How to tell a child they must leave a school that they love?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What parents wouldn't try to move her kids to a school with less poverty? white or black. Y'all are being really dumb piling on the OP.

OP said her kindergarten child, in her 2nd week of school, is not being challenged academically. If you don't call out BS when you see it, you are part of the problem.

NP here but I can see that being an issue. My K kid is showing me worksheets where they practice one letter at a time? She is bored. What Kinder kid doesn't already know the alphabet and how to write letters? We were given a list of sight words to practice over the summer too which my kid learned. It seems more appropriate for PK3 or PK4. I am going to give it a few more months to see if it picks up. But its a Title 1 school so we may already be seeing the gap in learning at this age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely move her. Get the academics right! She’ll make new friends and will enjoy it more if she has some academic peers. Her friendships from PK-4 are unlikely to be lifelong friendships away.

I moved my daughter two weeks into K last year from a school she was comfortable with. She did fine. It took about 2 months fir her to be equally comfortable with the new school.

NP but thanks for this. DD is at a new school for 1st this year and while school only started last week, we had some tears last week. Glad to see that the transition really does just take some time.

Just chiming with another anecdote re: moving a K child. We moved our child after K, after she'd been at our IB for 3 years, and where we were actively involved and friends with many families. Kid was somewhat shy/quiet but loved the school and had lots of friends, and seemed to know all the students and staff. We told her towards the end of K that she'd be changing schools. She took it pretty hard, and there were a lot of tears and attempts to convince us to let her stay at IB.

We spent a lot of time getting her ready for the new school, which was language immersion--we visited a country where the language is spoken (was a previously planned trip), spring weekend language classes, summer immersion camps, did playdates at the new school, etc. Still, despite a pretty smooth transition, it was months into the new school year before she stopped asking regularly to return to our IB. We also live close to the IB, so it's not really out of sight out of mind.

We did try to maintain friendships with old friends, and even put her in an activity that meets at the old school. That has worked well, and now, a year later, she doesn't ask as much to return to the old school.

tl;dr: It definitely takes some time, depending on how long at prior school, whether IB or not, kid's temperament, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely move her. Get the academics right! She’ll make new friends and will enjoy it more if she has some academic peers. Her friendships from PK-4 are unlikely to be lifelong friendships away.

I moved my daughter two weeks into K last year from a school she was comfortable with. She did fine. It took about 2 months fir her to be equally comfortable with the new school.

NP -- going through something similar -- moved DD to new school 2 weeks in from another new school (called of a WL). First adjustment seemed good but we had done a lot of prep work over the summer. Second transition not going so well. Lots of tantrums and tears. I'm not sure if it is the school or the transition. We are sticking it out (this is the start of week 2 at new school) but as a parent it is gut wrenching to leave your child crying in the classroom. I hope what the teachers say about her being ok after we leave is true. For OP I think you just need to be strong. We think we made the right decision in terms of academics and long term (although this morning I'm having doubts). Just wondering how did you handle the transition? Do you just stay positive and keep telling child how great the school is? It's not that DD is missing the first school -- it's more like she doesn't want to go to school period. DD is 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol. She's five.

I can already tell you won't do this well, but if you tell her about this exciting thing she won't care in about two days.

This.

Seriously, it won't be a big deal. It will seem like it for about 2 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What part of their curriculum is a year behind? I’ve never heard that before and I have a kid at ITS and a kid in DCPS.

https://www.inspiredteachingschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1175429&type=d&pREC_ID=1423838

I just want to clarify that I don't use "behind" as a perjorative -- just to counter the notion that DCPS (even EOTP) are not rigorous. My understanding is that ITS has no homework in K and does not push reading/writing/math in K the same way DCPS does. Now likely this is what parents actually WANT, but it's hard to say that your basis for changing from DCPS to ITS is "challenge" ... at least in K!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What parents wouldn't try to move her kids to a school with less poverty? white or black. Y'all are being really dumb piling on the OP.

OP said her kindergarten child, in her 2nd week of school, is not being challenged academically. If you don't call out BS when you see it, you are part of the problem.

