Does any one know anything about Langley Elementary?

[Anonymous]

I'm sure families aren't staying until K. Free daycare for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friends kid went there and they weren't happy and left. My understanding is that the administration focuses a lot on prospective parent and ignores real needs of current parents. Their SN program is terrible, and administration doesn't do anything when a teacher is singling out and not helping a student.

All of that is 2nd hand, so take it for what it is worth.

I've heard a lot about Langley, toured several times and talked to several parents, we ultimately sent our kids elsewhere because of the specific focus of the school they got into, however, I have NEVER heard anything like this. It's been obvious to me that what goes on in the early years classrooms is impressive -- in fact more so than several of the highly regarded charter schools we considered. I know less about the higher grades though and I know that there have been some challenges for Principal Spann.

My guess is that this is very old information and assumptions on the part of PP.

[Anonymous]

The thing about Eckington/Bloomingdale is its proximity to a lot of really great schools. We can pretty easily commute to Two Rivers, Yu Ying, Mundo Verde, Lee, Stokes, Inspired Teaching, and the immersion program at Cleveland. So it's hard for the neighborhood school to punch through that. Additionally there is the issue of the feeder pattern. So it isn't that surprising that people aren't staying at Langley. However, I do think the preschool program is totally fine, and likely to improve as the principal continues her good work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friends kid went there and they weren't happy and left. My understanding is that the administration focuses a lot on prospective parent and ignores real needs of current parents. Their SN program is terrible, and administration doesn't do anything when a teacher is singling out and not helping a student.

All of that is 2nd hand, so take it for what it is worth.

I've heard a lot about Langley, toured several times and talked to several parents, we ultimately sent our kids elsewhere because of the specific focus of the school they got into, however, I have NEVER heard anything like this. It's been obvious to me that what goes on in the early years classrooms is impressive -- in fact more so than several of the highly regarded charter schools we considered. I know less about the higher grades though and I know that there have been some challenges for Principal Spann.

My guess is that this is very old information and assumptions on the part of PP.

I have never heard this either. If they are focusing a lot on prospective parents, I certainly hadn't noticed! I am a prospective parent and I don't think they've done any more than any other school to reach out to me. I love that the principal tables at the farmers' market, but I'm pretty sure that is a new thing this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing about Eckington/Bloomingdale is its proximity to a lot of really great schools. We can pretty easily commute to Two Rivers, Yu Ying, Mundo Verde, Lee, Stokes, Inspired Teaching, and the immersion program at Cleveland. So it's hard for the neighborhood school to punch through that. Additionally there is the issue of the feeder pattern. So it isn't that surprising that people aren't staying at Langley. However, I do think the preschool program is totally fine, and likely to improve as the principal continues her good work.

+1. I just met a family who is new to the neighborhood. Their kids are in private and they stated that they will keep their kids in private because of the feeder pattern. I honestly believe that Langley's preschool program is great. We placed Langley as our safety with the thought that we would either move or lottery into another program later. It is the feeder pattern that is an issue for us. If they allowed Langley and McKinley Middle Students priority into McKinley Tech High then we would definitely consider. But that's not the case.

[Anonymous]

We considered Langley last year when our child was in PK3. We toured and met with Principal Spann. We really liked her and her passion for the school. They have great facilities as well. School diversity is very important for us so we took Langley off our list. We ended up sending our child to Seaton and have been very happy with our decision. We will be back at Seaton for PK4. I do wish Langley well and hope it turns out to be a good neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing about Eckington/Bloomingdale is its proximity to a lot of really great schools. We can pretty easily commute to Two Rivers, Yu Ying, Mundo Verde, Lee, Stokes, Inspired Teaching, and the immersion program at Cleveland. So it's hard for the neighborhood school to punch through that. Additionally there is the issue of the feeder pattern. So it isn't that surprising that people aren't staying at Langley. However, I do think the preschool program is totally fine, and likely to improve as the principal continues her good work.

Yes to all of this. We are Bloomingdale parents about to start our child at Langley for PK3. Admittedly many of the schools above were higher on our lottery list because of language immersion and/or better diversity or test performance, but we are very comfortable going to Langley for PK. Principal Spann has been very welcoming, we found the kids in PK classrooms as engaged as at most of the more highly regarded schools we visited. Also we were shown good use of metrics and IT in tracking and tailoring reading and writing instruction in PK and K. The enrichment programs from the school garden to robotics lab seem both fun and beneficial for the kids, and there is a dedicated on site PK playspace (ie playground). So with all of this and liking the idea of a walkable neighborhood school in principle we are giving it a try, and open to keeping our child there if the improvements in PK to date spread to upper grades. But we will take it one year at a time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We considered Langley last year when our child was in PK3. We toured and met with Principal Spann. We really liked her and her passion for the school. They have great facilities as well. School diversity is very important for us so we took Langley off our list. We ended up sending our child to Seaton and have been very happy with our decision. We will be back at Seaton for PK4. I do wish Langley well and hope it turns out to be a good neighborhood school.

