Kent Gardens Elementary School in Mclean

[Anonymous]

Oh. OK.

Thanks,

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard there was a meeting last night about the principal's retirement. If anyone went, please provide feedback.

Thanks,

The meeting wasn't about her retirement. She's history.

The meeting was about the plan forward for KG.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don' t know if I agree that it is open to kids from every school. I think the majority of kids that get in from other schools either are native speakers or have some previous french language experience.

Actually my friends daughter goes there and she only knew how to speak english, she was born here and she is a full american. after 3 years she wasspeaking fluent french and now she is teacheing the rest of her family. you can also get a lot of scholarship by speaking a foreign language.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if there is preference given for a French speaker. Also, are their two separate lotteries (one for inbounds and another for out of bounds)?

[Anonymous]

I heard that Hooker quit early in the summer, but the FCPS admin didn't move towards a replacement until later in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Can someone with experience in the lottery explain it to us. How do they make sure there is a 60% / 40% preference and is there a preference for french speakers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there a test for proficiency to get in? If my dS isn't admitted in the 1st, I'd like him to test for 2nd. He's in private lessons now and is "advanced" per the teacher.

Um.... could you share some resources for getting your DS to the advanced level? We're stuck with beginner classes everywhere, and have been unsuccessful at finding a good resources to move past colors and animals.

[Anonymous]

Hooker was a tyrant and a master manipulator for over thirty years at Kent Gardens. It is virtually unheard of for a Fairfax County principal to remain at the same school for so long but she was protected and given anything and everything she wanted by anonymous influence centers in the school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there a test for proficiency to get in? If my dS isn't admitted in the 1st, I'd like him to test for 2nd. He's in private lessons now and is "advanced" per the teacher.

Um.... could you share some resources for getting your DS to the advanced level? We're stuck with beginner classes everywhere, and have been unsuccessful at finding a good resources to move past colors and animals.

Private lessons during school year and immersion camps during break. DS is shy, but can hold a conversation in French, which completely amazes french speaking friends. Try craigslist for an inexpensive tutor. You could also try Alliance Francais, but they seemed expensive to me at $50/hr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hooker was a tyrant and a master manipulator for over thirty years at Kent Gardens. It is virtually unheard of for a Fairfax County principal to remain at the same school for so long but she was protected and given anything and everything she wanted by anonymous influence centers in the school system.

True!

60/40=KGES like every public school DOES have to guarantee admittance to those within the neighborhood. There is a lottery for the FRENCH immersion slots only and those are given to 60% within the neighborhood and 40% within the non-neighborhood students. The French Immersion program is almost like another school within the school. Your chances do not go up by speaking French etc. However you cannot be admitted to a higher grade level unless you pass an oral and written French test. Grades 1&2 can be open enrollment but beyond that you must pass the language competency test. I can assure you this information is accurate.

Dr. Hooker's retirement was not given at the beginning of the summer in fact quite the opposite. She ran summmer school and was working on the upcoming school year. In fact for the beginning weeks of school she was still very much running everything from afar. -yes

Also $50 for QUALITY tutoring is a BARGAIN in this area especially for a foreign language. Yes you might find a high school/college student willing to do it for less but they will not have the knowledge of how to properly convey information and material to students at a developmentally appropriate rate and that in of itself will just be time and money wasted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hooker was a tyrant and a master manipulator for over thirty years at Kent Gardens. It is virtually unheard of for a Fairfax County principal to remain at the same school for so long but she was protected and given anything and everything she wanted by anonymous influence centers in the school system.

True!

60/40=KGES like every public school DOES have to guarantee admittance to those within the neighborhood. There is a lottery for the FRENCH immersion slots only and those are given to 60% within the neighborhood and 40% within the non-neighborhood students. The French Immersion program is almost like another school within the school. Your chances do not go up by speaking French etc. However you cannot be admitted to a higher grade level unless you pass an oral and written French test. Grades 1&2 can be open enrollment but beyond that you must pass the language competency test. I can assure you this information is accurate.

Dr. Hooker's retirement was not given at the beginning of the summer in fact quite the opposite. She ran summmer school and was working on the upcoming school year. In fact for the beginning weeks of school she was still very much running everything from afar. -yes

Also $50 for QUALITY tutoring is a BARGAIN in this area especially for a foreign language. Yes you might find a high school/college student willing to do it for less but they will not have the knowledge of how to properly convey information and material to students at a developmentally appropriate rate and that in of itself will just be time and money wasted.

if you supposedly know so much about Hooker, then why did she quit with one day's notice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hooker was a tyrant and a master manipulator for over thirty years at Kent Gardens. It is virtually unheard of for a Fairfax County principal to remain at the same school for so long but she was protected and given anything and everything she wanted by anonymous influence centers in the school system.

