DCI enrollment question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It all comes down to the parents. If you want your kid to succeed at an immersion charter, you either have to have at least one parent with heritage/connection to that langauge, OR you need to be willing to work damn hard (couple of hours a day) at helping your kid with the homework. Even then you probably won't get the tones right in a language like Chinese.

Another option might be to hire a Chinese or Spanish speaking nanny or au-pair and instruct them to only speak their native language to your kids.

Bottom line is that becoming fluent in a second language is hard work, even for the kids. It doesn't just happen automatically -- you've got to push for it and put a LOT of time into it. If you don't have some family tie or particular interest in China, probably better to go for Spanish. It's easier to see and use Spanish on a daily basis.

I agree with you about not sending kids to an immersion school unless the family is willing to support it. Maybe not hours a day but getting tutors to help with literacy. Generally for kids the speaking part comes easily (even for Mandarin and I have kids at YY). Tones are spot on according to my native Chinese speaker friends but the reading and especially the writing part does not: For that we have a tutor but I know most families do not supplement at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It all comes down to the parents. If you want your kid to succeed at an immersion charter, you either have to have at least one parent with heritage/connection to that langauge, OR you need to be willing to work damn hard (couple of hours a day) at helping your kid with the homework. Even then you probably won't get the tones right in a language like Chinese.

Another option might be to hire a Chinese or Spanish speaking nanny or au-pair and instruct them to only speak their native language to your kids.

Bottom line is that becoming fluent in a second language is hard work, even for the kids. It doesn't just happen automatically -- you've got to push for it and put a LOT of time into it. If you don't have some family tie or particular interest in China, probably better to go for Spanish. It's easier to see and use Spanish on a daily basis.

I agree with you about not sending kids to an immersion school unless the family is willing to support it. Maybe not hours a day but getting tutors to help with literacy. Generally for kids the speaking part comes easily (even for Mandarin and I have kids at YY). Tones are spot on according to my native Chinese speaker friends but the reading and especially the writing part does not: For that we have a tutor but I know most families do not supplement at all.

At the charter expo, the very nice parent rep. explained that there is supplemental help in the aftercare program. Hearing the price tag on the program in other threads here, I asked her if the aftercare was absolutely necessary. She said "no". I asked her how well the kids fared that couldn't afford or for whatever reason didn't want to attend the aftercare. She said they did fine and the attrition rate was really low. Any official info. on this anywhere? The rep. was very earnest and friendly, but seemed a little uneasy with that part of our discussion. Not that she wasn't being truthful, but I felt a little skeptical. Anyways, I'm higher SES, but I pay for full-time care for my infant, which is VERY pricey. Doing the math, the aftercare IF DS gets in may put us over the edge. Should we bother pursuing (our app. was put in very early for the hopes of a very low waitlist number), knowing we may not be able to supplement with aftercare of a private tutor OR can a kid really thrive with just the school day learning? I don't want my kid at a disadvantage and miserable.

[Anonymous]

I'm a YY parent. Wasn't that impressed with the aftercare - our kid did it a couple days a week for one spell. I don't think there's much chinese practice going on during aftercare although there are other activities, some of which seem to be better supervised/lead than others.

If you have the resources, and lack knowledge of Chinese yourself, then I would either hire a Chinese nanny/au pair or have a tutor come to your home a few hours a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It all comes down to the parents. If you want your kid to succeed at an immersion charter, you either have to have at least one parent with heritage/connection to that langauge, OR you need to be willing to work damn hard (couple of hours a day) at helping your kid with the homework. Even then you probably won't get the tones right in a language like Chinese.

Another option might be to hire a Chinese or Spanish speaking nanny or au-pair and instruct them to only speak their native language to your kids.

Bottom line is that becoming fluent in a second language is hard work, even for the kids. It doesn't just happen automatically -- you've got to push for it and put a LOT of time into it. If you don't have some family tie or particular interest in China, probably better to go for Spanish. It's easier to see and use Spanish on a daily basis.

I agree with you about not sending kids to an immersion school unless the family is willing to support it. Maybe not hours a day but getting tutors to help with literacy. Generally for kids the speaking part comes easily (even for Mandarin and I have kids at YY). Tones are spot on according to my native Chinese speaker friends but the reading and especially the writing part does not: For that we have a tutor but I know most families do not supplement at all.

At the charter expo, the very nice parent rep. explained that there is supplemental help in the aftercare program. Hearing the price tag on the program in other threads here, I asked her if the aftercare was absolutely necessary. She said "no". I asked her how well the kids fared that couldn't afford or for whatever reason didn't want to attend the aftercare. She said they did fine and the attrition rate was really low. Any official info. on this anywhere? The rep. was very earnest and friendly, but seemed a little uneasy with that part of our discussion. Not that she wasn't being truthful, but I felt a little skeptical. Anyways, I'm higher SES, but I pay for full-time care for my infant, which is VERY pricey. Doing the math, the aftercare IF DS gets in may put us over the edge. Should we bother pursuing (our app. was put in very early for the hopes of a very low waitlist number), knowing we may not be able to supplement with aftercare of a private tutor OR can a kid really thrive with just the school day learning? I don't want my kid at a disadvantage and miserable.

