Why Hebrew immersion at Sela?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cynical view - I think this is a factor, though even the supporters of immerson programs try to deny it to others, as well as to themselves - if you have a program like this you (1) privilege those who can speak the language on one side in terms of difficulty of participation in the program, if not technically in terms of the DC lottery terms and (2) allow those who get comfortable with the program to create an in-culture; and (3) this is most important and most strenuously denied by the promoters - it allows the program to REJECT those who can't stick with the language program or NOT ALLOW ENTRY after "time frame X" by students outside the program. That means a language-focuse school gradually sheds students who can't hack it, and that tends to allow the program to be more exclusive and academic.

Most importantly, the students that schools (and parents) don't want are the homeless or near-homeless children of the uneducated and shiftless who are commonly behavior and academic problem children. Having a schooling requirement - the language - that requires more than just showing up at several stages: lottery, attendance, testing, year-to-year progress - functions to not allow these true loser students to continue to be in your kids' schools.

LOOK nobody knows how to deal with these kids and they make it hard for families to want to go to the "comprehensive" schools of last resort for their kids' schooling when they know disruptive losers will be their kids' fellow students.

But trying to keep your kids segregated from those kids is definitely part of the attraction of these language schools, the oddest of which probably remains this revived language of 1 country/10 million people that has no obvious use besides moving to Tel Aviv or passing your bar mitzvah.

SO, some people will deny what I'm talking about, but generally there's more truth in the BS I spewed above than they want to admit.

I don't personally have a problem with Sela or a Hebrew immersion in DC, and would send my kid there, but I think this poster is speaking some real truth about not just Sela, but the appeal of both charters and especially language immersion in DC. It's not the only reason these schools are in high demand, but it's absolutely a huge part of it, and people who deny it on it's face are being disingenuous.

But people don't like to admit this because most parents with kids at immersion charters in DC are progressives who pay lip service to equity and will talk up the equity programs at their school. But their children will never set foot in a public school in DC (whether DCPS or charter) with a large population of at risk and/or unhoused kids. And that's not an accident.

I’m a minority and there are a good percentage of minorities (black and Hispanic) at our Spanish immersion charter.

We wanted language immersion for our high performing kid because he needed more challenge in school. School comes easy for him especially in DC where there is no G & T. He is not gifted but scores very high on standardized testing.

Most parents in DC are liberals and very comfortable with diversity.

The reason why at risk kids don’t do well in language immersion is because they don’t have support. A generalization but true that the majority of them don’t do well academically and are below grade level in ELA. So why would you put them in language immersion when they are struggling with the basics and get 0 or 50% less ELA instruction?? Learning another language is a bonus but not necessary. Learning English is a necessity. If my kid was struggling in ELA, I would pull him out of immersion.

Language immersion schools are a niche. It’s not for everyone and why you have non-immersion schools. Parents looking at the immersion charters are looking not only at the language but also at the academic performing cohort.

Nothing you say disproves the PP's point though. You are actually proving the point.

You are a "minority" parent at an immersion school. But not at risk. And then you explain that at risk kids don't do well in immersion because immersion requires at-home support and at risk kids don't get it. So if you want a school that doesn't have a lot of at risk kids, it is conveniently easy to accomplish this with an immersion charter.

Also, you say that liberal parents in DC are "comfortable" with diversity. I'd argue that like and want diversity, but only a certain kind. Progressive parents in DC (and I am one) love a school with a lot of diversity in race, country of origin, religion sexuality, etc. All of that diversity contributes to their progressive bonafides. But the one area quality where progressives in DC actually prefer LESS diversity? Socioeconomics. That's why immersion charters are so desirable. Their kids will go to school with a high-SES but otherwise diverse cohort, satisfying their desire for diversity while avoiding the negative aspects of true diversity, where some kids simply need a LOT more resources in order to have anything close to resembling equitable access.

If you don't understand these dynamics in the DC charter/lottery system, I think you are being purposefully obtuse. And I say that as a parent whose kids have attended a socioeconomically diverse DCPS and a racially "diverse" charter (where most kids are from UMC families). Progressives in DC talk the talk but mostly do not walk the walk.

These are such basic talking points that have been repeated on this board for more than decade. Congrats on parroting what someone smarter than you said a long time ago.

