In the past, Maire Reed had lower demand -

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


If you would really like immersion and you don't think you will get into any of the charters, call DCPS and talk to them about placement in DCPS immersion programs. They often have more leeway, and if you explain how important it is to you, you might be able to get assistance in getting into one of the DCPS immersion schools. Charters don't have that flexibility.

Yeah, this is not good advice at all. I mean, it's worth a shot, but pretty much all of the immersion programs have long waitlists. It's not like you can just call, give them a good story, and they jump you over all the people on the wait list. How would that be in any way fair? The system may not be optimal or "fair", but it would be much, much worse if administrators had that kind of power over who got in. They do have a little bit of discretion at the margins (see Fenty's kids going to Lafayette), but generally not that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you aren't comfortable with full immersion? Your 3 year old won't be fazed by it one bit. After a month or two he/she will naturally understand that at school he/she will be using these other words. They'll just switch over automatically. You keep reading to your kid at home in English and when he/she is in kindergarten, you'll have the beginnings of a biliterate kid. When it all comes together they'll have such an advantage of learning in two languages.

my child is at MV in PreS and it was not as seamless as this poster makes it. my child much prefers 'english' days.

the fall was challenging - part of it was the new school - there were a lot of tears at drop off not just from my child but from classmates as well. Drop offs during spanish days were particularly challenging for my child and children who did not speak spanish. (my observation)

this became easier as time progresses - maybe if it was only spanish all the time the window would have been shorter ?


If you are on the fence - maybe you can go visit MV and see what it looks and feels like. Obviously April is a lot different than Sept in a classroom of now mostly 4 YOs but it will give you a sense of what to expect.

This makes me go "arggg"! I don't mean to offend the pp, it's not personal but I feel so frustrated. We would KILL for a space in an immersion school. I am native Spanish speaker and couldn't get our child in any of the immersion schools last year. She is in an English only school now and even though we applied again for immersion schools, it looks like this year we will be just as unlucky. My daughter is LOSING her Spanish and it's killing me. It makes me so sad. Even though at home we only speak Spanish she is losing tons by not having the opportunity to be at an immersion school. Here's the thing, for us it's more than "It would be cool/neat for her to speak another language" The other day she was chatting online with my mom who is at my home country and she was struggling, couldn't find the words, words she knew one year ago! Only English words would come.

The fact that we can't get into an immersion school and spots are being occupied by kids who don't really want to be in the Spanish classes, or whose parents do it because they think it's neat but they will never follow through with it... it just hurts.

I don't think PP ever said that it wasn't important to her that her kid is in immersion. She was just trying to explain some of the difficulties so that they person on the fence would have a better grasp of the reality.

If you would really like immersion and you don't think you will get into any of the charters, call DCPS and talk to them about placement in DCPS immersion programs. They often have more leeway, and if you explain how important it is to you, you might be able to get assistance in getting into one of the DCPS immersion schools. Charters don't have that flexibility.

Really? What do you say? I did apply for DCPS schools too. Who do you talk to?

First, call the principals of all of the schools to which you applied and find out your chances. Then, if nothing seems good, I would call the central office and begin a discussion about your situation. There may be spots available that you might not know about. They really do want as many people as possible to choose DCPS, so they have an incentive to find a good placement for your child. But, it may not be in a school that you would have originally considered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


If you would really like immersion and you don't think you will get into any of the charters, call DCPS and talk to them about placement in DCPS immersion programs. They often have more leeway, and if you explain how important it is to you, you might be able to get assistance in getting into one of the DCPS immersion schools. Charters don't have that flexibility.

Yeah, this is not good advice at all. I mean, it's worth a shot, but pretty much all of the immersion programs have long waitlists. It's not like you can just call, give them a good story, and they jump you over all the people on the wait list. How would that be in any way fair? The system may not be optimal or "fair", but it would be much, much worse if administrators had that kind of power over who got in. They do have a little bit of discretion at the margins (see Fenty's kids going to Lafayette), but generally not that much.

Historically, this is exactly how DCPS has worked. Recently, thankfully, they are being held to higher standards. But they will work with you and try to find the right placement, I know many people who have done it. Generally, it doesn't bump someone else. Marie Reed is a good example, as many people ended up there who didn't originally apply because they didn't know about it. Also, there are spaces reserved for special needs children in some schools, such as Oyster. I am not implying that pp's children qualify for those programs, but there may be others about which she may not be aware.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for all of the well informed and honest replies. My anxiety is rooted in my growing concerns that DS has some sort of language delay. I need to begin the research to figure out the best avenues for getting him tested.

If in fact I choose to enroll at MV both my husband and I would be fully committed to the program. Note that we have not enrolled, we were only accepted, and will give up the spot if we deem it's not the best approach for our child.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, 11:55, I don't have a lot of sympathy for you. You are a native speaker, so your child has an advantage in becoming bilingual. Other children whose families are dedicated to immersion do not have that advantage.

While it would be wonderful for your child to have a spot at a full immersion school, I can't see how you are more deserving than other families.

[Anonymous]

what's frustrating about the system is people take the slots they get, which may or may not be the slots they want. I remember a DCUM thread where a family that lived near 2 Rivers drove every day to some other charter (? EL Haynes) and one that lived near Haynes drove to 2 Rivers. Once you get a slot, should you be able to swap with someone? No that wouldn't be far either. . .. .. but the person who is native spanish at home, that got Inspired teaching, can't swap with the family where the desire is English only, but they got MV. . .. etc .etc