CMI vs YY for PK3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:YY parents come here reporting that "everybody wants more native speakers" in the school. But what do they mean by this? Native Mandarin speakers? Not a quarter of Chinese immigrants to the US could be considered native Mandarin speakers, and they speak sub-dialects that don't bear a close resemblance to YY Chinese among themselves.

Do they mean native speakers of any dialect - as in 3 and 4 year-olds who speak Cantonese? MoCo offers thoughtful dialect transition support and Cantonese-speaking admins, YY not. So what's in it for bilingual families who don't speak Mandarin, other than support for writing and reading, and maybe an escape hatch to avoid a failing IB school (very few bilingual Chinese would move into an area with such a school; they're either too insular, e.g. the Chinatown crowd, or too education minded).

What I hear from parents whose kids speak good Chinese is "YY doesn't know what to do with kids who come already speaking Chinese, no matter what kind of Chinese it is." For that to change, YY will need admins who speak Cantonese and Mandarin. Admins like that could iron out logical policies and teaching methods to define, attract, and retain these native speakers everybody supposedly wants. Short of that, I don't see them trying to lottery in, no matter how much they're "wanted."

The waiting list is long.

The retention rate is high.

The PARCC scores are competitive.

Enrolling native speakers (whatever the definition) doesn't matter to YY or DC pub charter.

[Anonymous]

I think it's fairer to say that it does matter to YY, but it's not a priority. Yep, it doesn't matter to DC Public Charter.

[Anonymous]

After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

After all, CMI teaches Chinese AND Spanish!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

After all, CMI teaches Chinese AND Spanish!!!

Hehe. This. Let's talk about this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

Doubt it, she sounds like the sort of parent who wants YY for the warm and diverse community, safe environment etc. A little cultural "exposure" and Mandarin is peachy, too. Why worry that the benefits of immersion study for kids don't kick in unless it's dual immersion and lasts at least 10 years? The research is out there.

Maybe a 1/4 of the YY families are willing and able to put out, and pay up, for decent conversational Mandarin. These are the families that will have Chinese-speaking 20-somethings.

It is what it is and won't change unless the school hires a native speaking principal (like any serious Chinese immersion program anywhere!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

Doubt it, she sounds like the sort of parent who wants YY for the warm and diverse community, safe environment etc. A little cultural "exposure" and Mandarin is peachy, too. Why worry that the benefits of immersion study for kids don't kick in unless it's dual immersion and lasts at least 10 years? The research is out there.

Maybe a 1/4 of the YY families are willing and able to put out, and pay up, for decent conversational Mandarin. These are the families that will have Chinese-speaking 20-somethings.

It is what it is and won't change unless the school hires a native speaking principal (like any serious Chinese immersion program anywhere!).

I've heard a lot of things about YY from families there, and "warm community" is not one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

Doubt it, she sounds like the sort of parent who wants YY for the warm and diverse community, safe environment etc. A little cultural "exposure" and Mandarin is peachy, too. Why worry that the benefits of immersion study for kids don't kick in unless it's dual immersion and lasts at least 10 years? The research is out there.

Maybe a 1/4 of the YY families are willing and able to put out, and pay up, for decent conversational Mandarin. These are the families that will have Chinese-speaking 20-somethings.

It is what it is and won't change unless the school hires a native speaking principal (like any serious Chinese immersion program anywhere!).

I've heard a lot of things about YY from families there, and "warm community" is not one of them.

I am an actual YY parent, and I find the other parents to be very friendly and the kids are great. With 500+ kids, I'm sure there are lots of different experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

Doubt it, she sounds like the sort of parent who wants YY for the warm and diverse community, safe environment etc. A little cultural "exposure" and Mandarin is peachy, too. Why worry that the benefits of immersion study for kids don't kick in unless it's dual immersion and lasts at least 10 years? The research is out there.

Maybe a 1/4 of the YY families are willing and able to put out, and pay up, for decent conversational Mandarin. These are the families that will have Chinese-speaking 20-somethings.

It is what it is and won't change unless the school hires a native speaking principal (like any serious Chinese immersion program anywhere!).

I've heard a lot of things about YY from families there, and "warm community" is not one of them.

I am an actual YY parent, and I find the other parents to be very friendly and the kids are great. With 500+ kids, I'm sure there are lots of different experiences.

Another YY parent with a kid going into 4th grade and we love it here. The community is great with a sense of community and very diverse. No one is forced to stay, you know. The retention rate speaks for itself and the lottery waitlist a mile long.

Personally, we could care less about getting a "native speaking principal" - We like Maquita, our principal, just fine.

So face it. Yu Ying isn't going to cater to the peanut gallery even if they are native speakers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

Doubt it, she sounds like the sort of parent who wants YY for the warm and diverse community, safe environment etc. A little cultural "exposure" and Mandarin is peachy, too. Why worry that the benefits of immersion study for kids don't kick in unless it's dual immersion and lasts at least 10 years? The research is out there.