Glad it worked out for you, PP. I have heard that Seaton is becoming harder to get into, due to siblings and the building capacity-- do you think that is true?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing about Eckington/Bloomingdale is its proximity to a lot of really great schools. We can pretty easily commute to Two Rivers, Yu Ying, Mundo Verde, Lee, Stokes, Inspired Teaching, and the immersion program at Cleveland. So it's hard for the neighborhood school to punch through that. Additionally there is the issue of the feeder pattern. So it isn't that surprising that people aren't staying at Langley. However, I do think the preschool program is totally fine, and likely to improve as the principal continues her good work.

Yes to all of this. We are Bloomingdale parents about to start our child at Langley for PK3. Admittedly many of the schools above were higher on our lottery list because of language immersion and/or better diversity or test performance, but we are very comfortable going to Langley for PK. Principal Spann has been very welcoming, we found the kids in PK classrooms as engaged as at most of the more highly regarded schools we visited. Also we were shown good use of metrics and IT in tracking and tailoring reading and writing instruction in PK and K. The enrichment programs from the school garden to robotics lab seem both fun and beneficial for the kids, and there is a dedicated on site PK playspace (ie playground). So with all of this and liking the idea of a walkable neighborhood school in principle we are giving it a try, and open to keeping our child there if the improvements in PK to date spread to upper grades. But we will take it one year at a time.

Good for you, PP. I expect to say exactly the same thing a year from now. I would love an immersion school with a great feeder, but until the lottery gods are kind to us, I'm fine with Langley and planning to do my bit. Are you getting involved with PTSA or anything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing about Eckington/Bloomingdale is its proximity to a lot of really great schools. We can pretty easily commute to Two Rivers, Yu Ying, Mundo Verde, Lee, Stokes, Inspired Teaching, and the immersion program at Cleveland. So it's hard for the neighborhood school to punch through that. Additionally there is the issue of the feeder pattern. So it isn't that surprising that people aren't staying at Langley. However, I do think the preschool program is totally fine, and likely to improve as the principal continues her good work.

Yes to all of this. We are Bloomingdale parents about to start our child at Langley for PK3. Admittedly many of the schools above were higher on our lottery list because of language immersion and/or better diversity or test performance, but we are very comfortable going to Langley for PK. Principal Spann has been very welcoming, we found the kids in PK classrooms as engaged as at most of the more highly regarded schools we visited. Also we were shown good use of metrics and IT in tracking and tailoring reading and writing instruction in PK and K. The enrichment programs from the school garden to robotics lab seem both fun and beneficial for the kids, and there is a dedicated on site PK playspace (ie playground). So with all of this and liking the idea of a walkable neighborhood school in principle we are giving it a try, and open to keeping our child there if the improvements in PK to date spread to upper grades. But we will take it one year at a time.

Good for you, PP. I expect to say exactly the same thing a year from now. I would love an immersion school with a great feeder, but until the lottery gods are kind to us, I'm fine with Langley and planning to do my bit. Are you getting involved with PTSA or anything?

We plan on keeping DCUM posted as to how it goes, hopefully that will help you when the choice comes! We were frustrated when we were first looking at Langley that there seemed to be little to no direct experience with the place mentioned here. We hope to help with that.

On subject of help, we do plan on getting involved- this summer has not been so good to start that with lots of time out of town but we'll be asking the school for POCs in coming days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing about Eckington/Bloomingdale is its proximity to a lot of really great schools. We can pretty easily commute to Two Rivers, Yu Ying, Mundo Verde, Lee, Stokes, Inspired Teaching, and the immersion program at Cleveland. So it's hard for the neighborhood school to punch through that. Additionally there is the issue of the feeder pattern. So it isn't that surprising that people aren't staying at Langley. However, I do think the preschool program is totally fine, and likely to improve as the principal continues her good work.

Yes to all of this. We are Bloomingdale parents about to start our child at Langley for PK3. Admittedly many of the schools above were higher on our lottery list because of language immersion and/or better diversity or test performance, but we are very comfortable going to Langley for PK. Principal Spann has been very welcoming, we found the kids in PK classrooms as engaged as at most of the more highly regarded schools we visited. Also we were shown good use of metrics and IT in tracking and tailoring reading and writing instruction in PK and K. The enrichment programs from the school garden to robotics lab seem both fun and beneficial for the kids, and there is a dedicated on site PK playspace (ie playground). So with all of this and liking the idea of a walkable neighborhood school in principle we are giving it a try, and open to keeping our child there if the improvements in PK to date spread to upper grades. But we will take it one year at a time.

Good for you, PP. I expect to say exactly the same thing a year from now. I would love an immersion school with a great feeder, but until the lottery gods are kind to us, I'm fine with Langley and planning to do my bit. Are you getting involved with PTSA or anything?

We plan on keeping DCUM posted as to how it goes, hopefully that will help you when the choice comes! We were frustrated when we were first looking at Langley that there seemed to be little to no direct experience with the place mentioned here. We hope to help with that.

