Asking for Advice - Rejection from Oyster-Adams Preschool

[Anonymous]

There are lawyers that provide free advice. I have used them in the past.

In any case, has anyone hired a lawyer (paid or not)? I just don't believe the post (from the PP) that says that many people have done this unsuccessfully.

[Anonymous]

Response to 13:02. My friend was a native speaker. It does not matter. If you know 2 families that were denied I know over 7 that failed the exam and then got accepted. That is precisely the problem that there is no pattern, no objective, fair, process. "I like you, I don't like you, I like you, I don't..."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To 12:56. There is no bigger "rumor and innuendo" that your exam. A bunch of personal questions and decisions. Anything verified there? No comment.

Lawyers do not get to the bottom of conspiracies but anyone/anything that can get you to make the process fair should be welcome, even by you. Some lawyers only charge if they win the case. Everything worthy is time well spent.

*Sigh* As both a lawyer and an Oyster parent (unrelated to my point though), please allow me to clarify something. "Some lawyers" do take cases on a contingent fee basis. Those lawyers are almost always personal injury or class action lawyers who are suing large corporations with deep pockets. They take these contingent fee cases because there is a promise of a (future) large payout. That is not the case here, because the only appropriate legal remedy would be to admit the formerly rejected child(ren).

While a lawyer may hope that your child gets admitted to Oyster, that's not going to pay his legal bills...or persuade him to take your case. You will need to pay him in real dollars, not rainbows, glitter and warm feelings. Good luck though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Response to 13:02. My friend was a native speaker. It does not matter. If you know 2 families that were denied I know over 7 that failed the exam and then got accepted. That is precisely the problem that there is no pattern, no objective, fair, process. "I like you, I don't like you, I like you, I don't..."

Well, there's your answer right there. The (initially) rejected child comes from a home where at least one parent is a native speaker (with the cultural background and native language skills and vocabulary that suggests). If the parent is able to prove that: 1. He/she is a native speaker, and 2. His/her child is fluent in the language, where is the harm? Oyster wants to fill at least half of the class with children who come from Spanish speaking homes, so your friend is helping the school to fulfill its mission.

If you tell me that non-native speaking parents are getting their children accepted after an initial rejection, then that's a totally different situation.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I don't know much about lawyers (although I am familiar with the contingent fee case). I am sure you have to call a few and see what they tell you. A few parents can join together to pay and there are other ways if you don't have a big income. If I do it is not so much to get my child in (Oyster is just Oyster, not Harvard). I do not care if my child gets accepted or not as I have a backup option that I can leave with, but I think it would not be unreasonable for other parents to think that the process (not the outcome) has to be fair and that we all deserve a fair chance. Picking who gets accepted and not is something that lawyers may want to hear about (and yes, I am familiar with the use of money as payment).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Response to 13:02. My friend was a native speaker. It does not matter. If you know 2 families that were denied I know over 7 that failed the exam and then got accepted. That is precisely the problem that there is no pattern, no objective, fair, process. "I like you, I don't like you, I like you, I don't..."

Well, there's your answer right there. The (initially) rejected child comes from a home where at least one parent is a native speaker (with the cultural background and native language skills and vocabulary that suggests). If the parent is able to prove that: 1. He/she is a native speaker, and 2. His/her child is fluent in the language, where is the harm? Oyster wants to fill at least half of the class with children who come from Spanish speaking homes, so your friend is helping the school to fulfill its mission.

If you tell me that non-native speaking parents are getting their children accepted after an initial rejection, then that's a totally different situation.

===================

I don't think you are understanding me. What I am telling you is that children with one native speaker parent and fluent in the language are getting rejected not sure why, while other children with one native speaker parent and as fluent in the language as the first one are getting accepted. Why? We don't know.

Parents can demonstrate that they are native speakers but how do parents demonstrate number 2: (2. His/her child is fluent in the language). My child "failed" the exam (as my friend's did according to the PP), but he/she can speak as fluently as any other I know. My friend explained this to the PP but she was not willing to give him a second chance (while we know that she did to many other children). That is the reason why he threatened her. He felt that giving some students a chance and not others was not fair. He was sure his son would have passed the exam as well as any other with one native speaker as a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Response to 13:02. My friend was a native speaker. It does not matter. If you know 2 families that were denied I know over 7 that failed the exam and then got accepted. That is precisely the problem that there is no pattern, no objective, fair, process. "I like you, I don't like you, I like you, I don't..."