[Anonymous]

My Jewish friend married to a Christian is very happy with it. I think it's a combination of offering language immersion, combined with a well-run, nice little school. And I suppose there are enough Hebrew-curious families out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cynical view - I think this is a factor, though even the supporters of immerson programs try to deny it to others, as well as to themselves - if you have a program like this you (1) privilege those who can speak the language on one side in terms of difficulty of participation in the program, if not technically in terms of the DC lottery terms and (2) allow those who get comfortable with the program to create an in-culture; and (3) this is most important and most strenuously denied by the promoters - it allows the program to REJECT those who can't stick with the language program or NOT ALLOW ENTRY after "time frame X" by students outside the program. That means a language-focuse school gradually sheds students who can't hack it, and that tends to allow the program to be more exclusive and academic.

Most importantly, the students that schools (and parents) don't want are the homeless or near-homeless children of the uneducated and shiftless who are commonly behavior and academic problem children. Having a schooling requirement - the language - that requires more than just showing up at several stages: lottery, attendance, testing, year-to-year progress - functions to not allow these true loser students to continue to be in your kids' schools.

LOOK nobody knows how to deal with these kids and they make it hard for families to want to go to the "comprehensive" schools of last resort for their kids' schooling when they know disruptive losers will be their kids' fellow students.

But trying to keep your kids segregated from those kids is definitely part of the attraction of these language schools, the oddest of which probably remains this revived language of 1 country/10 million people that has no obvious use besides moving to Tel Aviv or passing your bar mitzvah.

SO, some people will deny what I'm talking about, but generally there's more truth in the BS I spewed above than they want to admit.

I don't personally have a problem with Sela or a Hebrew immersion in DC, and would send my kid there, but I think this poster is speaking some real truth about not just Sela, but the appeal of both charters and especially language immersion in DC. It's not the only reason these schools are in high demand, but it's absolutely a huge part of it, and people who deny it on it's face are being disingenuous.

But people don't like to admit this because most parents with kids at immersion charters in DC are progressives who pay lip service to equity and will talk up the equity programs at their school. But their children will never set foot in a public school in DC (whether DCPS or charter) with a large population of at risk and/or unhoused kids. And that's not an accident.

I’m a minority and there are a good percentage of minorities (black and Hispanic) at our Spanish immersion charter.

We wanted language immersion for our high performing kid because he needed more challenge in school. School comes easy for him especially in DC where there is no G & T. He is not gifted but scores very high on standardized testing.

Most parents in DC are liberals and very comfortable with diversity.

The reason why at risk kids don’t do well in language immersion is because they don’t have support. A generalization but true that the majority of them don’t do well academically and are below grade level in ELA. So why would you put them in language immersion when they are struggling with the basics and get 0 or 50% less ELA instruction?? Learning another language is a bonus but not necessary. Learning English is a necessity. If my kid was struggling in ELA, I would pull him out of immersion.

Language immersion schools are a niche. It’s not for everyone and why you have non-immersion schools. Parents looking at the immersion charters are looking not only at the language but also at the academic performing cohort.

Nothing you say disproves the PP's point though. You are actually proving the point.

You are a "minority" parent at an immersion school. But not at risk. And then you explain that at risk kids don't do well in immersion because immersion requires at-home support and at risk kids don't get it. So if you want a school that doesn't have a lot of at risk kids, it is conveniently easy to accomplish this with an immersion charter.

Also, you say that liberal parents in DC are "comfortable" with diversity. I'd argue that like and want diversity, but only a certain kind. Progressive parents in DC (and I am one) love a school with a lot of diversity in race, country of origin, religion sexuality, etc. All of that diversity contributes to their progressive bonafides. But the one area quality where progressives in DC actually prefer LESS diversity? Socioeconomics. That's why immersion charters are so desirable. Their kids will go to school with a high-SES but otherwise diverse cohort, satisfying their desire for diversity while avoiding the negative aspects of true diversity, where some kids simply need a LOT more resources in order to have anything close to resembling equitable access.

If you don't understand these dynamics in the DC charter/lottery system, I think you are being purposefully obtuse. And I say that as a parent whose kids have attended a socioeconomically diverse DCPS and a racially "diverse" charter (where most kids are from UMC families). Progressives in DC talk the talk but mostly do not walk the walk.

These are such basic talking points that have been repeated on this board for more than decade. Congrats on parroting what someone smarter than you said a long time ago.

