Fairfax Adding Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any update on which schools are adding FLES?

Bailey's will be adding Spanish FLES for students who aren't in the Spanish Immersion program.

AKA the "make it easier on Spanish-speaking kids who are doing poorly."

V. good letter in the FFX Co paper this week on a Herndon elem school removing French for Spanish because of this. Totally shameful, and I'm so glad I don't live in Herndon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any update on which schools are adding FLES?

Bailey's will be adding Spanish FLES for students who aren't in the Spanish Immersion program.

AKA the "make it easier on Spanish-speaking kids who are doing poorly."

V. good letter in the FFX Co paper this week on a Herndon elem school removing French for Spanish because of this. Totally shameful, and I'm so glad I don't live in Herndon.

I don't know about making it easier on the students who are doing poorly because, unlike immersion, they don't get grades for FLES. It's just like another special. There's no way you can learn a foreign language only getting 1-2 hours a week of it (and no homework) but switching to Spanish instead of French is far more practical for this area. More kids will have an opportunity to hear/see/practice Spanish than they will French.

[Anonymous]

Mandarin, Russian, Arabic. These are lasnguages that matter. All the rest are a waste of time, esp. French.

[Anonymous]

OUr school is a FLES school and there is a grade for FLES on the new progress reports. They also get grades for their other specials - music, PE, art.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any update on which schools are adding FLES?

Bailey's will be adding Spanish FLES for students who aren't in the Spanish Immersion program.

AKA the "make it easier on Spanish-speaking kids who are doing poorly."

V. good letter in the FFX Co paper this week on a Herndon elem school removing French for Spanish because of this. Totally shameful, and I'm so glad I don't live in Herndon.

I don't know about making it easier on the students who are doing poorly because, unlike immersion, they don't get grades for FLES. It's just like another special. There's no way you can learn a foreign language only getting 1-2 hours a week of it (and no homework) but switching to Spanish instead of French is far more practical for this area. More kids will have an opportunity to hear/see/practice Spanish than they will French.

Learning a world language is not about being practical. It's about learning something new. Not something to make it convenient for a huge segment of the population, who by the way is also here illegally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mandarin, Russian, Arabic. These are lasnguages that matter. All the rest are a waste of time, esp. French.

Russian? I don't think so. Less valuable than French.

Mandarin - yes. It's ridiculous that FCPS isn't introducing it to elementary school students.

[Anonymous]

Wow - the amount of racism that comes out here is pretty appalling. Spanish as an easy grade for Spanish speakers? Shows how much people on here know about learning a language -- speaking may be easy but reading/writing still takes work. Did any of your white snowflakes go to school and just start reading Shakespeare and writing full reports in perfect English in kindergarten? These skills have to be taught. And only parents in this area are so obsessed with having their children be able to draft trade contracts in Chinese that a language is only good/worthy if it can be used in some high-powered job.

Signed,

A white parent who majored in French, learned Spanish as an adult and knows one of the "high powered languages" at the intermediate level

[Anonymous]

Looks like there may not be any new FLES schools added next year due to lack of money - http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-county-schools-facing-30-million-shortfall-after-tax-decision/2013/05/02/f4477302-b28a-11e2-baf7-5bc2a9dc6f44_story.html

[Anonymous]

To dear parents who are insanely hoping their DC to learn Mandarin,
Do you know how much frustration your DC will face?
Say if your DC put enough effort to speak Mandarin fluently, can they communicate with Chinese in NYC Chinatown? No! Most of them speak Cantonese or other dialects.
Can they read Chinese newspaper? No, newspapers are written in Traditional characters in US. I bet your DC have already had hard time learning Simplified characters.
If your DC can excel all Cantonese/Mandarin/Traditional/Simplified, do you really want them to interact with real Chinese people in China in their job? Play with Chinese type of politics?
Say you just want to pass the Chinese tradition/culture from one generation to the next, what is the possibility that your DC will pass their Chinese to the next generation?

[Anonymous]

I'd still love to know what schools are getting FLES and what the language will be. I'm the OP.

I think I read it is estimated to cost $240/child to add FLES. I'll gladly pay that much.

[Anonymous]

Anyone know about the lottery chances for Kent Gardens for K. I called the school and left a message. I need to decide on the house we're getting, so I'm very anxious. The house is just outside the boundary for the school, so if our chances are decent, I'd be a peace with that. Thanks for any advice or info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like there may not be any new FLES schools added next year due to lack of money - http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-county-schools-facing-30-million-shortfall-after-tax-decision/2013/05/02/f4477302-b28a-11e2-baf7-5bc2a9dc6f44_story.html

According to this there will be 5 new FLES schools - http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=2281
Bailey's and Belvedere are two of them. Both will be Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any update on which schools are adding FLES?

Bailey's will be adding Spanish FLES for students who aren't in the Spanish Immersion program.

AKA the "make it easier on Spanish-speaking kids who are doing poorly."

V. good letter in the FFX Co paper this week on a Herndon elem school removing French for Spanish because of this. Totally shameful, and I'm so glad I don't live in Herndon.

I don't know about making it easier on the students who are doing poorly because, unlike immersion, they don't get grades for FLES. It's just like another special. There's no way you can learn a foreign language only getting 1-2 hours a week of it (and no homework) but switching to Spanish instead of French is far more practical for this area. More kids will have an opportunity to hear/see/practice Spanish than they will French.

This was (sort of) given as a reason for adding FLES at my DC's school. Since the lessons taught in the FLES language are tied to the English-language curriculum, it does reinforce the curriculum content for kids who are native speakers of the FLES language. So yes, adding Spanish FLES at Bailey's will reinforce the curriculum for kids who speak Spanish. Won't do much for the Arabic speakers or any of the other 30 or so languages spoken at Bailey's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any update on which schools are adding FLES?

Bailey's will be adding Spanish FLES for students who aren't in the Spanish Immersion program.

AKA the "make it easier on Spanish-speaking kids who are doing poorly."

V. good letter in the FFX Co paper this week on a Herndon elem school removing French for Spanish because of this. Totally shameful, and I'm so glad I don't live in Herndon.

I don't know about making it easier on the students who are doing poorly because, unlike immersion, they don't get grades for FLES. It's just like another special. There's no way you can learn a foreign language only getting 1-2 hours a week of it (and no homework) but switching to Spanish instead of French is far more practical for this area. More kids will have an opportunity to hear/see/practice Spanish than they will French.

Learning a world language is not about being practical. It's about learning something new. Not something to make it convenient for a huge segment of the population, who by the way is also here illegally.

Most of the students you're slamming were probably born here and are, therefore, US citizens. The immigration status of the parents is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

That actually isn't true. If the parents are not US citizens and came here illegally, the children born here can also be deported.