Walter Reed transfer back on schedule for DCI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is in Chinese and he takes Chinese language daily, one elective in Chinese and Geography in Chinese.

What grade?

[Anonymous]

What to expect: Our language immersion environment

Our language goals at DCI are:

Students will become bilingual and biliterate in at least two languages.

Students will increase their ability to communicate in all 4 of our target languages (English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and French).

Students will increase their inter-cultural competence
Students will be prepared for the global community and job markets where 21st century skills are an asset.
DCI students with prior immersion/language background experience will take advanced language study every day in their target language.

DCI students new to language learning will start in introductory language study every day.

Based on teacher recommendation from their member school or on assessment results, students will also take Humanities and some electives in their target language. Students who are not ready to work with content in their target language will take Humanities courses and electives in English.

Many classes will be taught by teachers who are fluent in one of our three target languages and all students will be expected to learn simple communication and conversational skills through the language of these courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What to expect: Our language immersion environment

Our language goals at DCI are:

Students will become bilingual and biliterate in at least two languages.

Students will increase their ability to communicate in all 4 of our target languages (English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and French).

Students will increase their inter-cultural competence
Students will be prepared for the global community and job markets where 21st century skills are an asset.
DCI students with prior immersion/language background experience will take advanced language study every day in their target language.

DCI students new to language learning will start in introductory language study every day.

Based on teacher recommendation from their member school or on assessment results, students will also take Humanities and some electives in their target language. Students who are not ready to work with content in their target language will take Humanities courses and electives in English.

Many classes will be taught by teachers who are fluent in one of our three target languages and all students will be expected to learn simple communication and conversational skills through the language of these courses.

Interesting, they have to take language courses for all 3 non-English languages?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like heavy lifting for students who don't come in from a feeder and are prepared with a second language background. It seems like it would also help to be advanced in certain subjects to compensate for language deficiencies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like heavy lifting for students who don't come in from a feeder and are prepared with a second language background. It seems like it would also help to be advanced in certain subjects to compensate for language deficiencies.

No. If they do ont have prior language exposure in the non-English languages they take a beginning language course and all other courses are in English.

Furthermore, the school has a major language focus. Don't apply for that school if that's not your focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI could greatly simplify what it's doing by electing to become an "IB Diploma-only School." In that case, the curriculum would be streamlined with the goal of enabling all juniors and seniors to earn the full IB Diploma.

To earn the Diploma, students must achieve IB points pass total of at least 24-26 points on a 45-point scale. To earn enough points, students must do reasonably well in the equivalent of 6 AP courses, a Theory of Knowledge Class (a combination of research methods, logic and philosophy), a Community Action Service (CAS) requirement, and researching and writing an IB Extended Essay (30-page dissertation). Full IB schools prepare most students to pass Higher Level IB (1-2 years beyond AP) IBD language exams.

This is the way the strongest suburban IB programs in this Metro area work. If an upper-class student demonstrates that she or he can't, or won't, do the work to earn the full Diploma over time, they are counseled out. The bar isn't actually set all that high to earn the full Diploma, but a student needs to be an industrious A or B student to pull it off.

No public school can do a good job being everything to every sort of student who might rock in. Give the polyglots, especially hard workers, and high fliers at DCI, and those coming up in the chain in the feeders, the resources, structure and support they need to excel academically and grow personally. Absent the international focus, this is no different from what BASIS and Latin are doing.

Well they'd have to amend their charter agreement to 'simplify' as it was granted with the understanding that students could pursue either the IB Diploma or the IB Career-Related Certificate.

http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/DCI%20Restated%20Agreement%202014.pdf

IMHO, offering the meaningless IB Career-Related Certificate track was a bad, and eminently avoidable, mistake on the part of the founding group. No surprise - members lacked background in administering high-performing IBD programs. Crafting a pragmatic charter would have been a lot easier than amending an impractical one.

Making DCI an all-IB Diploma school would draw in the families needed to make the school successful on a par with BASIS and Latin within the charter system. If DCI can't build a critical mass of high-performing kids on the three immersion tracks (as I expect, at least for another 10-15 years), the school's college acceptances won't measure up to the best DCPC and DCPS HS options. This will be true no matter how nice the Walter Reed facility is, or how many resources are lavished on the program.

The writing is already on the wall for the two tracks to motivate the strongest students from the feeders to bail for Walls, Wilson (with in-boundary status or spectacular lottery luck) and Banneker. The scenario could still be avoided if tough decisions are made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI could greatly simplify what it's doing by electing to become an "IB Diploma-only School." In that case, the curriculum would be streamlined with the goal of enabling all juniors and seniors to earn the full IB Diploma.

