What’s going on at DCI?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe my head is in the sand but we are loving it at DCI. Second year there with a 7th grader from Spanish language feeder. Our DC is challenged and interested, making friends, likes school for the most part. DC is a high achiever, rule follower type. Advanced academically (math and English), we are happy with how things are going. A few hiccups with what seem to be mediocre teachers, or ones who struggle to connect. Anyway, we aren’t supplementing, aren’t playing lottery for other options. Even if Language immersion isn’t top notch, it is better than no immersion, and it is important to maintain the learning in the second language. We also do not have the resources to even consider private, so folks that have that option, I can understand looking into it. But we feel good about it, it is absolutely a good choice to have!

This is really nice to hear. We’re at a feeder and plan to stay. Private will never be an option—nor will moving west of the park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe my head is in the sand but we are loving it at DCI. Second year there with a 7th grader from Spanish language feeder. Our DC is challenged and interested, making friends, likes school for the most part. DC is a high achiever, rule follower type. Advanced academically (math and English), we are happy with how things are going. A few hiccups with what seem to be mediocre teachers, or ones who struggle to connect. Anyway, we aren’t supplementing, aren’t playing lottery for other options. Even if Language immersion isn’t top notch, it is better than no immersion, and it is important to maintain the learning in the second language. We also do not have the resources to even consider private, so folks that have that option, I can understand looking into it. But we feel good about it, it is absolutely a good choice to have!

You must be on the Spanish track, or on the Mandarin or French track but don't speak either language. Disagree that 2nd rate "immersion" is better than no immersion. That's not what the research says. Strong immersion is better than no immersion. Half-baked immersion can be worse, because you risk having the kid turn out so-so in two languages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe my head is in the sand but we are loving it at DCI. Second year there with a 7th grader from Spanish language feeder. Our DC is challenged and interested, making friends, likes school for the most part. DC is a high achiever, rule follower type. Advanced academically (math and English), we are happy with how things are going. A few hiccups with what seem to be mediocre teachers, or ones who struggle to connect. Anyway, we aren’t supplementing, aren’t playing lottery for other options. Even if Language immersion isn’t top notch, it is better than no immersion, and it is important to maintain the learning in the second language. We also do not have the resources to even consider private, so folks that have that option, I can understand looking into it. But we feel good about it, it is absolutely a good choice to have!

You must be on the Spanish track, or on the Mandarin or French track but don't speak either language. Disagree that 2nd rate "immersion" is better than no immersion. That's not what the research says. Strong immersion is better than no immersion. Half-baked immersion can be worse, because you risk having the kid turn out so-so in two languages.

DCI isn't an immersion school. They don't offer that. They do provide an opportunity for students to continue in the language they studied in elementary at an "advanced" level.

[Anonymous]

Almost 1/5 of DCI students are suspended? Who care if it’s in achool or not. That’s speaks to major behavioral issues and suspension is usually the last resort! How disruptive are the classes? You all have lost all perspective if that sounds like a stable environment conduscive to learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe my head is in the sand but we are loving it at DCI. Second year there with a 7th grader from Spanish language feeder. Our DC is challenged and interested, making friends, likes school for the most part. DC is a high achiever, rule follower type. Advanced academically (math and English), we are happy with how things are going. A few hiccups with what seem to be mediocre teachers, or ones who struggle to connect. Anyway, we aren’t supplementing, aren’t playing lottery for other options. Even if Language immersion isn’t top notch, it is better than no immersion, and it is important to maintain the learning in the second language. We also do not have the resources to even consider private, so folks that have that option, I can understand looking into it. But we feel good about it, it is absolutely a good choice to have!

You must be on the Spanish track, or on the Mandarin or French track but don't speak either language. Disagree that 2nd rate "immersion" is better than no immersion. That's not what the research says. Strong immersion is better than no immersion. Half-baked immersion can be worse, because you risk having the kid turn out so-so in two languages.

DCI isn't an immersion school. They don't offer that. They do provide an opportunity for students to continue in the language they studied in elementary at an "advanced" level.

