oyster

[Anonymous]

And? My child started in K, we almost pulled DC out in third because the Spanish wasn't clicking. It's been known to happen.

[Anonymous]

Mine started at age 3 and still struggles.

[Anonymous]

13:39 I was disappointed that there was no support during the school day. It was always before or after school. It clicked but it was a struggle. If the school wants to retain more families through the upper grades, it needs to help students who struggle, whether it's with Spanish or English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the music teacher was excellent.
A couple of friends with children at Oyster really like her.

The Adams music teacher is really creating a nice program there from zero. Now he has an after school recorder group and an after school string program. He has done a great deal for my child, giving piano lessons for free.

[Anonymous]

The bloom really appears to be off the Oyster rose lately.

Is it because Rhee pulled her child out or because of her mucking around in the administration? Or is it because there are other immersion options that are just more compelling? I'm thinking of Tyler on the Hill in DCPS, but especially charter schools like Washington Yu Ying and LAMB and Stokes.

Oyster used to seem more special, but it seems like families who really value a second language should maybe look somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

14:52, are you O-A parent? My guess is no because you fail to mention Rhee's younger child is still there. Do you have personal experience with all the schools you mention? O-A is far from perfect. But put it in perspective. It's double the size (650?) of most of the schools you cite and other DCPS k-8 in 2 buildings that are too far apart (IMHO as a parent), none of the independence of charters, not near the amount of money of privates, a 30 year old model based on now inverted demographics. These aren't excuses. Just some context beyond administrations past and present.

[Anonymous]

Oyster Adams looks pretty good from where I sit. Everything I know about it, including friends who have children in both schools, indicates O-A is a strong program, although not without its own set of challenges. Looks like the ones dissing it are either trolls or still in mastubatory joy from the election.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:52, are you O-A parent? My guess is no because you fail to mention Rhee's younger child is still there. Do you have personal experience with all the schools you mention? O-A is far from perfect. But put it in perspective. It's double the size (650?) of most of the schools you cite and other DCPS k-8 in 2 buildings that are too far apart (IMHO as a parent), none of the independence of charters, not near the amount of money of privates, a 30 year old model based on now inverted demographics. These aren't excuses. Just some context beyond administrations past and present.

No, just a parent who is very serious about immersion schools. This board used to have lots of positive posts about Oyster and a few years ago when my daughter was born I thought it would be our first choice. Next year she will be eligible for pre-school, and the need to narrow the decision is getting more urgent. It will be even more so at Pre-K. My observation is that a lot of enthusiasm for Oyster seems to be missing or at least ebbing and instead that kind of energy seems to be building around other immersion schools. I'd really like to understand why.

[Anonymous]

OP,
DC went to Oyster for eight years. I do not know the current principal, but I have friends, parents of DC's former classmates, who have younger children there and they are very happy. I trust their instincts. If something were amiss, they'd talk about it. In fact when we socialize I am reminded how distorted DCUM can make things. I do think that by Grade Five or Six things get wobbly but that might change.

The immersion was challenging for DC but worth it. Go and check the school out for yourself and trust your instincts.

[Anonymous]

I'm curious how it compares to Cleveland and Marie Reed, two nearby school that also offer immersion? Does anyone have experience with those two schools? You don't hear much about them. I'm not even going to bother with Oyster in the lottery because I feel that chances are so slim that I would be wasting a lottery option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious how it compares to Cleveland and Marie Reed, two nearby school that also offer immersion? Does anyone have experience with those two schools? You don't hear much about them. I'm not even going to bother with Oyster in the lottery because I feel that chances are so slim that I would be wasting a lottery option.

Oyster parent here. Neighbor's child didn't get Oyster pre-K so is going to Marie Reed for the year. It is shameful that this city has let some schools slide by far. Not even close to the quality of education as at Oyster and perhaps more importantly, no sense of community. It's quite simply a bad school. When I met some of the other parents at the child's birthday party, they were talking about doing lotteries for other schools, particularly Oyster.

I'm not sure who the Oyster bashers are-- and why a non-O-A parent who is "serious about immersion" would have a bone to pick with a school with which s/he has no connection. It's a school. Some people love it. Some don't. It works for some kids-- and with immersion, it is a gamble whether it's perfect for your child. In my experience, no one has left my child's class and no one has left amongst my friends in other grades. But some families and kids won't like it and some teachers won't want to teach there. A couple have left, including one I really liked, because they didn't like the new bilingual model that started last year. People coming in to that model from day 1-- like two of my child's teachers-- are fine with it.

The most important things you can do when considering a school are to visit the school and get to know some present/past parents and kids. When you are choosing, it doesn't really matter that Oyster has a couple of hundred people on the waitlist (it still does), nor does it matter that Rhee fired one principal and hired another (she did). It doesn't matter how many people say that it's magical unicorn land or how many shriek that the bloom is off of the rose. What matters is how it's working out for the kids and whether in your estimation it could be a good fit for you.

[Anonymous]

Oyster parent here. It's bar-none the best dual language option in the city through 5th grade. 6th thru 8th IS wobbly, and not sure how easily it will be corrected as long as 50-60% of the student body is also in the boundary for Deal. Ever tempting to kids who've got the dual-language thing down, and Oyster-Adams has not been able to match the extracurriculars/organization/enthusiasm of Deal as an MS. So if you're comparing Oyster to somewhere else in low grades, you can count on Oyster. Then devote your volunteer hours to the MS program!

[Anonymous]

They Oyster bashing is lingering anti-Rhee shpilkes. Oyster is a really good school.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback. Would you say it is better than Stokes in Brookland?

[Anonymous]

Yes! Better than any others through 5th. Still some outstanding teachers in 6-8, but very little p.e., lousy visual arts, and unless they work on these things parents care about beyond language they'll continue to bleed students. When the teachers and kids left behind lose so many of the popuation it really causes a blow to morale. RIght now there is a strong movement of current 5th grade parens to stick together and stay, but we've got to see some real momentum.