the DC International Public Charter School (DCI)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that many parents who don't speak the immersion language, or necessarily know much about the culture behind it, are threatened by those who do and, hence, don't want to see bilingual kids being given preferential treatment in the admissions process. Really too bad when you consider that academics who study bilingual immersion programs (e.g. Canadian educators looking at French programs) have found that the "two-way" immersion model, where kids learn language from one another as much as from instructors, is more effective than the "one-way" model, where kids only learn the immersion language from teachers (e.g. Yu Ying).

This is just hilarious. Why on earth would people feel threatened?

[Anonymous]

The DC law is very clear on this, so at this point what YuYing wants or what YuYing parents want does not matter.
The school had to create itself within the law.
There are people trying to change the law, which would be a good thing to do, but that is a slow slog in a city like this.
Hopefully the city will consider the reported success of other models in other cities (and hopefully Catania and Berry won't come to blows over this).
I do not have high hopes for very many new initiatives coming from this City Council, so I expect the Charters will continue to be forced to operate with the current admissions policies, no matter what their preferences are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we get off YY and get back on track? I don't see the Hebrew school or the Arabic school being a part of this -- actually, I like the idea of those two schools making their own middle & high school together.

Maybe there could be another all -Spanish middle for the bilinguals who don't attend the 4 schools mentioned in the initial bulletin?

Well, first their charters need to be approved. Let's not put the cart before the horse.

After that, should either of them be interested in an HS option, they will probably find that niche immersion programs don't have the enrollment numbers for the economies of scale necessary for a high-quality HS program. Feeding the consortium would make very good sense, as they could each bring something unique to table. However, high school plans are surely a long way away for schools that haven't even been approved to open.

Who cares if it hasn't been approved yet! Go big or go home! Get the whole 12years approved at once.

[Anonymous]

It is a whole lot more difficult to map out the curriculum for 14 years of a program than it is to amend the charter a few years after the school has its legs underneath it. There are very few examples of high-quality public schools that are able to provide a comprehensive, well-rounded education for prek-12 that serves a diverse public population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a whole lot more difficult to map out the curriculum for 14 years of a program than it is to amend the charter a few years after the school has its legs underneath it. There are very few examples of high-quality public schools that are able to provide a comprehensive, well-rounded education for prek-12 that serves a diverse public population.

Then that makes it easy: use the few examples of high-quality public schools as templates and make it happen here. What are the names of these schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a whole lot more difficult to map out the curriculum for 14 years of a program than it is to amend the charter a few years after the school has its legs underneath it. There are very few examples of high-quality public schools that are able to provide a comprehensive, well-rounded education for prek-12 that serves a diverse public population.

Then that makes it easy: use the few examples of high-quality public schools as templates and make it happen here. What are the names of these schools?

If it's so easy, why haven't you done it? Do you honestly believe there are multiple models of PK-12 immersion schooling in either Hebrew or Arabic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a whole lot more difficult to map out the curriculum for 14 years of a program than it is to amend the charter a few years after the school has its legs underneath it. There are very few examples of high-quality public schools that are able to provide a comprehensive, well-rounded education for prek-12 that serves a diverse public population.

Then that makes it easy: use the few examples of high-quality public schools as templates and make it happen here. What are the names of these schools?

If it's so easy, why haven't you done it? Do you honestly believe there are multiple models of PK-12 immersion schooling in either Hebrew or Arabic?

I wasn't the one who mentioned that there are multiple models of PK-12 immersion schooling--some other poster did that. If they would care to share the names of those schools, then we could get something started.

Or is it just easier to say that it's too hard and move to the 'burbs after your kid gets to middle school?

[Anonymous]

I am keeping my fingers that this school comes to fruition! As a new LAMB parent I have a while before I have to really ruminate over middle and high school, but it would be soooo nice to have something in place by the time DC reaches 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

fingers crossed, that is...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone currently at Stokes think this has a chance of happening? The Board is checked out and uninterested,the administration is so over their heads with even managing an elementary school there is no way they can pull this off without an infusion of some real professional management at the school and/or a board that really functions as leaders. I suspect the same is true of the other charters.

-- An ex-Stokes parent

Ex-Stokes Parent? Sounds to me as though you had a child that did not get in.

I don't have a child in the school (although I would love to) but I do conduct thorough research. My understanding is that the Board is extremely committed and active. There are even sub committees of the board composed of experts in education, business and fundraising that also work hard to ensure continued academic rigor and financial vitality. This is why they have over a decade of proven success and their own building. This is highly unlikely with a "checked out and uninterested" board.

At any rate, I hope that a school like Stokes does take their time deciding to partner with Yu Ying (need I say anything--check the threads) and Mundo Verde (a school with NO track record). If I were the Board, I would take time to consider the pros and cons. Good move Stokes!

DITTO!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone currently at Stokes think this has a chance of happening? The Board is checked out and uninterested,the administration is so over their heads with even managing an elementary school there is no way they can pull this off without an infusion of some real professional management at the school and/or a board that really functions as leaders. I suspect the same is true of the other charters.

