Anyone wait listed for Sela?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sela needs to poof be gone. So tired of their bullshit.

TROLL, how about you Poof and be gone, we are tired of Your bullshit! You must live a very miserable life to harbor such negativity about a School you know nothing about... Really??? Get a life or a job because you are obviously bored

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to clarify, I did not say they ARE a part of DCI - they don't even have classes thru elementary - but their long term goal is to add classes past elementary and maybe, possibly, in a world were all things come true, merge with the other language charters at DCI. It is good for a school to have goals and a long term trajectory.

NP - Here's the thing: it's good for a school to have a DREAM, but they need to be clear that at this point is it ONLY a DREAM. No one from DCI has ever ever ever said they were considering - now or in the future - adding Hebrew as a language and possibly giving feeder rights to Sela. This has never happened. And in the past Sela HAS cited this as something "in the works" which was misleading and untrue.

DCI is "not a long term trajectory" for Sela. DCI at this point is a goal and a dream, but Sela needs to be crystal clear with potential families that at this point this is ONLY a conversation that Sela is having with itself. I have heard the question asked at 2 DCI info sessions in the last 2 years and the answer has always been the same: they are focused on opening and running the school with the 3 languages they have and they have NO plans or considerations right now for adding any other languages.

Goals are a beautiful thing. Trying to disguise them as a likelihood or "plans in the works" when they're neither is misleading and - if Sela is still doing that - it's going to bite them hugely again in the bottom, as it did before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous - 02:10

I don't understand the negativity you have towards Sela; however, the DCI is new and hasn't even started yet so anything can change years from now. The fact that Sela is saying is "in the works" is quite possible. We live in a global society so having a major feeder school offering only 3 languages may have to be revisited. To come on a forum and spew vitriol is really a waste of energy. We are talking at least 3 years before Sela's first group of kids graduate from the school and anything can change in 3 years!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sela needs to poof be gone. So tired of their bullshit.

Why is SELA struggling so hard? We were thrilled to learn about their opening, and I've had them on my list each year -- but far down due to commute issues.

I'm surprised that there's so little enthusiasm for them, though I confess I'm a relative newcomer to DCUrbanMom, so maybe I missed some epic thread or something.

Still, I'm rooting for them!

Sela is a new charter school and is reorganizing just like every other school that starts fresh; however, we receive a lot of community and parent-support. Our new Head of School is a dynamic leader and based on the changes made this year, Sela is definitely standing on solid ground. Currently, I have a child in pre-k4 and just enrolled my other child in the upcoming pre-k3 class. As a Sela parent, I see the school being very successful. As for your commuting issues, there's parent-supported bus service that has several drop-off/pick-up locations, you may want to inquire about that option if that's your only deal breaker.

[Anonymous]

So are there plans....or not for Sela and Ebrew to be part of the DCI portfolio. Would like to see other or additional languages to be on the table. I guess it makes sense to push the idea....even if it's not yet being considered. Perception oft repeated can create a reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous[b wrote:]So are there plans....or not for Sela and Ebrew to be part of the DCI portfolio.[/b] Would like to see other or additional languages to be on the table. I guess it makes sense to push the idea....even if it's not yet being considered. Perception oft repeated can create a reality.

Not according to DCI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So are there plans....or not for Sela and Ebrew to be part of the DCI portfolio. Would like to see other or additional languages to be on the table. I guess it makes sense to push the idea....even if it's not yet being considered. Perception oft repeated can create a reality.

Don't believe anything you see here on this question - only believe what the Admins at DCI tell you when you ask. So far they have said no, no plans at all, not even in discussion about it. They are focused on running a new school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to clarify, I did not say they ARE a part of DCI - they don't even have classes thru elementary - but their long term goal is to add classes past elementary and maybe, possibly, in a world were all things come true, merge with the other language charters at DCI. It is good for a school to have goals and a long term trajectory.

NP - Here's the thing: it's good for a school to have a DREAM, but they need to be clear that at this point is it ONLY a DREAM. No one from DCI has ever ever ever said they were considering - now or in the future - adding Hebrew as a language and possibly giving feeder rights to Sela. This has never happened. And in the past Sela HAS cited this as something "in the works" which was misleading and untrue.

DCI is "not a long term trajectory" for Sela. DCI at this point is a goal and a dream, but Sela needs to be crystal clear with potential families that at this point this is ONLY a conversation that Sela is having with itself. I have heard the question asked at 2 DCI info sessions in the last 2 years and the answer has always been the same: they are focused on opening and running the school with the 3 languages they have and they have NO plans or considerations right now for adding any other languages.

Goals are a beautiful thing. Trying to disguise them as a likelihood or "plans in the works" when they're neither is misleading and - if Sela is still doing that - it's going to bite them hugely again in the bottom, as it did before.

