CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
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Anonymous
I'd like to think there is no reason, but there always seems to be a reason with DC Charter. The chaters don't seem to be making sure that all the students enrolled have a similar foundation in the target language as much as they're making sure that native speakers and high-SES families providing the necessary inputs don't crowd out low-SES AA kids. What other reason is there for a kid speaking and reading/writing appropriate level Spanish, Mandarin or French to be kept out of one these schools past around 2nd grade when spots go empty in the upper grades? I see no way for low-SES kids to catch up, other than maybe those education hungry DC Chinese, because their parents can't afford the inputs (particularly literacy skills for bilingual Spanish kids). The matter of bilingual kids from outside the feeders enrolling in advanced language classes may or may not net out in a positive way with high-SES white families potentially accruing almost all the benefit. There will be hiccups and possibly road blocks. |
Anonymous
New students are excluded from the upper grades because any kind of admission test is illegal under DC law. The only admission tests allowed at any school receiving DC taxpayer money are those administered by Walls, Banneker and Ellington (and maybe McKinley? I'm always confused by that). It's not just a charter thing, it's true for DCPS as well. And I predict that any change will take place in the following order: * selective admission DCPS middle school programs, * new selective DCPS high schools, * selective DCPS elementary programs, * selective charter high schools (but only ones that can't compete with existing DCPS selective high schools), * selective charter middle schools, * selective charter elementary schools And for what it's worth, I actually don't think that these last three will EVER happen. I don't like it any more than you do, but DC as a city is allergic to special programs for gifted kids ("gifted" including kids who are bilingual). They will NOT be given any resources that any other kid can't get. If you don't like it, run for Council. |
Anonymous
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^^ Yes, we all know it's illegal, the question is why and what, if anything, can be done about it while our children are of public school age. All that can be done is wait for a new, larger generation of high-SES parents in PS to lobby for selective admissions?
There are a good number of other US cities with high minority populations running G/T programs city-wide, and selective admission charters, including the language immersion variant. Even Baltimore and Atlanta do this. I'm only in the research stage on the issues. But I like your insightful list, thanks for that. I'm inclined to agree with the not-so-inspiring sequencing you lay out. What we're talking about are new gray areas. If DCI supports the extensive ability grouping, and language proficiency grouping, pps predict, many middle-class families will be attracted, strenghtening the school. But then the core, tacit DC charter mission of primarily serving low-SES AA children at almost every charter will have been watered down. Will a political backlash result, like the one in Fairfax emanating from TJ's decision to allow a larger than normal size group of low-SES kids to enter several years ago, leading to a dramatic increase in the percentage of students doing remedial work (8% to nearly 20%)? Almost certainly so. The lengths the Cantonese-speaking poster is willing to go to ensure that his or her kid learns Chinese, YY or no YY, is telling. Stay tuned. |
Anonymous
| 13:13 here. I'm afraid I don't care enough about the issue to seriously agitate--there are other issues that have much more direct bearing on my family's health & happiness. But if you have a petition, I'd sign it. I might even stuff envelopes for your cause. Keep us posted. |
Anonymous
We are at one of the Spanish Immersion charters and I have read the charter for our school-- the mission is to serve all children focusing on low-SES kids, but this does not necessary mean AA for our school, the primary target would be the Hispanic population. |
Anonymous
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We are at one of the Spanish Immersion charters and I have read the charter for our school-- the mission is to serve all children focusing on low-SES kids, but this does not necessary mean AA for our school, the primary target would be the Hispanic population.
Just a few charters have another population as the primary target, like yours. Inspire DC is a real outlier, with only 15% FARMS. But there isn't a charter MS with a different target population yet. When I read posts from high-SES parents pulling out of Two Rivers and Latin, or leaving the latter between MS and HS, for lack of much ability grouping, I wonder how Basis and YY parents can be so sure that their middle schools will be different. |
Anonymous
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We left Oyster after 3rd for a private last year, although it's a real stretch financially. We bailed on DCPS because of lack of challenge and discipline problems, although we loved the school until 2nd. My DC got little attention from teachers that last year (rowdy low-SES kids got a lot) and scored close to 100% on the DC-CAS. It's not uncommon for her new peers to attend Spanish summer immersion camps, and to have Latin American au pairs. I'd consider DCI to help save for college if advanced Spanish classes were an option, discipline was good, and challenge was sufficient, and know other parents at the private who'd do the same. We're all watching.
