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If you truly value language immersion...what do you do about the DCPS approach to academics?
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Anonymous
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Our kids are in a sought after immersion program that isn't very academically challenging. I am not looking for special attention for my "bright" children as I do believe they are of average intelligence. The problem is the DCPS standards don't provide any challenge whatsoever and it seems that teaching to the bottom is the norm. I realize that differentiated learning is really in the teacher's hands, but what happens when the teacher makes no attempt to do so? After repeated attempts (every year) of speaking with the teacher, principal and anyone else who will listen, nothing changes. Would you enter a third year hoping for the best? I am considering giving up the immersion piece and going for an academically focused charter. Although we did gain spots in two other immersion programs with higher scores, the commute would be tough.
I, obviously, am having a hard time sorting this out. Language immersion has been really important to me, but I don't think it outweighs academics. Luckily, my kids are pretty easy going and my oldest (7) has not had any behavior problems as a result of the boredom, which she mentions a couple times a week. We could hire a ft nanny who speaks the target language, but that's not going to make them bilingual and biliterate. Your thoughts are appreciated. |
Anonymous
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I think it's a school issue. My child is in a DCPS immersion program. So far, my child's teachers have taught/teaches above the standards. Ever since we have been at this school, my child has always been taught using materials from a grade above. Yes, there are a few kids that were a little below the standard in the beginning of the year, but now, they are blossoming. My child is being challenged in both languages.
FYI - Charters are also public schools. They have the same standards. The difference comes in when you have a school that teaches to the standard vs one that teaches ABOVE those standard and enhance their curriculum. Many school claim to do this, but don't. Language is extremely important to my family. Because of this, I only looked at dual language schools. ( I pulled my child out of a good charter school for our immersion DCPS.) If I was in your position, I would research other schools and see what they offer and see if I can gain a spot. I wish you luck. |
Anonymous
| Thanks, pp. Do you mind sharing what school your DC attends? Grade? Just curious. I've visited the two other schools with immersion where we have spots for next year, but it was difficult to get a true sense of what happens day to day. Cleveland looked promising and I was/am considering that one. |
Anonymous
Do you mind sharing what school you are speaking about? |
Anonymous
| OP, what do your child's friends and other parents say? Some parents at our language school have warned me about a couple of teachers to avoid due to lack of engagement. Unforyunately these seem to be target language teachers. Supposedly they're hard to replace? I'm wondering how Impact will affect target language teachers since there are no standardized tests. Will good teachers flee to growing charters? Fwiw, language is necessity for us. |
Anonymous
"sought after immersion program...gained spots in 2 other immersion programs with higher scores"....let's see the school she is speaking of must be LAMB or STOKES and the other schools must be Cleveland and Marie Reed. |
Anonymous
or maybe she is at Bancroft now. |
Anonymous
| LAMB and stokes haven't had their lotteries yet, so....probably not. |
Anonymous
No, she's not IN a charter, she's looking at them. She's stuck in a low-performing (surprise surprise) DCPS. Remember, charters are immersion by choice. DCPS is generally "dual language because it doesn't have a choice". Big difference. |
Anonymous
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I'm pretty sure DCPS schools are language by choice, even if they have high # ELL learners. Example - JO Wilson French. There's no standard definition of what bilingual means. So there's no reason why a DCPS school wouldn't claim to offer one.
Yes, charters are immersion or bilingual by choice. But there are big differences in performance, demographics, etc. Regardless of which school OP attends, the issue applies to all language programs. Even at private schools like WIS people sometimes question the language vs academics tradeoff. The grass may not be much greener on the other side of a high (waitlist) fence. Good luck OP. |
Anonymous
Op typing - This is so true. Glad to hear I'm not the only one struggling with this tradeoff. On one hand I feel as though if we supplement at home enough, then the academic side will not suffer since they are so young. But there's the issue of managing to squeeze in the supplemental work while also offering ample play/free time and a good night's rest. Our children are eager learners, but I don't want to take advantage of that since I realize that unstructured play time is important. The grass may not be greener, true. But I have to hope. |
Anonymous
| Op typing again. I would rather not name our current school because I don't want to put anyone off or begin a debate about why the school is great or not so much. But when/if someone posts a question about the academic approach of a specific grade at this school, I would certainly chime in with my experience. |
Anonymous
I have a rising preS with applications at all of the spanish immerison dcps and dcpcs programs. I'm really interested in LAMB and Stokes. Although LAMB will provide a better commute. With your experience, what should be my concerns with a dual language program, what things should I look for in a program, what things should concern me? Thanks! |
Anonymous
I have a child a Stokes, and I don't see a trade off between academics and language immersion. Especially at the PS level. Maybe they are spending more time "re-learning" colors, shapes, animal names, ABCs in the target language that non-immersion schools are spending on reading and writing, but I find it hard to believe that is really an issue. The Stokes PK kids seem right on target for letter recognition, writing and other literacy tasks. My K student is doing cool science projects, music, art etc (in both target language and English) and working on all the literacy skills. |
Anonymous
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I too have a child at Stokes. PreK classes are writing letters and now have moved onto writing words i.e., "it" words, "at" words, etc. I feel that, at least for now, my child is right on target academically and has surprised me with the Spanish he is learning. I've been very pleased thus far with Stokes.
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