Spanish Language Dominant Oyster Parents...

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know how difficult it is to get accepted to Oyster via lottery as a Spanish language dominant OOB Oyster parent? We really want to send our DC to Oyster but cannot afford the neighborhood.

Also, do I understand it correctly that they test the child's Spanish if he falls in this category? Our child is fully bilingual and flips back and forth between Spanish and English.

[Anonymous]

you'll want to read the fine print on the oyster web site. our child is bilingual but my interpretation of their rules was that she would be considered English dominant because one of her parents is a native English speaker and speaks English in the home. (I speak to her in English, dh speaks her in Spanish).

it seems like if your child's english tests as strong as his/her spanish, they will not consider the child spanish dominant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you'll want to read the fine print on the oyster web site. our child is bilingual but my interpretation of their rules was that she would be considered English dominant because one of her parents is a native English speaker and speaks English in the home. (I speak to her in English, dh speaks her in Spanish).

it seems like if your child's english tests as strong as his/her spanish, they will not consider the child spanish dominant

I think you can make the case here for Spanish dominant. I do not recall Oyster comparing and deciding which was stronger, but rather being concerned that the child 'authentically' spoke Spanish in the home to qualify as part of the Spanish 50-50 mix. Not that the child could not speak English as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you'll want to read the fine print on the oyster web site. our child is bilingual but my interpretation of their rules was that she would be considered English dominant because one of her parents is a native English speaker and speaks English in the home. (I speak to her in English, dh speaks her in Spanish).

it seems like if your child's english tests as strong as his/her spanish, they will not consider the child spanish dominant

I think you can make the case here for Spanish dominant. I do not recall Oyster comparing and deciding which was stronger, but rather being concerned that the child 'authentically' spoke Spanish in the home to qualify as part of the Spanish 50-50 mix. Not that the child could not speak English as well.

Frankly, this makes a lot more sense, as it's hard to believe that Spanish-dominant students who happen to speak English well should be penalized (which is exactly the effect this would have on dual-language households such as the OP's).

And supposedly Reinoso's children qualify as Spanish-dominant though it's hard to believe their English isn't as good as their Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you'll want to read the fine print on the oyster web site. our child is bilingual but my interpretation of their rules was that she would be considered English dominant because one of her parents is a native English speaker and speaks English in the home. (I speak to her in English, dh speaks her in Spanish).

it seems like if your child's english tests as strong as his/her spanish, they will not consider the child spanish dominant

I think you can make the case here for Spanish dominant. I do not recall Oyster comparing and deciding which was stronger, but rather being concerned that the child 'authentically' spoke Spanish in the home to qualify as part of the Spanish 50-50 mix. Not that the child could not speak English as well.

Frankly, this makes a lot more sense, as it's hard to believe that Spanish-dominant students who happen to speak English well should be penalized (which is exactly the effect this would have on dual-language households such as the OP's).

And supposedly Reinoso's children qualify as Spanish-dominant though it's hard to believe their English isn't as good as their Spanish.

Yes, the school just wants access to children with native L1 Spanish in the home, to bring the 50-50 balance. It would be unrealistic in our mix of immigration and populations to think all those children just disembarked with zero English facility. If you speak Spanish in the home, make the case for your child as L1 Spanish

[Anonymous]

Spanish-dominant can be a misleading term. Think of it more like "already has some Spanish language ability." For pre-k to 1st grade, a child with 50/50 Spanish-English can be considered just as "dominant" as a child who speaks only Spanish. Both will be on the Spanish lottery.

Testing to verify language ability is done for OOB from 2nd grade at Oyster. At this age, a child is expected to already be bilingual to a certain degree or they might struggle with the dual immmersion model.

Here's more info on the types of language programs in DCPS this past year. Given how difficult it is to get into Oyster OOB at any stage, it may help to consider other schools.

http://www.k12.dc.us/enrollment/documents/DCPS-Language-Programs-Overview-2008-2009.pdf

Also, you may want to consider Elsie Whitlow Stokes charter school.

http://www.ewstokes.org/index.asp

[NewMom07]

This is helpful. I suppose the unclear part has to do with Spanish as the primary language spoken in home (according to the requirements). It doesn't acknowledge folks who are a bit more gray; for example, a household that mixes both Spanish and English or a household with one Spanish-dominant parent and one English-dominant.

[Anonymous]

It is kind of ironic that schools that aims for biliteracy and bilingualism don't set some kind of priority for kids who are already actively (versus passive)bilingual. Just a personal pet peeve.

Despite the confusing nature of "Spanish-dominant", my understanding is that a multi-lingual child would not be put at a disadvantage versus a Spanish-only child which is why they are put on the same list.

I've heard the screening process is really just to weed out people who may have out-and-out lied (sad) to try to get into Oyster or a child who is really struggling in dual immersion.