Maybe a 1/4 of the YY families are willing and able to put out, and pay up, for decent conversational Mandarin. These are the families that will have Chinese-speaking 20-somethings.

It is what it is and won't change unless the school hires a native speaking principal (like any serious Chinese immersion program anywhere!).

I've heard a lot of things about YY from families there, and "warm community" is not one of them.

I am an actual YY parent, and I find the other parents to be very friendly and the kids are great. With 500+ kids, I'm sure there are lots of different experiences.

Another YY parent with a kid going into 4th grade and we love it here. The community is great with a sense of community and very diverse. No one is forced to stay, you know. The retention rate speaks for itself and the lottery waitlist a mile long.

Personally, we could care less about getting a "native speaking principal" - We like Maquita, our principal, just fine.

So face it. Yu Ying isn't going to cater to the peanut gallery even if they are native speakers.

Sample of the friendly parents?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Our interest in YY is in overall benefits of learning a second language - and thus less concerned about speaking perfect Mandarin. Alas we're still on WL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

Doubt it, she sounds like the sort of parent who wants YY for the warm and diverse community, safe environment etc. A little cultural "exposure" and Mandarin is peachy, too. Why worry that the benefits of immersion study for kids don't kick in unless it's dual immersion and lasts at least 10 years? The research is out there.

Maybe a 1/4 of the YY families are willing and able to put out, and pay up, for decent conversational Mandarin. These are the families that will have Chinese-speaking 20-somethings.

It is what it is and won't change unless the school hires a native speaking principal (like any serious Chinese immersion program anywhere!).

I've heard a lot of things about YY from families there, and "warm community" is not one of them.

I am an actual YY parent, and I find the other parents to be very friendly and the kids are great. With 500+ kids, I'm sure there are lots of different experiences.

Another YY parent with a kid going into 4th grade and we love it here. The community is great with a sense of community and very diverse. No one is forced to stay, you know. The retention rate speaks for itself and the lottery waitlist a mile long.

Personally, we could care less about getting a "native speaking principal" - We like Maquita, our principal, just fine.

So face it. Yu Ying isn't going to cater to the peanut gallery even if they are native speakers.

I don't hear Spanish immersion parents boasting that their principals can't speak Spanish. Thank goodness that Oyster caters to native speakers. Parents love it there, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Our interest in YY is in overall benefits of learning a second language - and thus less concerned about speaking perfect Mandarin. Alas we're still on WL.

If it were less than perfect, OK. But most of the kids can hardly speak or understand after years in the school. They're trained to say a few formal sounding things, which come out in painfully flat tones. As has been pointed out, they're not really learning a second language unless the parents host Chinese au pairs (to the tune of 15-18K year in and year out). If you want the benefits of learning a second language, consider that both DCPC and DCPS do a good job with Spanish immersion.

Hope you get off the WL anyway if that's what you want.

[Anonymous]

23:23 We may try for Spanish again next year - LAMB, MV, or move in-bounds for Oyster. Hubby native Spanish speaker, so we can support at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After all this I think OP has probably fully embraced CMI.

Doubt it, she sounds like the sort of parent who wants YY for the warm and diverse community, safe environment etc. A little cultural "exposure" and Mandarin is peachy, too. Why worry that the benefits of immersion study for kids don't kick in unless it's dual immersion and lasts at least 10 years? The research is out there.

Maybe a 1/4 of the YY families are willing and able to put out, and pay up, for decent conversational Mandarin. These are the families that will have Chinese-speaking 20-somethings.

It is what it is and won't change unless the school hires a native speaking principal (like any serious Chinese immersion program anywhere!).

I've heard a lot of things about YY from families there, and "warm community" is not one of them.

I am an actual YY parent, and I find the other parents to be very friendly and the kids are great. With 500+ kids, I'm sure there are lots of different experiences.

Another YY parent with a kid going into 4th grade and we love it here. The community is great with a sense of community and very diverse. No one is forced to stay, you know. The retention rate speaks for itself and the lottery waitlist a mile long.

Personally, we could care less about getting a "native speaking principal" - We like Maquita, our principal, just fine.

So face it. Yu Ying isn't going to cater to the peanut gallery even if they are native speakers.

So you like the principal. The Chinese teachers, not so much. They make snide remarks about her in their dialects within earshot of school community members. They use choice nicknames for her and the other admins. They point out that the diversity doesn't help the kids speak Chinese, and poke fun at wimpy US ES education, then smile and say the opposite to parents in English. The Cantonese speakers seek out Cantonese-speaking parents (all three of them) to ask many awkward questions, mostly about US education.

This is the different experience you have at YY when the dialect subtext is clear. My main take-away from YY was an appreciation for straight up communication and community openness at both our JKLM and heritage school. Good luck to the YY families.