Anonymous - 02:10

I don't understand the negativity you have towards Sela; however, the DCI is new and hasn't even started yet so anything can change years from now. The fact that Sela is saying is "in the works" is quite possible. We live in a global society so having a major feeder school offering only 3 languages may have to be revisited. To come on a forum and spew vitriol is really a waste of energy. We are talking at least 3 years before Sela's first group of kids graduate from the school and anything can change in 3 years!

Wow, "DCI is new and hasn't even started yet"? You do know they're open and running and have 6th and 7th graders this year, right? DCI has very much started. They have also been crystal clear when asked this exact question about Sela and Hebrew, that there is no consideration right now of adding Sela as a feeder or Hebrew at any point. Of course that can change in the future. But it is irresponsible and inappropriate for Sela to frame their interest in becoming a feeder as "in the works" when it simply is not in the works from DCI's perspective.

This is not about "negativity towards Sela". This is pointing out the frustration and confusion that was previously caused when a school hitches part of their sales pitch to something that is not true - at least not true yet and not being considered right now by the key player: DCI. And, if/when DCI does get to the point that they consider other languages, there are at least 2 other languages that are much more popular (among the public-school DC families) and more useful than Hebrew that Sela would be in competition with: Arabic and Japanese. Both have been floated as possible other languages for schools, and both are far more useful from a world business point of view than Hebrew. That is not to say DCI would never consider Hebrew, but for Sela to speak as if it's highly likely without any green-light from DCI is crazy and a bad idea.

The fact that you equate telling the history of this misrepresentation and pointing out that if it's considering it's a really bad thing with "spewing vitriol" is quite telling. The bottom line remains the same: if Sela is telling prospective or current parents anything other than "We hope to become part of DCI, but currently there is no actual plan for that to happen", then Sela is doing a disservice to itself and their audiences, and it will come back to bite them big time just as it did before.

[Anonymous]

^Exactly why Sela needs to poof be gone. Maybe then their bullshit lies will stop!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^Exactly why Sela needs to poof be gone. Maybe then their bullshit lies will stop!

I'm the PP saying Sela should not misrepresent the DCI thing, but I find your "poof be gone" very unproductive too. It's no small feat to put in the 2 or to open a charter school. I don't understand saying it should just disappear. Either enough people will enroll (hopefully with accurate info) or they won't and it won't be sustainable. But why say it should "just go away"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^Exactly why Sela needs to poof be gone. Maybe then their bullshit lies will stop!

I'm the PP saying Sela should not misrepresent the DCI thing, but I find your "poof be gone" very unproductive too. It's no small feat to put in the 2 or to open a charter school. I don't understand saying it should just disappear. Either enough people will enroll (hopefully with accurate info) or they won't and it won't be sustainable. But why say it should "just go away"?

Meant to say it's no small feat to put in the work to open a charter school

[Anonymous]

Bump

[Anonymous]

PP's complaints should be taken with a grain of salt, as several of these issues apply to a LOT of charter schools:

Anonymous wrote:
1. Low demand for Hebrew compared to Spanish, French, or Mandarin.
2. Inconvenient location--not very close to a metro or to that many families
3. They didn't offer PK3 for the past few years, so families often started school someplace else and didn't want to switch
4. No apparent feeder pattern--not like schools that feed to DCI or Wilson, or offer their own middle/high schools.
5. Turnover among teachers and administrators

2) It's actually really convenient to Petworth for those driving. I can't dispute the public transit issue - though parents have previously worked to get a shuttle set up.
4) With the exception of the language charters and Haynes & Cap City, no charters have a feeder path. (This includes well regarded schools like IT, CMI, etc)
5) I think every school can make this complaint at some level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP's complaints should be taken with a grain of salt, as several of these issues apply to a LOT of charter schools:

Anonymous wrote:
1. Low demand for Hebrew compared to Spanish, French, or Mandarin.
2. Inconvenient location--not very close to a metro or to that many families
3. They didn't offer PK3 for the past few years, so families often started school someplace else and didn't want to switch
4. No apparent feeder pattern--not like schools that feed to DCI or Wilson, or offer their own middle/high schools.
5. Turnover among teachers and administrators

2) It's actually really convenient to Petworth for those driving. I can't dispute the public transit issue - though parents have previously worked to get a shuttle set up.
4) With the exception of the language charters and Haynes & Cap City, no charters have a feeder path. (This includes well regarded schools like IT, CMI, etc)
5) I think every school can make this complaint at some level.

You think every school can make a complaint about turnover among administrators? Teachers, yes, applies to 90% of all DC public schools (DCPS and charters). But Admins? Other than Sela, Shining Stars, and maybe a couple others, what schools have had regular turnover of Admins among DC's roughly 200 public schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the plan for the kids to continue Hebrew language after 5th grade?

There is no plan.

yet... you will read rumors about Sela trying to become part of DCI