They're not just basic, they're not even applicable here. It's like they sent their kids to Yu Ying and they assume Sela is the same because they never actually bothered to look it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Choice is always good but it does seem like an odd option for DC, especially given that the vast majority of the students at the school are not Jewish.

1) There are only about 6 million Hebrew speakers in Israel/Palestine and just about 9 million worldwide. There are more native Greek speakers worldwide than Hebrew but yet no publicly funded Greek school.

2) There are about 1.2 billion Mandarin speakers in the world, 500 million Spanish speakers, 365 million Arabic speakers, etc. Seems like adding immersion schools in DC with the most common (and thus most useful) languages would make more sense than Hebrew

3) Most people in Israel speak English, so you really don't need Hebrew to get around there.

4) Given that almost all Hebrew speakers are Jewish and/or Israeli (and Palestinians who need it there), how does the school deal with religious and political issues? What materials are they using?

5) What kind of support is the school getting from the Israeli Embassy, Chabad-Lubavitch, etc.?

Oh here we go...so predictable.

If you were truly interested in understanding this, Sela explains that Hebrew is an entrance point to learning other Semitic languages such as Arabic and Amharic. They also say that modern Hebrew is a relatively easy language to learn as it was designed to be taught to large groups of recent immigrants to Israel.

Sela is an excellent school. No one is making your children go there, so calm down. I think the more language options, the better.

You didn't address any of PP's points.

Your arguments are dumb. Hebrew is an "entrance point" to Arabic and Amharic, and it is an "easy" language? That is your justification for a Hebrew immersion school in DC? Give me a break. Besides, Spanish and Mandarin are actually useful endpoint languages spoken by hundreds of millions of people and, at least, Spanish is easy for English speakers.

Who cares that you think Sela is an excellent school? Why are DC taxpayer dollars funding a Hebrew school instead of something that appeals to a much broader group of students and would be a lot more useful?

You sound defensive. Maybe you should "calm down" and address the points made earlier instead of resorting to weak arguments and ad hominem attacks.

I can express my opinion about Sela just as you can. Yours is not the only view.

As to Hebrew -- first off, the utility of learning a language is not limited to the number of people who speak it, although that is certainly a significant factor. You mentioned Greek earlier, and it is similar to Hebrew in usage (there about one million more Greek speakers). And I think a Greek immersion program, if available, would be a terrific option as well, given the historic and cultural importance of Greece.

The more language options the better. To me, that means not opposing the one Hebrew option, which no one is required to choose, but rather supporting additional options as well, beyond the multiple Spanish, French, and Mandarin programs that currently exist.

There is more about your rage over Hebrew that I'm not going to say here, and you would never acknowledge it anyway. So I've said my piece and am done.

NP and while I have no rage over Hebrew or whatever you are saying, I disagree with your premise that the more immersion options the better. I think we need to focus on expanding the number of spots for languages that will provide most useful in the future to the most students. I would say the top of that list is Spanish and would much rather DC expand immersion Spanish options and catch up a bit with much of the world where second languages are taught from early on.

+1, agree on Spanish. I would also argue that immigration patterns in this area would argue for French, Hindi, or Arabic immersion well before Hebrew. The argument for Hebrew feels strained at best. I don't get it.

Surely you know that there are multiple French options already, in addition to Spanish and Mandarin. And no one is arguing against teaching additional languages. Arabic in particular is quite hard to acquire as an adult (I've tried) so may also be a good option for early immersion. There is someone on this thread (or maybe two people) who is/are particularly angry that Hebrew is a option. They tend to shift argument and justifications. They are clearly not familiar with Sela, don't have kids there, and probably don't know any parents of kids there. Yet they dismiss more informed views. Whatever their underlying agenda, they are triggered by this one school, which is doing well. Sad.

NP but you seem the one who is triggered. You seem incredibly defensive about your decision to send your kids to a Hebrew immersion school.

The fact is that the vast majority of students at Sela are below grade-level in both math and English. I am not sure how Hebrew will be that useful to them if they can't even meet DCPS grade-level standards in math and English. You really think that they can just move to Tel Aviv and get hired if they don't know even basic math or English?

