Mundo Verde and CReative Minds

[Anonymous]

The 28 number included siblings. I'm not sure whether that number will be increased as a result of the Charter Board decision, but the number of students who will fit in the new location will grow after next year because they are building a new building for the early grades on the same lot. That building will not be completed by the beginning of the 2014-2015 year, so next year will have a smaller capacity than future years.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Thanks, MV parent! Do you know if next year they will actually try to have as many students as they requested in the charter amendment? That would be more students in every grade, including 92 in 1st through 3rd grade (which I believe are much smaller now). It would also be more students in PK3 (40), PK4 (66) and K (69). If that's the case, then I would think they would have significantly more lottery slots in every grade than they originally anticipated (and stated they had in the info sheet they distributed at the last open house).

They plan to have the number that is listed on the info sheet. They will continue to grow gradually over the next couple years.

So next year, they won't have any more classrooms opening or more kids in each class, despite the size of the new school and the cost of renovations/upkeep? Why do they, e.g., say on the application that they'll have 40 PS students in 2014-2015, if in fact it is only the 28 they had on the ifo sheet? I thought one reason that they asked for the amendment was that they could not afford the school with the current amount they are taking in. Or are they going to rent out some of the J.F. Cook space to another school? I am thoroughly confused.

Am 99% sure that 28 was an approximation of the number of non-sibling spots that would be available for PS3.

That would be fantastic, but I asked this specifically to a woman who worked there (not the ED/principal, however), and she said it was the total slots, including sibs. Also, they said that is because there are 4 classrooms total and 7 PK3 kids per class (more PK4 kids/class), so I'm almost sure that was the same as the # of students they had this year. I am not surprised that at the first open house (the one I attedned last week), they would be conservative in the # of slots they said were going to be offered, as they had not yet been approved by the charter school board. Will be curious to see if they update the #s in future open houses. If you have any info, I'd appreciate it! I am not sure whom I would contact at the school to ask.

NP here. Not to be snarky, but does it really matter how many slots there are? Even if there are 28, your odds of getting in are extremely slim. Rank MV first, of course, if it's your first choice, but you're going to drive yourself crazy trying to figure out exactly how awful your chances are.

It does to me. To each her own on how you go about applying to schools, but probability of getting in is definitely one dimension for me, and 40 vs. 28 would be appreciably greater.

Well, okay, but there aren't 40 or even 28. There will be 28 total, so most likely more like 5-10 non-sibling seats, if that. It doesn't sound like it's a big expansion year for MV, which will be a big disappointment to many.

[Anonymous]

Right, which is exactly the reason why people want numbers rather than generalities on how many slots are available, so they can figure out whether it's worth it to apply there.

[Anonymous]

If you are thinking about sending your child to a growing charter school, but you need complete certainties on items such as these, you might want to rethink your choice. The school is phenomenol, but like all things in transition, there are and will be uncertainties. For some people, that just doesn't work, and that if fine, but they might want to rethink whether such a school is the right choice or if it will just be a continued stream of changes that will cause them continual frustration. This is actually a good time to reflect on whether that is something you want to undertake. For me, the answer is absolutely, but maybe not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are thinking about sending your child to a growing charter school, but you need complete certainties on items such as these, you might want to rethink your choice. The school is phenomenol, but like all things in transition, there are and will be uncertainties. For some people, that just doesn't work, and that if fine, but they might want to rethink whether such a school is the right choice or if it will just be a continued stream of changes that will cause them continual frustration. This is actually a good time to reflect on whether that is something you want to undertake. For me, the answer is absolutely, but maybe not for everyone.

Agree 100%

Charter schools, especially newer schools are not about exact numbers and certainties. Charter school may not be the right fit your you if this is what you need.

[Anonymous]

I should probably know this, but is there a certain cutoff point for admission to MV? They don't take any new students after K or something like that? Or am I confusing this with LAMB (which I know only admits 3 and 4 year olds)?

[Anonymous]

At this point there is no cutoff. This may change in future years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At this point there is no cutoff. This may change in future years.

