Why is Sela not more popular?

[Anonymous]

This was my safety school that we got into. Location was actually perfect for us but ultimately once I received an opening at my inbound (Whittier) I let go of our slot at Sela. The language was a big no for us and the building wasn’t desirable after we took a tour. I would be more inclined for Arabic immersion but honestly Hebrew seems like a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

This school is the school CMI wanted to be, but could never really deliver: strong academics, diverse, small classroom size, and inclusive. Folks have been hating on them since the beginning, but they continue to have solid scores, solid finances, and happy kids. Their building and location are fine. Not great, but fine. I am happy as a taxpayer that this little school that could has survived.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This school is the school CMI wanted to be, but could never really deliver: strong academics, diverse, small classroom size, and inclusive. Folks have been hating on them since the beginning, but they continue to have solid scores, solid finances, and happy kids. Their building and location are fine. Not great, but fine. I am happy as a taxpayer that this little school that could has survived.

How small are the class sizes?? And in what way are they particularly inclusive?? With IEPs?
Asking to truely learn. We got into a 'good' and diverse DPCS that was higher on our list than Sela. So, Sela was dropped off our list. We liked the location, after care access, what we saelw on paper and heard from a few folks in the area. It was lower on our list due to lack of middle school but if we were planning on moving it might have gone (or maybe will go) higher up on our list. . We never got a chance to tour Sela so I am curious. Maybe it would be better for our child with a IEP that doesn't love larger groups.

[Anonymous]

I actually could imagine a "Sela to Arabic" transition. I bet many Israelis could teach Arabic to little kids just fine, given the extent to which they learn it. You get a few staff in place, get some curricular prep down to make it a strong elective, then use it more and more. Get an OK from PCSB and then make Arabic the primary, Hebrew the secondary language other than English and there you are. A global language school in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually could imagine a "Sela to Arabic" transition. I bet many Israelis could teach Arabic to little kids just fine, given the extent to which they learn it. You get a few staff in place, get some curricular prep down to make it a strong elective, then use it more and more. Get an OK from PCSB and then make Arabic the primary, Hebrew the secondary language other than English and there you are. A global language school in DC.

Its 2 main outside funders, who combined gave $165K in 2016-17 would probably have an issue with that. https://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/990_SELAPCS.pdf

[Anonymous]

Or maybe the various people who have tried and failed and tried and failed again could form their own Arabic school using Sela/YY as a model?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually could imagine a "Sela to Arabic" transition. I bet many Israelis could teach Arabic to little kids just fine, given the extent to which they learn it. You get a few staff in place, get some curricular prep down to make it a strong elective, then use it more and more. Get an OK from PCSB and then make Arabic the primary, Hebrew the secondary language other than English and there you are. A global language school in DC.

Lol good one!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should teach Arabic at the same school. Now that would be interesting.

That would be useful. As a Jew, I wonder if these kids will be served being bi-lingual in a language that isn't highly critical. Also as attitudes towards Israel change how marketable knowing Hebrew would be.

How fluent would they even be in Hebrew if they stop learning it in 5th grade? No MS or HS public school where they could continue the language. .

This school as taxpayer school should never have been approved, nor any other school in non-commonly used languages. Hebrew could have been offered as a language at a charter or DCPS school, plenty of other ways to spend taxpayer money. DC Charter school board needs to be held to higher accountability and offer schools that more people want. Also, sick of schools closing and opening, complete waste of money.

200 kids at the school, generally high performing. Why is it a waste of money? Also, the primary issues of schools opening and closing aren't wasting money. They received per pupil money for the students that they enrolled and served them for the time they were there. They didn't get per pupil money that wasn't used or went to waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This school is the school CMI wanted to be, but could never really deliver: strong academics, diverse, small classroom size, and inclusive. Folks have been hating on them since the beginning, but they continue to have solid scores, solid finances, and happy kids. Their building and location are fine. Not great, but fine. I am happy as a taxpayer that this little school that could has survived.

