AppleTree Open Houses: Did you attend today (or earlier this year)?

[Anonymous]

We attended the Open House for AppleTree Columbia Heights this morning and tried to make it to another one by the afternoon but were not able to. Did anyone else tour an AppleTree school today? What were your impressions?

Most of the staff and students were out on a field trip today, which made the school feel like a ghost town. Very eerie for a preschool. The tour was led by someone in the upper leadership for the schools, but he surprisingly did not seem to know much about the schools or at least the campus we were at. The school's office manager had to step in and correct where he misspoke. It was unfortunate that we didn't have a chance to see students and teachers in action or meet the principal.

AppleTree seems like a good "backup school" for other charters, or as a perfect choice for kids who are "zoned" for a high performing public school when Kindergarten rolls around (shutter at the thought...). Advice? Is it worth touring the campuses in NE and SW as well?

[Anonymous]

I attended the Appletree Lincoln Park open house today.

I was impressed by the tour but quickly saw that the school was not for us. Although they certainly have their act together and seem to know exactly what they're doing, the kill and drill philosophy was not what we want.

When we went into a classroom, one teacher was showing flash cards to a child sitting her herself and the kid had to say the word of the object. Then, the kids had to read word cards.

In another class, a teacher wrote on a white board "cat" "dog" etc and the kid had to read the word. One kid had his head in his hand and had a look of "do I have to do this?"

The results (reading) are impressive, but again not what we're looking for.

This would however work for some families. If you're looking for an academic, teacher-led curriculum, I don't think you can do better than Appletree.

[Anonymous]

^^that's what they all say, until the lottery results come in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^that's what they all say, until the lottery results come in.

?? What does this mean?
I know we are not applying to Appletree. Really dislikes the academic program. It seems like the precursor to KIPP, which is fine if that's what you want for your kid. But we would rather go to our in-boundary, play-based DCPS, which is unpopular and historically accepts all in-boundary applicants in the initial lottery (and some OOB applicants).

[Anonymous]

+1 not going on my list either. We have a good title 1 neighborhood school that accepts all IB.

[Anonymous]

I attended yesterday's CH session. I also thought the folks running the open house were not the greatest presenters. And I was disappointed that I did not meet actually staff (as OP said they were all central office folks) or kids. But I was impressed by the work in the PK3 rooms. They were writing their names, letters, numbers, etc.. Unlike others here, I guess I think solid academics even at PK3 is a good thing. Folks can disagree on that.

Here are the rest of my notes for what they are worth (they are not comprehensive since some stuff I knew already -- calm down spot, sit and watch chair, etc):

* Nice class ratios. 3 adults to 20 kids
* Before care starts at 7:30, but you can drop off kids at 8am without it.
* Extended day lasts until 6pm. Is extension of school day with curriculum aligned to main part of day. Another 30 minute recess, reading time, centers, etc..
* Do offer a summer school available to all kids. Only for 4 weeks though and with a one week break in between.
* Do require a school “uniform” (just specific colours for shirts, pants, and then sneakers)
* They sort kids by age even within grade. So youngest kids in PK3 are in one room, the middle in the next, and the oldest in the last.
* 30 minute recess each day. Small play area in back. Only one class (20 kids) may use it at a time. They also make use of Girard Park, which is a short distance down the street, for the older kids.
* First Friday of each month is off, plus holidays. Spring break is always the week of Easter plus Easter Monday.
* Lots of data and they share it all with parents. Talked about how they could tell you which letters each kid knew, etc.. Parent-Teacher conference every 9 weeks.
* Very low teacher tenure: average of 3 years. Go off to graduate school, to jobs at other schools, etc.. Sounds like all charters have a lot of turnover. More than DCPS.
* Drop off: do have 5 parking spaces (and “a good relationship with the parking police”) for quick drop-offs and pick-ups.
* Said they would have 100 slots. Went deep into their waitlist last year, but are hoping with common lottery to not be calling a lot of people in September.

[Anonymous]

For those who get accepted to AppleTree Columbia Heights - visit the Girard Steet playground to see the interaction between children and staff.

