Mundo Verde since unionization/recently

[Anonymous]

Pp. If you go to BM

[Anonymous]

And the academics at MV, to me, are truly concerning. An education professional I know who consults to our school and MV said quote "Mundo Verde is a mess"

[Anonymous]

I am also inbound for BM and close to get an offer from Mundo Calle 8. We will take the spot at Calle 8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am also inbound for BM and close to get an offer from Mundo Calle 8. We will take the spot at Calle 8.

Why, please?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Anyone have recent feedback on Mundo Verde for older grades? I know MV is more popular, but I’m not convinced it’s actually a better school and am hesitant to choose a charter in a different neighborhood just because of popularity. We also are not going to switch elementary schools multiple times. We’ll do one more move to secure a high school pathway, but I wouldn’t want to try MV then move back to BM in a few years. Thanks all.

I chose MV over BM a couple pf years ago. We are a Spanish speaking family. We went to the open houses and it was clear that MV and BM are completely different. There are many families from BM at MV. The ones that are at BM are still playing the lottery. DCI preference is better than no preference. In addition, you know that people leave BM in upper grades. However, if you are not convinced then just leave the spot to someone that would love to be there. You cannot expect anonymous people to convince you one way or another.

What grades are your kid(s) now? And fundamentally, I just don't agree that a DCI preference is better than no preference. I wouldn't want to feel like we should be sticking it out at a school we're not happy with because of a preference, and then not get lucky that lottery year anyways. Now if I thought the experience would actually be better at one school versus the other, that would be different. How has your experience been at MV? Positives and negatives about the school?

PP here. We are at Calle 8, so no experience with upper grades. We know that our kid will be fine anywhere, so academics is not a concerned for now. In addition , if at some point we think he is not getting a good education we have no issue changing schools or going private. However, the school experience is different. When I went to BM for open house each classroom has a huge TV, and that morning PK students were singing while watching a video, the food offered was not good, same with afterschool, etc. I am sure that the teachers are good at BM and your kid will be fine there. But there were other things that we looked in order to make the decision. Also the commute is not a big deal for us. Calle 8 did great this past year, the communication is great so far, the principal is awesome, the parents are very involved, and no, it is not a mess as PP “heard” from someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Anyone have recent feedback on Mundo Verde for older grades? I know MV is more popular, but I’m not convinced it’s actually a better school and am hesitant to choose a charter in a different neighborhood just because of popularity. We also are not going to switch elementary schools multiple times. We’ll do one more move to secure a high school pathway, but I wouldn’t want to try MV then move back to BM in a few years. Thanks all.

I chose MV over BM a couple pf years ago. We are a Spanish speaking family. We went to the open houses and it was clear that MV and BM are completely different. There are many families from BM at MV. The ones that are at BM are still playing the lottery. DCI preference is better than no preference. In addition, you know that people leave BM in upper grades. However, if you are not convinced then just leave the spot to someone that would love to be there. You cannot expect anonymous people to convince you one way or another.

What grades are your kid(s) now? And fundamentally, I just don't agree that a DCI preference is better than no preference. I wouldn't want to feel like we should be sticking it out at a school we're not happy with because of a preference, and then not get lucky that lottery year anyways. Now if I thought the experience would actually be better at one school versus the other, that would be different. How has your experience been at MV? Positives and negatives about the school?

PP here. We are at Calle 8, so no experience with upper grades. We know that our kid will be fine anywhere, so academics is not a concerned for now. In addition , if at some point we think he is not getting a good education we have no issue changing schools or going private. However, the school experience is different. When I went to BM for open house each classroom has a huge TV, and that morning PK students were singing while watching a video, the food offered was not good, same with afterschool, etc. I am sure that the teachers are good at BM and your kid will be fine there. But there were other things that we looked in order to make the decision. Also the commute is not a big deal for us. Calle 8 did great this past year, the communication is great so far, the principal is awesome, the parents are very involved, and no, it is not a mess as PP “heard” from someone.

Thanks, PP. I think we have different priorities in schools, but I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I absolutely agree most kids will be fine at either school, the rest is a question of priorities and preferences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am also inbound for BM and close to get an offer from Mundo Calle 8. We will take the spot at Calle 8.

Why, please?

Many reasons but mainly expeditionary learning and DCI preference.