-- An ex-Stokes parent

Ex-Stokes Parent? Sounds to me as though you had a child that did not get in.

I don't have a child in the school (although I would love to) but I do conduct thorough research. My understanding is that the Board is extremely committed and active. There are even sub committees of the board composed of experts in education, business and fundraising that also work hard to ensure continued academic rigor and financial vitality. This is why they have over a decade of proven success and their own building. This is highly unlikely with a "checked out and uninterested" board.

At any rate, I hope that a school like Stokes does take their time deciding to partner with Yu Ying (need I say anything--check the threads) and Mundo Verde (a school with NO track record). If I were the Board, I would take time to consider the pros and cons. Good move Stokes!

DITTO!

Do you have any evidence that the Stokes Board is considering the DCI middle school issue? I have looked at the Board minutes and see no evidence that it has ever even been discussed. If you think the

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone currently at Stokes think this has a chance of happening? The Board is checked out and uninterested,the administration is so over their heads with even managing an elementary school there is no way they can pull this off without an infusion of some real professional management at the school and/or a board that really functions as leaders. I suspect the same is true of the other charters.

-- An ex-Stokes parent

Ex-Stokes Parent? Sounds to me as though you had a child that did not get in.

I don't have a child in the school (although I would love to) but I do conduct thorough research. My understanding is that the Board is extremely committed and active. There are even sub committees of the board composed of experts in education, business and fundraising that also work hard to ensure continued academic rigor and financial vitality. This is why they have over a decade of proven success and their own building. This is highly unlikely with a "checked out and uninterested" board.

At any rate, I hope that a school like Stokes does take their time deciding to partner with Yu Ying (need I say anything--check the threads) and Mundo Verde (a school with NO track record). If I were the Board, I would take time to consider the pros and cons. Good move Stokes!

DITTO!

Do you have any evidence that the Stokes Board is considering the DCI middle school issue? I have looked at the Board minutes and see no evidence that it has ever even been discussed. If you think the

It was sent out as a newletter or bulletin, I believe.

[Anonymous]

Do you have any evidence that the Stokes Board is considering the DCI middle school issue? I have looked at the Board minutes and see no evidence that it has ever even been discussed. If you think the

Please post these board minutes that you speak of. I've never seen Stokes Board minutes and I did search for them. Not saying that don't exist, but I can't find them, so I'd love to see them. Please post a link.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Do you have any evidence that the Stokes Board is considering the DCI middle school issue? I have looked at the Board minutes and see no evidence that it has ever even been discussed. If you think the

Please post these board minutes that you speak of. I've never seen Stokes Board minutes and I did search for them. Not saying that don't exist, but I can't find them, so I'd love to see them. Please post a link.

I'm not the PP, but I found this on DCUM:

excerpted from this weeks Stokes Banner (Issue XV)

"If approved, the DCI wold open in school year 2014-15 with 200 students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes and would eventually grow to its capacity of approximately 1,000 students in the 6th through 12th grades.

"This combined middle-high school would allow students to continue to pursue a rigorous academic program while building on the language and cultural immersion experiences from their primary schools [Stokes, LAMB, Mundo Verde and Yu Ying]...at DCI, students would have the opportunity to...earn the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme Certificate, followed by the globally-recognized prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma and/or International Baccalaureate Career-Related Certificate.

" '...(Stokes School Founder and Executive Director, Linda Moore)...cautions, however, that the board of trustees has not yet committed to middle school expansion and significant legal and financial challenges' confront the four schools that are exploring the development of DCI."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do you have any evidence that the Stokes Board is considering the DCI middle school issue? I have looked at the Board minutes and see no evidence that it has ever even been discussed. If you think the

Please post these board minutes that you speak of. I've never seen Stokes Board minutes and I did search for them. Not saying that don't exist, but I can't find them, so I'd love to see them. Please post a link.

I'm not the PP, but I found this on DCUM:

excerpted from this weeks Stokes Banner (Issue XV)

"If approved, the DCI wold open in school year 2014-15 with 200 students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes and would eventually grow to its capacity of approximately 1,000 students in the 6th through 12th grades.

"This combined middle-high school would allow students to continue to pursue a rigorous academic program while building on the language and cultural immersion experiences from their primary schools [Stokes, LAMB, Mundo Verde and Yu Ying]...at DCI, students would have the opportunity to...earn the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme Certificate, followed by the globally-recognized prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma and/or International Baccalaureate Career-Related Certificate.

" '...(Stokes School Founder and Executive Director, Linda Moore)...cautions, however, that the board of trustees has not yet committed to middle school expansion and significant legal and financial challenges' confront the four schools that are exploring the development of DCI."

The minutes are public (by law) and available from the school or the secretary of the board. The quote from Ms. Moore above is misleading as the best I can tell from reading a years worth of board minutes, there has never been any discussion of DCI Middle school. No presentation by school administration regarding the proposal or pros and cons of the proposal. I wish I was wrong.