[Anonymous]

I went to the open house in SE and OK Ave. I was impressed with the presenters at both campuses-I guess they may have been at AppleTree a while and knew the answers. The flow of potential parents was also good. There were only three other parents that took the tour with me. The small group made a difference. Class size and teacher ratio is a plus and serious academics at three is needed. Children get opportunities to play and learn simultaneously; however, they need to learn that school is serious work and if we set the bar high now, then they will perform at that expectation. The children did not seem to be stressing over repetition. Some did look like they were just following the commands but hey whatever works and I have friends whose children are doing exceptionally well in elementary school. I like the shared data-not just with parents but with schools our children may attend. Those partnerships early on are needed so children can get their educational needs met-regardless of an IEP status.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I attended the Appletree Lincoln Park open house today.

I was impressed by the tour but quickly saw that the school was not for us. Although they certainly have their act together and seem to know exactly what they're doing, the kill and drill philosophy was not what we want.

When we went into a classroom, one teacher was showing flash cards to a child sitting her herself and the kid had to say the word of the object. Then, the kids had to read word cards.

In another class, a teacher wrote on a white board "cat" "dog" etc and the kid had to read the word. One kid had his head in his hand and had a look of "do I have to do this?"

The results (reading) are impressive, but again not what we're looking for.

This would however work for some families. If you're looking for an academic, teacher-led curriculum, I don't think you can do better than Appletree.

Huh? Are you sure this was APpletree LIncoln Park? My child goes there and that does not sound like a description of that school at all. I have never seen flash cards there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended the Appletree Lincoln Park open house today.

I was impressed by the tour but quickly saw that the school was not for us. Although they certainly have their act together and seem to know exactly what they're doing, the kill and drill philosophy was not what we want.

When we went into a classroom, one teacher was showing flash cards to a child sitting her herself and the kid had to say the word of the object. Then, the kids had to read word cards.

In another class, a teacher wrote on a white board "cat" "dog" etc and the kid had to read the word. One kid had his head in his hand and had a look of "do I have to do this?"

The results (reading) are impressive, but again not what we're looking for.

This would however work for some families. If you're looking for an academic, teacher-led curriculum, I don't think you can do better than Appletree.

Huh? Are you sure this was APpletree LIncoln Park? My child goes there and that does not sound like a description of that school at all. I have never seen flash cards there.

Yes. All classes had flash cards or small white boards. In the 4s room, there was a girl sitting across from a teacher who held up picture cards (only to the girl). The girl named the photo cards. There were also word cards sitting on the table. If this is 't common perhaps it was an assessment. Teachers in every room were working one-on-one with children in this fashion.

I saw very little free play during my visit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended the Appletree Lincoln Park open house today.

I was impressed by the tour but quickly saw that the school was not for us. Although they certainly have their act together and seem to know exactly what they're doing, the kill and drill philosophy was not what we want.

When we went into a classroom, one teacher was showing flash cards to a child sitting her herself and the kid had to say the word of the object. Then, the kids had to read word cards.

In another class, a teacher wrote on a white board "cat" "dog" etc and the kid had to read the word. One kid had his head in his hand and had a look of "do I have to do this?"

The results (reading) are impressive, but again not what we're looking for.

This would however work for some families. If you're looking for an academic, teacher-led curriculum, I don't think you can do better than Appletree.

Huh? Are you sure this was APpletree LIncoln Park? My child goes there and that does not sound like a description of that school at all. I have never seen flash cards there.

Yes. All classes had flash cards or small white boards. In the 4s room, there was a girl sitting across from a teacher who held up picture cards (only to the girl). The girl named the photo cards. There were also word cards sitting on the table. If this is 't common perhaps it was an assessment. Teachers in every room were working one-on-one with children in this fashion.

I saw very little free play during my visit.

I had a similar experience at the Appletree Columbia Heights campus when I attended an open house maybe a month ago. The kids were supposedly in free play/choice time, but there were a bunch of kids around a teacher doing math problems on a white board: 1+1=? And the like. That's fine if you are looking for that, but it really turned me off, and we would rather go to our title 1 local DCPS, which uses a play-based curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended the Appletree Lincoln Park open house today.

I was impressed by the tour but quickly saw that the school was not for us. Although they certainly have their act together and seem to know exactly what they're doing, the kill and drill philosophy was not what we want.

When we went into a classroom, one teacher was showing flash cards to a child sitting her herself and the kid had to say the word of the object. Then, the kids had to read word cards.

