Sp or Ch language?

[Anonymous]

School supplies are by donation. They are not mandatory and no one goes after you to pay them (unlike the fees for WOP schools). The aftercare is really expensive, but it is subsidized for kids on free/reduced lunch, so that it another non-issue to bring up.

WHY DOES EVERYONE COMPLAIN SO MUCH?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because the charter board doesn't want a school that already attracts bright, well-off kids to have a preferential admission process that may be seen culling out the "unwanted" minorities. Do you REALLY think this hasn't been approached with them time and again? Don't you think that the school has been already looked at suspiciously for the past 3 years for dwindling numbers of low-income AA students? Honestly, the charter board doesn't look towards moving things in a positive direction and making influential change. They tend to only work on big problems that can't be ignored.

The over-simplification of the issues surrounding who does/doesn't choose to apply are too numerous to address here. It is a public school and the student population should reflect the population of the city. It does.

YY parent, not Chinese. By many estimates, there are two or three hundred low-income Chinese kids in this city whose parents might be attracted under a different paradigm. The waiters, dry cleaners and take-out place people obviously don't make professional salaries. I for one don't like how almost all of the Chinese at YY seem to be from six-figure salary families - it's part of what makes the learning environment phony.

I'm certainly not under the impression that the PA, the administration and the YY Board have ever presented a united front on the issue, or been persistent in asking for help from the powers-that-be in boosting the hopelessly low number of bilingual kids.

The case could be made that having more bilinguals would help the low-SES kids with immersion. When you visit one of the NYC Chinese immersion schools, you get a feel for how this works. Invite Charter Board people on a trip to one in Manhattan or Queens to learn about the 2-way model. Invite them to attend that annual CAPE conference on dual immersion programs. Yes, all they could say is no.

The issues surrounding who does/doesn't choose to apply are terribly complicated when it comes to the Chinese families. PPs on this thread have nailed them over and over - suggest that Charter Board members wade through the posts on this thread, and the similarly themed one in Nov, to 'earn what everybody involved should know. This isn't the right model, it just sounds good.

[Anonymous]

make that AREN'T terribly complicated, last para.

[Anonymous]

Okay, large group of motivated geniuses. Go out and fix it then. You have many ideas and great amounts of time to write them out and argue your position. Now get to work.

Why do so many people think that complaining about other people not doing things is useful? I don't care what you look like or what your home language is. I have a strong preference to not be around people who complain but do NOTHING to make a change. Realize also that the PA is all of the parents, not just some club that does things FOR everyone else.

I challenge every, single one of you with a gripe to write a letter to the charter board explaining your position on the matter. CC the school and the president of the board of trustees so that they know parents are doing something other than waiting for someone else to do something.

here's the address and phone number for the PCSB:
3333 14th St NW # 210
Washington, DC 20010
[phone]

[Anonymous]

I volunteer at Jefferson MS in SW, where there are several dozen low-income Chinese-Am students, many of whom seem to be bilingual (I hear them speaking Chinese together). I've asked a few of their parents if they put their kids' names in the YY lottery when the children were the right age. They say, no, YY isn't for poor Asian kids, it's for whites, blacks and a few rich ABCs. Why not try to involve these parents in the discussion about getting bilingual numbers up? The Charter Board probably doesn't even know about them and could be made aware that almost all the Chinese at YY are well off. I don't believe that DC Charter doesn't want to serve low-SES Asians, they're just off the radar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I challenge every, single one of you with a gripe to write a letter to the charter board explaining your position on the matter. CC the school and the president of the board of trustees so that they know parents are doing something other than waiting for someone else to do something.

The push needs to come from the school, from everybody w/clout at YY, parent leaders, board, administrators. Individuals get ignored by the Charter Board. I've written to them many times, asked to present at hearings, nobody gets back to me.

[Anonymous]

True, but if they receive a critical mass, and the school knows all of this attention is going on their behalf, perhaps someone will listen. It is a far cry better than bitching on an anonymous message board or waiting for someone else to act.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:True, but if they receive a critical mass, and the school knows all of this attention is going on their behalf, perhaps someone will listen. It is a far cry better than bitching on an anonymous message board or waiting for someone else to act.

I'm a Chinese YY parent and I will write, but that's it. More would be beating my head against a wall. I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that, other than a few thoughtful parents, nobody at YY wants more of us around. Certainly not the administrators. A Cantonese-speaking vice principal would undermine their authority big-time. The focus is how many low-SES AA kids enroll and stay in the school, never mind how good their Mandarin is, or if they're getting inputs to keep up with better-off peers (e.g. immersion summer camps and trips to China, the MD schools will actually pay to send poor kids). We just want to get through 2nd grade and on to a private.

[Anonymous]

Gosh, will these LAMB parents take the time to learn about their own schools lottery process before trying to lecture others. Read up and understand why LAMB's lottery predates the charter laws. Then come back and lecture if LAMB was starting today why they cannot have two lotteries, aka Munde Verde.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I challenge every, single one of you with a gripe to write a letter to the charter board explaining your position on the matter. CC the school and the president of the board of trustees so that they know parents are doing something other than waiting for someone else to do something.

The push needs to come from the school, from everybody w/clout at YY, parent leaders, board, administrators. Individuals get ignored by the Charter Board. I've written to them many times, asked to present at hearings, nobody gets back to me.