That said, I would not be surprised if they followed Yu Ying's model, and cut-off at 1st or 2nd grade.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:1) they have not addressed this increase in size with DCI - so this may be a point of issue with the DCI folks as this brings them back out of alignment with the other schools (and YY may have issues).

2) this was done to bring the number of classes from spanish/english to make it easier for the teachers to teach (not better for the kids to learn) - which was interesting.

3) it did not sound like there was any plan to increase the number of staff at this time which would probably need to be addressed now that this has been approved.

Can you explain #2--not sure what you mean.

It appears from what was mentioned at the meeting, that they had an odd number of classrooms which caused difficulty for the logistics of how their teaching worked (1/2 spanish and 1/2 english). They may have had 3 classrooms? The additional classroom made it easier for them to work logistically - most likely they were waiting for approval for the additional kids to hire additional teachers (and wont just make huge classrooms).

I am not at MV, but this was the discussion for why they wanted the expansion.

MV parent here-- yes, there are odd numbers of classes for some grades. Also, like you stated, my understanding from talking to administration/leadership is that the classes will not get bigger, there will be additional classrooms in certain grades, e.g., 4 classes of 18 PS/PK instead of 3. Because the school is moving into a large building and there will be no middle school (students would attend DCI) MV has to fill the space both financially and practically; hence more classrooms per grade, not necessary more students per class. Yes, the school will be larger and feel less intimate. However, this expansion provides opportunities for more kids to attend, which IMO is a good thing.

The amendment application clearly states that the intent is to increase all classes from 18 per class to 24 per class. MV is very clear that 18 per class is NOT what the school wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any idea how many slots MV will there be for Kindergarten?

At DC Ed Fest a school representative told me 25.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:1) they have not addressed this increase in size with DCI - so this may be a point of issue with the DCI folks as this brings them back out of alignment with the other schools (and YY may have issues).

2) this was done to bring the number of classes from spanish/english to make it easier for the teachers to teach (not better for the kids to learn) - which was interesting.

3) it did not sound like there was any plan to increase the number of staff at this time which would probably need to be addressed now that this has been approved.

Can you explain #2--not sure what you mean.

It appears from what was mentioned at the meeting, that they had an odd number of classrooms which caused difficulty for the logistics of how their teaching worked (1/2 spanish and 1/2 english). They may have had 3 classrooms? The additional classroom made it easier for them to work logistically - most likely they were waiting for approval for the additional kids to hire additional teachers (and wont just make huge classrooms).

I am not at MV, but this was the discussion for why they wanted the expansion.

MV parent here-- yes, there are odd numbers of classes for some grades. Also, like you stated, my understanding from talking to administration/leadership is that the classes will not get bigger, there will be additional classrooms in certain grades, e.g., 4 classes of 18 PS/PK instead of 3. Because the school is moving into a large building and there will be no middle school (students would attend DCI) MV has to fill the space both financially and practically; hence more classrooms per grade, not necessary more students per class. Yes, the school will be larger and feel less intimate. However, this expansion provides opportunities for more kids to attend, which IMO is a good thing.

The amendment application clearly states that the intent is to increase all classes from 18 per class to 24 per class. MV is very clear that 18 per class is NOT what the school wants.

It's surprising that current parents are unaware that this is the plan. Going from having 18 to 24 kids per class is a huge difference and it's doubtful that current parents would like or support.

[Anonymous]

MV parent here- my child's class has 21 students and had 22/23 last year. The only class that I am aware of that has 18 is PS/Pk. The amendment doesn't reflect the reality in the classroom; at least for K and above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MV parent here- my child's class has 21 students and had 22/23 last year. The only class that I am aware of that has 18 is PS/Pk. The amendment doesn't reflect the reality in the classroom; at least for K and above.

It does not reflect the current reality because the charter did not permit 24, apparently. It reflects the new planned reality now that the amendment was approved this week and the school is moving to a new, larger space. Kind of annoyed that this was not mentioned at open house.

[Anonymous]

How is it that CM can afford to keep class size at 15 kids. Don't they rely on per pupil funding?

[Anonymous]

i would like to know the answer to this too. will they seek to expand if they move locations?