Inspired Teaching vs DC Bilingual

[Anonymous]

"its curriculum." Oops...

[Anonymous]

Another ITS family. We've been very impressed with the Head of School. I've spoken with numerous upper grade families and none of them have expressed the frustration or dislike that PP has. Either they aren't being vocal or only this one PP is.

[Anonymous]

Hi folks - OP here. Thanks so much for all of your replies and thoughts, they were very helpful. After a lot of thinking (and getting to spend a couple of hours at the DCB Field Day today talking to staff and a couple of parents) we're going to go with DCB. Good news for whoever is #1 on the PK3 ITS waitlist!

It mostly came down to our family's interest in the language immersion. In case this comes up for others, here's our reasoning:

Similarities

• Both have very strong Heads of School. Both Daniella (DCB) and Deborah (ITS) have impressive understandings of the issues at their schools, and clear visions for where the school is going. They each had clearly heard about the concerns that were floating out in the world about their school and seemed to have genuine plans to address them (or reasons why they weren't accurate). My wife and I felt that we could go to either one of them if we had an issue and it would be taken very seriously.


• Both have (or will have) good buildings with plenty of space and a lot of light. We went over to the new DCB building and it's really great - high ceilings, big windows, awesome outdoor space, etc.


• Both appear to have engaged parents and caring teachers. DCB has struggled to get a strong parent organization up and running because of the language barrier among parents, but sounds like they've made progress thanks to a couple of bilingual parents who are highly engaged and able to bridge the language gap. We've been on the ITS parent group for the past month or two and it's clear that it's a fantastic group of devoted folks.

Differences

• Obviously there's the language thing. Everyone will have a different take on how important this is to their family.


• That DCB feeds into DC International is a plus for us. ITS solves the middle school question, but does leave open the high school question. I fully believe that high schools are getting better, and for our family there's still another 10 years of getting better to go before we need a high school. So this may end up being a non-issue. Still, there's peace of mind that comes from being set through 12th grade. This also plays into the language issue, since it means that our son will have deep exposure to three languages by the end of high school.


• The demographics are different. ITS is whiter and wealthier. The overall ITS demographics are evenly split between whites and students of color, but spending time in the PK3 and PS4 rooms it's clear that the younger grades are whiter. That age split is true at DCB, too - whereas the full school is 80% Spanish-first, the younger grades are 50/50 and, from our view, about 20% white. This isn't a judgement on either school (it's all a random lottery, afterall), and anyone who wants to criticize us for our attention to this issue is making a fair point (try to make it respectfully if you do, please). Still, it struck us as a difference, and wanted to list it here, in as non-flame-war-starting a way as possible.


• Location is a difference, and to a previous poster's point, could be a thing we really regret. But the new DCB is close to the Ft Totten Metro, and happens to be on a bus line that's 21 mins from our house. So we're going to take a shot.

Thanks again everyone. Looking forward to seeing some of you soon at DC Bilingual, and congratulations to the ITS parents who have built a fantastic community.

[Anonymous]

OP, to the extent that the principal matters to you, Daniela is stepping down at DC Bilingual. (I'm assuming you know that, but just wanted to make sure.)

[Anonymous]

Good luck OP

[Anonymous]

IT parent here. Congrats on your decision - what a great choice to have. I can totally appreciate the hard work and research you have put into this. I agree with all of your observations. I know the school and recruitment parents have noticed (especially this year) that the youngest grades do not represent the school as a whole. Good or bad. They are aware of it and are trying to be creative with how they recruit. Deborah has mentioned challenges/ideas as to why they aren't as successful with getting a larger population (that represents more of the city) applying for younger grades. I think location is a large one. Yes metro is technically walkable, but not so much as a 3 year old. They heavily recruited in neighborhoods surrounding Edgewood this year so I'm interested to see how this year's classes are. Your research and how serious you take this decision is quite impressive. I have to say it will be sad not to have you join us. Congrats again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, to the extent that the principal matters to you, Daniela is stepping down at DC Bilingual. (I'm assuming you know that, but just wanted to make sure.)

