Chinese Immersion school

[Anonymous]

Don't sweat if you can't crack Yu Ying, OP. The kids without a Mandarin speaker in the home (more than 90%) speak Chinese haltingly. If you're serious about the Chinese, head to MoCo for the College Garden or Potomac programs, where many native speakers (at least one quarter in the lower grades, and nearly half in the upper grades) keep standards high, or do you own thing at home if you can.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your responses. WE do speak at home some, but we are not very consistent, especially as the kids get older and respond only in English. I was hoping the immersion would help. It sounds like YuYing doesn't have a lot of native speakers (which is good in a general sense, but for my selfish purposes I would prefer additional native speaking households).
It sounds like MoCo CI has more native speakers, but from my research the college gardens is hard to get into, and I don't want to live in the Potomac boundaries. We will probably focus more on out-of-school attention and have to be better about the home environment!

[Anonymous]

Op-

No horse in this race at all, but there is a lot of yu ying haters out there, mostly from Rockville. Honestly I think they're bothered that nonchinese kids are speaking Chinese and spend an awful lot of time trashing YY here. Take their advice with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op-

No horse in this race at all, but there is a lot of yu ying haters out there, mostly from Rockville. Honestly I think they're bothered that nonchinese kids are speaking Chinese and spend an awful lot of time trashing YY here. Take their advice with a grain of salt.

Oh come on, those of us who speak Chinese and have a connection to the Rockville native-speaking community don't hate Yu Ying. We just can't take a Chinese immersion school without Chinese-speaking admins or students seriously, and aren't very impressed with the results.

OP, I suggest that you hook up with one of the weekend programs in MoCo for native speakers, e.g. Cantonese School of Greater Washington if your family is from the south. You get great morale support from these communities to speak Chinese at home, and enjoy holiday celebrations where everybody in the room is either from Chinese immigrant/bilingual family or married into one.

If you want my two cents worth, ignore your kids if they reply in English. We do that consistently, so they rarely try English on us. Also, don't let them watch kids entertainment in English. We only allow cartoons from Direct TV channels from China and a big stash of DVDs of classic and current kids' movies dubbed into Chinese (easy to find in NYC Chinatown, on-line, through family members shopping in HK, Taiwan and on the mainland). We also arrange regular play dates with native-speaking kids, and have them tutored by Chinese graduate students who can teach traditional characters. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Not immersion - and no knowledge of the quality of the program but Janney offers instruction as an enrichment option 2 days a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op-

No horse in this race at all, but there is a lot of yu ying haters out there, mostly from Rockville. Honestly I think they're bothered that nonchinese kids are speaking Chinese and spend an awful lot of time trashing YY here. Take their advice with a grain of salt.

+100. This must be the same community responsible for writing the negative crap about DC's Chinatown on Wikipedia. Geese.

[Anonymous]

Another thing YY offers (which no other public school in the DMV does) is Mandarin immersion classes all the way through HS, including the IB Baccalaureate Exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another thing YY offers (which no other public school in the DMV does) is Mandarin immersion classes all the way through HS, including the IB Baccalaureate Exam.

OP, we bailed on YY early for College Gardens, now at Herbert Hoover MS in Potomac (partial Mandarin immersion where every student didn't come through College Gardens or Potomac; some were taught at home and in heritage language schools), hoping that DC will test into the Richard Montgomery HS International Baccalaureate Diploma program in Rockville. The program admits around 10% of 8th grade applicants county-wide, but strong Herbert Hoover Chinese students seem to get it. We weren't happy at YY without other immigrant bilingual children, but there were good things about it and most parents seemed to love it.

We live close to the DC-MD line and have close friends with kids at DCI, so we know that IB Diploma studies in their HS will be voluntary. In the strongest suburban IB programs, Richard Montgomery and Washington-Lee HS in Arlington, students are either "in" IB (pursuing the full diploma) or "out" (in AP classes etc.) making for some of the highest IB Diploma pass rates in the world. On a pass rate scale of 24-45 points, the strongest IB Diploma program in the DC public system is currently Banneker HS, with an average points total in the high 20s, the equivalent of around a C-. By contrast, Richard Montgomery's average pass rate is close to 40 points, the equivalent of an A-. Looks to me like DCI's average pass rate will also be in the high 20s for years, possibly the low 30s, because a school system can't do immersion languages very well without recruiting native speakers, and can't do International Baccalaureate studies very well without requiring students to pursue the full diploma (vs. allowing them dabble in it by taking one or more subject exams).