Please stop attacking DC parents and taxpayers who think that a Hebrew immersion charter school in DC doesn't make much sense. DCPS should be bringing kids up to speed in math and English instead of focusing on teaching them a niche language that they will rarely, if ever, use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cynical view - I think this is a factor, though even the supporters of immerson programs try to deny it to others, as well as to themselves - if you have a program like this you (1) privilege those who can speak the language on one side in terms of difficulty of participation in the program, if not technically in terms of the DC lottery terms and (2) allow those who get comfortable with the program to create an in-culture; and (3) this is most important and most strenuously denied by the promoters - it allows the program to REJECT those who can't stick with the language program or NOT ALLOW ENTRY after "time frame X" by students outside the program. That means a language-focuse school gradually sheds students who can't hack it, and that tends to allow the program to be more exclusive and academic.

Most importantly, the students that schools (and parents) don't want are the homeless or near-homeless children of the uneducated and shiftless who are commonly behavior and academic problem children. Having a schooling requirement - the language - that requires more than just showing up at several stages: lottery, attendance, testing, year-to-year progress - functions to not allow these true loser students to continue to be in your kids' schools.

LOOK nobody knows how to deal with these kids and they make it hard for families to want to go to the "comprehensive" schools of last resort for their kids' schooling when they know disruptive losers will be their kids' fellow students.

But trying to keep your kids segregated from those kids is definitely part of the attraction of these language schools, the oddest of which probably remains this revived language of 1 country/10 million people that has no obvious use besides moving to Tel Aviv or passing your bar mitzvah.

SO, some people will deny what I'm talking about, but generally there's more truth in the BS I spewed above than they want to admit.

I don't personally have a problem with Sela or a Hebrew immersion in DC, and would send my kid there, but I think this poster is speaking some real truth about not just Sela, but the appeal of both charters and especially language immersion in DC. It's not the only reason these schools are in high demand, but it's absolutely a huge part of it, and people who deny it on it's face are being disingenuous.

But people don't like to admit this because most parents with kids at immersion charters in DC are progressives who pay lip service to equity and will talk up the equity programs at their school. But their children will never set foot in a public school in DC (whether DCPS or charter) with a large population of at risk and/or unhoused kids. And that's not an accident.

I’m a minority and there are a good percentage of minorities (black and Hispanic) at our Spanish immersion charter.

We wanted language immersion for our high performing kid because he needed more challenge in school. School comes easy for him especially in DC where there is no G & T. He is not gifted but scores very high on standardized testing.

Most parents in DC are liberals and very comfortable with diversity.

The reason why at risk kids don’t do well in language immersion is because they don’t have support. A generalization but true that the majority of them don’t do well academically and are below grade level in ELA. So why would you put them in language immersion when they are struggling with the basics and get 0 or 50% less ELA instruction?? Learning another language is a bonus but not necessary. Learning English is a necessity. If my kid was struggling in ELA, I would pull him out of immersion.

Language immersion schools are a niche. It’s not for everyone and why you have non-immersion schools. Parents looking at the immersion charters are looking not only at the language but also at the academic performing cohort.

Nothing you say disproves the PP's point though. You are actually proving the point.

You are a "minority" parent at an immersion school. But not at risk. And then you explain that at risk kids don't do well in immersion because immersion requires at-home support and at risk kids don't get it. So if you want a school that doesn't have a lot of at risk kids, it is conveniently easy to accomplish this with an immersion charter.

Also, you say that liberal parents in DC are "comfortable" with diversity. I'd argue that like and want diversity, but only a certain kind. Progressive parents in DC (and I am one) love a school with a lot of diversity in race, country of origin, religion sexuality, etc. All of that diversity contributes to their progressive bonafides. But the one area quality where progressives in DC actually prefer LESS diversity? Socioeconomics. That's why immersion charters are so desirable. Their kids will go to school with a high-SES but otherwise diverse cohort, satisfying their desire for diversity while avoiding the negative aspects of true diversity, where some kids simply need a LOT more resources in order to have anything close to resembling equitable access.

If you don't understand these dynamics in the DC charter/lottery system, I think you are being purposefully obtuse. And I say that as a parent whose kids have attended a socioeconomically diverse DCPS and a racially "diverse" charter (where most kids are from UMC families). Progressives in DC talk the talk but mostly do not walk the walk.

These are such basic talking points that have been repeated on this board for more than decade. Congrats on parroting what someone smarter than you said a long time ago.