[Anonymous]

We left the upper elementary right before the pandemic (so I can't speak to anything since then). Classroom management was one big concern. The teacher basically admitted she was totally overwhelmed with the behavioral issues and divergent levels. we got really frustrated with the teacher turn over. Our kid (smart but a bit of trouble when bored) was absolutely unchallenged. I just didn't want to stick around and let me kid think they are bad because the school wasn't able to challenge them, and I didn't want to wait and see if it was true what I'd heard, that the MV kids at DCI were behind their piers from other schools. We had a good experience in lower elementary though, and maybe for a different kid the fit would have been better. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We left the upper elementary right before the pandemic (so I can't speak to anything since then). Classroom management was one big concern. The teacher basically admitted she was totally overwhelmed with the behavioral issues and divergent levels. we got really frustrated with the teacher turn over. Our kid (smart but a bit of trouble when bored) was absolutely unchallenged. I just didn't want to stick around and let me kid think they are bad because the school wasn't able to challenge them, and I didn't want to wait and see if it was true what I'd heard, that the MV kids at DCI were behind their piers from other schools. We had a good experience in lower elementary though, and maybe for a different kid the fit would have been better. Good luck.

Thank you for sharing, PP. Where did you go? Did the school seem unwilling to meet your child's needs regarding being challenged, or was what they offered just insufficient? Was there a cohort of kids that were similarly unchallenged in the class?

My child seems similar, so a lot of our debate regarding schools is anticipating these exact issues. I don't think DCPS is universally better, but I do think our DCPS (BM) has more experienced teachers, more established curriculum, and better ability/willingness to differentiate. Whether that translates into a better experience for DC is what I'm less clear on.

[Anonymous]

I suggest you go to BM OP and leave the MV spot to a family who is really interested in the school and committed to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suggest you go to BM OP and leave the MV spot to a family who is really interested in the school and committed to it.

Unfortunately that’s not how it works and charters are full of half committed families that are there for lack of better options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest you go to BM OP and leave the MV spot to a family who is really interested in the school and committed to it.

Unfortunately that’s not how it works and charters are full of half committed families that are there for lack of better options.

Seriously. They may start committed, but reality has a way of creeping in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest you go to BM OP and leave the MV spot to a family who is really interested in the school and committed to it.

Unfortunately that’s not how it works and charters are full of half committed families that are there for lack of better options.

Seriously. They may start committed, but reality has a way of creeping in.

It’s easy to be committed when it’s all sunshine and roses in ECE. Then you realize your supposedly great school has serious weaknesses but you’re trapped unless you want to give up a middle school feed or move. So people deal with a crazy amount because of sunk cost bias. At least OP seems to be going in with her eyes open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest you go to BM OP and leave the MV spot to a family who is really interested in the school and committed to it.

Unfortunately that’s not how it works and charters are full of half committed families that are there for lack of better options.

Seriously. They may start committed, but reality has a way of creeping in.

It’s easy to be committed when it’s all sunshine and roses in ECE. Then you realize your supposedly great school has serious weaknesses but you’re trapped unless you want to give up a middle school feed or move. So people deal with a crazy amount because of sunk cost bias. At least OP seems to be going in with her eyes open.

True, but in most cases it’s not like you had a ton of options to begin with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We left the upper elementary right before the pandemic (so I can't speak to anything since then). Classroom management was one big concern. The teacher basically admitted she was totally overwhelmed with the behavioral issues and divergent levels. we got really frustrated with the teacher turn over. Our kid (smart but a bit of trouble when bored) was absolutely unchallenged. I just didn't want to stick around and let me kid think they are bad because the school wasn't able to challenge them, and I didn't want to wait and see if it was true what I'd heard, that the MV kids at DCI were behind their piers from other schools. We had a good experience in lower elementary though, and maybe for a different kid the fit would have been better. Good luck.

Thank you for sharing, PP. Where did you go? Did the school seem unwilling to meet your child's needs regarding being challenged, or was what they offered just insufficient? Was there a cohort of kids that were similarly unchallenged in the class?

My child seems similar, so a lot of our debate regarding schools is anticipating these exact issues. I don't think DCPS is universally better, but I do think our DCPS (BM) has more experienced teachers, more established curriculum, and better ability/willingness to differentiate. Whether that translates into a better experience for DC is what I'm less clear on.

This is the part that is really personal. Will your child have a cohort of at least a few academic peers? How comfortable are you being a racial minority? We are at an EOTP DCPS school that many people left, but my children have really thrived academically and they are close to their friends. And by upper elementary you are left with a very cool cohort, bc it is people who have actively decided to stay and are comfortable.