I think it's possible. Not that anything too awful has happened in three weeks of K, but if the OP has been at the school since PK3 she probably knows what the school's attitude is. If the teacher is underwhelming or they've already denied her request for differentiation or proposed an inadequate plan, then the OP is right to have concerns. ITS is a good school, I wouldn't pass it up for an IB that I didn't have confidence in.

Tell me about these "requests for differentiation" you make for your kindergartener in week 2??

Not OP, but probably a request for a formal evaluation and maybe a push-in or reading in another classroom or at least some kind of specific approach to be communicated to the parent. Some kids read really really early, and can get pretty far ahead. Especially if they are older in the class age spectrum.

Then what evidence do you have that such a kid would be more catered to at ITS? Plus, ALL kids get evaluated in K. Asking right out of the gate for additional evaluation and push-ins etc is just being anti-social.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What part of their curriculum is a year behind? I’ve never heard that before and I have a kid at ITS and a kid in DCPS.

https://www.inspiredteachingschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1175429&type=d&pREC_ID=1423838

I just want to clarify that I don't use "behind" as a perjorative -- just to counter the notion that DCPS (even EOTP) are not rigorous. My understanding is that ITS has no homework in K and does not push reading/writing/math in K the same way DCPS does. Now likely this is what parents actually WANT, but it's hard to say that your basis for changing from DCPS to ITS is "challenge" ... at least in K!

Yes it is about the challenge, because doing phonics work that is below her level ia not a challenge at all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What parents wouldn't try to move her kids to a school with less poverty? white or black. Y'all are being really dumb piling on the OP.

OP said her kindergarten child, in her 2nd week of school, is not being challenged academically. If you don't call out BS when you see it, you are part of the problem.

I think it's possible. Not that anything too awful has happened in three weeks of K, but if the OP has been at the school since PK3 she probably knows what the school's attitude is. If the teacher is underwhelming or they've already denied her request for differentiation or proposed an inadequate plan, then the OP is right to have concerns. ITS is a good school, I wouldn't pass it up for an IB that I didn't have confidence in.

Tell me about these "requests for differentiation" you make for your kindergartener in week 2??

Not OP, but probably a request for a formal evaluation and maybe a push-in or reading in another classroom or at least some kind of specific approach to be communicated to the parent. Some kids read really really early, and can get pretty far ahead. Especially if they are older in the class age spectrum.

Then what evidence do you have that such a kid would be more catered to at ITS? Plus, ALL kids get evaluated in K. Asking right out of the gate for additional evaluation and push-ins etc is just being anti-social.

Because ITS has a much better student-teacher ratio and more high performing students for peer challenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:OP here, it's K at ITS. That list has moved sooo fast, I was not mentally prepared for it.

The reason for the move is that DC is not being academically challenged right now. It's not because of too many black kids in the upper grades, it's because of hardly any high-performing kids in any grade and because I know her friends are leaving anyway. They are working on some pull-outs or whatever, but I know it's nowhere near the challenge that DC needs. I like the teacher but the group work is far below DC's level.

I'm not sure that we'll be thrilled with ITS as a middle school because it's such a small program, but I know it's a recently created program so we'll see how it grows. I would choose it over our IB middle school in a heartbeat.

I'm in a similar situation but chose IB over moving.

K was not an easy place for academic challenges because the school was not set up for it. K was just not that academically focused.

We're a few years into early elementary now and it keeps getting better. The school and teachers continue to get better at providing individualized work. There are also classmates who have stepped up their game. Not all kids develop at the same rate. Some who didn't do anything amazing academically in K are doing great now. Our IB also has really small class sizes, so that helps.

Thanks. Do you mind saying the school? I feel like our K is overly academically focused, but at a lower academic level than DC is at. DC has a reading pull-out but still, most of the morning is spent on Fundations type stuff that is age- and level-appropriate for most of the class but not for her.

fundations at our DCPS was right on target for my smart, white high SES K boy EOTP. And ITS is a FULL YEAR behind DCPS - I know because I compared notes with an ITS parent. this is 100% about you wanting your child in a more homogeneous class, and 0% about the actual curriculum.