Lol. So, in other words, you have no response to any of the points other than to engage in a personal attack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Choice is always good but it does seem like an odd option for DC, especially given that the vast majority of the students at the school are not Jewish.

1) There are only about 6 million Hebrew speakers in Israel/Palestine and just about 9 million worldwide. There are more native Greek speakers worldwide than Hebrew but yet no publicly funded Greek school.

2) There are about 1.2 billion Mandarin speakers in the world, 500 million Spanish speakers, 365 million Arabic speakers, etc. Seems like adding immersion schools in DC with the most common (and thus most useful) languages would make more sense than Hebrew

3) Most people in Israel speak English, so you really don't need Hebrew to get around there.

4) Given that almost all Hebrew speakers are Jewish and/or Israeli (and Palestinians who need it there), how does the school deal with religious and political issues? What materials are they using?

5) What kind of support is the school getting from the Israeli Embassy, Chabad-Lubavitch, etc.?

Oh here we go...so predictable.

If you were truly interested in understanding this, Sela explains that Hebrew is an entrance point to learning other Semitic languages such as Arabic and Amharic. They also say that modern Hebrew is a relatively easy language to learn as it was designed to be taught to large groups of recent immigrants to Israel.

Sela is an excellent school. No one is making your children go there, so calm down. I think the more language options, the better.

You didn't address any of PP's points.

Your arguments are dumb. Hebrew is an "entrance point" to Arabic and Amharic, and it is an "easy" language? That is your justification for a Hebrew immersion school in DC? Give me a break. Besides, Spanish and Mandarin are actually useful endpoint languages spoken by hundreds of millions of people and, at least, Spanish is easy for English speakers.

Who cares that you think Sela is an excellent school? Why are DC taxpayer dollars funding a Hebrew school instead of something that appeals to a much broader group of students and would be a lot more useful?

You sound defensive. Maybe you should "calm down" and address the points made earlier instead of resorting to weak arguments and ad hominem attacks.

I can express my opinion about Sela just as you can. Yours is not the only view.

As to Hebrew -- first off, the utility of learning a language is not limited to the number of people who speak it, although that is certainly a significant factor. You mentioned Greek earlier, and it is similar to Hebrew in usage (there about one million more Greek speakers). And I think a Greek immersion program, if available, would be a terrific option as well, given the historic and cultural importance of Greece.

The more language options the better. To me, that means not opposing the one Hebrew option, which no one is required to choose, but rather supporting additional options as well, beyond the multiple Spanish, French, and Mandarin programs that currently exist.

There is more about your rage over Hebrew that I'm not going to say here, and you would never acknowledge it anyway. So I've said my piece and am done.

NP and while I have no rage over Hebrew or whatever you are saying, I disagree with your premise that the more immersion options the better. I think we need to focus on expanding the number of spots for languages that will provide most useful in the future to the most students. I would say the top of that list is Spanish and would much rather DC expand immersion Spanish options and catch up a bit with much of the world where second languages are taught from early on.

+1, agree on Spanish. I would also argue that immigration patterns in this area would argue for French, Hindi, or Arabic immersion well before Hebrew. The argument for Hebrew feels strained at best. I don't get it.

Surely you know that there are multiple French options already, in addition to Spanish and Mandarin. And no one is arguing against teaching additional languages. Arabic in particular is quite hard to acquire as an adult (I've tried) so may also be a good option for early immersion. There is someone on this thread (or maybe two people) who is/are particularly angry that Hebrew is a option. They tend to shift argument and justifications. They are clearly not familiar with Sela, don't have kids there, and probably don't know any parents of kids there. Yet they dismiss more informed views. Whatever their underlying agenda, they are triggered by this one school, which is doing well. Sad.

NP but you seem the one who is triggered. You seem incredibly defensive about your decision to send your kids to a Hebrew immersion school.

The fact is that the vast majority of students at Sela are below grade-level in both math and English. I am not sure how Hebrew will be that useful to them if they can't even meet DCPS grade-level standards in math and English. You really think that they can just move to Tel Aviv and get hired if they don't know even basic math or English?

Please stop attacking DC parents and taxpayers who think that a Hebrew immersion charter school in DC doesn't make much sense. DCPS should be bringing kids up to speed in math and English instead of focusing on teaching them a niche language that they will rarely, if ever, use.