True!

60/40=KGES like every public school DOES have to guarantee admittance to those within the neighborhood. There is a lottery for the FRENCH immersion slots only and those are given to 60% within the neighborhood and 40% within the non-neighborhood students. The French Immersion program is almost like another school within the school. Your chances do not go up by speaking French etc. However you cannot be admitted to a higher grade level unless you pass an oral and written French test. Grades 1&2 can be open enrollment but beyond that you must pass the language competency test. I can assure you this information is accurate.

Dr. Hooker's retirement was not given at the beginning of the summer in fact quite the opposite. She ran summmer school and was working on the upcoming school year. In fact for the beginning weeks of school she was still very much running everything from afar. -yes

Also $50 for QUALITY tutoring is a BARGAIN in this area especially for a foreign language. Yes you might find a high school/college student willing to do it for less but they will not have the knowledge of how to properly convey information and material to students at a developmentally appropriate rate and that in of itself will just be time and money wasted.

Unless the SOL's are given in French, then French Immersion is useless. Get rid of it.

[Anonymous]

^^ The children are supposed to know Wnglish like the back of their hand to begin with. The French has nothing to do with that and do not affect SOL performance. Keep the French!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hooker was a tyrant and a master manipulator for over thirty years at Kent Gardens. It is virtually unheard of for a Fairfax County principal to remain at the same school for so long but she was protected and given anything and everything she wanted by anonymous influence centers in the school system.

True!

60/40=KGES like every public school DOES have to guarantee admittance to those within the neighborhood. There is a lottery for the FRENCH immersion slots only and those are given to 60% within the neighborhood and 40% within the non-neighborhood students. The French Immersion program is almost like another school within the school. Your chances do not go up by speaking French etc. However you cannot be admitted to a higher grade level unless you pass an oral and written French test. Grades 1&2 can be open enrollment but beyond that you must pass the language competency test. I can assure you this information is accurate.

Dr. Hooker's retirement was not given at the beginning of the summer in fact quite the opposite. She ran summmer school and was working on the upcoming school year. In fact for the beginning weeks of school she was still very much running everything from afar. -yes

Also $50 for QUALITY tutoring is a BARGAIN in this area especially for a foreign language. Yes you might find a high school/college student willing to do it for less but they will not have the knowledge of how to properly convey information and material to students at a developmentally appropriate rate and that in of itself will just be time and money wasted.

Unless the SOL's are given in French, then French Immersion is useless. Get rid of it.

It's interesting to contrast attitudes on this board about immersion to the dcps board where every other person is chomping at the bit to get their kid into an immersion program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hooker was a tyrant and a master manipulator for over thirty years at Kent Gardens. It is virtually unheard of for a Fairfax County principal to remain at the same school for so long but she was protected and given anything and everything she wanted by anonymous influence centers in the school system.

True!

60/40=KGES like every public school DOES have to guarantee admittance to those within the neighborhood. There is a lottery for the FRENCH immersion slots only and those are given to 60% within the neighborhood and 40% within the non-neighborhood students. The French Immersion program is almost like another school within the school. Your chances do not go up by speaking French etc. However you cannot be admitted to a higher grade level unless you pass an oral and written French test. Grades 1&2 can be open enrollment but beyond that you must pass the language competency test. I can assure you this information is accurate.

Dr. Hooker's retirement was not given at the beginning of the summer in fact quite the opposite. She ran summmer school and was working on the upcoming school year. In fact for the beginning weeks of school she was still very much running everything from afar. -yes

Also $50 for QUALITY tutoring is a BARGAIN in this area especially for a foreign language. Yes you might find a high school/college student willing to do it for less but they will not have the knowledge of how to properly convey information and material to students at a developmentally appropriate rate and that in of itself will just be time and money wasted.

Unless the SOL's are given in French, then French Immersion is useless. Get rid of it.

It's interesting to contrast attitudes on this board about immersion to the dcps board where every other person is chomping at the bit to get their kid into an immersion program.

French is useless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It's interesting to contrast attitudes on this board about immersion to the dcps board where every other person is chomping at the bit to get their kid into an immersion program.

Two reasons.

First, parents in DCPS look for any school that betrays the slightest amount of academic rigor, so immersion programs are popular given some of the alternatives.

Second, there's one troll who constantly touts his NoVa pyramid here, which doesn't include any immersion schools.