Daniela has stepped down as Interim Principal to become the new Head of School at DCB. Is that what you are referencing?

[Anonymous]

I haven't really heard great things about DC Bilingual

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't really heard great things about DC Bilingual

What have you heard specifically?

[Anonymous]

I'm a DCB parent and the school has been great. The teachers are amazingly dedicated, take real time to work with us to solve issues our child is facing, and as the OP pointed out, the classrooms are very diverse. I like the fact that my child is learning Spanish surrounded by native speakers, both faculty and students. The arts and music instruction is extraordinary, which is also important to me (together with immersion).

My reservations are around the pedagogical model, which is where I might sway toward ITS (what little I know). DCB is very structured, and the long school day is geared toward students who may not get the support they need at home. It may be too structured for my child, which is why he has some difficulties with self control during the school day. If he could just run around all day maybe it would be easier for him? But then again, you won't get running around all day at any DCPS or PCS.

That said, not only are the teachers dedicated, hardworking, loving and talented, they have told me on multiple occasions that the DCB community is special, that there is great morale among teachers, and that feeling is translated into the classroom. It is worth a lot.

[Anonymous]

I have also not heard positive things about DC Bilingual in regards to teaching the whole child, e.g. emphasizing positively the importance of the social/emotional.

Spanish immersion is important for me- but we chose not to list DC Bilingual as an option.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP. Actually the work they are doing with child on social emotional has been amazing. They are going above and beyond. He doesn't really need help with academics so they know where to put their energy I guess.

I also forgot to mention that one reason we listed DCB high originally was because when you disaggregate their scores, poor kids are doing well. There are few schools that can claim that they are successfully educating low income kids as well as their wealthier peers. We felt that this was an important calue proposition for a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a DCB parent and the school has been great. The teachers are amazingly dedicated, take real time to work with us to solve issues our child is facing, and as the OP pointed out, the classrooms are very diverse. I like the fact that my child is learning Spanish surrounded by native speakers, both faculty and students. The arts and music instruction is extraordinary, which is also important to me (together with immersion).

My reservations are around the pedagogical model, which is where I might sway toward ITS (what little I know). DCB is very structured, and the long school day is geared toward students who may not get the support they need at home. It may be too structured for my child, which is why he has some difficulties with self control during the school day. If he could just run around all day maybe it would be easier for him? But then again, you won't get running around all day at any DCPS or PCS.

That said, not only are the teachers dedicated, hardworking, loving and talented, they have told me on multiple occasions that the DCB community is special, that there is great morale among teachers, and that feeling is translated into the classroom. It is worth a lot.

I'm another DCB parent with a child in the early grades and feel the school is a hidden gem. I want to amplify what the other parent said: " my child is learning Spanish surrounded by native speakers, both faculty and students" and is growing up not only bilingual but also bicultural. When I've had a chance to be in class or join a field trip I have found that only are the classrooms are very diverse, but the children have an easy time playing together across family backgrounds. In terms of my child's emotional development, our child finds the school a warm, safe, fun place; they do a great job at school engagement. However, I would also agree that DCB is very structured and may not be the best school for every child . While we are delighted with our child's reading progress, the current location's play facilities leave much to be desired. We're actually looking forward to the new location and the increased possibility of play space, both indoors and outdoors. Finally I want to add that I've also heard great things about ITS, so it sounds like the OP had a win-win situation.

[Anonymous]

As an ITS founding family, I say go somewhere else. They haven't worked the curriculum out, and there are too few Master or skilled teachers. The problems were not just isolated with a bad hire in 4th grade. The problems are too many and the admin is not taking the issues parents bring to them with enough urgency. Great concept, poor execution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an ITS founding family, I say go somewhere else. They haven't worked the curriculum out, and there are too few Master or skilled teachers. The problems were not just isolated with a bad hire in 4th grade. The problems are too many and the admin is not taking the issues parents bring to them with enough urgency. Great concept, poor execution.

As a founding family here I say the exact opposite of this poster. I do know a handful of families not happy for various reasons. Some I consider friends. Some are extremely hard to please. Sure there are still kinks after 4 years but they do so much right. I haven't played he lottery since year 1.