They have low test scores *because they teach a high-needs demographic that got hit especially hard academically by COVID*. If you think that the DCPS schools are systematically doing better, we can add that to the growing list of reasons why this is not your subject.

[Anonymous]

Wow, Sela lags way behind other foreign-language immersion schools in DC. These schools draw from the same population as Sela and were similarly affected by Covid, yet somehow did a much better job teaching the basics.

A staggering 80% of Sela is below-grade in BOTH English and math.

PARCC proficiency scores

Sela

ELA 21.15
Math 21.15

Yu Ying

ELA 48.37
Math 61.96

LAMB

ELA 43.38
Math 46.32

DCB

ELA 45.36
Math 39.34

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Choice is always good but it does seem like an odd option for DC, especially given that the vast majority of the students at the school are not Jewish.

1) There are only about 6 million Hebrew speakers in Israel/Palestine and just about 9 million worldwide. There are more native Greek speakers worldwide than Hebrew but yet no publicly funded Greek school.

2) There are about 1.2 billion Mandarin speakers in the world, 500 million Spanish speakers, 365 million Arabic speakers, etc. Seems like adding immersion schools in DC with the most common (and thus most useful) languages would make more sense than Hebrew

3) Most people in Israel speak English, so you really don't need Hebrew to get around there.

4) Given that almost all Hebrew speakers are Jewish and/or Israeli (and Palestinians who need it there), how does the school deal with religious and political issues? What materials are they using?

5) What kind of support is the school getting from the Israeli Embassy, Chabad-Lubavitch, etc.?

Oh here we go...so predictable.

If you were truly interested in understanding this, Sela explains that Hebrew is an entrance point to learning other Semitic languages such as Arabic and Amharic. They also say that modern Hebrew is a relatively easy language to learn as it was designed to be taught to large groups of recent immigrants to Israel.

Sela is an excellent school. No one is making your children go there, so calm down. I think the more language options, the better.

You didn't address any of PP's points.

Your arguments are dumb. Hebrew is an "entrance point" to Arabic and Amharic, and it is an "easy" language? That is your justification for a Hebrew immersion school in DC? Give me a break. Besides, Spanish and Mandarin are actually useful endpoint languages spoken by hundreds of millions of people and, at least, Spanish is easy for English speakers.

Who cares that you think Sela is an excellent school? Why are DC taxpayer dollars funding a Hebrew school instead of something that appeals to a much broader group of students and would be a lot more useful?

You sound defensive. Maybe you should "calm down" and address the points made earlier instead of resorting to weak arguments and ad hominem attacks.

I can express my opinion about Sela just as you can. Yours is not the only view.

As to Hebrew -- first off, the utility of learning a language is not limited to the number of people who speak it, although that is certainly a significant factor. You mentioned Greek earlier, and it is similar to Hebrew in usage (there about one million more Greek speakers). And I think a Greek immersion program, if available, would be a terrific option as well, given the historic and cultural importance of Greece.

The more language options the better. To me, that means not opposing the one Hebrew option, which no one is required to choose, but rather supporting additional options as well, beyond the multiple Spanish, French, and Mandarin programs that currently exist.

There is more about your rage over Hebrew that I'm not going to say here, and you would never acknowledge it anyway. So I've said my piece and am done.

NP and while I have no rage over Hebrew or whatever you are saying, I disagree with your premise that the more immersion options the better. I think we need to focus on expanding the number of spots for languages that will provide most useful in the future to the most students. I would say the top of that list is Spanish and would much rather DC expand immersion Spanish options and catch up a bit with much of the world where second languages are taught from early on.

+1, agree on Spanish. I would also argue that immigration patterns in this area would argue for French, Hindi, or Arabic immersion well before Hebrew. The argument for Hebrew feels strained at best. I don't get it.

Surely you know that there are multiple French options already, in addition to Spanish and Mandarin. And no one is arguing against teaching additional languages. Arabic in particular is quite hard to acquire as an adult (I've tried) so may also be a good option for early immersion. There is someone on this thread (or maybe two people) who is/are particularly angry that Hebrew is a option. They tend to shift argument and justifications. They are clearly not familiar with Sela, don't have kids there, and probably don't know any parents of kids there. Yet they dismiss more informed views. Whatever their underlying agenda, they are triggered by this one school, which is doing well. Sad.

