Yu Ying

[Anonymous]

We got in to Yu Ying and I am nervous - never actually thought we would get in. I am bad at languages. If my kid struggles what happens? What if your kid is at an immersion school and ends up sucking at learning a foreign language? You either continue through with bad grades or go back to general lottery? I could really use some advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got in to Yu Ying and I am nervous - never actually thought we would get in. I am bad at languages. If my kid struggles what happens? What if your kid is at an immersion school and ends up sucking at learning a foreign language? You either continue through with bad grades or go back to general lottery? I could really use some advice.

Congratulations! Most kids do fine in Chinese, it's the English that sometimes suffers. In those cases, there's an alternate track with less Chinese starting in 4th grade. Mainly you need to decide how important Chinese (or just being bilingual) is to your family. Kids need extra help (eg Chinese weekend classes or au pair) to become fluent. We felt that exposure and a foundation in Chinese were enough given our financial and time constraints and are happy with the results. The school has warts just like any other, but we've had an excellent experience and our kids have thrived.

[Anonymous]

Chinese immersion aside, are YY parents satisfied with the instruction & learning in other subjects?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got in to Yu Ying and I am nervous - never actually thought we would get in. I am bad at languages. If my kid struggles what happens? What if your kid is at an immersion school and ends up sucking at learning a foreign language? You either continue through with bad grades or go back to general lottery? I could really use some advice.

No worries, lady. No kid struggles with Mandarin at YY, at least on paper. All the kids earn good grades for speaking (even if they can hardly speak after many years in the school). The standards for Mandarin aren't high (and the results are seldom good for the families who don't supplement extensively) and the great majority of the parents like it that way. My 4 and 5 year olds speak better Chinese than many YY kids in 4th and 5th grades. I tell you this as a native speaker who volunteers at the school from time to time and has done for a decade.

[Anonymous]

Congrats! What grade? Native Chinese speaker here (but not *that* NCS). My take is most DC charter immersion schools don't mean complete fluency but simply exposure, which has its own benefits. And most YY parents have little to no Chinese language skills and it's just fine for the kids.

[Anonymous]

I also got into Yu Ying! Prek4 unbelievable

[Anonymous]

I was fortunate to get one twin in for prek3 and the other is waitlisted (#2). Do folks think there is a high chance that my other kid will get in?

[Anonymous]

We were in a similar boat and couldn’t be happier. It is an incredible school - and the part I hadn’t is expected is how engaging the way they teach is. My child is so happy and learning so much. Congratulations!!

[Anonymous]

I was fortunate to get one twin in for prek3 and the other is waitlisted (#2). Do folks think there is a high chance that my other kid will get in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got in to Yu Ying and I am nervous - never actually thought we would get in. I am bad at languages. If my kid struggles what happens? What if your kid is at an immersion school and ends up sucking at learning a foreign language? You either continue through with bad grades or go back to general lottery? I could really use some advice.

No worries, lady. No kid struggles with Mandarin at YY, at least on paper. All the kids earn good grades for speaking (even if they can hardly speak after many years in the school). The standards for Mandarin aren't high (and the results are seldom good for the families who don't supplement extensively) and the great majority of the parents like it that way. My 4 and 5 year olds speak better Chinese than many YY kids in 4th and 5th grades. I tell you this as a native speaker who volunteers at the school from time to time and has done for a decade.

Ooh! I was hoping an obnoxious heritage speaker would show up! Please point out that despite the actual legislation regarding charters, Yu Ying should break the law and hold a separate lottery so that your snowflakes can come to the front of the line?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was fortunate to get one twin in for prek3 and the other is waitlisted (#2). Do folks think there is a high chance that my other kid will get in?

Yes other your kid will get in 99.99 probability

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chinese immersion aside, are YY parents satisfied with the instruction & learning in other subjects?

Bump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got in to Yu Ying and I am nervous - never actually thought we would get in. I am bad at languages. If my kid struggles what happens? What if your kid is at an immersion school and ends up sucking at learning a foreign language? You either continue through with bad grades or go back to general lottery? I could really use some advice.

No worries, lady. No kid struggles with Mandarin at YY, at least on paper. All the kids earn good grades for speaking (even if they can hardly speak after many years in the school). The standards for Mandarin aren't high (and the results are seldom good for the families who don't supplement extensively) and the great majority of the parents like it that way. My 4 and 5 year olds speak better Chinese than many YY kids in 4th and 5th grades. I tell you this as a native speaker who volunteers at the school from time to time and has done for a decade.

Ooh! I was hoping an obnoxious heritage speaker would show up! Please point out that despite the actual legislation regarding charters, Yu Ying should break the law and hold a separate lottery so that your snowflakes can come to the front of the line?

Yes, she's gloating & condescending, but she is answering OP's question: If your kid struggles at learning languages, your kid can still succeed at YY. Fluency is not an absolute requirement.

Please don't turn this thread into a bunch of nonsense.

[Anonymous]

I had similar concerns as you when we got in last year, but I couldn't be happier with the school. My DH and I regularly say to each other how truly lucky our kids are to be able to go there. DCs did a year at our EOTP DCPS last year. Had a good year, but wow, YY is leaps and bounds better. DCs are thriving--real growth around math, interest in reading, social-emotional areas.

In terms of your question OP, I think it's a fair one to ask the school ahead of enrollment. We are experiencing this a bit with one DC, but it's coming more from her being a perfectionist and frustration at not keeping up with a native speaker in her class. Teachers have provided some suggestions and are in regular contact about the issue, which seems to be improving. At this point, I'm not concerned. Will say, however, there is a real contingent of families that supplement at home with the Mandarin and although we haven't, I could easily see the advantages of doing it in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was fortunate to get one twin in for prek3 and the other is waitlisted (#2). Do folks think there is a high chance that my other kid will get in?

Extremely likely. This happened with my twins for Pk4--one got in, one was #1 on the WL. We got notification May 2 that 2nd twin got it.