Your child will do fine with just the school learning especially in the younger grades, preK and K. They have a lot of resources to help with Mandarin on the parent portal. We did not bother getting a tutor until 1st grade, only an occasional Mandarin speaking baby sitter when younger.

The aftercare is just glorified babysitting, high quality babysitting with literacy and homework help if wanted but babysitting nonetheless. Lots other fun organized activities too like yoga, crafts, gardening, etc

My kids really love school. No complaints at all.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for this info. Feeling my anxiety level creep up as deadlines approach. Trying not to freak, but it's kinda hard! Anyways, keeping fingers crossed for everyone!!

[Anonymous]

If we get into an immersion or bilingual school in DC, we won't be in a financial position to either hire a tutor or a nanny. And I have to live with that and frankly I'm not worried. I have made a point of asking many layers of questions at the schools I've visited about how they assess individual student progress on language and how they address it, and also what "acceptable" or "on level" means in the long run re: fluency. I was more impressed/comfy with some school's responses than others, but on the small chance I get into one of the schools I loved, I really feel good about how my child will progress. And if we get there and there's a problem, we'll have to find creative ways to deal with it that don't involve private tutors or nannies. I'm sure I won't be alone in being in that position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If we get into an immersion or bilingual school in DC, we won't be in a financial position to either hire a tutor or a nanny. And I have to live with that and frankly I'm not worried. I have made a point of asking many layers of questions at the schools I've visited about how they assess individual student progress on language and how they address it, and also what "acceptable" or "on level" means in the long run re: fluency. I was more impressed/comfy with some school's responses than others, but on the small chance I get into one of the schools I loved, I really feel good about how my child will progress. And if we get there and there's a problem, we'll have to find creative ways to deal with it that don't involve private tutors or nannies. I'm sure I won't be alone in being in that position.

Please share which schools seemed more impressive with respect to how they address and encourage individual progress/fluency.

[Anonymous]

We get a tutor during the summer because we found that out one child loses a lot over that time. However, there is the summer camp (which is FREE!) that would more than cover any of that. We just haven't been able to make it work with our schedules the past 2 years.

[Anonymous]

The summer camp at Yu Ying is a total joke. My kid still talks about how horrible it was.

[Anonymous]

MV parent here: This is DC's second year. My husband and I know basic to intermediate Spanish from high school/college. I understand and can read Spanish to probably an 8th grade level so I can help on homework for now (at MV this is basically helping him read the books he comes home with in Spanish for K). However, the biggest issue is conversational Spanish. I have difficulty speaking in Spanish which makes it hard to address fluency in the household.

That said to date DC is doing well (accent, fluency and vocabulary are age appropriate), according to MV's assessments and also from feedback from native Spanish-speaking friends and from our community. I was worried about summer last year and sent DC to a Spanish immersion camp. I believed this kept DC on track. Also, 100% Spanish in the camp classroom encouraged DC to speak to his friends in Spanish instead of English (as reported by Spanish teacher). Also, MV's PS3 and PK4 classes are all Spanish so I think that will be beneficial for children's fluency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all those who think additional schools can join the DCI cohort,to me it looks like even the 4 first schools won't be able to guarantee admission for all of their students. Do the math:

1000 kids in 7 grade levels from 6th to 12th. That is about 142 kids per grade. Split evenly by 4 feeder schools allows each school to send only 36 new 6th graders each year. How many kids are in the grade level cohorts at these schools?

You forget attrition. Folks in Wash DC are constantly on the move. Every year there are transfers out of these charters, many due to moves, some for other reasons. The feeder schools only accept new students up through the 2nd grade. That means they lose students in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade and have no way of replacing the the lost ones. I suspect there will be even MORE attrition after the 5th grade as some parents traditionally opt for privates or suburban schools at that point.

So relax, there will be plenty of room for your kid at DCI.

YY -- 2nd grade last entrance year
LAMB -- PreK last entrance year
Stokes -- accepts new students every year including 6th graders, current final year
MV --I don't know the policy on how long they accept new students, currently goes to 1st -- were there new students in this years 1st grade to replace attrition?

Yes, at MV there were new students in 1st grade to replace attrition plus some new seats opened (beyond the previous class number) that were filled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The summer camp at Yu Ying is a total joke. My kid still talks about how horrible it was.

Agree. There is very little mandarin spoken. It is however, two weeks of free babysitting if you don't have money for summer camps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The summer camp at Yu Ying is a total joke. My kid still talks about how horrible it was.

Agree. There is very little mandarin spoken. It is however, two weeks of free babysitting if you don't have money for summer camps.

And it's completely free including lunch - although the food is provided by DCPS not Revolution Foods as is usual the rest of the year.

[Anonymous]

Remember the year one of the teachers used corporal punishment on the students during summer camp?

There is a reason it's free, it's low quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remember the year one of the teachers used corporal punishment on the students during summer camp?

There is a reason it's free, it's low quality.

Which yr? Never used summer camp...