Funny how ITS has way better test scores than Ward 5 IBs, then.

Sorry, but our IB pushes phonic so hard because a lot of the kids in K are behind where they should be. At a HRCS the kids may learn to read a little later because they have them doing other stuff instead of drilling on letters of the alphabet. But if the OP's child is advanced, I understand why Fundations would be unappealing. A child who already knows the sounds for each letter and basic phonetic combinations would be bored in Fundations.

I love how there's no way the DCPS can be more advanced than ITS. The DCPS curriculum is more rigorous because the kids are behind in DCPS; but the kids read later in ITS because they are more advanced.

BTW there was a broad range of reading/writing readiness in our DCPS class that did not correspond to race or SES.

The DCPS curriculum is more focused on phonics and reading intervention for kids who struggle. Other curricula may result in later reading, but that doesn't mean it's a less valid or "rigorous" a curriculum. It's just a different approach. If a child already reads, they don't need K to be a year of intense phonics. I don't know why the kids at ITS read later (or if that's even true), but the school has great test scores so whatever they're doing is probably working just fine.

No, DCPS K is more rigorous and reading/writing focus. That's why some people don't like it!! They want ITS *because* it's less pressured in K. People don't actually want more academics in early elementary; they want their kids to be around kids like them.

DCPS is more academic focused and if the academics are things OP's child has already mastered, what is the point of that? I thought Fundations was fine, because it helped my child learn to read. A child who reads already is not getting much out of it.

Well then don't pretend that she's switching to ITS for more "academics." Because ITS will surely be focusing on reading and writing, but later in K and 1st as compared to DCPS! how much MORE bored will this brilliant child be then, a whole year later? Come on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, it's K at ITS. That list has moved sooo fast, I was not mentally prepared for it.

The reason for the move is that DC is not being academically challenged right now. It's not because of too many black kids in the upper grades, it's because of hardly any high-performing kids in any grade and because I know her friends are leaving anyway. They are working on some pull-outs or whatever, but I know it's nowhere near the challenge that DC needs. I like the teacher but the group work is far below DC's level.

I'm not sure that we'll be thrilled with ITS as a middle school because it's such a small program, but I know it's a recently created program so we'll see how it grows. I would choose it over our IB middle school in a heartbeat.

I'm in a similar situation but chose IB over moving.

K was not an easy place for academic challenges because the school was not set up for it. K was just not that academically focused.

We're a few years into early elementary now and it keeps getting better. The school and teachers continue to get better at providing individualized work. There are also classmates who have stepped up their game. Not all kids develop at the same rate. Some who didn't do anything amazing academically in K are doing great now. Our IB also has really small class sizes, so that helps.

Thanks. Do you mind saying the school? I feel like our K is overly academically focused, but at a lower academic level than DC is at. DC has a reading pull-out but still, most of the morning is spent on Fundations type stuff that is age- and level-appropriate for most of the class but not for her.

fundations at our DCPS was right on target for my smart, white high SES K boy EOTP. And ITS is a FULL YEAR behind DCPS - I know because I compared notes with an ITS parent. this is 100% about you wanting your child in a more homogeneous class, and 0% about the actual curriculum.

As a parent and teacher, this message is just ridiculous. How could an entire class of a school be one year behind another?? That's not how reading development works. Just about any class will have a mix of students below, on, and above level. You can't make gross generalizations. Also, there are also absolutely kids who don't need specific phonics instruction to learn to read. Some come to kindergarten already reading at a second-grade level. I don't have a dog in the fight with public vs. charter (I've worked at both and there are pros/cons to both), but couldn't let that message slide.

to clarify - the curriculum is 1 year behind. Not the students. Now, I think ITS is probably a great school, but based on my experience, DCPS K is much more "advanced" in its curriculum and expectations for learning.

But.... this doesn't make sense instructionally. Any decent teacher of reading knows not all students in a class are getting the same curriculum. It should be tailored to the students' reading levels.

