What would make you leave a big charter

[Anonymous]

I'm a dad. My nephew attends a public immersion Mandarin ES in Cal where kids are sorted into categories, with 1/3 of spots set aside for each group. Children can only enter one of the two Chinese lotteries after getting through an interview.

The categories are:

Child of one or two native speakers of Mandarin who mainly speak Mandarin in the home (nephew's category)

Child of one or two native speakers of a different Chinese dialect who mainly speak the dialect in the home.

Child without a native speaker in the home, or child of native speaker(s) who do not speak Chinese in the home.

Sounds fantastic, kudos to the school system.

[Anonymous]

PP with retiring DH. We are looking in MA at this program:

http://www.pvcics.org/home

which is very similar to Yu Ying in that it goes all the way through high school and is in the process of getting an IB designation.

The other glitch, besides the fact that they are not allowed to discriminate for native speakers/kids who already know Mandarin, is that they are only allowed to take applications from MA residents so if you are applying from out-of-state, you are out of luck.

We can move anywhere we want so I've looked at several different Mandarin immersion schools all over the country and honestly, there is not one where it's easy to get into and/or does not have some kind of shortcoming such as no preferences for native speakers, only goes through elementary school, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP with retiring DH. We are looking in MA at this program:

http://www.pvcics.org/home

which is very similar to Yu Ying in that it goes all the way through high school and is in the process of getting an IB designation.

The other glitch, besides the fact that they are not allowed to discriminate for native speakers/kids who already know Mandarin, is that they are only allowed to take applications from MA residents so if you are applying from out-of-state, you are out of luck.

We can move anywhere we want so I've looked at several different Mandarin immersion schools all over the country and honestly, there is not one where it's easy to get into and/or does not have some kind of shortcoming such as no preferences for native speakers, only goes through elementary school, etc.

Hello,

If you find something in your search, please share. Thx.

[Anonymous]

The main issue with most public Mandarin immersion schools is that they don't take applications from out-of-state so you will have to move there first and have residency to apply.

[Anonymous]

PP, What grade are you thinking of leaving and would it be by count day? Waited all night in the freezing cold and hoping for some movement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, What grade are you thinking of leaving and would it be by count day? Waited all night in the freezing cold and hoping for some movement.

We are not leaving until next summer at the earliest. Also, we are in a higher grade where they no longer take new students. Sorry. It's too bad they can't take new student in the upper grades until 6th.

The school in MA told me that their original charter only allowed taking new students in K, 1, and 6 but MA changed the law so that now they have to take students in other grades if there is attrition and they cannot discriminate against kids who no prior knowledge of Mandarin but have an open lottery for any available space. Doesn't make sense but there it is.

Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, What grade are you thinking of leaving and would it be by count day? Waited all night in the freezing cold and hoping for some movement.

We are not leaving until next summer at the earliest. Also, we are in a higher grade where they no longer take new students. Sorry. It's too bad they can't take new student in the upper grades until 6th.

The school in MA told me that their original charter only allowed taking new students in K, 1, and 6 but MA changed the law so that now they have to take students in other grades if there is attrition and they cannot discriminate against kids who no prior knowledge of Mandarin but have an open lottery for any available space. Doesn't make sense but there it is.

Good luck to you!

PP, do you feel like this is holding you back from moving- being wedded to Chinese language learning with so little options outside of where you are currently. This is my concern. I don't want to go full throttle with Spanish immersion if it actually stops me cold from moving on. Do you feel like it wasn't worth it to do the immersion program? If you have to pull your kid midstream, it would seem like such a waste to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, What grade are you thinking of leaving and would it be by count day? Waited all night in the freezing cold and hoping for some movement.

We are not leaving until next summer at the earliest. Also, we are in a higher grade where they no longer take new students. Sorry. It's too bad they can't take new student in the upper grades until 6th.

The school in MA told me that their original charter only allowed taking new students in K, 1, and 6 but MA changed the law so that now they have to take students in other grades if there is attrition and they cannot discriminate against kids who no prior knowledge of Mandarin but have an open lottery for any available space. Doesn't make sense but there it is.

Good luck to you!

PP, do you feel like this is holding you back from moving- being wedded to Chinese language learning with so little options outside of where you are currently. This is my concern. I don't want to go full throttle with Spanish immersion if it actually stops me cold from moving on. Do you feel like it wasn't worth it to do the immersion program? If you have to pull your kid midstream, it would seem like such a waste to me.

