what charter spot(s) did you receive but are turning down?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We may give up a single-digit WL number on Yu Ying's PK WL. (And if we ultimately take a spot at YY, we'll be opening up a PK spot at another excellent and highly sought after charter.)

You got lucky! But, please don't post until you actually do it. The speculation and suspense is killing some of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You got lucky! But, please don't post until you actually do it. The speculation and suspense is killing some of us.

Good call. It would be helpful if people could limit posts to slots you're definitely giving up (and please include school and grade). Those of us who don't have options that we're happy with at the moment really want to get a realistic sense of what are chances are. In other words, we want hope, but we don't want to get our hopes up based on what may or may not come to pass.

[Anonymous]

Turning down PK4 Mundo Verde...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Turning down PK4 Mundo Verde...

If you already haven't, please call them ASAP! TIA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're probably turning down a spot high on the wait list for Mundo Verde K and we also applied to Inspired Teaching. Both are unproven, and our child has special needs. With regret and sorrow, we're probably headed to Bethesda.
We applied to Two Rivers, but are 'way down on the wait list. Plus, it borders a tough neighborhood and has not much of a playground. That said, we know many people who are happy there. If we'd gotten in...well, we can't wait until August.

My child is also special needs - asperger's/hfa and I am curious why you don't want to take a chance on Mundo Verde. Is it services or something else? My child got in and I'm trying to figure out if this is a good idea or if we should stick with our current school. He doesnt have behavioral problems in school and does well academically but I'm not sure if they will have a special Ed person in place next school year for consultation.

[Anonymous]

Bump!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're probably turning down a spot high on the wait list for Mundo Verde K and we also applied to Inspired Teaching. Both are unproven, and our child has special needs. With regret and sorrow, we're probably headed to Bethesda.
We applied to Two Rivers, but are 'way down on the wait list. Plus, it borders a tough neighborhood and has not much of a playground. That said, we know many people who are happy there. If we'd gotten in...well, we can't wait until August.

My child is also special needs - asperger's/hfa and I am curious why you don't want to take a chance on Mundo Verde. Is it services or something else? My child got in and I'm trying to figure out if this is a good idea or if we should stick with our current school. He doesnt have behavioral problems in school and does well academically but I'm not sure if they will have a special Ed person in place next school year for consultation.

Not pp, but does your son deal well with change? I would expect frequent changes and adjustments in a new charter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're probably turning down a spot high on the wait list for Mundo Verde K and we also applied to Inspired Teaching. Both are unproven, and our child has special needs. With regret and sorrow, we're probably headed to Bethesda.
We applied to Two Rivers, but are 'way down on the wait list. Plus, it borders a tough neighborhood and has not much of a playground. That said, we know many people who are happy there. If we'd gotten in...well, we can't wait until August.

My child is also special needs - asperger's/hfa and I am curious why you don't want to take a chance on Mundo Verde. Is it services or something else? My child got in and I'm trying to figure out if this is a good idea or if we should stick with our current school. He doesnt have behavioral problems in school and does well academically but I'm not sure if they will have a special Ed person in place next school year for consultation.

Not pp, but does your son deal well with change? I would expect frequent changes and adjustments in a new charter.

What type of changes? Teachers, routine? I'm trying to figure out what to expect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're probably turning down a spot high on the wait list for Mundo Verde K and we also applied to Inspired Teaching. Both are unproven, and our child has special needs. With regret and sorrow, we're probably headed to Bethesda.
We applied to Two Rivers, but are 'way down on the wait list. Plus, it borders a tough neighborhood and has not much of a playground. That said, we know many people who are happy there. If we'd gotten in...well, we can't wait until August.

My child is also special needs - asperger's/hfa and I am curious why you don't want to take a chance on Mundo Verde. Is it services or something else? My child got in and I'm trying to figure out if this is a good idea or if we should stick with our current school. He doesnt have behavioral problems in school and does well academically but I'm not sure if they will have a special Ed person in place next school year for consultation.

Not pp, but does your son deal well with change? I would expect frequent changes and adjustments in a new charter.

What type of changes? Teachers, routine? I'm trying to figure out what to expect.