Well, there's your answer right there. The (initially) rejected child comes from a home where at least one parent is a native speaker (with the cultural background and native language skills and vocabulary that suggests). If the parent is able to prove that: 1. He/she is a native speaker, and 2. His/her child is fluent in the language, where is the harm? Oyster wants to fill at least half of the class with children who come from Spanish speaking homes, so your friend is helping the school to fulfill its mission.

If you tell me that non-native speaking parents are getting their children accepted after an initial rejection, then that's a totally different situation.

===================

I don't think you are understanding me. What I am telling you is that children with one native speaker parent and fluent in the language are getting rejected not sure why, while other children with one native speaker parent and as fluent in the language as the first one are getting accepted. Why? We don't know.

Parents can demonstrate that they are native speakers but how do parents demonstrate number 2: (2. His/her child is fluent in the language). My child "failed" the exam (as my friend's did according to the PP), but he/she can speak as fluently as any other I know. My friend explained this to the PP but she was not willing to give him a second chance (while we know that she did to many other children). That is the reason why he threatened her. He felt that giving some students a chance and not others was not fair. He was sure his son would have passed the exam as well as any other with one native speaker as a parent.

If true, I have no idea why your friend was given a second chance to prove his child's fluency, and others were not. There is also another side to this story.

Btw, why do YOU think that some of your native speaking friends, acquaintances, etc. are being accepted, and other are not? What differences have you observed personally?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Response to 13:02. My friend was a native speaker. It does not matter. If you know 2 families that were denied I know over 7 that failed the exam and then got accepted. That is precisely the problem that there is no pattern, no objective, fair, process. "I like you, I don't like you, I like you, I don't..."

Well, there's your answer right there. The (initially) rejected child comes from a home where at least one parent is a native speaker (with the cultural background and native language skills and vocabulary that suggests). If the parent is able to prove that: 1. He/she is a native speaker, and 2. His/her child is fluent in the language, where is the harm? Oyster wants to fill at least half of the class with children who come from Spanish speaking homes, so your friend is helping the school to fulfill its mission.

If you tell me that non-native speaking parents are getting their children accepted after an initial rejection, then that's a totally different situation.

OP is a native speaker.

[Anonymous]

I believe it's totally possible that two children, each with 1 native Spanish speaking parent and 1 native English speaking parent, could have different levels of Spanish fluency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Response to 13:02. My friend was a native speaker. It does not matter. If you know 2 families that were denied I know over 7 that failed the exam and then got accepted. That is precisely the problem that there is no pattern, no objective, fair, process. "I like you, I don't like you, I like you, I don't..."

Well, there's your answer right there. The (initially) rejected child comes from a home where at least one parent is a native speaker (with the cultural background and native language skills and vocabulary that suggests). If the parent is able to prove that: 1. He/she is a native speaker, and 2. His/her child is fluent in the language, where is the harm? Oyster wants to fill at least half of the class with children who come from Spanish speaking homes, so your friend is helping the school to fulfill its mission.

If you tell me that non-native speaking parents are getting their children accepted after an initial rejection, then that's a totally different situation.

OP is a native speaker.

Yes, but OP’s child may not be fluent (despite what OP says and thinks).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe it's totally possible that two children, each with 1 native Spanish speaking parent and 1 native English speaking parent, could have different levels of Spanish fluency.

Yup

[Anonymous]

This thread is ridiculous.

OP, is it possible that your child, who sounds truly bilingual, panicked during the test and was not able to demonstrate a level of Spanish dominance that resulted in a passing score of whatever the test is?

I get the concern regarding transparency of the test itself, but in this area, if DCPS were to make the content of the test known, inevitably some parent would spend a bunch of time coaching their child to pass the test without regard to actual Spanish dominance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Response to 13:02. My friend was a native speaker. It does not matter. If you know 2 families that were denied I know over 7 that failed the exam and then got accepted. That is precisely the problem that there is no pattern, no objective, fair, process. "I like you, I don't like you, I like you, I don't..."