Nah, that's a cop out. The push needs to come from all the complainers on and off this board. If you a citizen of DC you have a right to voice your opinion. Don't stop at the charter board, as I agree they are slothful in responding to inquiries. Write to the committee of the woke of the DC council also. I think they would be more responsive than the charter board anyway. Especially, if all the haters on this board wrote in mass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer at Jefferson MS in SW, where there are several dozen low-income Chinese-Am students, many of whom seem to be bilingual (I hear them speaking Chinese together). I've asked a few of their parents if they put their kids' names in the YY lottery when the children were the right age. They say, no, YY isn't for poor Asian kids, it's for whites, blacks and a few rich ABCs. Why not try to involve these parents in the discussion about getting bilingual numbers up? The Charter Board probably doesn't even know about them and could be made aware that almost all the Chinese at YY are well off. I don't believe that DC Charter doesn't want to serve low-SES Asians, they're just off the radar.

I call BS on this post! Why would the parents apply to Yu Ying? Yu Ying children are not old enough for middle school, so why ask ask oparents of middle school children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I call BS on this post! Why would the parents apply to Yu Ying? Yu Ying children are not old enough for middle school, so why ask ask oparents of middle school children?

You're missing the point. There is a decent-sized group of bilingual, low-income Chinese-American families at Jefferson who actively decided not to apply to YY when their kids were young enough to go into the lottery, four or five years ago, because their perception of the school was that it wasn't for families like them. This is still very much the case among such parents. It's not easy to find groups of Asian parents of school-age kids in DC, but Jefferson has one. 10% of the 400 kids at Jefferson are Asian, mostly Chinese from the Chinatown community.

These are low-income Chinese families who YY, the pols, and the Charter Board might want to hear from. Easy to ignore the fact that all the low-SES residents of DC aren't Hispanic or AA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I call BS on this post! Why would the parents apply to Yu Ying? Yu Ying children are not old enough for middle school, so why ask ask oparents of middle school children?

You're missing the point. There is a decent-sized group of bilingual, low-income Chinese-American families at Jefferson who actively decided not to apply to YY when their kids were young enough to go into the lottery, four or five years ago, because their perception of the school was that it wasn't for families like them. This is still very much the case among such parents. It's not easy to find groups of Asian parents of school-age kids in DC, but Jefferson has one. 10% of the 400 kids at Jefferson are Asian, mostly Chinese from the Chinatown community.

These are low-income Chinese families who YY, the pols, and the Charter Board might want to hear from. Easy to ignore the fact that all the low-SES residents of DC aren't Hispanic or AA.

No, the point is that there is no such thing as a middle school student who could have applied for the YY lottery a few years ago. The comment is about as plausible as saying you knew a lot of 20 year olds who chose not to vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.

[Anonymous]

No, the point is that there is no such thing as a middle school student who could have applied for the YY lottery a few years ago. The comment is about as plausible as saying you knew a lot of 20 year olds who chose not to vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.

There are younger siblings of the Jefferson Chinese who could have gone in but didn't, and low-income Chinatown families with younger kids who are avoiding YY and will probably end up at Jefferson Academy. The point the PP is making is that the low-SES Chinese are ignored in the equation, I've thought about that, too. I agree that Jefferson isn't a bad place to make contact with a group of ethnic parents that should have a dog in this fight. They aren't in fact easy to find.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the charter board doesn't want a school that already attracts bright, well-off kids to have a preferential admission process that may be seen culling out the "unwanted" minorities. Do you REALLY think this hasn't been approached with them time and again? Don't you think that the school has been already looked at suspiciously for the past 3 years for dwindling numbers of low-income AA students? Honestly, the charter board doesn't look towards moving things in a positive direction and making influential change. They tend to only work on big problems that can't be ignored.

The over-simplification of the issues surrounding who does/doesn't choose to apply are too numerous to address here. It is a public school and the student population should reflect the population of the city. It does.

YY parent, not Chinese. By many estimates, there are two or three hundred low-income Chinese kids in this city whose parents might be attracted under a different paradigm. The waiters, dry cleaners and take-out place people obviously don't make professional salaries. I for one don't like how almost all of the Chinese at YY seem to be from six-figure salary families - it's part of what makes the learning environment phony.

I'm certainly not under the impression that the PA, the administration and the YY Board have ever presented a united front on the issue, or been persistent in asking for help from the powers-that-be in boosting the hopelessly low number of bilingual kids.

The case could be made that having more bilinguals would help the low-SES kids with immersion. When you visit one of the NYC Chinese immersion schools, you get a feel for how this works. Invite Charter Board people on a trip to one in Manhattan or Queens to learn about the 2-way model. Invite them to attend that annual CAPE conference on dual immersion programs. Yes, all they could say is no.

The issues surrounding who does/doesn't choose to apply are terribly complicated when it comes to the Chinese families. PPs on this thread have nailed them over and over - suggest that Charter Board members wade through the posts on this thread, and the similarly themed one in Nov, to 'earn what everybody involved should know. This isn't the right model, it just sounds good.

Yawn.


(It's tiresome to listen to people bitch, especially those who don't actually do anything.) Instead of realizing how lucky you are to have one of the best opportunities in the entire United States for your children to become fluent in Mandarin, you whine because it doesn't fit your personal fantasy.

Go ahead then pumpkin, and make a school. Something tells me you know nothing about satisfying multiple constituencies and still remaining a viable entity.

Bottom line: you recognize how lucky you are and thank your lucky stars, alternatively you bitch. In that case, save yourself and everyone else the trouble - just go do your own thing. It's not like you'll miss anything... much less, be missed.

P.S. That goes for many more threads than this.