If you're serious about IB Diploma studies in a public system in the Metro area, you need to look to MoCo, Arlington of Fairfax, or possibly a Deal feeder. Chinese studies are coming along at Deal because the teacher is excellent, and the rest of their program, and facilities, are stronger than DCI's. Mandarin has been offered at Wilson for a couple years by another stellar teacher. But, unfortunately, high AP Mandarin scores no longer impress elite colleges as a general rule because it's a fairly easy test. More than 80% of test takers score 5s, by far the highest of any AP exam. Top scores (6s and 7s on a scale of 1-7) on IB "Higher Level" Mandarin separate the sheep from the goats. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Pretty clearly, DCI International Baccalaureate Diploma studies will be IB lite on a relative basis. Still a big step forward for city public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing YY offers (which no other public school in the DMV does) is Mandarin immersion classes all the way through HS, including the IB Baccalaureate Exam.

OP, we bailed on YY early for College Gardens, now at Herbert Hoover MS in Potomac (partial Mandarin immersion where every student didn't come through College Gardens or Potomac; some were taught at home and in heritage language schools), hoping that DC will test into the Richard Montgomery HS International Baccalaureate Diploma program in Rockville. The program admits around 10% of 8th grade applicants county-wide, but strong Herbert Hoover Chinese students seem to get it. We weren't happy at YY without other immigrant bilingual children, but there were good things about it and most parents seemed to love it.

We live close to the DC-MD line and have close friends with kids at DCI, so we know that IB Diploma studies in their HS will be voluntary. In the strongest suburban IB programs, Richard Montgomery and Washington-Lee HS in Arlington, students are either "in" IB (pursuing the full diploma) or "out" (in AP classes etc.) making for some of the highest IB Diploma pass rates in the world. On a pass rate scale of 24-45 points, the strongest IB Diploma program in the DC public system is currently Banneker HS, with an average points total in the high 20s, the equivalent of around a C-. By contrast, Richard Montgomery's average pass rate is close to 40 points, the equivalent of an A-. Looks to me like DCI's average pass rate will also be in the high 20s for years, possibly the low 30s, because a school system can't do immersion languages very well without recruiting native speakers, and can't do International Baccalaureate studies very well without requiring students to pursue the full diploma (vs. allowing them dabble in it by taking one or more subject exams).

If you're serious about IB Diploma studies in a public system in the Metro area, you need to look to MoCo, Arlington of Fairfax, or possibly a Deal feeder. Chinese studies are coming along at Deal because the teacher is excellent, and the rest of their program, and facilities, are stronger than DCI's. Mandarin has been offered at Wilson for a couple years by another stellar teacher. But, unfortunately, high AP Mandarin scores no longer impress elite colleges as a general rule because it's a fairly easy test. More than 80% of test takers score 5s, by far the highest of any AP exam. Top scores (6s and 7s on a scale of 1-7) on IB "Higher Level" Mandarin separate the sheep from the goats. Good luck.

To be clear, what you are calling "strength of the program" is really strength of the cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If you're serious about IB Diploma studies in a public system in the Metro area, you need to look to MoCo, Arlington of Fairfax, or possibly a Deal feeder. Chinese studies are coming along at Deal because the teacher is excellent, and the rest of their program, and facilities, are stronger than DCI's. Mandarin has been offered at Wilson for a couple years by another stellar teacher. But, unfortunately, high AP Mandarin scores no longer impress elite colleges as a general rule because it's a fairly easy test. More than 80% of test takers score 5s, by far the highest of any AP exam. Top scores (6s and 7s on a scale of 1-7) on IB "Higher Level" Mandarin separate the sheep from the goats. Good luck.

Nowhere to go to pursue IB in DCPS at the high school level except Eastern and Banneker. So not sure what a Deal feeder gets you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing YY offers (which no other public school in the DMV does) is Mandarin immersion classes all the way through HS, including the IB Baccalaureate Exam.

OP, we bailed on YY early for College Gardens, now at Herbert Hoover MS in Potomac (partial Mandarin immersion where every student didn't come through College Gardens or Potomac; some were taught at home and in heritage language schools), hoping that DC will test into the Richard Montgomery HS International Baccalaureate Diploma program in Rockville. The program admits around 10% of 8th grade applicants county-wide, but strong Herbert Hoover Chinese students seem to get it. We weren't happy at YY without other immigrant bilingual children, but there were good things about it and most parents seemed to love it.

We live close to the DC-MD line and have close friends with kids at DCI, so we know that IB Diploma studies in their HS will be voluntary. In the strongest suburban IB programs, Richard Montgomery and Washington-Lee HS in Arlington, students are either "in" IB (pursuing the full diploma) or "out" (in AP classes etc.) making for some of the highest IB Diploma pass rates in the world. On a pass rate scale of 24-45 points, the strongest IB Diploma program in the DC public system is currently Banneker HS, with an average points total in the high 20s, the equivalent of around a C-. By contrast, Richard Montgomery's average pass rate is close to 40 points, the equivalent of an A-. Looks to me like DCI's average pass rate will also be in the high 20s for years, possibly the low 30s, because a school system can't do immersion languages very well without recruiting native speakers, and can't do International Baccalaureate studies very well without requiring students to pursue the full diploma (vs. allowing them dabble in it by taking one or more subject exams).