DCPS K focuses really strongly on getting kids to a certain reading & writing level by the end of K; and in doing this, they do tailor to the individual student levels. ITS likely tailors its teaching as well, but they are not as focused on the academic content as DCPS K and getting kids all to the same level by the end of K. That's the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, it's K at ITS. That list has moved sooo fast, I was not mentally prepared for it.

The reason for the move is that DC is not being academically challenged right now. It's not because of too many black kids in the upper grades, it's because of hardly any high-performing kids in any grade and because I know her friends are leaving anyway. They are working on some pull-outs or whatever, but I know it's nowhere near the challenge that DC needs. I like the teacher but the group work is far below DC's level.

I'm not sure that we'll be thrilled with ITS as a middle school because it's such a small program, but I know it's a recently created program so we'll see how it grows. I would choose it over our IB middle school in a heartbeat.

I'm in a similar situation but chose IB over moving.

K was not an easy place for academic challenges because the school was not set up for it. K was just not that academically focused.

We're a few years into early elementary now and it keeps getting better. The school and teachers continue to get better at providing individualized work. There are also classmates who have stepped up their game. Not all kids develop at the same rate. Some who didn't do anything amazing academically in K are doing great now. Our IB also has really small class sizes, so that helps.

Thanks. Do you mind saying the school? I feel like our K is overly academically focused, but at a lower academic level than DC is at. DC has a reading pull-out but still, most of the morning is spent on Fundations type stuff that is age- and level-appropriate for most of the class but not for her.

fundations at our DCPS was right on target for my smart, white high SES K boy EOTP. And ITS is a FULL YEAR behind DCPS - I know because I compared notes with an ITS parent. this is 100% about you wanting your child in a more homogeneous class, and 0% about the actual curriculum.

Funny how ITS has way better test scores than Ward 5 IBs, then.

Sorry, but our IB pushes phonic so hard because a lot of the kids in K are behind where they should be. At a HRCS the kids may learn to read a little later because they have them doing other stuff instead of drilling on letters of the alphabet. But if the OP's child is advanced, I understand why Fundations would be unappealing. A child who already knows the sounds for each letter and basic phonetic combinations would be bored in Fundations.

I love how there's no way the DCPS can be more advanced than ITS. The DCPS curriculum is more rigorous because the kids are behind in DCPS; but the kids read later in ITS because they are more advanced.

BTW there was a broad range of reading/writing readiness in our DCPS class that did not correspond to race or SES.

The DCPS curriculum is more focused on phonics and reading intervention for kids who struggle. Other curricula may result in later reading, but that doesn't mean it's a less valid or "rigorous" a curriculum. It's just a different approach. If a child already reads, they don't need K to be a year of intense phonics. I don't know why the kids at ITS read later (or if that's even true), but the school has great test scores so whatever they're doing is probably working just fine.

No, DCPS K is more rigorous and reading/writing focus. That's why some people don't like it!! They want ITS *because* it's less pressured in K. People don't actually want more academics in early elementary; they want their kids to be around kids like them.

DCPS is more academic focused and if the academics are things OP's child has already mastered, what is the point of that? I thought Fundations was fine, because it helped my child learn to read. A child who reads already is not getting much out of it.

Well then don't pretend that she's switching to ITS for more "academics." Because ITS will surely be focusing on reading and writing, but later in K and 1st as compared to DCPS! how much MORE bored will this brilliant child be then, a whole year later? Come on.

It is for a different *style* of academics. And for a middle school that is way better than Brookland or Cardozo or whatever the OP currently has access to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What part of their curriculum is a year behind? I’ve never heard that before and I have a kid at ITS and a kid in DCPS.

https://www.inspiredteachingschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1175429&type=d&pREC_ID=1423838

I just want to clarify that I don't use "behind" as a perjorative -- just to counter the notion that DCPS (even EOTP) are not rigorous. My understanding is that ITS has no homework in K and does not push reading/writing/math in K the same way DCPS does. Now likely this is what parents actually WANT, but it's hard to say that your basis for changing from DCPS to ITS is "challenge" ... at least in K!

