Rejected by Oyster for Pre-K4 Spanish dominant - what are our options?

[Anonymous]

To my knowledge Bruce Monroe and Powell do not require any spanish tests and they have English/Spanish dominant waitlists. It’s easier to get in if you claim spa ish dominance and they don’t do a follow up test.

[Anonymous]

That's really messed up. Oyster's loss. My son would've failed the test too, but would've been caught up with other within months. I'm from Northern Europe and his father is from South America.
We also speak several languages at home. His Spanish and English are not as good as they could be, but they would only get better at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's really messed up. Oyster's loss. My son would've failed the test too, but would've been caught up with other within months. I'm from Northern Europe and his father is from South America.
We also speak several languages at home. His Spanish and English are not as good as they could be, but they would only get better at school.

But the point is that there are standards for what the Spanish dominate kids need to do to get in. They aren’t looking for kids who would get better with instruction. Those are the English dominate kids.

Team school. Sorry OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's really messed up. Oyster's loss. My son would've failed the test too, but would've been caught up with other within months. I'm from Northern Europe and his father is from South America.
We also speak several languages at home. His Spanish and English are not as good as they could be, but they would only get better at school.

The purpose of the Spanish/English split is top reserve the model where there are children who are fluent models of each language. Oyster doesn’t have a shortage of English models so they don’t give them priority. They do prioritize kids who are fluent in Spanish. OP’s kid isn’t fluent in Spanish. Her husband might be but it sounds like he’s not the primary parent.

I also find it amazing the OP paid for one of the most expensive neighborhoods and didn’t do enough research to know how two way immersion works. The test shouldn’t have been a surprise.

[Anonymous]

This a wake up call for families with one parent who is Spanish-speaking. Do they test every single child admitted as Spanish dominant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This a wake up call for families with one parent who is Spanish-speaking. Do they test every single child admitted as Spanish dominant?

Yes. Have for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This a wake up call for families with one parent who is Spanish-speaking. Do they test every single child admitted as Spanish dominant?

Yes they do. My children attend (one has graduated) from Oyster. The school has tested for Spanish dominance since I moved IB 12 years ago—and I’m sure that it stated long before then.

[Anonymous]

They should rename the categories "Spanish dominant" and "Not Spanish dominant". Having a Spanish dominant and English dominant category is definitely confusing for kids that are dominant in a third language. I don't blame OP, particularly since their kid's Spanish is better than his English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at Communikids in Tenleytown.

+1 good teachers, solid Spanish, nice community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should rename the categories "Spanish dominant" and "Not Spanish dominant". Having a Spanish dominant and English dominant category is definitely confusing for kids that are dominant in a third language. I don't blame OP, particularly since their kid's Spanish is better than his English.

The OP should have simply called Oyster to ask for guidance. This isn’t a real problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you go with your son to take the test or did your husband? If your son isn't used to speaking Spanish with you and instead speaks Russian then perhaps that is why he didn't do as well as you thought. Maybe your husband should go and plead your case. I don't understand how a public school can discriminate against children who are not fluent in any language. Your son is certainly not English language dominant if you are speaking Russian and your husband is speaking Spanish. How can there only be two categories- Fluent English speaker and Fluent Spanish speaker. What about a child who has a language delay and can't pass a test in either language? Is there a test for English speakers as well?

We used exactly the same arguments. Oyster did not care. We both went, as we figured, we can't hide such an obvious fact that our son speaks Russian. It seemed only logical to choose Spanish on the application, as his English is almost non-existent. If we had chosen English and still won the lottery, would Oyster care that our son still can't form a complete sentence in English?

Maybe that is the issue and you aren't fully telling the truth. You originally said child speaks three languages - Russian, then spanish, then english. Reality is he only speaks Spanish and Russian and Russian is his primary language. He doesn't speak English so you claiming he does is lying and it would be best to start teaching him now or school will be very difficult for him.

For language disorders, there are so many different kinds and how kids are impacted is very different but most kids at 3, if it is severe would need a more specialized setting.

[Anonymous]

If your child is Russian-dominant he should be in a monolingual school as an ELL student (English language learner).

If he is Spanish-dominant he should be in a dual-language school, of an English school as an ELL student.

[Anonymous]

Whatever. Not sure why this family mentioned the Russian to anybody at DCPS/Oyster if the kid's Spanish was decent. OP doesn't sound like s/he approached the matter strategically. I'd go all out on Spanish at home, then go to Oyster for K at the latest.

I didn't start school until first grade and have a PhD from an Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's really messed up. Oyster's loss. My son would've failed the test too, but would've been caught up with other within months. I'm from Northern Europe and his father is from South America.
We also speak several languages at home. His Spanish and English are not as good as they could be, but they would only get better at school.

The purpose of the Spanish/English split is top reserve the model where there are children who are fluent models of each language. Oyster doesn’t have a shortage of English models so they don’t give them priority. They do prioritize kids who are fluent in Spanish. OP’s kid isn’t fluent in Spanish. Her husband might be but it sounds like he’s not the primary parent.

I also find it amazing the OP paid for one of the most expensive neighborhoods and didn’t do enough research to know how two way immersion works. The test shouldn’t have been a surprise.

This. Thank you, PP. That's the most concise description I've seen of why this makes perfect sense. OP - read this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's really messed up. Oyster's loss. My son would've failed the test too, but would've been caught up with other within months. I'm from Northern Europe and his father is from South America.
We also speak several languages at home. His Spanish and English are not as good as they could be, but they would only get better at school.

The purpose of the Spanish/English split is top reserve the model where there are children who are fluent models of each language. Oyster doesn’t have a shortage of English models so they don’t give them priority. They do prioritize kids who are fluent in Spanish. OP’s kid isn’t fluent in Spanish. Her husband might be but it sounds like he’s not the primary parent.

I also find it amazing the OP paid for one of the most expensive neighborhoods and didn’t do enough research to know how two way immersion works. The test shouldn’t have been a surprise.

This. Thank you, PP. That's the most concise description I've seen of why this makes perfect sense. OP - read this.

I agree. The OP's child isn't a good model for fluent English nor Spanish speaking students. She should have put the child in a Spanish immersion preschool. It amazes me how many people really don't plan the most basic things related to their children's education.

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.