On subject of help, we do plan on getting involved- this summer has not been so good to start that with lots of time out of town but we'll be asking the school for POCs in coming days.

OP-I took the tour and i love the area and facility. sucks that i did not get to see the live action of school going on but i have decided to enroll my kids just waiting for one more slot to open up for my 2nd child. wish me luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing about Eckington/Bloomingdale is its proximity to a lot of really great schools. We can pretty easily commute to Two Rivers, Yu Ying, Mundo Verde, Lee, Stokes, Inspired Teaching, and the immersion program at Cleveland. So it's hard for the neighborhood school to punch through that. Additionally there is the issue of the feeder pattern. So it isn't that surprising that people aren't staying at Langley. However, I do think the preschool program is totally fine, and likely to improve as the principal continues her good work.

Yes to all of this. We are Bloomingdale parents about to start our child at Langley for PK3. Admittedly many of the schools above were higher on our lottery list because of language immersion and/or better diversity or test performance, but we are very comfortable going to Langley for PK. Principal Spann has been very welcoming, we found the kids in PK classrooms as engaged as at most of the more highly regarded schools we visited. Also we were shown good use of metrics and IT in tracking and tailoring reading and writing instruction in PK and K. The enrichment programs from the school garden to robotics lab seem both fun and beneficial for the kids, and there is a dedicated on site PK playspace (ie playground). So with all of this and liking the idea of a walkable neighborhood school in principle we are giving it a try, and open to keeping our child there if the improvements in PK to date spread to upper grades. But we will take it one year at a time.

Good for you, PP. I expect to say exactly the same thing a year from now. I would love an immersion school with a great feeder, but until the lottery gods are kind to us, I'm fine with Langley and planning to do my bit. Are you getting involved with PTSA or anything?

We plan on keeping DCUM posted as to how it goes, hopefully that will help you when the choice comes! We were frustrated when we were first looking at Langley that there seemed to be little to no direct experience with the place mentioned here. We hope to help with that.

On subject of help, we do plan on getting involved- this summer has not been so good to start that with lots of time out of town but we'll be asking the school for POCs in coming days.

OP-I took the tour and i love the area and facility. sucks that i did not get to see the live action of school going on but i have decided to enroll my kids just waiting for one more slot to open up for my 2nd child. wish me luck!

Awesome! What grades? I didn't realize there was a waiting list...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing about Eckington/Bloomingdale is its proximity to a lot of really great schools. We can pretty easily commute to Two Rivers, Yu Ying, Mundo Verde, Lee, Stokes, Inspired Teaching, and the immersion program at Cleveland. So it's hard for the neighborhood school to punch through that. Additionally there is the issue of the feeder pattern. So it isn't that surprising that people aren't staying at Langley. However, I do think the preschool program is totally fine, and likely to improve as the principal continues her good work.

Yes to all of this. We are Bloomingdale parents about to start our child at Langley for PK3. Admittedly many of the schools above were higher on our lottery list because of language immersion and/or better diversity or test performance, but we are very comfortable going to Langley for PK. Principal Spann has been very welcoming, we found the kids in PK classrooms as engaged as at most of the more highly regarded schools we visited. Also we were shown good use of metrics and IT in tracking and tailoring reading and writing instruction in PK and K. The enrichment programs from the school garden to robotics lab seem both fun and beneficial for the kids, and there is a dedicated on site PK playspace (ie playground). So with all of this and liking the idea of a walkable neighborhood school in principle we are giving it a try, and open to keeping our child there if the improvements in PK to date spread to upper grades. But we will take it one year at a time.

Good for you, PP. I expect to say exactly the same thing a year from now. I would love an immersion school with a great feeder, but until the lottery gods are kind to us, I'm fine with Langley and planning to do my bit. Are you getting involved with PTSA or anything?

We plan on keeping DCUM posted as to how it goes, hopefully that will help you when the choice comes! We were frustrated when we were first looking at Langley that there seemed to be little to no direct experience with the place mentioned here. We hope to help with that.

On subject of help, we do plan on getting involved- this summer has not been so good to start that with lots of time out of town but we'll be asking the school for POCs in coming days.

OP-I took the tour and i love the area and facility. sucks that i did not get to see the live action of school going on but i have decided to enroll my kids just waiting for one more slot to open up for my 2nd child. wish me luck!

Awesome! What grades? I didn't realize there was a waiting list...

both kids are going for PK 3.

[Anonymous]

OP, did you ever get your second kid in? I have a friend whose daycare arrangement fell through and they are trying to see if they can find a PK3 spot anywhere, even though it is already August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you ever get your second kid in? I have a friend whose daycare arrangement fell through and they are trying to see if they can find a PK3 spot anywhere, even though it is already August.

Yes 2nd kid did get in by sheer luck! at the time of enrolling they had one more slot but now i think they are full but it does not hurt to apply.