Oakland Terrace

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids at OTES and we are in no way FARMS, nor are most of our neighbors. I guess some families are, but their finances are none of my business.

We play the Spanish version of TV shows, dubbed films, Spanish language radio, etc for at-home backup. But we have done this since they were toddlers.

DH and I speak decent French, and Spanish is very easy to learn compared to French. We love OT; not sure what middle school will bring.

It was farms till a few years ago.

What are you talking about? The farms rate has gone up and down somewhat but it has generally stayed at around a third of students.

Yes. But OTES was once Title I or FOCUS (I forget), a status it lost a few years ago. I think that’s what PP meant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OTES parent here. We are VERY happy. Teachers are generally very good, administration responsive, and the school is diverse socioeconomically and ethnically/racially.

Fwiw I think the farms rate is due to subsidized apartments being in bounds.

I am an OTES parent and I am not aware of any apartments in the zoning area. Can you say where they are?

DP. There are a few apartment buildings on Georgia Ave that are zoned to OTES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OTES parent here. We are VERY happy. Teachers are generally very good, administration responsive, and the school is diverse socioeconomically and ethnically/racially.

Fwiw I think the farms rate is due to subsidized apartments being in bounds.

I am an OTES parent and I am not aware of any apartments in the zoning area. Can you say where they are?

DP. There are a few apartment buildings on Georgia Ave that are zoned to OTES.

There are also families who live with parents/grandparents or multi-generational homes. Apartments & Townhomes. Depending on when they bought the homes were much cheaper. It was a Focus school, not title one. Focus was nice as it had lower class sizes in the younger grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids at OTES and we are in no way FARMS, nor are most of our neighbors. I guess some families are, but their finances are none of my business.

We play the Spanish version of TV shows, dubbed films, Spanish language radio, etc for at-home backup. But we have done this since they were toddlers.

DH and I speak decent French, and Spanish is very easy to learn compared to French. We love OT; not sure what middle school will bring.

It was farms till a few years ago.

What are you talking about? The farms rate has gone up and down somewhat but it has generally stayed at around a third of students.

Yes. But OTES was once Title I or FOCUS (I forget), a status it lost a few years ago. I think that’s what PP meant.

Focus, not Title One.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^we’ve also had a very positive experience with Newport Mill and know lots of older kids who’ve thrived at Einstein, Blair, Wheaton, etc.

I've heard mixed things about Newport. Einstein is good but they don't have a lot of advanced AP classes which is an issue as they push the kids to IB. Or, you have to do MC.

PP you're quoting: You'll have to provide a more reliable, valid source than what you've "heard" about Newport. Come on.

If you don't have kid(s) there, and don't know many, many kids who have gone through there, your perspective is incomplete, at best.

We had our child there for 6 months. It was not a good expeience. HS has been fine. They were not nice to us or our child at all.

What specifically wasn’t a good experience? Who do you mean by “they”? Care to elaborate?

No, I don't care to elaborate. It is the weak link. OTES has to be better with the new principal. So, the quesiton is do you want immersion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^we’ve also had a very positive experience with Newport Mill and know lots of older kids who’ve thrived at Einstein, Blair, Wheaton, etc.

I've heard mixed things about Newport. Einstein is good but they don't have a lot of advanced AP classes which is an issue as they push the kids to IB. Or, you have to do MC.

PP you're quoting: You'll have to provide a more reliable, valid source than what you've "heard" about Newport. Come on.

If you don't have kid(s) there, and don't know many, many kids who have gone through there, your perspective is incomplete, at best.

We had our child there for 6 months. It was not a good expeience. HS has been fine. They were not nice to us or our child at all.

What specifically wasn’t a good experience? Who do you mean by “they”? Care to elaborate?

No, I don't care to elaborate. It is the weak link. OTES has to be better with the new principal. So, the quesiton is do you want immersion.

DP - and the one who called out the "we heard" comment - I'm sorry your child didn't have a good experience at NMMS. Generally, middle school is both the weakest link in MCPS and also the toughest time for kids, not specific to NMMS. Also keep in mind that NMMS has a relatively new principal, who has improved the school for the better.

PP is right that the big question with OTES is whether or not you want the TWI program.

[Anonymous]

Do they teach math in Spanish also?
By what grade most kids are able to read/write in both languages?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they teach math in Spanish also?
By what grade most kids are able to read/write in both languages?

Yes, they teach math in Spanish, though not in every grade. For example, my older DS had his first year of compacted math all in English. I'm not sure what they'll do for the second year. These kinds of details are some of the things that may be changed from year to year as they try to figure out what works best.

Kids are reading and writing in both languages starting in K. Read and write well? Varies by the kid, frankly, enough that I don't think there's a "most kids" pattern. Many kids (who are not native speakers) are speaking Spanish comfortably by fourth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they teach math in Spanish also?
By what grade most kids are able to read/write in both languages?

In all of the TWI schools, core math instruction (solid hour block) is taught in English in grades K, 2, and 4. There is a supplemental 30 minute block (generally fluency, application problems, reteaching, etc.) in Spanish. In grades 1, 3, and 5, the core math instructional block is taught in Spanish. These students have an additional 30 minute block of math in English. Additionally, science is taught in Spanish in grades K, 2, and 4, and social studies is taught in English. This is flipped for grades 1, 3, and 5. Science is taught in English and social studies is taught in Spanish. Reading and writing instruction happens daily in both languages. Students spend about two hours a day with their English teacher and two hours a day with their Spanish teacher. This is consistent among all of the TWI schools in MCPS.

PP mentioned that compacted math (accelerated math for a group of 4th and 5th grade students) was taught in English. This is because these classes were taught by the focus teacher this past year, and not one of the homeroom teachers.

[Anonymous]

Thank you- it’s very helpful information!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Do they teach math in Spanish also?
By what grade most kids are able to read/write in both languages?


In all of the TWI schools, core math instruction (solid hour block) is taught in English in grades K, 2, and 4. There is a supplemental 30 minute block (generally fluency, application problems, reteaching, etc.) in Spanish. In grades 1, 3, and 5, the core math instructional block is taught in Spanish. These students have an additional 30 minute block of math in English. Additionally, science is taught in Spanish in grades K, 2, and 4, and social studies is taught in English. This is flipped for grades 1, 3, and 5. Science is taught in English and social studies is taught in Spanish. Reading and writing instruction happens daily in both languages. Students spend about two hours a day with their English teacher and two hours a day with their Spanish teacher. This is consistent among all of the TWI schools in MCPS.

Do you know by the chance, what are language expectations for a second grader enrolling in the school? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Do they teach math in Spanish also?
By what grade most kids are able to read/write in both languages?


In all of the TWI schools, core math instruction (solid hour block) is taught in English in grades K, 2, and 4. There is a supplemental 30 minute block (generally fluency, application problems, reteaching, etc.) in Spanish. In grades 1, 3, and 5, the core math instructional block is taught in Spanish. These students have an additional 30 minute block of math in English. Additionally, science is taught in Spanish in grades K, 2, and 4, and social studies is taught in English. This is flipped for grades 1, 3, and 5. Science is taught in English and social studies is taught in Spanish. Reading and writing instruction happens daily in both languages. Students spend about two hours a day with their English teacher and two hours a day with their Spanish teacher. This is consistent among all of the TWI schools in MCPS.

Does anyone know by the chance, what are language requirements for a second grader enrolling in the school? Thanks!