OK, I will start this thread - Sela

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hebrew is going well. My DC is picking up words. I feel like a really crap parent, because I don't know the exact percentage. I recall from a presentation or a meeting that they were going to shoot for 90% immersion with the Pre-K'ers but I don't think it is that high, maybe 60% immersion I would guess.

My DC is picking it up slowly, but also gets frustrated from having to communicate in a language not his own. That is my child's issue as my child is pig stubborn about everything and is secretly convinced that everyone speaks English if you press them hard enough.

I'm not sure what happened with the playground idea, since I haven't heard anything in a while. They are having an initial meeting for the PTA on the 16th (They are calling it something else), so maybe we'll know more then. The playground was a big reservation for me as my child is very energetic and needs to burn off some energy. Its been ok so far, but I am watching to see if problems crop up. The aftercare is pretty good and they keep the kids super busy which helps in terms of burning off energy.

Don't worry about the language issue, that initial shock is normal in all immersion schools, and should get much better once DC realizes most classmates are in the same boat and gets more familiar with Hebrew.

The playground situation does sound more worrisome, but hopefully there'll be solutions discussed at the meeting.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Lody has announced he is leaving Sela at the end of this school year. The school is still without a principal and Dr. Lody hasn't been the most attentive to the students needs as he should have been. In my opinion it's best he does leave, he's been rapped up with his new marriage and now he's adopting a kid. He's been letting many things fall short at the school. I'm a little concerned about the leadership not being stable and a few teachers have left as well.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, I'm sorry to hear it. I hope that they will be able to find new, stable leadership moving forward. Is he sticking it out through the end of the academic year, or is he leaving sooner?

[Anonymous]

The annoucement stated that he is staying until the school year ends.

[Anonymous]

Oh wow. I initially enrolled my DS in this school until he was called off the waiting list for a Spanish immersion DCPS. Dr. Lody was very nice and welcoming. Losing him IMO, is worse than not having a principal, but having a principal is very important for the kids’ sake. His role was very important for the school and it will be a big lost. Will this school be able to last?

[Anonymous]

My hopes is that the board is working diligently to find a strong Principal and Executive Director. It was too much for Lody to take on both hats, they are totally 2 separate jobs and overlapping them didn't do anything but hurt the school. Hopefully this is a lesson learned and the school will fork up the money and hire the right individuals. If not then I'm sure parents will be pulling their kids out.

[Anonymous]

Sela has the stench of death around it---didn't make numbers, principal quit, now ED quitting. Poor (as in I feel sorry for) families.

[Anonymous]

Death....? That's a bit harsh wouldn't you say? This is the schools first year of course there was going to be some obstacles. But the school isn't in horrible shape, there is definitley a good foundation. It can be a great school with the right leadership. The kids are picking up the Hebrew language like crazy. Many of them are able to carry on a conversation with their Hebrew teachers and this is their first year. Academics is not the problem, the problem is the front office. Perhaps the principal that was there wasn't a good fit and obviously Lody isn't either. With the foundation already there I think a strong leadership can bring the school back to life....

[Anonymous]

I never want to hear that any school that had good intentions is not doing well. It seemed to me there was always a real, legitimate question of demand and utility of a Hebrew charter school, but I'm sorry to hear that once one was approved and opened, it is really really struggling. I could have predicted it, but still sad to see it occur.

[Anonymous]

Wow, we were considering Sela, felt like we would be taking a leap of faith but got good vibes from Dr. Lody. Wish I had know this prior to the lottery.

I see the merit in learning Hebrew, hope the school survives and thrives and becomes the next big think in DC Charter immersion schools.

Echo PP, hope they have somebody really strong, with a demonstrable track record to get them through this. A first year school faces all sorts of obstacles, hopefully this doesn't exacerbate the problem.


PP who got the notice -- did they mention a transition in leadership or just that Lody is leaving?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Death....? That's a bit harsh wouldn't you say? This is the schools first year of course there was going to be some obstacles. But the school isn't in horrible shape, there is definitley a good foundation. It can be a great school with the right leadership. The kids are picking up the Hebrew language like crazy. Many of them are able to carry on a conversation with their Hebrew teachers and this is their first year. Academics is not the problem, the problem is the front office. Perhaps the principal that was there wasn't a good fit and obviously Lody isn't either. With the foundation already there I think a strong leadership can bring the school back to life....

Yes, but of the seven families I know who ended up there, all seven are playing the lottery in hopes they get in somewhere else. You cannot discount the effects of a) free aftercare and b) language immersion at drawing in families who otherwise really weren't interested and would not have applied or accepted but for those 2 factors.

Sela's problem is not just the "front office". It's a bigger problem of demand, and although the PCSB chose to approve their charter, if proving demand was ever a requirement for opening a charter, it could never have opened. Yes, every new school has "obstacles" and sometimes they're big obstacles but still surmountable. Sela has built into their whole basic structure (as a Hebrew immersion school) a challenge of "Will enough people choose this as their school?" and no one will ever know if things would have been dramatically different re: enrollment numbers if none of the "front office problems" were there. Notice that only 1 person listed it here on DCUM in their common lottery choices? That was before any news breaking about the ED leaving.

[Anonymous]

Once the families figure out that there is absolutely no discussion about Sela joining the DCI consortium it will get worse. The school (through Lody) has promoted the DCI connection, but it simply doesn't exist. I asked at an information session. They have never met to discuss this with the DCI leaders and the DCI leaders say it is not something they are considering at this point in time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Once the families figure out that there is absolutely no discussion about Sela joining the DCI consortium it will get worse. The school (through Lody) has promoted the DCI connection, but it simply doesn't exist. I asked at an information session. They have never met to discuss this with the DCI leaders and the DCI leaders say it is not something they are considering at this point in time.

This drove me nuts last year. I heard 2 different Sela staff say this at the Expo last year and supporters here said it repeatedly here too. Then I asked DCI staff and they said "We're just trying to get open; no discussions on other languages have been entertained so far". I felt like it was said by Sela in a deceptively certain way, but they must have gotten that feedback because they stopped saying it after awhile (or said "We're hopeful" instead of "The plan is for us to then join DCI")

[Anonymous]

They still say it enough (or enough Sela parents say it as though they've heard it from leadership) that it feels as though they're trying to sell potential parents on a connection that isn't there.

[Anonymous]

So what if the school had to offer free after care and free immersion is great! Those 2 items alone will draw attention to any school! If it were Spanish, French or Mandarin then people would have been all over it, right? But because it's Hebrew people shy'd away, yes? I personally like the small classroom sizes. If I wanted my child in a school with 25 kids in the class I would have went DCPS so the numbers don't bother me. Because it's Hebrew immersion they will have to "prove" themselves to be a great school that is where leadership comes in. It may not be the hot ticket for lottery choices at the moment because it's the unknown factor in play for immersion. When sending your child to an immersion school it's to utilize other parts of the brain that would otherwise not be used in a traditional school, a child that learns a language at an early age can always learn another no matter what the language is, the immersion piece is what matters. The demaand will come but proving themselves has to happen first just as it happened for all other immersion schools in DC....