Bilingual Ed Dilemma, Just Got a Spot at Bancroft

[Anonymous]

My son will be going to preschool in September and he is currently enrolled in a Spanish immersion program (not public) within walking distance to our home in NW DC. We applied to LAMB and Bancroft and got spots on the waitlist; I put that out of my mind because I thought we had practically no hope. Today I found out that my son has a spot at Bancroft. We are very interested in bilingual education and we don't want to blow the chance of having him guaranteed a (free) spot through 5th grade, but we are hesitant about blowing our chance at the preschool in which he is already enrolled, which seems like the perfect place for him.

Is securing a spot at Bancroft for the future worth it? Our in-boundary school is Hearst, which would be the default if he doesn't get a spot at a bilingual or Spanish exposure school for Pre-K/Kindergarten.

Also, is there any hope that after two years of immersion education he could get an OOB Spanish-dominant spot at Oyster?

Would love to know what those of you who have been dealing with bilingual ed in DC think.

[Anonymous]

Is the private school just a pre-school? (Communikids?)
If yes, I would go with Bancroft as it is an established program that will introduce the language in a structured manner for multiple years as opposed to a single year of pre-school.

[Anonymous]

is bancroft considered to be immersion?

[Anonymous]

what is your assessment of bancroft, op? i don't know much about it, but i have some friends in that catchment area and they are lukewarm and undecided about bancroft. they aren't sure it is up to snuff. what did you think when you went there? does it offer the same quality education/experience as the school you are currently looking at? i don't think you should hold out hopes of going OOB to Oyster, btw, esp if you don't have native speakers in your household.

[Anonymous]

We got a spot in the Pre-K (3yo) class. Parents in the current class say that the teacher (Ms. Adams?) is terrific. When we talked with the PTA president, he said that Bancroft will have a new principal starting this Fall and part of the restructuring plan involves modeling the bilingual program exactly like Oyster’s. Bancroft does have an immersion Pre-K class for 4yo.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I would love to talk with PP in-depth about your knowledge of Bancroft. Would you mind dropping me an email at [e-mail]? Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

I am an ex-DCPS parent where there was supposed to be a bilingual program, and it has turned out to be "exposure" to a foreign language, not "fluency" as a goal. I would be very careful about promises made where a DCPS school is going to do a new curriculum. Many times it does not work out. I don't know anything specific about Bancroft. Changing a school involved DCPS having consistent budget support, all parents supporting the new program, all general education teachers willing to teach in a new way. None of these three aspects were in place in my children's former DCPS school.

If you child does experience Spanish immersion, and your goal is Oyster eventually, I would encourage you to apply annually to Oyster and keep him/her in Spanish immersion settings. I heard that two upper level kids (grade 3 or 4, something like that) from LAMB got into Oyster (English dominant students, no problem passing the Spanish competency test).

I would also encourage you to research all charter schools that offer Spanish immersion. For instance, Elsie Stokes has Spanish, didn't see that on your list. Don't know off hand which other charters, but I have an impression there are several.

Also, it is a huge relief to move a child from tuition paying preschool into free preK (pay for aftercare if you need it) in public schools. It worked great for my eldest, and my youngest really missed the smaller setting of her preschool and has some problems observing the style of discipline (very directive) imposed on her fellow classmates (especially during aftercare sessions, ruled by a woman with a whistle). Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Bancroft is currently a bilingual program. The changes will reflect the the same changes taking place at Oyster.
I believe Rhee wants consistency between both programs
See this thread:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/46221.page

[Anonymous]

To be Spanish-dominant for Oyster, the child really has to come from a primarily Spanish-speaking home. However, as English-dominant children move away or decide to go for private schools, some spots open up in Oyster for older English-dominant children. It's a matter of keeping after them; I know a few who have menaged.

[Anonymous]

However, as English-dominant children move away or decide to go for private schools, some spots open up in Oyster for older English-dominant children.

This is true. Keep trying.

[Anonymous]

Even is spaces open up, and I doubt they will, because many students classified as Spanish dominant are more English dominant than Oyster cares to admit, it is really difficult for English-dominate students with zero or little bilingual education to seque into Oyster at the upper levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even is spaces open up, and I doubt they will, because many students classified as Spanish dominant are more English dominant than Oyster cares to admit, it is really difficult for English-dominate students with zero or little bilingual education to seque into Oyster at the upper levels.

Isn't OP's whole point that her child will go to Bancroft to get bilingual education and then hopefully transfer in to Oyster. I do not think anyone proposed entering Oyster in later years without the spanish language skills.

[Anonymous]

OP here - the question I was asking about Oyster was regarding the possibility of getting into Oyster kindergarten after two years of immersion preschool, which is already in the works. Still no hope, I suppose?

If we decide to go with Bancroft, I'd love for it so be so great that we'd stay through 5th grade. Any more opinions about the school would be appreciated (and thanks for those of you who have helped).

[Anonymous]

OP, there is a Mount Pleasant Parents yahoo listserv with several very involved Bancroft parents---that might be a good place to start. The Mount Pleasant forum (another neighborhood listerv) has had many Bancroft discussions----that will also give you various viewpoints and people to contact with questions.

Anecdotally, I have had several neighbors with school age children children tell me that they chose charters over Bancroft because of perceived deficiencies with the Bancroft administration---who seemed very unwilling to make any changes at the school despite the fact that the school has failed to meet testing standards. The Bancroft principal just retired and they will be getting a new principal---so maybe that perception will change.

Given the popularity of Oyster, it would be great to have another popular immersion school option.

[Anonymous]

00:19 and OP - Entering at what grade? You could try the lottery as an OOB English dominant student, not sure how many slots there are these days.