Tyler ES

[Anonymous]

My 3 year old daughter was just offered a spot in their Spanish Immersion preschool classroom. We've liked what we've seen so far, but any additional insight would be helpful.
Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I loved the program. Went to visit during an open house last spring and would place my child there if I was offered a spot. Principal is very responsive to questions, PTA seems to work well. Students seem happy and teachers appear caring.

Would you mind sharing where you were on the waiting list (curious to know if my daughter has a chance of getting in anytime soon).

[Anonymous]

Wow. Would you mind sharing more about Tyler?

Didn't know there was a DCPS option for language immersion outside of Oyster. Great news!

[Anonymous]

http://www.k12.dc.us/enrollment/documents/DCPS-Language-Programs-Overview-2008-2009.pdf

Check out the following link -- it lists all language programs in DCPS. Tyler is a 90-10 program. 90% of the school day is in Spanish for grades pre3 to K and 10% (specials) are in English. Starting in 1st grade the school day is 50% Spanish, 50% English.

[Anonymous]

Is Tyler part of the Capitol Hill Cluster?

[Anonymous]

No. However, it is only a couple of blocks from Watkins Elementary.


Here is a link which describes the schools in the Capital Hill Cluster.
http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/programs/programs.html

[Anonymous]

Here is a link to Tyler Elementary which discusses the Spanish Immersion program.

http://www.tylertigers.org/Programs.html#About_SI

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who has a kid in pre-K in the Spanish immersion program. She seems pretty happy with it. As a supportive neighbor, I'm on the PTA listserve. I don't read much of it these days but it certainly reflects an engaged set of parents. Wish I could give you more direct information!

[Anonymous]

We started at Tyler last year in the Pre-K Spanish Immersion (SI) class. I found the program by doing a Google search and came upon a YouTube video posted by another parent. At that time DCPS didn't have any information on the Tyler immersion program on it's site.

We now have a five year old and three year old in the program. My three year old is in Ms. Corona's class. She and Ms. Juanita (the class aide) are fantastic! They are very caring with the children and super organized. The principal is very responsive and is moving the school in a good direction. The PTA is active and the parents are great! Sorry, I don't have any information on the other SI class.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend before care or after care, especially not for young children. I don't use either, but the parents who do have not given positive feedback. They recently hired a new after care coordinator and I think some improvement has been made, but I believe it has a ways to go. We recently held a meeting and discussed before care staffing and the principal explained that the hour before school starts is designated as "staff improvement" time and many of the staff members are in a meeting. So there are no designated staff members for the younger children, only a few staff members on hand to watch the entire group of kids who are eating breakfast in the cafeteria.

I haven't gone into the cafeteria in the morning so far this year. But last year it was a noisy mess! Older children, younger children, parents and other adults all coming and going. It was too much for me, nonetheless a 3, 4 or 5 year old. I haven't heard of any improvement in that regard. One parent was nearly in tears at the aforementioned meeting asking about alternatives for the three year olds.

If you need before/after care, I would definitely recommend you drop by in the morning to take a look for yourself. The mornings are easy because you only need to go to the cafeteria.

I hope this is helpful.

[Anonymous]

There have been changes made to the aftercare program as far as I know. We now have a new coordinator who seems great. I have never used the aftercare option, though, so I don't know how bad it is.

We are Tyler parents as well and we truly love the school. Our child's teacher is amazing and it's great to be at such a small school.

I would definitely take the spot!

[Anonymous]

What does their Catalyst School status as arts-integration theme mean for immersion program? Bilingual arts?

[Anonymous]

I'm a new Tyler parent this year, and my son is really enjoying the Spanish Immersion preschool classroom (Mrs. Pagoaga's class; she's a ten-year teaching veteran from Oyster). I echo the previous comments about the engaged parents and responsive administration. Those were key factors in our choosing Tyler and we haven't been disappointed. I also echo the concerns about the after-care program. I do believe the current program leader is very motivated and capable, she just has a difficult task, given the DCPS budget reductions in after-care spending and the volume of kids she's responsible for. Fortunately, there is an alternative provider who is able to take a smaller number of Tyler students out on field trips to the neighborhood pool, library, and playgrounds. He's wonderful.

I also am posting a link to a recent article on Tyler that appeared in the Hill Rag by a fellow parent: http://www.capitalcommunitynews.com/CCN_Website09/publication%20html/papers/HR/1009/ThreeGreatPrograms.html

[Anonymous]

How many classrooms and students are there in Pre3 - Spanish Immersion now? Also, can you only enter Spanish Immersion at Pre3 or are Pre-4 allowed to apply as well?

[Anonymous]

Any idea how far down on the waiting list they are for the PreK3 Spanish Immersion program? We are really hoping to get in this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any idea how far down on the waiting list they are for the PreK3 Spanish Immersion program? We are really hoping to get in this year.

Monday, October 5 was the count day for all schools receiving funding from DC (public and charter). This means all the schools had every motivation to have their class rolls FULL on that day. If you didn't get in off the waiting list yet you may want to call and ask what's up at any given school, but after 10/05 nobody has any incentive to bring you on - they won't get additional funding for additional students.