Maryland International Day to be the first elementary/middle school to travel to Cuba

[Anonymous]

The students will be studying abroad and attending school in Cuba for a week to advance their language immersion skills and learn about the culture. WJLA News 7 is reporting on this historic trip on the 4:45pm broadcast.

[Anonymous]

Are you a current parent there? What is your feedback on the program?

[Anonymous]

Agreed - we need more information on this school.
Anyone care to share?
I can't get a good feel from my research thus far

[Anonymous]

Riiight. They just want to immerse themselves in Cuban culture. Not a PR stunt at all.

Eyeroll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed - we need more information on this school.
Anyone care to share?
I can't get a good feel from my research thus far

For starters, pretty bad Spanish in their website. Perhaps they can contract translations and Spanish teaching to some Cuban teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed - we need more information on this school.
Anyone care to share?
I can't get a good feel from my research thus far

For starters, pretty bad Spanish in their website. Perhaps they can contract translations and Spanish teaching to some Cuban teachers?

I agree the website needs some work. The older posts I have been able to find on the Private/Independent school forum were pretty positive for the most part. However, I would live insight from a current parent though with the school size I am not sure how many actually frequent this site.

[Anonymous]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/us-elementary-school-children-head-to-cuba-for-rare-visit-to-classrooms/2016/04/03/8d7cf068-f817-11e5-a3ce-f06b5ba21f33_story.html

[Anonymous]

The school has previously engaged in student-exchange program in Mexico, Cost Rica and the Dominican Republic and has been host to students for students from Taiwan, Kenya, Mexico and Guatemala. The Maryland International Day School (MIDS) is a private Spanish-Immersion school located in Prince George's County, MD. The school provides an academically-rigorous, dual-language education in English and Spanish to students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through the 8th Grade. Its mission is to equip students to become lifelong learners and responsible members of a diverse global community. The culture of the school has been defined by its objective to prepare Tomorrow's Ambassadors Today.

[Anonymous]

Maryland International Day School will be having an Open House on Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 11am - 2pm. You can register by calling the school directly at: 301-567-9101.

[Anonymous]

Hi All,
Current parent here. We just returned from Cuba. We had lots of fun and learned so much about the Cuban culture. This was not a "PR" stunt - (eye roll). The school has several Spanish speaking teachers from different Spanish speaking countries. It is an immersion program. So, classes are actually taught in both English and Spanish. This is my son's first year. I only wish my wife and I had found the school earlier. It is a great school with awesome teachers. It is like one big family. As for the website, I will personally speak with the director to have someone check it out. If you live in the area, I would highly recommend the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi All,
Current parent here. We just returned from Cuba. We had lots of fun and learned so much about the Cuban culture. This was not a "PR" stunt - (eye roll). The school has several Spanish speaking teachers from different Spanish speaking countries. It is an immersion program. So, classes are actually taught in both English and Spanish. This is my son's first year. I only wish my wife and I had found the school earlier. It is a great school with awesome teachers. It is like one big family. As for the website, I will personally speak with the director to have someone check it out. If you live in the area, I would highly recommend the school.

Thanks for the feedback. What grade is your child in? If they did not start at PreK was it hard for them to catch up with those who had? We are currently researching for our son and debating on keeping him at his current center thru PreK then switching to private.

[Anonymous]

There are students who started in Kindergarten and also in 4th and other grades at the school. One parent who also has a child in an older grade chose not to start her youngest in Kindergarten and mentioned they had some catch up (and not just Spanish related but other aspects of the curriculum including cursive writing and other things) but the teachers worked with them and they have adjusted well. An ability to give individual attention where needed is one benefit of small class sizes. There are other students who do not start until Kindergarten so it is not unusual.

[Anonymous]

http://wjla.com/news/local/maryland-students-back-home-after-8-days-in-cuba

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are students who started in Kindergarten and also in 4th and other grades at the school. One parent who also has a child in an older grade chose not to start her youngest in Kindergarten and mentioned they had some catch up (and not just Spanish related but other aspects of the curriculum including cursive writing and other things) but the teachers worked with them and they have adjusted well. An ability to give individual attention where needed is one benefit of small class sizes. There are other students who do not start until Kindergarten so it is not unusual.

I've interviewed a fee students from MID for internships. Sorry to say, their Spanish, both oral and written, is terrible. We run a small business, with limited time and resources, so won't try again in the foreseeable future.

[Anonymous]

I've interviewed a fee students from MID for internships. Sorry to say, their Spanish, both oral and written, is terrible. We run a small business, with limited time and resources, so won't try again in the foreseeable future.

What age were these students? Were they past attendees? How long did they attend the school? I am just trying to assess the validity of your statements.