Escuela Key

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of really good things about Escuela Key. The involved parent community is overwhelmingly english speaking, or bilingual. There are very few highly involved parents who speak only Spanish. PTA meetings etc. are conducted in English with Spanish translation if there is interest in the translation. In general Key attracts more involved parents than neighborhood schools. (This is not exclusive to Key- this is true of all option schools.) For example, Key is overrepresented on the various ACTL committees- note anyone who wants to be on these can be, but you will find a ton of Key parents on the advisory committees.
In terms of the 80-20, the foreign language advisory committee has been pushing this for many years. I think the research does show that it is a better way to learn a foreign language. The teachers at Key are not sold on it- and if it happens, it is going to be a major disruption to their way of doing business. I'm also uncertain of the benefits to native Spanish speakers. Initially immersion was brought to Arlington b/c there is lots of research that shows that students do better in school if they are taught in their native language so the immersion school was to benefit the high proportion of native Spanish speakers. HOwever, in general, the less educated native Spanish speaker immigrant community are not sold on the benefit of immersion. (the highly educated native Spanish speaking ex-pat community is very sold on the benefits of immersion, and you will find a lot of them at Escuela Key.)

Children who go all the way through the immersion program do very well. However- you have to realize that the attrition rate out of immersion is quite high. Kids drop out for a variety of reasons, but the leading one is that they are not learning Spanish which then impacts their ability to learn math etc. It can be hard when you have a risking Kindergartner to know if they are the kind of kid who is going to do well in immersion, or if they are not.

I think its also hard when your kids are just about to start kindergarten to think about what life will look like in a few years. Right now, you probably take them everywhere in a car, and stay together, so whether you are in a car for 5 minutes or 15 minutes doesn't make as much of a difference. But when kids start to get into the middle and upper elementary years, and they are involved in things like sports, and wanting to see friends, its really nice when all of that is within blocks off your house. e.g. you can drop a kid at soccer practice 8 blocks away, drop another kid at a friends near the field, go home, start dinner, and then run and pick everyone up. But if the soccer team is based on Key- practice is going to be further away, and friends could live anywhere in Arlington- so it is just a lot harder to coordinate everything.

Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed post. I appreciate it- I didn’t know about the attrition rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How hard is it for native spanish speaking children to get a spot in later grades?

You have to go through the lottery. I think my kid was one of 15 for 14 spots in 2nd grade in 2020. Know at least 3 3rd graders who entered this year. But number of spots will obviously depend on attrition.

Non Spanish speakers can only enter at K or 1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of really good things about Escuela Key. The involved parent community is overwhelmingly english speaking, or bilingual. There are very few highly involved parents who speak only Spanish. PTA meetings etc. are conducted in English with Spanish translation if there is interest in the translation. In general Key attracts more involved parents than neighborhood schools. (This is not exclusive to Key- this is true of all option schools.) For example, Key is overrepresented on the various ACTL committees- note anyone who wants to be on these can be, but you will find a ton of Key parents on the advisory committees.
In terms of the 80-20, the foreign language advisory committee has been pushing this for many years. I think the research does show that it is a better way to learn a foreign language. The teachers at Key are not sold on it- and if it happens, it is going to be a major disruption to their way of doing business. I'm also uncertain of the benefits to native Spanish speakers. Initially immersion was brought to Arlington b/c there is lots of research that shows that students do better in school if they are taught in their native language so the immersion school was to benefit the high proportion of native Spanish speakers. HOwever, in general, the less educated native Spanish speaker immigrant community are not sold on the benefit of immersion. (the highly educated native Spanish speaking ex-pat community is very sold on the benefits of immersion, and you will find a lot of them at Escuela Key.)

Children who go all the way through the immersion program do very well. However- you have to realize that the attrition rate out of immersion is quite high. Kids drop out for a variety of reasons, but the leading one is that they are not learning Spanish which then impacts their ability to learn math etc. It can be hard when you have a risking Kindergartner to know if they are the kind of kid who is going to do well in immersion, or if they are not.

I think its also hard when your kids are just about to start kindergarten to think about what life will look like in a few years. Right now, you probably take them everywhere in a car, and stay together, so whether you are in a car for 5 minutes or 15 minutes doesn't make as much of a difference. But when kids start to get into the middle and upper elementary years, and they are involved in things like sports, and wanting to see friends, its really nice when all of that is within blocks off your house. e.g. you can drop a kid at soccer practice 8 blocks away, drop another kid at a friends near the field, go home, start dinner, and then run and pick everyone up. But if the soccer team is based on Key- practice is going to be further away, and friends could live anywhere in Arlington- so it is just a lot harder to coordinate everything.

I agree with a lot of this. Just to take the perspective of a native English speaker, entering K without any exposure to Spanish could be a rough ride. Make it through, and it’s great. But of it’s just not clicking, bail after K or no later than First.

OP here. This thread has been great. I was worried if this could be a good option for us (if we even got in) bc we don’t speak any Spanish. We certainly have resources to get our kids extra help, but I also sort of think that elementary school is a time when most students shouldn’t need that extra instruction- at least not regularly. You have to let kids be kids after school.

I don’t see anything wrong with getting extra help in Spanish. I just wish that option was available to everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two kids now at Wakefield who went through immersion. As mentioned above, they stay with the immersion "cohort" for Spanish, science, and social studies in MS. In HS it is narrowed to two classes in 9th grade (Immersion Spanish for 9th graders, Immersion Intensified Biology) and one in 10th (chemistry). Most immersion-track students take AP Spanish Language in 10th and many keep going through AP Spanish Literature in 11th, but those are not exclusively with the immersion cohort. Overall it has been a great experience for both of our children and they have each independently expressed to us how grateful they are to have gone this path.

When did your kids start liking being in the immersion program? Mine are younger and still complain their hate Spanish.

Child #1 always liked it. Child #2 kicked and screamed (figuratively of course) until 7th grade and is lnow ooking forward to AP Spanish (both lang and lit) and taking the DELE exam. Not sure what caused the change.

[Anonymous]

My child is on the waitlist at Escuela Key for Kindergarten for the 2024-25 school year. What have been your experiences with how many kids actually get a spot who on the waitlist?

[Anonymous]

I think there is a fair amount of movement. What number are you?

[Anonymous]

35. For kindergarten

[Anonymous]

I assume English speaking dominant? My son was in the 30s a few years ago and got a spot in May. This is when they had 6 kindergarten classes, though, so availability is tighter. I think you have a good shot but see where you're at in a few weeks once they readjust waitlist numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I assume English speaking dominant? My son was in the 30s a few years ago and got a spot in May. This is when they had 6 kindergarten classes, though, so availability is tighter. I think you have a good shot but see where you're at in a few weeks once they readjust waitlist numbers.

If you're still at 35 in May, I'd assume you won't get a spot before kindergarten starts in the fall. That is a ton of movement and there are still siblings with preference ahead of you on the list.

[Anonymous]

Yes English speaking dominant. Thanks for the insight. Down to 28. 🤞

[Anonymous]

A few years ago my child was waitlisted for Claremont and we got in after the first round of acceptances/rejections. I knew at least one family that year that got OFF the waitlist in August. This was when there were 6 kindergarten classes though. GL!

[Anonymous]

Are SOLs taken in Spanish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are SOLs taken in Spanish?

No.