Yes it is about the challenge, because doing phonics work that is below her level ia not a challenge at all!

What makes you think that ITS will be any more of a challenge? That's the point. If your child is reading at a 2nd grade level when she enters K she's going to be bored wherever she is. Actually, the evidence seems to show that OP's child is NOT actually bored since she loves the school. Of course there's much more to a school than phonics being "below her level."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, it's K at ITS. That list has moved sooo fast, I was not mentally prepared for it.

The reason for the move is that DC is not being academically challenged right now. It's not because of too many black kids in the upper grades, it's because of hardly any high-performing kids in any grade and because I know her friends are leaving anyway. They are working on some pull-outs or whatever, but I know it's nowhere near the challenge that DC needs. I like the teacher but the group work is far below DC's level.

I'm not sure that we'll be thrilled with ITS as a middle school because it's such a small program, but I know it's a recently created program so we'll see how it grows. I would choose it over our IB middle school in a heartbeat.

I'm in a similar situation but chose IB over moving.

K was not an easy place for academic challenges because the school was not set up for it. K was just not that academically focused.

We're a few years into early elementary now and it keeps getting better. The school and teachers continue to get better at providing individualized work. There are also classmates who have stepped up their game. Not all kids develop at the same rate. Some who didn't do anything amazing academically in K are doing great now. Our IB also has really small class sizes, so that helps.

Thanks. Do you mind saying the school? I feel like our K is overly academically focused, but at a lower academic level than DC is at. DC has a reading pull-out but still, most of the morning is spent on Fundations type stuff that is age- and level-appropriate for most of the class but not for her.

fundations at our DCPS was right on target for my smart, white high SES K boy EOTP. And ITS is a FULL YEAR behind DCPS - I know because I compared notes with an ITS parent. this is 100% about you wanting your child in a more homogeneous class, and 0% about the actual curriculum.

Funny how ITS has way better test scores than Ward 5 IBs, then.

Sorry, but our IB pushes phonic so hard because a lot of the kids in K are behind where they should be. At a HRCS the kids may learn to read a little later because they have them doing other stuff instead of drilling on letters of the alphabet. But if the OP's child is advanced, I understand why Fundations would be unappealing. A child who already knows the sounds for each letter and basic phonetic combinations would be bored in Fundations.

I love how there's no way the DCPS can be more advanced than ITS. The DCPS curriculum is more rigorous because the kids are behind in DCPS; but the kids read later in ITS because they are more advanced.

BTW there was a broad range of reading/writing readiness in our DCPS class that did not correspond to race or SES.

The DCPS curriculum is more focused on phonics and reading intervention for kids who struggle. Other curricula may result in later reading, but that doesn't mean it's a less valid or "rigorous" a curriculum. It's just a different approach. If a child already reads, they don't need K to be a year of intense phonics. I don't know why the kids at ITS read later (or if that's even true), but the school has great test scores so whatever they're doing is probably working just fine.

No, DCPS K is more rigorous and reading/writing focus. That's why some people don't like it!! They want ITS *because* it's less pressured in K. People don't actually want more academics in early elementary; they want their kids to be around kids like them.

DCPS is more academic focused and if the academics are things OP's child has already mastered, what is the point of that? I thought Fundations was fine, because it helped my child learn to read. A child who reads already is not getting much out of it.

Well then don't pretend that she's switching to ITS for more "academics." Because ITS will surely be focusing on reading and writing, but later in K and 1st as compared to DCPS! how much MORE bored will this brilliant child be then, a whole year later? Come on.

It is for a different *style* of academics. And for a middle school that is way better than Brookland or Cardozo or whatever the OP currently has access to.

A different style - yeah, right! What OP wants is a more homogenous environment, filled with kids and teachers who don't feel any stress to push academics b/c they have the attitude "my [white/high SES] kid will be fine wherever". That may be true but don't pretend it's academics that are making you switch schools.