Right, an advanced level. Only it's not difficult to find students who've studied Chinese or French for many years, in DCI feeders and at DCI, who can barely hold down a basic conversation in these languages. Parents who never studied these languages just think the kids are "proficient."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe my head is in the sand but we are loving it at DCI. Second year there with a 7th grader from Spanish language feeder. Our DC is challenged and interested, making friends, likes school for the most part. DC is a high achiever, rule follower type. Advanced academically (math and English), we are happy with how things are going. A few hiccups with what seem to be mediocre teachers, or ones who struggle to connect. Anyway, we aren’t supplementing, aren’t playing lottery for other options. Even if Language immersion isn’t top notch, it is better than no immersion, and it is important to maintain the learning in the second language. We also do not have the resources to even consider private, so folks that have that option, I can understand looking into it. But we feel good about it, it is absolutely a good choice to have!

You must be on the Spanish track, or on the Mandarin or French track but don't speak either language. Disagree that 2nd rate "immersion" is better than no immersion. That's not what the research says. Strong immersion is better than no immersion. Half-baked immersion can be worse, because you risk having the kid turn out so-so in two languages.

We're at a DCI feeder and this is exactly our concern. We invested years for DC to become fluent in Mandarin and were so excited about this prospect. We're realizing too late that not only is the school not doing a great job with Mandarin fluency, but the ELA and Math teaching is pretty abysmal. We feel like we sacrificed a lot (i.e. ELA) to get the fluent Mandarin, but then we didn't get the fluent Mandarin. DC gets good grades in Chinese, but we can tell the fluency isn't there, especially with Chinese writing.

Now we're struggling with the decision whether to send DC to DCI or cut bait. It would be hard to just end the Chinese education after so much sacrifice, but we don't want to waste DC's MS and HS education just because we made a poor choice for ES education. And we also don't know enough about DCI to gauge whether it's better than the feeder school or just more of the same.

Thanks to those previous posters who have been honest about the challenges. It's very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe my head is in the sand but we are loving it at DCI. Second year there with a 7th grader from Spanish language feeder. Our DC is challenged and interested, making friends, likes school for the most part. DC is a high achiever, rule follower type. Advanced academically (math and English), we are happy with how things are going. A few hiccups with what seem to be mediocre teachers, or ones who struggle to connect. Anyway, we aren’t supplementing, aren’t playing lottery for other options. Even if Language immersion isn’t top notch, it is better than no immersion, and it is important to maintain the learning in the second language. We also do not have the resources to even consider private, so folks that have that option, I can understand looking into it. But we feel good about it, it is absolutely a good choice to have!

You must be on the Spanish track, or on the Mandarin or French track but don't speak either language. Disagree that 2nd rate "immersion" is better than no immersion. That's not what the research says. Strong immersion is better than no immersion. Half-baked immersion can be worse, because you risk having the kid turn out so-so in two languages.

We're at a DCI feeder and this is exactly our concern. We invested years for DC to become fluent in Mandarin and were so excited about this prospect. We're realizing too late that not only is the school not doing a great job with Mandarin fluency, but the ELA and Math teaching is pretty abysmal. We feel like we sacrificed a lot (i.e. ELA) to get the fluent Mandarin, but then we didn't get the fluent Mandarin. DC gets good grades in Chinese, but we can tell the fluency isn't there, especially with Chinese writing.

Now we're struggling with the decision whether to send DC to DCI or cut bait. It would be hard to just end the Chinese education after so much sacrifice, but we don't want to waste DC's MS and HS education just because we made a poor choice for ES education. And we also don't know enough about DCI to gauge whether it's better than the feeder school or just more of the same.

Thanks to those previous posters who have been honest about the challenges. It's very helpful.

Have you had your kid tested outside of school? How are their PARCC scores?

You could always pay to have them take a Woodcock-Johnson achievement test, or when they reach 5th, the SSAT and see if they really are behind from the 'abysmal' ELA and Math teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe my head is in the sand but we are loving it at DCI. Second year there with a 7th grader from Spanish language feeder. Our DC is challenged and interested, making friends, likes school for the most part. DC is a high achiever, rule follower type. Advanced academically (math and English), we are happy with how things are going. A few hiccups with what seem to be mediocre teachers, or ones who struggle to connect. Anyway, we aren’t supplementing, aren’t playing lottery for other options. Even if Language immersion isn’t top notch, it is better than no immersion, and it is important to maintain the learning in the second language. We also do not have the resources to even consider private, so folks that have that option, I can understand looking into it. But we feel good about it, it is absolutely a good choice to have!

