What do we think about Latin second campus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too bad that Latin never negotiated a charter with DCPCSB that permits them to hold students who don't work at grade level back, forcing them to repeat a year to stay in the program. The BASIS franchise did that before opening back in 2015. It is what is is.

I would think with Latin’s small class sizes and it’s emphasis on individualized instruction, there’s no need to hold any students back, because students would all be at least on grade level.

You can't have had a kid at Latin. Even the youngest students, and the adults in their lives, know that they will be promoted to the next grade if they don't pass/work hard. Plenty f the kids just scrape by, including some of the UMC students.

[Anonymous]

Washington Latins "model", Boston Latin, is a test in school. Since WL is not, there has been a tension in its mission/vision since it's inception. This is not new. It's the plus and minus of being far more equitable (in one way - lottery based with weighted preferences that are not academic) than BL. If you disagree with that, you would need to change its structure to test in - like a Walls, Ellington, Banneker, TJ or Boston Latin. It is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Washington Latins "model", Boston Latin, is a test in school. Since WL is not, there has been a tension in its mission/vision since it's inception. This is not new. It's the plus and minus of being far more equitable (in one way - lottery based with weighted preferences that are not academic) than BL. If you disagree with that, you would need to change its structure to test in - like a Walls, Ellington, Banneker, TJ or Boston Latin. It is what it is.

TJ is an application school but there is no longer a test to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Washington Latins "model", Boston Latin, is a test in school. Since WL is not, there has been a tension in its mission/vision since it's inception. This is not new. It's the plus and minus of being far more equitable (in one way - lottery based with weighted preferences that are not academic) than BL. If you disagree with that, you would need to change its structure to test in - like a Walls, Ellington, Banneker, TJ or Boston Latin. It is what it is.

I don't agree. This view of how Washington Latin must work--shared by the program's leadership-- is a cop out. Latin's leadership and teachers could offer far more rigor to the most advanced students. At BASIS, another DC charter school, seniors can't graduate unless they've passed at least half a dozen AP exams.

For example, admins won't permit 5th and 6th graders to take languages other than Latin, although a good many come in from DC public school language immersion programs for Spanish, Chinese and French. Some of the UMC parents of language immersion graduates team up to hire pricey tutors to help kids retain language skills, meaning that it's mostly the former low SES language immersion students at Latin who lose their skills. This policy could easily be changed. Also, math is tracked at Latin in middle school, but not humanities subjects, another policy that could be changed. Social promotion could also be jettisoned to help support more advanced academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Latins "model", Boston Latin, is a test in school. Since WL is not, there has been a tension in its mission/vision since it's inception. This is not new. It's the plus and minus of being far more equitable (in one way - lottery based with weighted preferences that are not academic) than BL. If you disagree with that, you would need to change its structure to test in - like a Walls, Ellington, Banneker, TJ or Boston Latin. It is what it is.

I don't agree. This view of how Washington Latin must work--shared by the program's leadership-- is a cop out. Latin's leadership and teachers could offer far more rigor to the most advanced students. At BASIS, another DC charter school, seniors can't graduate unless they've passed at least half a dozen AP exams.

For example, admins won't permit 5th and 6th graders to take languages other than Latin, although a good many come in from DC public school language immersion programs for Spanish, Chinese and French. Some of the UMC parents of language immersion graduates team up to hire pricey tutors to help kids retain language skills, meaning that it's mostly the former low SES language immersion students at Latin who lose their skills. This policy could easily be changed. Also, math is tracked at Latin in middle school, but not humanities subjects, another policy that could be changed. Social promotion could also be jettisoned to help support more advanced academics.