I wouldn't count on anything being stable. As I understand it, no teachers have yet been hired, thus they are all unknown and could possibly leave within the year. All policies will be new, and thus are subject to change once the actual effects are known. The rooms will likely be rearranged and/or painted. Materials may be added mid-year. Basically, the first couple years are building a school from scratch. There is no school now, so everything must change, and quickly. If your child (or you) would not be able to roll with it, it probably isn't the best choice right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're probably turning down a spot high on the wait list for Mundo Verde K and we also applied to Inspired Teaching. Both are unproven, and our child has special needs. With regret and sorrow, we're probably headed to Bethesda.
We applied to Two Rivers, but are 'way down on the wait list. Plus, it borders a tough neighborhood and has not much of a playground. That said, we know many people who are happy there. If we'd gotten in...well, we can't wait until August.

My child is also special needs - asperger's/hfa and I am curious why you don't want to take a chance on Mundo Verde. Is it services or something else? My child got in and I'm trying to figure out if this is a good idea or if we should stick with our current school. He doesnt have behavioral problems in school and does well academically but I'm not sure if they will have a special Ed person in place next school year for consultation.

you might ask if you can defer your spot for a year. i know people are going to jump all over me and say you can't do it - i know another charter will let you defer if your child is not pre K ready - so there are reasons why they let you do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

you might ask if you can defer your spot for a year. .

I must say, I hope this isn't legal or allowed. One of the reasons parents are jumping in to new charters is not only because they hold promise but also because others are so hard to get into and we suspect that these new ones will be even harder to get into later. It doesn't seem fair to those who are "taking the chance." Also, Mundo Verde isn't relly slated to expand at all in later grades: just 4 more spots in PK than in PS, and I suspect those will all go to siblings. Not sure about Inspired. So how could the school hold that spot for you even if they wanted to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

you might ask if you can defer your spot for a year. .

I must say, I hope this isn't legal or allowed. One of the reasons parents are jumping in to new charters is not only because they hold promise but also because others are so hard to get into and we suspect that these new ones will be even harder to get into later. It doesn't seem fair to those who are "taking the chance." ....

Give me a break. Kids with disabilities get the shaft on so many levels. It's one thing if people are deferring because they don't want to take a chance on a new school. It's another if there are developmental reasons that would prevent the kids from succeeding. I hope you never have to deal with special ed issues in DC but don't make up stuff to be offended by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're probably turning down a spot high on the wait list for Mundo Verde K and we also applied to Inspired Teaching. Both are unproven, and our child has special needs. With regret and sorrow, we're probably headed to Bethesda.
We applied to Two Rivers, but are 'way down on the wait list. Plus, it borders a tough neighborhood and has not much of a playground. That said, we know many people who are happy there. If we'd gotten in...well, we can't wait until August.

My child is also special needs - asperger's/hfa and I am curious why you don't want to take a chance on Mundo Verde. Is it services or something else? My child got in and I'm trying to figure out if this is a good idea or if we should stick with our current school. He doesnt have behavioral problems in school and does well academically but I'm not sure if they will have a special Ed person in place next school year for consultation.

Not pp, but does your son deal well with change? I would expect frequent changes and adjustments in a new charter.

What type of changes? Teachers, routine? I'm trying to figure out what to expect.

Someone's just trying to scare you back into her lousy DCPS. Once the teachers are hired they'll be under a full year contract, it's not like that will be changing. Similarly, the rooms will be finished before school starts. Honestly, the flexibility required at a new school affects the parents, not really the students. Policies might be tweaked (maybe going from "no peanut butter" to "no nuts period" or from "we all go to the playground together" to "Pre-S gets one time slot, Pre-K gets another, and K gets a third" or "K's recess will be after lunch") but wholesale changes are unlikely.

Anybody insisting that a new charter is too unstable for your child ought to provide something precise and exact and describe the impact on their own child. This just sounds like scare-mongering.

Ask the YY, 2R, and CC parents if they regret enrolling in a new charter school. I think a lot of them would tell you there are some huge pluses: social cohesion, the ability to create the school's culture, and the satisfaction of building a great school. I know we don't regret it in the least!

P.S. There will absolutely be special ed services. It's the LAW.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the positive responses 22:56 8:39 and 16:59.

[Anonymous]

If I had a child with special needs I would confirm exactly the type of supports which will be in place before I sign my kid up at Mundo or any other charter school. Our DCPS is regularly enrolling kids with special needs who were dumped (or in some other way made to feel unsupported) at their charter school. With dedicated aides for some kids, two full time staff (one for lower and one for upper), a special ed coordinator and a SPED manager - all in place because DCPS is trying to comply with law and the terms of the lawsuit - these kids get good coverage and a range of services that they have not been getting at some charters.