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Anonymous
| Maybe one option is for interested families and groups to start a Cantonese speaking charter. There is enough demand I am sure to support a second school. In SF immersion schools that I've heard of, they do Cantonese for the first several years and then switch (not sure if it is partial or full) to Mandarin in the fifth grade - with the goal of fluency in both Cantonese and Mandarin by the end. |
Anonymous
What a great idea. Perhaps the "Cantonese speakers should get preference to YY" can take the lead and get exactly the school he/she wants complete with Chinese Cantonese/Mandarin speaking principal. |
Anonymous
You're being sarcastic, right? That's fine. It would be a great idea, in Rockville. Cantonese speakers have spoken to members of the charter board about the way YY operates (token bilingual representation, no understanding of the close relationship between dialects and Mandarin) and have been told that there wouldn't be enough interest from "other groups" to support a second Chinese school, which is true. As you may know, the Hebrew immersion school got a charter mainly because religious AA subgroups, like the 7th Day Adventists, are interested in having their kids learn the language. According to the 2010 US Census, there are a little over 5,000 residents of Chinese descent in DC. Many are your typical new arrivals, young, single. We're unusual in the DC Cantonese-speaking community because we intend to stay in the city in PS. Most plan to move to MoCo, often for immersion schools there, where at least 1/3 of the kids are bilingual and partial immersion goes through 8th grade, and for a heritage language school in Rockville. Thankfully, our IB school is among the best, and even includes other bilingual families. The more I read on YY threads, the more staying away seems like the path to acceptance and peace of mind. |
Anonymous
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What a great idea. Perhaps the "Cantonese speakers should get preference to YY" can take the lead and get exactly the school he/she wants complete with Chinese Cantonese/Mandarin speaking principal.
The more you idiots fight welcoming Chinese at both YY and DCI, the less authentic the cultural experience is for the the children. I've learned a lot from what the Chinese have been saying on these threads. I admit that, before these threads, I didn't know where Cantonese was spoken, or that it's the main dialect of the DC Chinese. I'm hardly alone at YY in that regard. Nothing to brag about. Chill. |
Anonymous
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+1.... YY Chinese bashers, start your own thread.
Everytime the DCI discussion takes off, you can't resist taking another potshot. You wear your jealousy on your sleeve, knowing that their kids will deal more effectively w/China as the next superpower than yours. GIVE IT A REST. I want to hear more about DCI's prospects and, apparently, so do they. |
Anonymous
I have a very difficult time believing that the charter board discouraged the founding of a Cantonese charter school. Remember that the Hebrew immersion charter--which offers Modern, not Biblical, Hebrew--was approved at the very same meeting that rejected an Arabic immersion. Actual demand for the language never came into the charter board debate (I'm willing to bet that DC has far more Muslims than Israelis and SDAs combined); instead the board supported the group that had a solid plan which could reasonably be expected to yield good CAS scores, and rejected the plan that appeared disorganized. Reread one of the Hebrew school threads for a rehash for that debate. I'm sure that the charter board would be thrilled to approve yet another well-organized school, no matter what its focus might be. And consider this: If the charter board opposed the creation of schools that would compete with each other, we wouldn't have so many Spanish immersion schools. If it cared about having schools that served the bilingual populations that are here in DC, we'd already have Amharic and Tigrinya schools. |
Anonymous
| Great response. Certainly seemed to shut up the Crazy-Conspiracy Theory-Cantonese Speaker, which is a relief! I love what everyone is saying DCI will and will not do in terms of programming. Remember that the people who post in this manner are merely floating theories and suppositions and trying to stir up drama. What sad little lives they must lead.... |
Anonymous
Dumb response. I'm high-SES AA and hear no crazy-conspiracy-theory types on this thread, just those who've figured out that, sadly, it's easy to feel "too Chinese for YY" in interacting w/the admininstration, and parents like you. After we switched from YY to a MoCo immersion school, we realized what we were missing: great insight into Chinese culture, warts and all, provided by many happy bilingual parents and kids. When you shut up native speakers politely making valid points, you diminish the immersion experience for all involved. I agree with the pp who suspects that jealousy is behind these posts. Chinese immigrants tend to wrest crazy success from their children and grandchildren. A few Chinese spoke to charter board members - we supported them. They gave up fast, no interest there. DCI won't benefit from alienating more bilingual families, not French, Spanish or Chinese speakers. You're on track to get another iffy middle school if you keep pounding these points. Move on, please. We'd return to the District (where we still own a home) for a MS/HS that were up to par. |