You must be on the Spanish track, or on the Mandarin or French track but don't speak either language. Disagree that 2nd rate "immersion" is better than no immersion. That's not what the research says. Strong immersion is better than no immersion. Half-baked immersion can be worse, because you risk having the kid turn out so-so in two languages.

We're at a DCI feeder and this is exactly our concern. We invested years for DC to become fluent in Mandarin and were so excited about this prospect. We're realizing too late that not only is the school not doing a great job with Mandarin fluency, but the ELA and Math teaching is pretty abysmal. We feel like we sacrificed a lot (i.e. ELA) to get the fluent Mandarin, but then we didn't get the fluent Mandarin. DC gets good grades in Chinese, but we can tell the fluency isn't there, especially with Chinese writing.

Now we're struggling with the decision whether to send DC to DCI or cut bait. It would be hard to just end the Chinese education after so much sacrifice, but we don't want to waste DC's MS and HS education just because we made a poor choice for ES education. And we also don't know enough about DCI to gauge whether it's better than the feeder school or just more of the same.

Thanks to those previous posters who have been honest about the challenges. It's very helpful.

Before somebody calls you a troll, good for you, mom. Impressed that you're coming out of YY with your eyes wide open, even if you didn't start or proceed that way.

Some of us in the DC bilingual ethnic community don't get why parents fall for the common sense-defying YY hard sell at their open houses. Even if parents who don't speak Chinese host Mandarin-speaking au pairs during all the YY years, and require the babysitters to speak only Chinese to the kids, and accept it in return, the kids aren't fluent by MS. It can't happen in a program where a dozen kids mainly speak the target language at home. How there are just a dozen? Because we're close friends with longtime YY Chinese teachers who keep us posted.

We speak at least 80% Chinese with family, and are strict about requiring our upper grades kids to answer Chinese with Chinese. Yet our kids aren't quite fluent either. We supplement the thin humanities curriculum at our DCPS.

DCI is worse than YY for Chinese. Ask around. You don't have to bail on Chinese education if you don't bother with DCI but have some resources to keep the Chinese afloat. There are good weekend programs in MoCo you could enroll in, Concordia summer camps, good tutors to be hired etc. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

+100. We left chaotic DCI for Wash Latin after 6th and have found ways to keep DC on track with one of the target languages. It's hard work, but we do it. Latin is much stronger for math and ELA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+100. We left chaotic DCI for Wash Latin after 6th and have found ways to keep DC on track with one of the target languages. It's hard work, but we do it. Latin is much stronger for math and ELA.

Which year did Latin take a new 7th grader? That is rare.

[Anonymous]

We got off the WL during 6th with sibling at Latin.

[Anonymous]

We also left a feeder school for another charter. Do lots of tutoring to help maintain the language. But be honest, not sure how much time kids at DCI get actually speaking the language. Two or three classes in the language with 10-15 other kids, how much can they actually be speaking, though I am sure they get more reading and writing practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We also left a feeder school for another charter. Do lots of tutoring to help maintain the language. But be honest, not sure how much time kids at DCI get actually speaking the language. Two or three classes in the language with 10-15 other kids, how much can they actually be speaking, though I am sure they get more reading and writing practice.

10-15? If only.

[Anonymous]

On a different, but related, topic. How is DCI doing with kids with special needs?

I have a child with ADHD and dyslexia at a feeder school. The high suspension rate and discussion of disciplines tactics gives me pause. Although DC's ADHD is well-managed, there are days when he is a bit off and more prone to disruptive tactics in class. At the feeder school, a strong IEP has helped manage those issues very well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On a different, but related, topic. How is DCI doing with kids with special needs?

I have a child with ADHD and dyslexia at a feeder school. The high suspension rate and discussion of disciplines tactics gives me pause. Although DC's ADHD is well-managed, there are days when he is a bit off and more prone to disruptive tactics in class. At the feeder school, a strong IEP has helped manage those issues very well.

Depends on the teacher. Some are better than others. With 6+ teachers each term it is a challenge to keep everyone on the same page.

You probably won’t have trouble getting s plan but the implementation may be spotty(this is typical in many middle and high schools.