[Anonymous]

You could give your kid this article to read: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/09/white-kids-race/569185/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, it's K at ITS. That list has moved sooo fast, I was not mentally prepared for it.

The reason for the move is that DC is not being academically challenged right now. It's not because of too many black kids in the upper grades, it's because of hardly any high-performing kids in any grade and because I know her friends are leaving anyway. They are working on some pull-outs or whatever, but I know it's nowhere near the challenge that DC needs. I like the teacher but the group work is far below DC's level.

I'm not sure that we'll be thrilled with ITS as a middle school because it's such a small program, but I know it's a recently created program so we'll see how it grows. I would choose it over our IB middle school in a heartbeat.

I'm in a similar situation but chose IB over moving.

K was not an easy place for academic challenges because the school was not set up for it. K was just not that academically focused.

We're a few years into early elementary now and it keeps getting better. The school and teachers continue to get better at providing individualized work. There are also classmates who have stepped up their game. Not all kids develop at the same rate. Some who didn't do anything amazing academically in K are doing great now. Our IB also has really small class sizes, so that helps.

Thanks. Do you mind saying the school? I feel like our K is overly academically focused, but at a lower academic level than DC is at. DC has a reading pull-out but still, most of the morning is spent on Fundations type stuff that is age- and level-appropriate for most of the class but not for her.

fundations at our DCPS was right on target for my smart, white high SES K boy EOTP. And ITS is a FULL YEAR behind DCPS - I know because I compared notes with an ITS parent. this is 100% about you wanting your child in a more homogeneous class, and 0% about the actual curriculum.

Funny how ITS has way better test scores than Ward 5 IBs, then.

Sorry, but our IB pushes phonic so hard because a lot of the kids in K are behind where they should be. At a HRCS the kids may learn to read a little later because they have them doing other stuff instead of drilling on letters of the alphabet. But if the OP's child is advanced, I understand why Fundations would be unappealing. A child who already knows the sounds for each letter and basic phonetic combinations would be bored in Fundations.

I love how there's no way the DCPS can be more advanced than ITS. The DCPS curriculum is more rigorous because the kids are behind in DCPS; but the kids read later in ITS because they are more advanced.

BTW there was a broad range of reading/writing readiness in our DCPS class that did not correspond to race or SES.

The DCPS curriculum is more focused on phonics and reading intervention for kids who struggle. Other curricula may result in later reading, but that doesn't mean it's a less valid or "rigorous" a curriculum. It's just a different approach. If a child already reads, they don't need K to be a year of intense phonics. I don't know why the kids at ITS read later (or if that's even true), but the school has great test scores so whatever they're doing is probably working just fine.

No, DCPS K is more rigorous and reading/writing focus. That's why some people don't like it!! They want ITS *because* it's less pressured in K. People don't actually want more academics in early elementary; they want their kids to be around kids like them.

DCPS is more academic focused and if the academics are things OP's child has already mastered, what is the point of that? I thought Fundations was fine, because it helped my child learn to read. A child who reads already is not getting much out of it.

Well then don't pretend that she's switching to ITS for more "academics." Because ITS will surely be focusing on reading and writing, but later in K and 1st as compared to DCPS! how much MORE bored will this brilliant child be then, a whole year later? Come on.

It is for a different *style* of academics. And for a middle school that is way better than Brookland or Cardozo or whatever the OP currently has access to.

A different style - yeah, right! What OP wants is a more homogenous environment, filled with kids and teachers who don't feel any stress to push academics b/c they have the attitude "my [white/high SES] kid will be fine wherever". That may be true but don't pretend it's academics that are making you switch schools.

NP: First, if OP wants fewer worksheets or less Fundations in K, then, yes, that is about academics. Many early childhood experts believe that focusing on inquiry and building blocks early on leads to better academic outcomes later than diving deep into teaching reading and arithmetic at a desk at an early age.

Second, if you disagrees with you about what the best academic approach is, why do you care?! Find the curriculum that is best for your kid and do that. OP is moving from a DCPS to a charter school -- she's not doing something that denies you any opportunity (unless you are on the ITS waitlist just after her).