How small are the class sizes?? And in what way are they particularly inclusive?? With IEPs?
Asking to truely learn. We got into a 'good' and diverse DPCS that was higher on our list than Sela. So, Sela was dropped off our list. We liked the location, after care access, what we saelw on paper and heard from a few folks in the area. It was lower on our list due to lack of middle school but if we were planning on moving it might have gone (or maybe will go) higher up on our list. . We never got a chance to tour Sela so I am curious. Maybe it would be better for our child with a IEP that doesn't love larger groups.

For pk3 at least, there were three classes with 14-18 kids in them. I’m not sure about first through third grade, but the upper grades are very small as those were the first kids to enroll in the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually could imagine a "Sela to Arabic" transition. I bet many Israelis could teach Arabic to little kids just fine, given the extent to which they learn it. You get a few staff in place, get some curricular prep down to make it a strong elective, then use it more and more. Get an OK from PCSB and then make Arabic the primary, Hebrew the secondary language other than English and there you are. A global language school in DC.

This is what every post by the Easy Peasy person used to be like.

[Anonymous]

I'm pro-sela. Staff seems to really care, students seem well-behaved, environment seems positive. I think a Hebrew language immersion is a gateway to Arabic as the languages are very similar (like Italian and Spanish) so very useful as well.

The commute would be reverse for us since were in CH with a metro there to hop right to work. That said, we don't go there because of the commute and would rather a closer school even with less amenities with two working parents who are stretched for time as it is. We also don't buy into the obsession for being bilingual.

It seems that it's all about the branding tho. Some schools have better branding even if the language isn't truly that useful on a daily basis and other schools don't. Some schools seem to have huge demand even though they aren't good schools. Sela is one of the better schools but just no demand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm pro-sela. Staff seems to really care, students seem well-behaved, environment seems positive. I think a Hebrew language immersion is a gateway to Arabic as the languages are very similar (like Italian and Spanish) so very useful as well.

The commute would be reverse for us since were in CH with a metro there to hop right to work. That said, we don't go there because of the commute and would rather a closer school even with less amenities with two working parents who are stretched for time as it is. We also don't buy into the obsession for being bilingual.

It seems that it's all about the branding tho. Some schools have better branding even if the language isn't truly that useful on a daily basis and other schools don't. Some schools seem to have huge demand even though they aren't good schools. Sela is one of the better schools but just no demand.

Enough demand to fill the school, though. Perhaps less demand among UMC white parents - not sure that’s a real metric for success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should teach Arabic at the same school. Now that would be interesting.

One of the Jewish day schools in Md offers Arabic as an elective, but till HS, I think. My kid did Jewish Day School through 4th grade, spent a year in Israel, became fluent in Hebrew, took intro Arabic in college, said the Hebrew helped a lot in learning Arabic.

Another related semitic language that might appeal in this area would be Amharic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should teach Arabic at the same school. Now that would be interesting.

That would be useful. As a Jew, I wonder if these kids will be served being bi-lingual in a language that isn't highly critical. Also as attitudes towards Israel change how marketable knowing Hebrew would be.

How fluent would they even be in Hebrew if they stop learning it in 5th grade? No MS or HS public school where they could continue the language. .

My kid took through 4th grade (in private school). Went to Israel for a year, ended up close to fluent (not that I could judge - I am barely conversational). It gives someone a good base, and at least for some kids, it stays with them at least subconsciously.

[Anonymous]

I was very into the Hebrew component, but the commute was going to be tough. It's not terribly far, but it's the wrong direction. The families I know from synagogue who live in DC generally either live in upper NW and send their kids to the local public schools (which they presumably like for academic/social reasons and also the commute), send their kids to Hebrew day school, or send their kids to private secular schools. The families which don't have the money to do that (and we're in that group, certainly) mostly move out of the city. The families that leaves tend to be observant and less into the Hebrew thing. (In part because of the commute/distance issue - if you're very observant, you live walking distance to a synagogue, and if you live walking distance to a synagogue, you're not near Sela.)