Oyster parents -- What do you love/hate about the school?
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Anonymous
| No takers? Oyster Divas? |
Anonymous
| FWIW, the non-DPR aftercare program does raise funds to provide scholarships for families who can't afford the $280/month. However, the school has grown so much and there's so much demand for the aftercare program that they can't fully meet the demand of either full-pay customers or scholarship customers. |
Anonymous
| 17:41--Sticks and stones. The bottom line is that Oyster's dual aftercare programs aren't going anywhere. The demand is just too high. Sorry you and a few others don't like it. Life can be tough, huh? |
Anonymous
| People, I get that there will be 2 programs. But "LEADERSHIP" is taking that reality and doing something about it. What has the principal done to demand that both programs with share ideas and plan joint activities from time to time? Just letting it go without taking a stance is at the core off. |
Anonymous
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Answers to OP's questions from an Oyster parent:
How did your child take to the dual-language instruction? We are a non-English, non-Spanish speaking household. Our child started Oyster at K. He was bilingual then; was speaking English (picked up at playgrounds, playmates and daycare) and our native language at the time. He had no objections to a third language and being in Spanish immersion. Do not expect miracles right away. Progress has been slow but steady. His Spanish skills picked up significantly in the second year at Oyster. Does your child use Spanish outside of the school? School time, bilingual summer camp at Oyster, and a few after school activities (e.g. drama) are the only time he is exposed to and has to use Spanish. We cannot speak Spanish at home (I wish we did). We are also not too good about creating "Spanish only" opportunities for him. He has picked up the language despite our non-existing efforts and only because of the environment at Oyster. In the second year, he could speak to Spanish-speaking strangers on the streets, talk to the teachers fluently, and read Spanish books. His accent sounds perfect to my ears  He translates his Spanish reading books to us. He/we look up the dictionary for new words. Does he use language outside of school? NO. Can he if given the opportunity? YES.
If you do not speak Spanish at home, how do you reinforce what your child is learning about the language at school? (Does Oyster offer any strategies?) As I mentioned above, we have not done much at home. But I have to admit that our child is still at lower grades. You can learn about strategies from your child's teachers or from the parent-teacher association and the parents who have been at Oyster. There are many resources online (e.g. web sites, bilingual flashcards, apps) that can help you and your child. Do the Spanish-speaking kids and the English-speaking kids enjoy interacting/learning/playing together? The playground language is English. (This was mentioned before.) Language is not a barrier for the kids. They enjoy interacting/learning/playing together at that age. They learn songs in both languages. They learn poems in both languages. They do all sorts of age-appropriate things, in both languages. It is the teachers' job to enable a positive environment in the classroom for the kids that have varying degrees of language skills. Is there good communication between teachers and parents? (I have read very mixed reviews of the principal.) Our experience has been quite positive. Our child's teachers have all been accessible. They provide good feedback on our child's progress (or lack thereof). They listen to us. Unlike another poster, we did not have teachers that miss meetings, are disorganized etc. I am sure you have "good" and "not as good" workers at any organization. We are very lucky to be in boundary for Oyster. It has exceeded our expectations. We love the multi-cultural environment. We love the diversity. We love the dedicated teachers. We love walking to school every morning and seeing other Oyster families. The "dual" after care programs is a reality, which, unfortunately, may not change in the near future. The 25+ kids in each class is also a reality. You will find parents that are not happy about their child's teachers or school, not only at Oyster. I know families that have changed two schools in four years to find a good match for their kid (all mono-lingual programs). If you have not visited Oyster, go and see it for yourself. It may not be a good match for everyone. It may be big change for you, as a parent, if you have not been a part of an international, multi-cultural group. But it has been great for us. |
Anonymous
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21:21 poster is what we love about Oyster. Most parents are like 21:21 and not the trolls and posters with personal vendettas with the principal.
The two aftercares is a leftover of Oyster back when it was much smaller and there was no DCPS provided aftercare. There was a contract with DPR for basic aftercare. The OCA private program was supposed to be bilingual arts and culture enrichment. Over time, OCA has become more like teenage babysitting and field trips and the DCPS aftercare program has gotten better organized. OCA is not run by the PTO like other schools. It has it's own board and staff. Legacies get in with sibling preference. No matter how rich or white you may be, if you're new to the school, you're back of the waitlist for OCA. It's not a conspiracy or social engineering. Neither program is as good as it could be. Few people think it makes sense to keep it this way given that the school is so different now. The principal has said this on numerous occasions. Apparently she's tried, but like many things at Oyster it's "more complicated" than it looks. I'm kind of tired of hearing how "complicated" it is. The good part of the school is that there are families and teachers described by 21:21. It is big and diverse by DC standards. The leadership is handsoff (for good or bad) on parent-driven activities. The PTO is pretty willing to pay for things if parents organize and run events. It can be a lot of fun. But you need a lot of patience. |
Anonymous
| If the principal cannot figure out how to make one after care program after 4 years on the job she should go. |
Anonymous
Wow. That's politically correct now isn't it? Wow, just wow. That's one of the worst things I've seen written on DCUM and that says a lot. So I guess my girlfriend in Phoenix that is brown looking and native American but looks Hispanic is presumed to be illegal because she lives near the boarder? So if she moved to DC would she be looked at as legal? |
Anonymous
I'm not the PP you quoted, but I didn't read the statement like you. I think PP meant to say something like "unlike what the state of Arizona seems to think, you can't tell who is Hispanic or legal by looking at them." Might have been poorly worded, but that's the meaning I got from that post. |
Anonymous
Exactly. It was a swipe at AZ. Also a reminder that you can't tell by looking at or listening to families at Oyster-Adams who is what ethnicity, SES, nationality, boundary, etc. The families are very diverse but some people seem to think they can tell who is whom and make assumptions about "Hispanics" not participating enough at meetings or that they will be offended by being asked for money. 
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Anonymous
| She said what she said, black and white, no need to try to cover for her or put words in her mouth. It was racist and ignorant at best. Yes, there aren't many Mexicans in DC at all. I'm glad Oyster is diverse and has "safe" Hispanics unlike AZ that's full of illegals. You'd be glad to know that there are indeed Latinos in AZ from Spain, El Salvador, Chilé, Argentina and many other Spanish speaking countries...and of course those Latinos are presumed to be "legal" since they're not from Mexico. |
Anonymous
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It was neither racist nor ignorant. Let me say it another way, su commentario no fue in racista ni ignorante.
Muchas gracias, 21:21, por explicar tan bien en que consiste el espiritu de Oyster. |
Anonymous
| 21:01 you are so not Latina |
Anonymous
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21:59 how the heck can you tell from a few words in a post? For the record, I am the Arizona poster and I from multiracial, multinational Hispanic family. Yes, the AZ comment was meant as a critique of the AZ law. I thought the wink smiley implied satire. Sorry for my writing.
Unfortunately there are a few people at Oyster-Adams who think they can also tell who is what race or ethnicity or economic background by looking at children or license plates. The reality is more complex. Thankfully, most people seem to understand that you can't judge only by what you think you see. And we all make mistakes with language. |
Anonymous
| I like the facility. I like that the teachers are straight foward in conversations. Most of all I like the way the school family treats each other. |