If you're serious about IB Diploma studies in a public system in the Metro area, you need to look to MoCo, Arlington of Fairfax, or possibly a Deal feeder. Chinese studies are coming along at Deal because the teacher is excellent, and the rest of their program, and facilities, are stronger than DCI's. Mandarin has been offered at Wilson for a couple years by another stellar teacher. But, unfortunately, high AP Mandarin scores no longer impress elite colleges as a general rule because it's a fairly easy test. More than 80% of test takers score 5s, by far the highest of any AP exam. Top scores (6s and 7s on a scale of 1-7) on IB "Higher Level" Mandarin separate the sheep from the goats. Good luck.

You seem to have gotten into both YY and College Gardens CI programs. I was thinking it's extremely competitive and I would aim for one, pretty much anticipating I wouldn't get in either. How did you manage to get into both? Also, if you are near the DC boundary, how is transportation for you?

I'm not overly worried about competitiveness to a great extent. I think most of the MoCo high schools in the area will meet my requirements, as well as the DC high schools mentioned. We are also looking at inner NoVa districts as well though.

[Anonymous]

OP again here. Also I posted in the PG forum about the PAint Branch Elementary CI program, even though PG County reputation seems to be low. However, there are no responses. Does anyone know anything about this? I was thinking of still touring and if its decent that obtaining a spot would be easier.

[Anonymous]

Paint Branch does offer STEM Partial Immersion in Chinese. That means they only teach math and science in Chinese. Although they infuse language and culture into the teaching. Each class has two co-teachers (native-English and native-Chinese). It is a neighborhood school, meaning only those who live inbound can attend the program. They have a wonderful coordinator who helped write a grant from MSDE to start the program. It is only two years old, but it is a fantastic program. I suggest you call the school and maybe ask for a tour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing YY offers (which no other public school in the DMV does) is Mandarin immersion classes all the way through HS, including the IB Baccalaureate Exam.

OP, we bailed on YY early for College Gardens, now at Herbert Hoover MS in Potomac (partial Mandarin immersion where every student didn't come through College Gardens or Potomac; some were taught at home and in heritage language schools), hoping that DC will test into the Richard Montgomery HS International Baccalaureate Diploma program in Rockville. The program admits around 10% of 8th grade applicants county-wide, but strong Herbert Hoover Chinese students seem to get it. We weren't happy at YY without other immigrant bilingual children, but there were good things about it and most parents seemed to love it.

We live close to the DC-MD line and have close friends with kids at DCI, so we know that IB Diploma studies in their HS will be voluntary. In the strongest suburban IB programs, Richard Montgomery and Washington-Lee HS in Arlington, students are either "in" IB (pursuing the full diploma) or "out" (in AP classes etc.) making for some of the highest IB Diploma pass rates in the world. On a pass rate scale of 24-45 points, the strongest IB Diploma program in the DC public system is currently Banneker HS, with an average points total in the high 20s, the equivalent of around a C-. By contrast, Richard Montgomery's average pass rate is close to 40 points, the equivalent of an A-. Looks to me like DCI's average pass rate will also be in the high 20s for years, possibly the low 30s, because a school system can't do immersion languages very well without recruiting native speakers, and can't do International Baccalaureate studies very well without requiring students to pursue the full diploma (vs. allowing them dabble in it by taking one or more subject exams).

If you're serious about IB Diploma studies in a public system in the Metro area, you need to look to MoCo, Arlington of Fairfax, or possibly a Deal feeder. Chinese studies are coming along at Deal because the teacher is excellent, and the rest of their program, and facilities, are stronger than DCI's. Mandarin has been offered at Wilson for a couple years by another stellar teacher. But, unfortunately, high AP Mandarin scores no longer impress elite colleges as a general rule because it's a fairly easy test. More than 80% of test takers score 5s, by far the highest of any AP exam. Top scores (6s and 7s on a scale of 1-7) on IB "Higher Level" Mandarin separate the sheep from the goats. Good luck.

You seem to have gotten into both YY and College Gardens CI programs. I was thinking it's extremely competitive and I would aim for one, pretty much anticipating I wouldn't get in either. How did you manage to get into both? Also, if you are near the DC boundary, how is transportation for you?

I'm not overly worried about competitiveness to a great extent. I think most of the MoCo high schools in the area will meet my requirements, as well as the DC high schools mentioned. We are also looking at inner NoVa districts as well though.

NP. YY is competitive but it's all luck. No preferences for Chinese speakers, etc (there is a preference for children of the school's staff adn younger siblings of enrolled students.)

You enter a lottery and if your number is good enough you get in. The waiting list is usually 400+ people long and maybe 50-60 get in at PK3 and fewer after that.

The PP got lucky in the YY lottery. No idea how they got in the Mont Co program.