Well, there's your answer right there. The (initially) rejected child comes from a home where at least one parent is a native speaker (with the cultural background and native language skills and vocabulary that suggests). If the parent is able to prove that: 1. He/she is a native speaker, and 2. His/her child is fluent in the language, where is the harm? Oyster wants to fill at least half of the class with children who come from Spanish speaking homes, so your friend is helping the school to fulfill its mission.

If you tell me that non-native speaking parents are getting their children accepted after an initial rejection, then that's a totally different situation.

I don't think you are understanding me. What I am telling you is that children with one native speaker parent and fluent in the language are getting rejected not sure why, while other children with one native speaker parent and as fluent in the language as the first one are getting accepted. Why? We don't know.

Parents can demonstrate that they are native speakers but how do parents demonstrate number 2: (2. His/her child is fluent in the language). My child "failed" the exam (as my friend's did according to the PP), but he/she can speak as fluently as any other I know. My friend explained this to the PP but she was not willing to give him a second chance (while we know that she did to many other children). That is the reason why he threatened her. He felt that giving some students a chance and not others was not fair. He was sure his son would have passed the exam as well as any other with one native speaker as a parent.

If true, I have no idea why your friend was given a second chance to prove his child's fluency, and others were not. There is also another side to this story.

Btw, why do YOU think that some of your native speaking friends, acquaintances, etc. are being accepted, and other are not? What differences have you observed personally?

My friend was not given a second chance (others had been). His son got accepted when father threatened the PP with a lawsuit, which makes me think there is something fishy in the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Response to 13:02. My friend was a native speaker. It does not matter. If you know 2 families that were denied I know over 7 that failed the exam and then got accepted. That is precisely the problem that there is no pattern, no objective, fair, process. "I like you, I don't like you, I like you, I don't..."

Well, there's your answer right there. The (initially) rejected child comes from a home where at least one parent is a native speaker (with the cultural background and native language skills and vocabulary that suggests). If the parent is able to prove that: 1. He/she is a native speaker, and 2. His/her child is fluent in the language, where is the harm? Oyster wants to fill at least half of the class with children who come from Spanish speaking homes, so your friend is helping the school to fulfill its mission.

If you tell me that non-native speaking parents are getting their children accepted after an initial rejection, then that's a totally different situation.

I don't think you are understanding me. What I am telling you is that children with one native speaker parent and fluent in the language are getting rejected not sure why, while other children with one native speaker parent and as fluent in the language as the first one are getting accepted. Why? We don't know.

Parents can demonstrate that they are native speakers but how do parents demonstrate number 2: (2. His/her child is fluent in the language). My child "failed" the exam (as my friend's did according to the PP), but he/she can speak as fluently as any other I know. My friend explained this to the PP but she was not willing to give him a second chance (while we know that she did to many other children). That is the reason why he threatened her. He felt that giving some students a chance and not others was not fair. He was sure his son would have passed the exam as well as any other with one native speaker as a parent.

If true, I have no idea why your friend was given a second chance to prove his child's fluency, and others were not. There is also another side to this story.

Btw, why do YOU think that some of your native speaking friends, acquaintances, etc. are being accepted, and other are not? What differences have you observed personally?

My friend was not given a second chance (others had been). His son got accepted when father threatened the PP with a lawsuit, which makes me think there is something fishy in the process.

I don't believe that story at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is ridiculous.

OP, is it possible that your child, who sounds truly bilingual, panicked during the test and was not able to demonstrate a level of Spanish dominance that resulted in a passing score of whatever the test is?

I get the concern regarding transparency of the test itself, but in this area, if DCPS were to make the content of the test known, inevitably some parent would spend a bunch of time coaching their child to pass the test without regard to actual Spanish dominance.

It is not only possible but very likely. Child is extremely shy and had warned the examiners. The problem is that I requested another chance in private (which seemed to be the norm for children who do not pass the first time) and got a denial. Why do some children get a second chance and others do not. I can think of many ways to make the process fair without releasing the content of the exam.