Mundo Verde parents

[Anonymous]

We were very lucky and, in our third year playing the lottery, got two spots at MV. We are currently at our neighborhood school and haven’t gotten too invested because our grand plan had been to move to Oyster neighborhood next year to be in-boundary. Our neighborhood and school have grown on us though so now the decision isn’t as easy as we had figured.

Luckily, we still rent so we can move if we need to. We are trying to balance our strong desire to have short, public transit commutes with excellent education for our kids. I guess my main question for MV parents (or others knowledgeable about the area) is if there are good options for living near MV? Not familiar with Shae or Truxton Circle really - they look to be mostly bus dependent? Trading in the experience of running to the school two blocks away for a long commute will take some adjustment, so am wondering if there are many neighborhood families at MV?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were very lucky and, in our third year playing the lottery, got two spots at MV. We are currently at our neighborhood school and haven’t gotten too invested because our grand plan had been to move to Oyster neighborhood next year to be in-boundary. Our neighborhood and school have grown on us though so now the decision isn’t as easy as we had figured.

Luckily, we still rent so we can move if we need to. We are trying to balance our strong desire to have short, public transit commutes with excellent education for our kids. I guess my main question for MV parents (or others knowledgeable about the area) is if there are good options for living near MV? Not familiar with Shae or Truxton Circle really - they look to be mostly bus dependent? Trading in the experience of running to the school two blocks away for a long commute will take some adjustment, so am wondering if there are many neighborhood families at MV?

What's your budget? Eckington and Bloomingdale are both wonderful for families-- but are quite spendy.

[Anonymous]

Lots of kids at MV live on the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Where are you commuting to?

[Anonymous]

http://www.dcpcsb.org/mundo-verde-bilingual-pcs-student-location-map

[Anonymous]

I would suggest giving it a try before making a big move.

[Anonymous]

OP - commuting from the DuPont area

[Anonymous]

We are one of a few families at Oyster who also were at MV (various grade levels). One of the benefits for us of attending Oyster has been the very local community as it is mostly a neighborhood school. After having spent multiple years at HRCS commuting for work and school, underappreciated the benefits of having kids friends as neighbors, walking the two blocks to school.

With MV, you might luck into that if you move into areas with high density of MV families (eg. Cap Hill, Mt. Pleasant, Eckington) but most likely will still require driving- and sometimes scrambling on snow days.

If you are thinking of trying out MV with Oyster as a backup, I would also add testimony that as resilient as kids are ... transitions can be tougher than we as parents realize.

Look at the school cultures, your kids learning styles and personalities, and make a decision based on that as well.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are one of a few families at Oyster who also were at MV (various grade levels). One of the benefits for us of attending Oyster has been the very local community as it is mostly a neighborhood school. After having spent multiple years at HRCS commuting for work and school, underappreciated the benefits of having kids friends as neighbors, walking the two blocks to school.

With MV, you might luck into that if you move into areas with high density of MV families (eg. Cap Hill, Mt. Pleasant, Eckington) but most likely will still require driving- and sometimes scrambling on snow days.

If you are thinking of trying out MV with Oyster as a backup, I would also add testimony that as resilient as kids are ... transitions can be tougher than we as parents realize.

Look at the school cultures, your kids learning styles and personalities, and make a decision based on that as well.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

What are the differences in school culture between MV and Oyster? In your child's case, was she/he behind or ahead when you moved her/him from MV to Oyster (based on the material that was being taught at each school)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are one of a few families at Oyster who also were at MV (various grade levels). One of the benefits for us of attending Oyster has been the very local community as it is mostly a neighborhood school. After having spent multiple years at HRCS commuting for work and school, underappreciated the benefits of having kids friends as neighbors, walking the two blocks to school.

With MV, you might luck into that if you move into areas with high density of MV families (eg. Cap Hill, Mt. Pleasant, Eckington) but most likely will still require driving- and sometimes scrambling on snow days.

If you are thinking of trying out MV with Oyster as a backup, I would also add testimony that as resilient as kids are ... transitions can be tougher than we as parents realize.

Look at the school cultures, your kids learning styles and personalities, and make a decision based on that as well.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

What are the differences in school culture between MV and Oyster? In your child's case, was she/he behind or ahead when you moved her/him from MV to Oyster (based on the material that was being taught at each school)?

There are a lot of differences, both big and small, between the school. As we left before 1st grade, we were actually ahead in Spanish (which is 100% immersion PS-K at MV), but a little behind in English. Several years later, we are beyond grade level in English, and actively improving Spanish but currently on target for that as well.

Before leaving MV we had placed a priority on the emphasis on the environment, learning styles of MV, but the disruption and behavior challenges that manifested at our grade level, combined with the inconsistent (if not absent) communication from the Principal drove us to consider other Spanish immersion programs. Others we know have left at the middle school level for the stronger academics.