NP but you seem the one who is triggered. You seem incredibly defensive about your decision to send your kids to a Hebrew immersion school.

The fact is that the vast majority of students at Sela are below grade-level in both math and English. I am not sure how Hebrew will be that useful to them if they can't even meet DCPS grade-level standards in math and English. You really think that they can just move to Tel Aviv and get hired if they don't know even basic math or English?

Please stop attacking DC parents and taxpayers who think that a Hebrew immersion charter school in DC doesn't make much sense. DCPS should be bringing kids up to speed in math and English instead of focusing on teaching them a niche language that they will rarely, if ever, use.

Can we assume you have appeared before the DCPCS Board to oppose re-auth of Sela’s charter?

[Anonymous]

I love the SJW posters who act like people should apologize for wanting their kids in school with at and above grade level kids who can be taught to behave in class. Got to love DC in 2023 where somehow that's something for which to apologize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thousands of schools all over the world reach Latin, which has ZERO Native speakers. Hebrew has the same cultural and literary impact as Latin, Greek, and many other ancient languages, as well as a (small) country of native speakers.

As for politics… as if every country in the world doesn’t have complex politics and history. Elementary school kids aren’t learning about the conflict, there is plenty to teach them without it. The Hebrew language offers so much and only people who know nothing about it need to jump immediately to politics.

Thousands of schools around the world also teach a second language to get kids at proficiency young. In the vast majority of those schools in countries where English is not the primary language the language taught is English. Not Latin, Greek or Hebrew. No one is arguing against the classics and their value. But in terms of learning a language that is not the primary choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, Sela lags way behind other foreign-language immersion schools in DC. These schools draw from the same population as Sela and were similarly affected by Covid, yet somehow did a much better job teaching the basics.

A staggering 80% of Sela is below-grade in BOTH English and math.

PARCC proficiency scores

Sela

ELA 21.15
Math 21.15

Yu Ying

ELA 48.37
Math 61.96

LAMB

ELA 43.38
Math 46.32

DCB

ELA 45.36
Math 39.34

That does seem "staggering". I assume that since you could look up the scores, you could also find that while "these schools may draw from the same population", they don't actually serve the same population.

Sela has double to triple as many at-risk students as Yu Ying and LAMB (both are under ten percent at-risk). It has double the number of African American students as Yu Ying and three times as many as Lamb and DC Bilingual.

Also, technically, since all charters are city-wide, they all draw from the same population (except DCI which has feeder rights from several language immersion schools). They may draw from the same populations, but the same population is not served in all charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, Sela lags way behind other foreign-language immersion schools in DC. These schools draw from the same population as Sela and were similarly affected by Covid, yet somehow did a much better job teaching the basics.

A staggering 80% of Sela is below-grade in BOTH English and math.

PARCC proficiency scores

Sela

ELA 21.15
Math 21.15

Yu Ying

ELA 48.37
Math 61.96

LAMB

ELA 43.38
Math 46.32

DCB

ELA 45.36
Math 39.34

it makes no sense to quote the PARCC scores without also sharing demographics. Sela demos skew LMI and URM. Very diff population than Yu Ying, for ex

[Anonymous]

Lobbying

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thousands of schools all over the world reach Latin, which has ZERO Native speakers. Hebrew has the same cultural and literary impact as Latin, Greek, and many other ancient languages, as well as a (small) country of native speakers.

As for politics… as if every country in the world doesn’t have complex politics and history. Elementary school kids aren’t learning about the conflict, there is plenty to teach them without it. The Hebrew language offers so much and only people who know nothing about it need to jump immediately to politics.

Thousands of schools around the world also teach a second language to get kids at proficiency young. In the vast majority of those schools in countries where English is not the primary language the language taught is English. Not Latin, Greek or Hebrew. No one is arguing against the classics and their value. But in terms of learning a language that is not the primary choice.

Actually, you are arguing against the classics and their value. Own it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Choice is always good but it does seem like an odd option for DC, especially given that the vast majority of the students at the school are not Jewish.

I look forward to your proposal to stand up a Greek or Arabic immersion charter school in DC. Hopefully, it will be as good a school as Sela.

This exactly. Charter schools are started by motivated groups of parents and educators with a goal and a plan. If the school is meeting enrollment goals, then there is enough demand for the school to continue recieving funding to educate students. If you want a different kind of school, start lobbying for it.