Spanish Immersion at Baileys Crossroads

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The good news, I think, is that the local School Board rep, Sandy Evans, really is wonderful and I don't think she will be shy in using the media to her advantage. This article may be the first salvo.

+1 I think Sandy is fabulous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The good news, I think, is that the local School Board rep, Sandy Evans, really is wonderful and I don't think she will be shy in using the media to her advantage. This article may be the first salvo.

ITA!

[Anonymous]

Not well liked? Gross' previous opponent got like 35% of the vote in a heavily Democratic district. And he wasn't a strong candidate. Imagine if there was a strong candidate running against her.

[Anonymous]

I am a magnet parent at Baileys. Two of my kids are in the Spanish Immersion and my youngest will (hopefully) start at Baileys next year. My kids started immersion in first grade because there wasn't space in kindergarten. Not all magnet kids get into the immersion program but it's worth trying. What most people don't seem to realize that in addition to being a magnet school, Baileys is an arts integrated school with a focus on science. This is what I REALLY love about Baileys. It's hard to explain, so I encourage you to go to the magnet open house and read more about Baileys (links below). The Spanish program is great though. My kids have friends from Clifton, McLean, Vienna, and Alexandria who attend the school.

As far as the overcrowding, it's a hugely frustrating issue. I agree with the posts above about Sandy Evans being wonderful and I'm pretty furious about the WP article. I'll leave it at that.

Class sizes have stayed small. Instead of adding more kids to the classes, they've added more classes so there are like twelve kindergarten classes! But all kids 3rd-5th are in trailers in the back. Obviously not ideal. Playground space is shrinking but there is a large turf soccer field that the kids are able to play on.

The teachers are amazing--SO dedicated, passionate and smart. I also believe that most (if not at all) are also trained by the Kennedy Center in teaching through the arts. In spite of the overcrowding, we love Baileys. It's not for everyone, but if you think you might be interested definitely GO TO THE SCHOOL and check it out.

You can read more about Baileys here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailey%27s_Elementary_School_for_the_Arts_and_Sciences

And you can see an example of the arts integration in this video about the creative movement teacher. Watch the whole video--it's a great example of how Bailey's is unique.
http://dl.ebmcdn.net/fcps/mp4/insight/2013/is08_cervantes.mp4

http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/ceta/examples.html

[Anonymous]

21:32 thank you so much, this was some of the information I was looking for. I teach at another of the immersion schools in the area, so I have an idea what I'm looking for academically, just wasn't sure on the overall feel of the school. I have plenty of time (kids are still young), but wanted to get a sense for what people thought before I start setting my sights on it. Our kids are bilingual and I'd like them to continue that as well as become biliterate so the school would have to be pretty awful to turn me away! I appreciate the information!