What we've grown to appreciate more than anything has been :

a)communication and coordination in/between teachers, principals and other key staff (eg. TAG teachers, counselors, librarian) at Oyster
b)benefits of having a very local base of friends/fellow Oyster families ... helps with late pickups,weather delays, playdates, and "time" with DC on a daily basis
c)50/50 split ... for most kids, one of the two languages can be stressful ... splitting the day in two offers kids a chance to reset and be refreshed when switching from English to Spanish or vice versa. Same goes to "flip day" when the schedule changes school wide ... if you've had English in the AM since August, it will then begin in the afternoons. So kids who are "morning" people or who get tired at the end of the day experience the language/classes at both optimal/suboptimal times! (This can be more important than you think ...)
d)"extras" ... when deciding to leave MV for Oyster we were somewhat reluctant to leave behind some of the more creative teaching. But in the end we have gone on a field trip a month this year- great team teaching efforts!

We've found that the aftercare programs are both quite good. Some of the "extras" at MV were outstanding, but so are the ones at Oyster, especially if willing to pay for the extra fee options. The difference here is that the overall high quality and continuity of the OCA (Oyster aftercare) staff is consistently superb. Often alumni of the school themselves, they actively play with the kids, model good social behavior, help with Spanish (or English) homework and are beloved in our family. Definitely does not feel like babysitting, but rather an activity to look forward to, even as you enter the upper elementary grades.

I don't think you can go wrong. We're happy with our choice. We still have friends at MV (and other schools too) through camp, sports and the arts- and who knows- maybe the kids will end up together again at DCI/Wilson/SWW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are one of a few families at Oyster who also were at MV (various grade levels). One of the benefits for us of attending Oyster has been the very local community as it is mostly a neighborhood school. After having spent multiple years at HRCS commuting for work and school, underappreciated the benefits of having kids friends as neighbors, walking the two blocks to school.

With MV, you might luck into that if you move into areas with high density of MV families (eg. Cap Hill, Mt. Pleasant, Eckington) but most likely will still require driving- and sometimes scrambling on snow days.

If you are thinking of trying out MV with Oyster as a backup, I would also add testimony that as resilient as kids are ... transitions can be tougher than we as parents realize.

Look at the school cultures, your kids learning styles and personalities, and make a decision based on that as well.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

What are the differences in school culture between MV and Oyster? In your child's case, was she/he behind or ahead when you moved her/him from MV to Oyster (based on the material that was being taught at each school)?

There are a lot of differences, both big and small, between the school. As we left before 1st grade, we were actually ahead in Spanish (which is 100% immersion PS-K at MV), but a little behind in English. Several years later, we are beyond grade level in English, and actively improving Spanish but currently on target for that as well.

Before leaving MV we had placed a priority on the emphasis on the environment, learning styles of MV, but the disruption and behavior challenges that manifested at our grade level, combined with the inconsistent (if not absent) communication from the Principal drove us to consider other Spanish immersion programs. Others we know have left at the middle school level for the stronger academics.

What we've grown to appreciate more than anything has been :

a)communication and coordination in/between teachers, principals and other key staff (eg. TAG teachers, counselors, librarian) at Oyster
b)benefits of having a very local base of friends/fellow Oyster families ... helps with late pickups,weather delays, playdates, and "time" with DC on a daily basis
c)50/50 split ... for most kids, one of the two languages can be stressful ... splitting the day in two offers kids a chance to reset and be refreshed when switching from English to Spanish or vice versa. Same goes to "flip day" when the schedule changes school wide ... if you've had English in the AM since August, it will then begin in the afternoons. So kids who are "morning" people or who get tired at the end of the day experience the language/classes at both optimal/suboptimal times! (This can be more important than you think ...)
d)"extras" ... when deciding to leave MV for Oyster we were somewhat reluctant to leave behind some of the more creative teaching. But in the end we have gone on a field trip a month this year- great team teaching efforts!

We've found that the aftercare programs are both quite good. Some of the "extras" at MV were outstanding, but so are the ones at Oyster, especially if willing to pay for the extra fee options. The difference here is that the overall high quality and continuity of the OCA (Oyster aftercare) staff is consistently superb. Often alumni of the school themselves, they actively play with the kids, model good social behavior, help with Spanish (or English) homework and are beloved in our family. Definitely does not feel like babysitting, but rather an activity to look forward to, even as you enter the upper elementary grades.

I don't think you can go wrong. We're happy with our choice. We still have friends at MV (and other schools too) through camp, sports and the arts- and who knows- maybe the kids will end up together again at DCI/Wilson/SWW.

Thanks for sharing your perspective.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you don't mind sharing, what neighborhood school are you in right now?

[Anonymous]

As the parent of 2 MV students, I can say that MV kids are scattered across the city. It is a definite down side to charter schools. Distinct sets of "neighborhood" and "school" friends and fewer neighborhood friends in general. But not MV's fault, simply a common situation for PCS schools.

We entered the lottery this year and actually got in to Eaton and and #2 at Oyster, so very helpful to hear PP about Oyster v MV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of 2 MV students, I can say that MV kids are scattered across the city. It is a definite down side to charter schools. Distinct sets of "neighborhood" and "school" friends and fewer neighborhood friends in general. But not MV's fault, simply a common situation for PCS schools.

We entered the lottery this year and actually got in to Eaton and and #2 at Oyster, so very helpful to hear PP about Oyster v MV.

What grades are your kids currently in? Are you (and/or your spouse) a native Spanish speaker?

[Anonymous]

We entered the lottery this year and actually got in to Eaton and and #2 at Oyster, so very helpful to hear PP about Oyster v MV.

And can you provide any insight about why you decided to enter into the lottery this year, rather than staying at MV?