Sela...
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socool17
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| Can any of you give me some information about your experiences with Sela? If your littles attended, or if you've already visited the school, what was your experience? |
Anonymous
| We matched there but didn't accept. However, a neighbor is there and seems really really happy. For us, my husband wasn't super excited about the language. And, I was not thrilled with the limited amount of outdoor space and the lack of light in the building. But, the teachers did seem engaged and warm. Had we not had other options, I think we would have tried it. |
Anonymous
| Loved our preK experience there. The teachers are great. Don't be surprised if you hear negativity on this board. Try to talk to parents whose kids go there. It's not perfect. I'll grant you that the outdoor space isn't ideal (though the kids don't seem to care) and the building is in an industrial, unattractive spot, but the school community is very warm, creative, and inclusive. The principal left at the end of this past year, so don't know what the current leadership is like. |
Anonymous
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How about the language. Is your little now fluent in Hebrew? I really want my daughter to learn Spanish for obvious reasons, but I'm definitely not opposed to her also learning another language. I'd definitely love to speak to some of the parents
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Anonymous
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A friend has her kid at Sela and loves it. The kid also loves it and comes back singing in hebrew. Very cute. The teachers (PreK-3) are amazing and the kids seems to enjoy the school. Tier 1 and still relatively easy to get it. I would guess that this won't last and it will be soon as hard to get into Sela that it is to the "others" immersion schools (Yu Ying, Lamb, MV, Stokes...)
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Anonymous
| I do not see how Sela can be rated Tier I since there were no PAARC scores. I find this suspect and wof our want to hear how this is possible given all the other schools that were not tiered until they had TWO years of PAARC scores. Also, no way it will ever be as desireable as the immersion schools that feed into DCI - people in DC are obsessed with having a plan that takes their kid all the way through - or as far as possible - even if the reality is that at the PreK level you have no idea whether your kid will thrive at the middle or high school level in a language-focused program. I have so many friends who made this plan only to see their plans dashed when language was not the right thing for their kid or the immersion school was wholly deficient at handling the learning disability that the kid presented in early elementary years. The suspicious ranking aside, if Sela seems like a good fit for your kid and family, you should go for it! Go with your own instincts about what will work for your family. |
Anonymous
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Lee Montessori is Tier 2 and opened after Sela.
Tiers can be produced without a PARCC score. The PMF early childhood framework takes other criteria into account. Even for the grades 3-10 schools PARCC isn't the only factor that goes into the ratings. See details here: http://www.dcpcsb.org/performance-management-framework-pmf |
Anonymous
| Sela parent here of 2nd grader since prek4 and thrilled! DC is thriving. We got into a closer HRCS and toured and it was a disorganized mess. Plus, it taught Spanish but kids didn't learn anything (20 minutes once or twice a week). DC speaks Hebrew fluently. The commute is the worst part so we drive reverse commute to fort Totten, park there, metro to/from work and then drive home reverse commute. |
Anonymous
Hebrew is a much less sought after language, so I doubt it will ever be as popular, no matter how strong the school is. |
Anonymous
I think this is awesome. I put them on my list (#10 but I'm wondering if I should move them up on the list). I will be living in fort totten and my daughter will be in prek4. I'm also going to attend their open house. I have them below center city petworth and center city brightwood but I'm wondering if I should put Sela above those two? |
Anonymous
I definitely would put Sela above those. It's a wonderful community! |
Anonymous
Thank you! It's good to actually talk to a parent of a child in the school instead of a bunch of people who don't really know about the school |
Anonymous
Bridges and Inspired Teaching are two more schools that are very easy commutes from Fort Totten. |
Anonymous
Hey there! Yes, I have inspired on my list 5th after DC Bilingual. I'm also going to their open house this weekend. |
Anonymous
| Another happy parent but nothing to add. |