Anyone else got a spot in Rock Creek Forest immersion? Come decide whether to accept with me!

[Anonymous]

Weighing the choice. Definite pros and cons, but mainly because our elementary school is right by our house and is pretty good I hear. Anyone else? What are you considering?

[Anonymous]

If you choose RCF, be aware that they will most likely discontinue the matriculation to Westland and BCC, so your child might need to separate from his/her friends and go back to home MS. This seems far away but it's actually kind of a big deal once you get to fifth grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you choose RCF, be aware that they will most likely discontinue the matriculation to Westland and BCC, so your child might need to separate from his/her friends and go back to home MS. This seems far away but it's actually kind of a big deal once you get to fifth grade.

Can you tell me more about this? Or where I can learn more?

[Anonymous]

Well, traditionally kids who go to RCF continue on to Westland (where there's a MS partial Spanish immersion program) and then to BCC. This is true no matter where you live in the county.

Due to overcrowding issues, there's been discussion of discontinuing this practice. If they do (and it's possible though not certain) your kid would have to go back to his/her home school or go to the Spanish immersion MS program at Silver Spring International middle school.

Neither of those have to be bad options, of course. However, it's really hard to have it hanging over your head that this might be changed. They are also going to build a new RCF some time in the next few years and also, of course, there's a new middle school that will be built to feed into BCC so it's possible RCF will go there instead, once that's done.

It's just a lot of uncertainly. My child has gone all the way through RCF and aspects of it are amazing -- she is very fluent in Spanish. But we don't live in the BC cluster, and it's been stressful not knowing what would happen with the middle school program. And of course, she wants to be with his friends which means he will go to Westland which is a far commute.

Other downsides of immersion are the difficulty replacing teachers (meaning there's a lot of stress every summer if you know one of the teachers for your child's upcoming grade isn't coming back), the adversarial feeling on the part of the neighborhood parents against RCF, and the fact that your kid's friends live all over MoCo.

If we had to do it all over again I think I would still send my child to RCF, but I would have liked to know the pros and cons beforehand.

[Anonymous]

^^ ack! Sorry for all the mixed up pronouns.

[Anonymous]

Thanks a bunch PP. I think we would mostly be going there for the full immersion program rather than the MS and HSs, so I'm trying to decide how much the uncertainty factors in. Tough decision! But that would be hard to make friends through 5th grade and then have to separate...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, traditionally kids who go to RCF continue on to Westland (where there's a MS partial Spanish immersion program) and then to BCC. This is true no matter where you live in the county.

Due to overcrowding issues, there's been discussion of discontinuing this practice. If they do (and it's possible though not certain) your kid would have to go back to his/her home school or go to the Spanish immersion MS program at Silver Spring International middle school.

Neither of those have to be bad options, of course. However, it's really hard to have it hanging over your head that this might be changed. They are also going to build a new RCF some time in the next few years and also, of course, there's a new middle school that will be built to feed into BCC so it's possible RCF will go there instead, once that's done.

It's just a lot of uncertainly. My child has gone all the way through RCF and aspects of it are amazing -- she is very fluent in Spanish. But we don't live in the BC cluster, and it's been stressful not knowing what would happen with the middle school program. And of course, she wants to be with his friends which means he will go to Westland which is a far commute.

Other downsides of immersion are the difficulty replacing teachers (meaning there's a lot of stress every summer if you know one of the teachers for your child's upcoming grade isn't coming back), the adversarial feeling on the part of the neighborhood parents against RCF, and the fact that your kid's friends live all over MoCo.

If we had to do it all over again I think I would still send my child to RCF, but I would have liked to know the pros and cons beforehand.

There are RCF grads/middle school immersion students at SSIMS as we speak, and from all reports the parents are happy with it. They separated from some, but not all of their friends - obviously there is more than one there.

[Anonymous]

Yes, PP here. I know there are and I've heard it's actually a better program, immersion-wise.

I'm just finding that my 5th grader wants to be with friends and if they are all going to Westland, it's hard to make the case. So we will try Westland and, if the commute is too much, we can always fall back on SSIMS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, PP here. I know there are and I've heard it's actually a better program, immersion-wise.

I'm just finding that my 5th grader wants to be with friends and if they are all going to Westland, it's hard to make the case. So we will try Westland and, if the commute is too much, we can always fall back on SSIMS.

OP won't have this problem because it is unlikely that Westland will be an option in the future. So, all of the DD's friends (or at least the ones staying in immersion) will be going to SSIMS.