In another class, a teacher wrote on a white board "cat" "dog" etc and the kid had to read the word. One kid had his head in his hand and had a look of "do I have to do this?"

The results (reading) are impressive, but again not what we're looking for.

This would however work for some families. If you're looking for an academic, teacher-led curriculum, I don't think you can do better than Appletree.

Huh? Are you sure this was APpletree LIncoln Park? My child goes there and that does not sound like a description of that school at all. I have never seen flash cards there.

Yes. All classes had flash cards or small white boards. In the 4s room, there was a girl sitting across from a teacher who held up picture cards (only to the girl). The girl named the photo cards. There were also word cards sitting on the table. If this is 't common perhaps it was an assessment. Teachers in every room were working one-on-one with children in this fashion.

I saw very little free play during my visit.

Which room was this in? (Which floor?) I'm really intrigued. They are not doing assessments right now so it can't be that, though they do have a vocab assessment (I think that one is just at the beginning and end of the year though) which involves identifying pictures. The way the school day is structured is very similar to practically every other school we have toured. You were likely there during "centers" where the kids are all rotating around the various centers where they do have "free play" but there are themes to follow. E.g. right now they are looking at the planet earth, pollution, recycling, healthy food, and the dramatic play center is set up like a farmers market. While the kids are circulating around the centers (their choice, so long as a spot is open) some of them will be taken aside for "small group" time. This is almost never one on one (unless it's an assessment), but generally with 3-4 kids. I don't understand why they would do it differently during the open house.

They have white boards and the white board normally includes things like the question of the day which each student answers as they arrive at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended the Appletree Lincoln Park open house today.

I was impressed by the tour but quickly saw that the school was not for us. Although they certainly have their act together and seem to know exactly what they're doing, the kill and drill philosophy was not what we want.

When we went into a classroom, one teacher was showing flash cards to a child sitting her herself and the kid had to say the word of the object. Then, the kids had to read word cards.

In another class, a teacher wrote on a white board "cat" "dog" etc and the kid had to read the word. One kid had his head in his hand and had a look of "do I have to do this?"

The results (reading) are impressive, but again not what we're looking for.

This would however work for some families. If you're looking for an academic, teacher-led curriculum, I don't think you can do better than Appletree.

Huh? Are you sure this was APpletree LIncoln Park? My child goes there and that does not sound like a description of that school at all. I have never seen flash cards there.

Yes. All classes had flash cards or small white boards. In the 4s room, there was a girl sitting across from a teacher who held up picture cards (only to the girl). The girl named the photo cards. There were also word cards sitting on the table. If this is 't common perhaps it was an assessment. Teachers in every room were working one-on-one with children in this fashion.

I saw very little free play during my visit.

I had a similar experience at the Appletree Columbia Heights campus when I attended an open house maybe a month ago. The kids were supposedly in free play/choice time, but there were a bunch of kids around a teacher doing math problems on a white board: 1+1=? And the like. That's fine if you are looking for that, but it really turned me off, and we would rather go to our title 1 local DCPS, which uses a play-based curriculum.

Second PPs description is more accurate -- some kids pulled aside for small group time while others are rotating through centers. This is pretty much the same method that most other charter schools use. There may be a little more emphasis on academics during small group time, but it doesn't seem to be very different from anywhere else that we've looked at. Plus my kid LOVES it. The part that really makes Appletree worth going to is the way that the teachers work with the kids to make them love school. It's very welcoming. They are also amazing at teaching appropriate social and behavioral skills to the kids. I don't know how my kid's next school will ever live up to the high standards set by Appletree.

[Anonymous]

I'm the first PP. Perhaps, it was assessment time, but each room had a teacher working with one student. I didn't see any teacher-led small groups when I toured - some kids were doing art, some reading books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the first PP. Perhaps, it was assessment time, but each room had a teacher working with one student. I didn't see any teacher-led small groups when I toured - some kids were doing art, some reading books.

It's not assessment time. (Unless you are not talking about the most recent open house this past week). But even if it was assessment time, the assessments don't normally take place in the classroom. If there were kids doing art, it's centers time and if it was centers time there were also kids doing dramatic play, at investigation location, construction center, library time etc.