I AM SOOOO sick of this complaint (for both Latin and Basis). You chose a school with a specialty -- which has its own middle/high school where your kid can continue that specialty. Asking other schools with other curriculums to bend because of your preferences is insane. Because its not like they would just have to offer these special languages starting in 5th -- they would have to offer them with a breadth of levels to satisfy the desire of these parents. So no only would Latin have to have Spanish/French/Chinese/Hebrew classes, but they would also have to provide a wide range of levels for kids. All because parents liked one specialized school and now wants to make another specialized school accomodate them. Just stop it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Latins "model", Boston Latin, is a test in school. Since WL is not, there has been a tension in its mission/vision since it's inception. This is not new. It's the plus and minus of being far more equitable (in one way - lottery based with weighted preferences that are not academic) than BL. If you disagree with that, you would need to change its structure to test in - like a Walls, Ellington, Banneker, TJ or Boston Latin. It is what it is.

I don't agree. This view of how Washington Latin must work--shared by the program's leadership-- is a cop out. Latin's leadership and teachers could offer far more rigor to the most advanced students. At BASIS, another DC charter school, seniors can't graduate unless they've passed at least half a dozen AP exams.

For example, admins won't permit 5th and 6th graders to take languages other than Latin, although a good many come in from DC public school language immersion programs for Spanish, Chinese and French. Some of the UMC parents of language immersion graduates team up to hire pricey tutors to help kids retain language skills, meaning that it's mostly the former low SES language immersion students at Latin who lose their skills. This policy could easily be changed. Also, math is tracked at Latin in middle school, but not humanities subjects, another policy that could be changed. Social promotion could also be jettisoned to help support more advanced academics.

You have clearly never worked in or near a public school. "Just adding classes" is not how it works. Unless the staff funding, building space, class schedules etc. are infinitely expandable. It's not a school for you because of the choices it's had to make. That's ok. Look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Latins "model", Boston Latin, is a test in school. Since WL is not, there has been a tension in its mission/vision since it's inception. This is not new. It's the plus and minus of being far more equitable (in one way - lottery based with weighted preferences that are not academic) than BL. If you disagree with that, you would need to change its structure to test in - like a Walls, Ellington, Banneker, TJ or Boston Latin. It is what it is.

I don't agree. This view of how Washington Latin must work--shared by the program's leadership-- is a cop out. Latin's leadership and teachers could offer far more rigor to the most advanced students. At BASIS, another DC charter school, seniors can't graduate unless they've passed at least half a dozen AP exams.

For example, admins won't permit 5th and 6th graders to take languages other than Latin, although a good many come in from DC public school language immersion programs for Spanish, Chinese and French. Some of the UMC parents of language immersion graduates team up to hire pricey tutors to help kids retain language skills, meaning that it's mostly the former low SES language immersion students at Latin who lose their skills. This policy could easily be changed. Also, math is tracked at Latin in middle school, but not humanities subjects, another policy that could be changed. Social promotion could also be jettisoned to help support more advanced academics.

Latin requires significantly more credits than other DC High Schools in order to graduate. Administration has purposefully chosen which AP classes are offered based on their academic/intellectual value. A teacher not bound by the AP US History course curriculum, for example, has much more leeway to create a meaningful course that's more than a collection of facts to be tested. A thing about Latin is you have to trust the administration and teachers to be professionals and have student's best interests in mind; with the mission and vision-statement always at the forefront. So far, they have earned my trust--more than the AP momey-making machine has!

[Anonymous]

This European is heartily sick of myopic, ill-informed American views on how kids learn languages. In European government secondary schools (age 11 or 12-18) it's completely normal to start studying a second language seriously around age 10, without stopping until age 18. Europe doesn't have "specialty" programs for learning languages. We study languages methodically, like we study math, building skills from one year to the next.

When you come here to staunchly defend Latin's practice of squandering the hard-won immersion language skills of many of its 11 and 12 year old students, particularly poor kids, you come off as a dingbat.

