Please tell me about Rock Creek ES!

[Anonymous]

I have a soon to be 2nd grader. How does the Spanish immersion part work? Is it by lottery only? That is what I gathered from the website.

[Anonymous]

At Rock Creek Forest, yes, it's lottery only and crazy competitive. I have friends with kids in immersion and in the regular school there and they are both happy. School will be renovated soon - this coming year, I think? - so students will be sent to a holding school, probably the former Radnor Elementary on Goldsboro Road in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

The school building is being completely torn down, and students are going to Radnor this fall. I *think* it's a two-year project.

If your child is going into 2nd grade, he or she will need to test in to the immersion program, meaning some previous Spanish language ability is needed. This is also providing that a spot is open in 2nd grade, which there very well may not be. The lottery is for K and open spots in 1st. Not sure if there is a lottery/waiting list for kids that test in later on.

The RCF Spanish immersion and the English Academy (non-immersion) are both well-respected on this board. Some earlier threads discussed a division between the students/parents from the two programs, but my understanding is that that is not really the case anymore.

Also worth noting, there are two ES schools with "Rock Creek" in them--the other is Rock Creek Valley, which does not have immersion. Just so you don't get confused!

[Anonymous]

As a previous poster stated, entry into 2nd grade for the immersion program is through testing. You should call the school to find out more. You can also call the MCPS office in charge of the immersion programs (Division of Consortia Choice and Application Program Services - 301-592-2040). The deadline for the lottery has already passed but you should ask if you are still in time to apply to test into the 2nd grade. We recently had to submit notices of intent indicating whether we intend to have our children continue attending the immersion program next year, so based on those forms they will probably know soon whether there will be 2nd grade spaces available.