Oh, no not at all. If we didn't feel it was worth it, it'll be easy to just switch to an English only school. Thus all the logistical gymnastics of trying to get into a similar program. We would much rather move to Bali or the Virgin Islands rather than Western MA, CO, MN, etc. ... and a whole lot warmer too. I've even suggested that we move to China for awhile but DH said "No". Also, DC knows enough Mandarin that it'll be easy to support. His tones are perfect and he can read books and play video games in Mandarin. No, immersion is definitely worth it even if you can't stay in the program for the entire duration through high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, What grade are you thinking of leaving and would it be by count day? Waited all night in the freezing cold and hoping for some movement.

We are not leaving until next summer at the earliest. Also, we are in a higher grade where they no longer take new students. Sorry. It's too bad they can't take new student in the upper grades until 6th.

The school in MA told me that their original charter only allowed taking new students in K, 1, and 6 but MA changed the law so that now they have to take students in other grades if there is attrition and they cannot discriminate against kids who no prior knowledge of Mandarin but have an open lottery for any available space. Doesn't make sense but there it is.

Good luck to you!

PP, do you feel like this is holding you back from moving- being wedded to Chinese language learning with so little options outside of where you are currently. This is my concern. I don't want to go full throttle with Spanish immersion if it actually stops me cold from moving on. Do you feel like it wasn't worth it to do the immersion program? If you have to pull your kid midstream, it would seem like such a waste to me.

Oh, no not at all. If we didn't feel it was worth it, it'll be easy to just switch to an English only school. Thus all the logistical gymnastics of trying to get into a similar program. We would much rather move to Bali or the Virgin Islands rather than Western MA, CO, MN, etc. ... and a whole lot warmer too. I've even suggested that we move to China for awhile but DH said "No". Also, DC knows enough Mandarin that it'll be easy to support. His tones are perfect and he can read books and play video games in Mandarin. No, immersion is definitely worth it even if you can't stay in the program for the entire duration through high school.

What grade. Did he start in the full immersion P4. I think that set them apart and above the classes before them.

[Anonymous]

OP here

My concerns center around academic rigor, staff professionalism (from top down) and communication. Even after many meetings nothing is addressed ever

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here

My concerns center around academic rigor, staff professionalism (from top down) and communication. Even after many meetings nothing is addressed ever

It sounds like you are concerned that the school isn't a "good" school. Not sure why you don't switch to another school that has what you are looking for rather than hanging out at a school that you think is subpar and doesn't meet your standards for "academic rigor,...."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here

My concerns center around academic rigor, staff professionalism (from top down) and communication. Even after many meetings nothing is addressed ever

It sounds like you are concerned that the school isn't a "good" school. Not sure why you don't switch to another school that has what you are looking for rather than hanging out at a school that you think is subpar and doesn't meet your standards for "academic rigor,...."

It's not just academic rigor. In fact I'm a parent who is more than willing to supplement however when the other things come into factor it's gets blurry for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here

My concerns center around academic rigor, staff professionalism (from top down) and communication. Even after many meetings nothing is addressed ever

It sounds like you are concerned that the school isn't a "good" school. Not sure why you don't switch to another school that has what you are looking for rather than hanging out at a school that you think is subpar and doesn't meet your standards for "academic rigor,...."

It's not just academic rigor. In fact I'm a parent who is more than willing to supplement however when the other things come into factor it's gets blurry for me.

So there's a whole bunch of things wrong with the HRCS. Switch schools. Why the hesitation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here

My concerns center around academic rigor, staff professionalism (from top down) and communication. Even after many meetings nothing is addressed ever

It sounds like you are concerned that the school isn't a "good" school. Not sure why you don't switch to another school that has what you are looking for rather than hanging out at a school that you think is subpar and doesn't meet your standards for "academic rigor,...."

It's not just academic rigor. In fact I'm a parent who is more than willing to supplement however when the other things come into factor it's gets blurry for me.

So there's a whole bunch of things wrong with the HRCS. Switch schools. Why the hesitation?

DP. I have heard this complaint from several moms at my kid's DCUM HRCS, and the reason they have not pulled their children is because they may not have better alternatives. How often can one hit the lottery at another hyped HRCS or HRDCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here

My concerns center around academic rigor, staff professionalism (from top down) and communication. Even after many meetings nothing is addressed ever

It sounds like you are concerned that the school isn't a "good" school. Not sure why you don't switch to another school that has what you are looking for rather than hanging out at a school that you think is subpar and doesn't meet your standards for "academic rigor,...."

It's not just academic rigor. In fact I'm a parent who is more than willing to supplement however when the other things come into factor it's gets blurry for me.

So there's a whole bunch of things wrong with the HRCS. Switch schools. Why the hesitation?

DP. I have heard this complaint from several moms at my kid's DCUM HRCS, and the reason they have not pulled their children is because they may not have better alternatives. How often can one hit the lottery at another hyped HRCS or HRDCPS.

Why so coy? What's the school? Maybe it wouldn't be so "hyped" or "big" if people would provide details that give prospective parents a more realistic picture.