BASIS does the same thing. Deal is a little better. These are not best educational practices. Much could be done to change this at Latin and other schools, e.g. PTA financed after-school language clubs for advanced students. We're not talking about private school kids who come into Latin speaking Spanish and French, and possibly Chinese and Hebrew, we're talking about public school kids, some of the poor and minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Latins "model", Boston Latin, is a test in school. Since WL is not, there has been a tension in its mission/vision since it's inception. This is not new. It's the plus and minus of being far more equitable (in one way - lottery based with weighted preferences that are not academic) than BL. If you disagree with that, you would need to change its structure to test in - like a Walls, Ellington, Banneker, TJ or Boston Latin. It is what it is.

I don't agree. This view of how Washington Latin must work--shared by the program's leadership-- is a cop out. Latin's leadership and teachers could offer far more rigor to the most advanced students. At BASIS, another DC charter school, seniors can't graduate unless they've passed at least half a dozen AP exams.

For example, admins won't permit 5th and 6th graders to take languages other than Latin, although a good many come in from DC public school language immersion programs for Spanish, Chinese and French. Some of the UMC parents of language immersion graduates team up to hire pricey tutors to help kids retain language skills, meaning that it's mostly the former low SES language immersion students at Latin who lose their skills. This policy could easily be changed. Also, math is tracked at Latin in middle school, but not humanities subjects, another policy that could be changed. Social promotion could also be jettisoned to help support more advanced academics.

Latin requires significantly more credits than other DC High Schools in order to graduate. Administration has purposefully chosen which AP classes are offered based on their academic/intellectual value. A teacher not bound by the AP US History course curriculum, for example, has much more leeway to create a meaningful course that's more than a collection of facts to be tested. A thing about Latin is you have to trust the administration and teachers to be professionals and have student's best interests in mind; with the mission and vision-statement always at the forefront. So far, they have earned my trust--more than the AP momey-making machine has!

Fabulous in theory, not so hot in practice. It's useful for kids to have a clutch of high AP scores under their belts when applying to colleges, no matter what sort of schools they attended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This European is heartily sick of myopic, ill-informed American views on how kids learn languages. In European government secondary schools (age 11 or 12-18) it's completely normal to start studying a second language seriously around age 10, without stopping until age 18. Europe doesn't have "specialty" programs for learning languages. We study languages methodically, like we study math, building skills from one year to the next.

When you come here to staunchly defend Latin's practice of squandering the hard-won immersion language skills of many of its 11 and 12 year old students, particularly poor kids, you come off as a dingbat.

BASIS does the same thing. Deal is a little better. These are not best educational practices. Much could be done to change this at Latin and other schools, e.g. PTA financed after-school language clubs for advanced students. We're not talking about private school kids who come into Latin speaking Spanish and French, and possibly Chinese and Hebrew, we're talking about public school kids, some of the poor and minority.

They do this-- in Latin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This European is heartily sick of myopic, ill-informed American views on how kids learn languages. In European government secondary schools (age 11 or 12-18) it's completely normal to start studying a second language seriously around age 10, without stopping until age 18. Europe doesn't have "specialty" programs for learning languages. We study languages methodically, like we study math, building skills from one year to the next.

When you come here to staunchly defend Latin's practice of squandering the hard-won immersion language skills of many of its 11 and 12 year old students, particularly poor kids, you come off as a dingbat.

BASIS does the same thing. Deal is a little better. These are not best educational practices. Much could be done to change this at Latin and other schools, e.g. PTA financed after-school language clubs for advanced students. We're not talking about private school kids who come into Latin speaking Spanish and French, and possibly Chinese and Hebrew, we're talking about public school kids, some of the poor and minority.

. Completely agree. Mono lingual DC parents can’t possibly get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This European is heartily sick of myopic, ill-informed American views on how kids learn languages. In European government secondary schools (age 11 or 12-18) it's completely normal to start studying a second language seriously around age 10, without stopping until age 18. Europe doesn't have "specialty" programs for learning languages. We study languages methodically, like we study math, building skills from one year to the next.

When you come here to staunchly defend Latin's practice of squandering the hard-won immersion language skills of many of its 11 and 12 year old students, particularly poor kids, you come off as a dingbat.