FWIW, if it were me, it would be easy to make the case if Westland were logistically difficult, attachment to friends notwithstanding.

[Anonymous]

13:11 - can you say more about it being "unlikely" that RCF immersion kids would go to Westland in the future? I've hear a few people say this, but can't seem to find any information on why or when or whether this relates to the BCC MS thing or if this is just the immersion kids or all of RCF. Thanks for any and all details and resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:11 - can you say more about it being "unlikely" that RCF immersion kids would go to Westland in the future? I've hear a few people say this, but can't seem to find any information on why or when or whether this relates to the BCC MS thing or if this is just the immersion kids or all of RCF. Thanks for any and all details and resources.

I don't have details. I'm basing that statement on what I have heard from friends and neighbors about the crowding of Westland and how kids are encouraged (*encouraged*) to go to SSIMS instead, especially if they are from the eastern part of MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Ah ok. Thanks! We actually live right by SSIMS and really far from Westland, so we would probably end up going to SSIMS. But I would prefer it to be one or the other that everyone goes to since that would keep friends together. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:13:11 - can you say more about it being "unlikely" that RCF immersion kids would go to Westland in the future? I've hear a few people say this, but can't seem to find any information on why or when or whether this relates to the BCC MS thing or if this is just the immersion kids or all of RCF. Thanks for any and all details and resources.

I don't have details. I'm basing that statement on what I have heard from friends and neighbors about the crowding of Westland and how kids are encouraged (*encouraged*) to go to SSIMS instead, especially if they are from the eastern part of MoCo.

This is completely untrue. I have a fifth grader and live in Silver Spring and we were never encouraged to go to SSIMS, ever. COSA forms were approved without a word.

What's more, we recently had the community superintendent come to RCF to discuss the issue and -- while he declined to promise anything -- he explicitly said that there were NO plans to disconinue Spanish immersion at Westland or take away the option for RCF families to go there if they live outside the cluster.

Once the new middle school is built in a few years, overcrowding will not be the issue it is now. They aren't going to change the articulation pattern just for a couple of years.

If you choose RCF, you have to develop a thick skin about this and look the other way when you hear negative things from neighborhood parents and rampant rumors about this sort of thing. The bottom line is, SSIMS is fine so you have that option and you will almost certainly have the Westland option as well, so it's a no-lose proposition. Choose RCF if it meets your educational goals for your child and just accept that there are these other issues running under the surface. It's a downside to the school, for sure, but shouldn't be a dealbreaker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:13:11 - can you say more about it being "unlikely" that RCF immersion kids would go to Westland in the future? I've hear a few people say this, but can't seem to find any information on why or when or whether this relates to the BCC MS thing or if this is just the immersion kids or all of RCF. Thanks for any and all details and resources.

I don't have details. I'm basing that statement on what I have heard from friends and neighbors about the crowding of Westland and how kids are encouraged (*encouraged*) to go to SSIMS instead, especially if they are from the eastern part of MoCo.

This is completely untrue. I have a fifth grader and live in Silver Spring and we were never encouraged to go to SSIMS, ever. COSA forms were approved without a word.
What's more, we recently had the community superintendent come to RCF to discuss the issue and -- while he declined to promise anything -- he explicitly said that there were NO plans to disconinue Spanish immersion at Westland or take away the option for RCF families to go there if they live outside the cluster.

Once the new middle school is built in a few years, overcrowding will not be the issue it is now. They aren't going to change the articulation pattern just for a couple of years.

If you choose RCF, you have to develop a thick skin about this and look the other way when you hear negative things from neighborhood parents and rampant rumors about this sort of thing. The bottom line is, SSIMS is fine so you have that option and you will almost certainly have the Westland option as well, so it's a no-lose proposition. Choose RCF if it meets your educational goals for your child and just accept that there are these other issues running under the surface. It's a downside to the school, for sure, but shouldn't be a dealbreaker.

My neighbor has a DD at Westland and was *strongly* encouraged (pressured) to go to SSIMS. The SSIMS principal telephoned her, in fact.

[Anonymous]

Thanks 15:40! This is OP. Honestly the middle school issue isn't really a huge deal for us since it's so unknown and since our base MS is SSIMS anyway. Sounds like it could be that by the time we get to that point, RCF immersion kids could go to Westland or maybe they would all go to SSIMS or maybe even the new BCC MS. It's so up in the air, it can't really be part of the decision.

Can you give me any information about the immersion program and whether it is worth it if you live out of the immediate neighborhood? Thanks again.