Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Them?

[Anonymous]

Or, perhaps, someone could start another Chinese language charter school. YY is oversubscribed and focused on DCI. Why not band together and form another charter?

[Anonymous]

I'm a YY parent. What a previous post said regarding 40% of the school having some connection to China is true -- that connection usually being a spouse, or an adopted child, or spending several years working/studying there. I'd also say that this group is growing and may well be in the majority next year -- the younger grades have A LOT of parents with a lot of experience in China.

Personally I'd love to see more native speakers at the school. Would only benefit everyone.

I'd also love for the school to focus on traditional characters, rather than simplified, but we can't have everything, I guess. Glad we have YY!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wonder if Sela will have the same complaints as YY with Jewish parents complaining that they don't feel welcome b/c it's not Jewish enough and Sela does not recruit for native Hebrew speakers, etc. Kind of doubt it.

FYI. We are a Yu Ying family and all the Chinese teachers are native speakers.

You're mixing Jewish (religion) and Hebrew (language). There's also Israeli (nationality).
Do you mean to say Israelis living in DC will feel they aren't welcome because Sela does not recruit for native Hebrew speakers? Ha!

Jewish families (Israeli or American) understand that Sela is not a Jewish school. It will remain to be seen how many Jewish families are attracted to it. Most Jewish families in DC who want a Jewish (religious) education go private (Jewish Primary). It's unlikely that many of them will go to Sela just for the Hebrew language and then complain that it's not religious enough. Sela has laid it all out ahead of time and in their charter: they are promoting bilingual education, nothing religious.

I predict the absolute opposite. The ONLY families I know personally who are actually excited to attend Sela are Jewish (4 families that I know). It's true that technically Sela can't be a "religious" school, but the families that I know feel they have the religious side covered between Hebrew school and temple. They're over the moon for a public school that will teach Hebrew as a language.

[Anonymous]

I think there are more concerns about separating the religion from the language at SELA than at, say, Yu Ying.

A lot of very basic Hebrew phrases have a religious connotation - for example, Shalom aleichem ??????? ????????.

And a class trip to Israel without visiting any religious sites would be interesting. Perhaps refreshing, in a way, especially if it visited joint successful Arab-Jewish communities like Neve Shalom.

But I digress. SELA will have to get itself started before thinking about a 5th grade trip.

[Anonymous]

I am Ethiopian and am apply to Sela. They came and gave fliers to my church. I think is good thing for DC to different culture schools.

[Anonymous]

Maybe Sela's 5th grade trip can be to... Brighton Beach, Brooklyn for those who chose Sela b/c it's the only "decent" school option they got into and otherwise have no interest in Hebrew or visiting an actual place where Hebrew is spoken, Israel.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree that second gen kids raise the bar in Chinese classes. That was my experience in high school, college, and graduate school. Actually, when I was in high school and got better grades than some of the second gen kids who spoke at home, they would get punished for not trying hard enough. The lack of second gen kids at Yu Ying is one of my concerns about the school, but if my kid gets in will probably take the slot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Sela's 5th grade trip can be to... Brighton Beach, Brooklyn for those who chose Sela b/c it's the only "decent" school option they got into and otherwise have no interest in Hebrew or visiting an actual place where Hebrew is spoken, Israel.

Dearest Troll,

I cannot decipher your point. But as long we're talking about Brooklyn, Harlem, etc., there are Hebrew immersion charters in those places largely made up of African-American, West Indians, and Hispanic New Yorkers who are only to happy for additional bilingual options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally agree that second gen kids raise the bar in Chinese classes. That was my experience in high school, college, and graduate school. Actually, when I was in high school and got better grades than some of the second gen kids who spoke at home, they would get punished for not trying hard enough. The lack of second gen kids at Yu Ying is one of my concerns about the school, but if my kid gets in will probably take the slot.

Your DC will not get in, unfortunately due to sibling preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally agree that second gen kids raise the bar in Chinese classes. That was my experience in high school, college, and graduate school. Actually, when I was in high school and got better grades than some of the second gen kids who spoke at home, they would get punished for not trying hard enough. The lack of second gen kids at Yu Ying is one of my concerns about the school, but if my kid gets in will probably take the slot.

Your DC will not get in, unfortunately due to sibling preference.

This is so absurdly ignorant. You don't even know what grade this poster's kid is applying for. What if it's PK-4? Yes, the odds are still rough, but there will be some lottery slots. Or do you have inside info to know there will be no PK-4 slots because of sib pref? How are you making such a blanket statement and what are you basing it on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Fitting in at YY is a tough row to hoe for dialect speakers raising little dialect speakers. I grew to dislike YY events where I'd invariably be put on the spot to explain holiday traditions etc. to parents who weren't aware that Cantonese is a southern Chinese dialect before I told them. Lots of these at YY. And I grew to dislike the profoundly American principal; no dislike is too tame a word. So I'll settle for MS and HS Mandarin in MoCo with a strong Cantonese accent for DC. There aren't nearly enough of us in the District OP to change this calculus. Maybe if we'd been involved from the get go, but we weren't.

Uh, wrong. Mandarin is a dialect of Cantonese, not the other way around. This has been written about extensively. You are cantonese? I can't believe you can be ignorant about this.

[Anonymous]

NP. It'll be interesting to see how many non-sib spots there will be at YY this yr for prek. Many of the sibs from the jumbo preK class, rising 1st grade, will be applying. First grade for next yr will not be accepting any new students other than sibs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Until the Charter School Board changes its policy to allow for native speakers to test-in, the reality is that language immersion schools cannot give preference to native speakers, and given that these are PUBLIC schools -

Haven't we established that these schools are in fact giving preference to to native speakers off WAIT LISTS? At our school, wait list kids fill maybe one-quarter of slots by audit time in Oct. Potentially, that's a big group of native speakers. You want to end wait list shenanigans? Public language immersion schools often give preference to native speakers to advance their missions, includiong here in DC. Ever hear of Oyster Adams?

Yes. But it is not a charter. By law, DCPS can set any admissions requirements it deems necessary, so long as it also serves in-boundary kids who can handle a dual immersion program after 1st grade. The school doesn't have an English only track, but Tyler and Cleveland do. That's why Tyler needs more native level Spanish speakers before grade 2. Ethnicity does not = language proficiency. I say this as a bilingual gringa. Also, for those who don't know, Portuguese is not Spanish with a funny accent. Please. Respect the difference between a dialect and a language.

[Anonymous]

NP. It'll be interesting to see how many non-sib spots there will be at YY this yr for prek. Many of the sibs from the jumbo preK class, rising 1st grade, will be applying. First grade for next yr will not be accepting any new students other than sibs.

Why are you so hostile to the idea of new families at YY?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

NP. It'll be interesting to see how many non-sib spots there will be at YY this yr for prek. Many of the sibs from the jumbo preK class, rising 1st grade, will be applying. First grade for next yr will not be accepting any new students other than sibs.

Why are you so hostile to the idea of new families at YY?

Not hostile but simply stating a fact. The rising first grade is closed b/c that class grew from 107 in preK to 114 for k due to sibs. Any attrition for this class will not be replaced other than sibs.

The rising first grade has a lot of kids and many have sibs who will be attending for preK. No one knows yet how many nonsibs will be accepted. Reenrollment forms are due this week. But it isn't far fetched to wonder how many nonsibs spaces there will be.

Best of luck to everyone! Great school. We love it.