BASIS does the same thing. Deal is a little better. These are not best educational practices. Much could be done to change this at Latin and other schools, e.g. PTA financed after-school language clubs for advanced students. We're not talking about private school kids who come into Latin speaking Spanish and French, and possibly Chinese and Hebrew, we're talking about public school kids, some of the poor and minority.

You are absolutely correct--Europe, and the rest of the world, are masterful with language skills. Everyone knows that the USA is miserable at languages and mono-lingual Americans are derided around the world for their lack of linguistic and cultural knowledge.

You are wasting your ire trying to get a DC public middle school to remedy all that. You are smart to pick and choose the educational settings for your child knowing that most US Public Schools are running themselves ragged just trying to get everyone literate and well-educated in English. You are tilting at windmills, I'm afraid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This European is heartily sick of myopic, ill-informed American views on how kids learn languages. In European government secondary schools (age 11 or 12-18) it's completely normal to start studying a second language seriously around age 10, without stopping until age 18. Europe doesn't have "specialty" programs for learning languages. We study languages methodically, like we study math, building skills from one year to the next.

When you come here to staunchly defend Latin's practice of squandering the hard-won immersion language skills of many of its 11 and 12 year old students, particularly poor kids, you come off as a dingbat.

BASIS does the same thing. Deal is a little better. These are not best educational practices. Much could be done to change this at Latin and other schools, e.g. PTA financed after-school language clubs for advanced students. We're not talking about private school kids who come into Latin speaking Spanish and French, and possibly Chinese and Hebrew, we're talking about public school kids, some of the poor and minority.

. Completely agree. Mono lingual DC parents can’t possibly get it.

Latin has an after school club for Spanish-speakers and learners at both the middle and high school level. That could definitely be expanded to other languages. But you, as well as I, know that an after school weekly club is not what language learners need to maintain their fluency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This European is heartily sick of myopic, ill-informed American views on how kids learn languages. In European government secondary schools (age 11 or 12-18) it's completely normal to start studying a second language seriously around age 10, without stopping until age 18. Europe doesn't have "specialty" programs for learning languages. We study languages methodically, like we study math, building skills from one year to the next.

When you come here to staunchly defend Latin's practice of squandering the hard-won immersion language skills of many of its 11 and 12 year old students, particularly poor kids, you come off as a dingbat.

BASIS does the same thing. Deal is a little better. These are not best educational practices. Much could be done to change this at Latin and other schools, e.g. PTA financed after-school language clubs for advanced students. We're not talking about private school kids who come into Latin speaking Spanish and French, and possibly Chinese and Hebrew, we're talking about public school kids, some of the poor and minority.

Basis and Latin do the same thing- require Latin. They are taking a foreign language, just not the one you want. If you don't think these are "best practices" then don't send your kid there. The end. That's why charters and other schools exist- so that parents can pick what they think will be the best for their kid. Enjoy DCI!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This European is heartily sick of myopic, ill-informed American views on how kids learn languages. In European government secondary schools (age 11 or 12-18) it's completely normal to start studying a second language seriously around age 10, without stopping until age 18. Europe doesn't have "specialty" programs for learning languages. We study languages methodically, like we study math, building skills from one year to the next.

When you come here to staunchly defend Latin's practice of squandering the hard-won immersion language skills of many of its 11 and 12 year old students, particularly poor kids, you come off as a dingbat.

BASIS does the same thing. Deal is a little better. These are not best educational practices. Much could be done to change this at Latin and other schools, e.g. PTA financed after-school language clubs for advanced students. We're not talking about private school kids who come into Latin speaking Spanish and French, and possibly Chinese and Hebrew, we're talking about public school kids, some of the poor and minority.

. Completely agree. Mono lingual DC parents can’t possibly get it.

Latin has an after school club for Spanish-speakers and learners at both the middle and high school level. That could definitely be expanded to other languages. But you, as well as I, know that an after school weekly club is not what language learners need to maintain their fluency.

Guess what? That is not Latin's job.