To earn the Diploma, students must achieve IB points pass total of at least 24-26 points on a 45-point scale. To earn enough points, students must do reasonably well in the equivalent of 6 AP courses, a Theory of Knowledge Class (a combination of research methods, logic and philosophy), a Community Action Service (CAS) requirement, and researching and writing an IB Extended Essay (30-page dissertation). Full IB schools prepare most students to pass Higher Level IB (1-2 years beyond AP) IBD language exams.

This is the way the strongest suburban IB programs in this Metro area work. If an upper-class student demonstrates that she or he can't, or won't, do the work to earn the full Diploma over time, they are counseled out. The bar isn't actually set all that high to earn the full Diploma, but a student needs to be an industrious A or B student to pull it off.

No public school can do a good job being everything to every sort of student who might rock in. Give the polyglots, especially hard workers, and high fliers at DCI, and those coming up in the chain in the feeders, the resources, structure and support they need to excel academically and grow personally. Absent the international focus, this is no different from what BASIS and Latin are doing.

Well they'd have to amend their charter agreement to 'simplify' as it was granted with the understanding that students could pursue either the IB Diploma or the IB Career-Related Certificate.

http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/DCI%20Restated%20Agreement%202014.pdf

IMHO, offering the meaningless IB Career-Related Certificate track was a bad, and eminently avoidable, mistake on the part of the founding group. No surprise - members lacked background in administering high-performing IBD programs. Crafting a pragmatic charter would have been a lot easier than amending an impractical one.

Making DCI an all-IB Diploma school would draw in the families needed to make the school successful on a par with BASIS and Latin within the charter system. If DCI can't build a critical mass of high-performing kids on the three immersion tracks (as I expect, at least for another 10-15 years), the school's college acceptances won't measure up to the best DCPC and DCPS HS options. This will be true no matter how nice the Walter Reed facility is, or how many resources are lavished on the program.

The writing is already on the wall for the two tracks to motivate the strongest students from the feeders to bail for Walls, Wilson (with in-boundary status or spectacular lottery luck) and Banneker. The scenario could still be avoided if tough decisions are made.

I'm not discounting your view, but where we supposed to glean something in particular from reading the whole charter you posted? Would you like to point it out?

[Anonymous]

they haven't misled anyone about amount of instruction in the target language.

[Anonymous]

PP wants the school to be able to "counsel out" students who aren't on the IB Diploma track, which is contrary to the charter law and policies in DC.

Personally, I think it's a good compromise which allows the high performing students to get their IB diplomas and those who can't attain that level can still get a far more solid education than DCPS would offer.

If you want a private version of the school, quit bitching and pull out your checkbook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We are at DCI and disappointed with this. Leaving our elementary feeder, I was expecting many more classes being taught in the second language. That is what they hyped to us, but have yet to deliver.

It's hard because there are 3 languages and the school isn't that large.

If they wanted to make math a course taught in the target language they'd have to hire IM 6, 7, 8 and 9 (and so on) teachers fluent in all of the target languages, plus English for the kids who are coming new to the school. Or for science. It gets complicated and expensive fast.

Ok? So they are doing a half ass job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP wants the school to be able to "counsel out" students who aren't on the IB Diploma track, which is contrary to the charter law and policies in DC.

Personally, I think it's a good compromise which allows the high performing students to get their IB diplomas and those who can't attain that level can still get a far more solid education than DCPS would offer.

If you want a private version of the school, quit bitching and pull out your checkbook.

I predict that DCI will struggle to build a critical mass of high performing students without being an IB diploma-only program. Case in point: Richard Montgomery's test-in IBD program only became wildly popular after it went IBD-only 15 years ago.

We can afford privates after our DCI feeder (well-off grandparents will pay). But I'd still like to see DCI give BASIS, Latin, Walls and Banneker a run for their money on attracting and retaining high fliers. The bitching is for y'all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI could greatly simplify what it's doing by electing to become an "IB Diploma-only School." In that case, the curriculum would be streamlined with the goal of enabling all juniors and seniors to earn the full IB Diploma.

To earn the Diploma, students must achieve IB points pass total of at least 24-26 points on a 45-point scale. To earn enough points, students must do reasonably well in the equivalent of 6 AP courses, a Theory of Knowledge Class (a combination of research methods, logic and philosophy), a Community Action Service (CAS) requirement, and researching and writing an IB Extended Essay (30-page dissertation). Full IB schools prepare most students to pass Higher Level IB (1-2 years beyond AP) IBD language exams.

This is the way the strongest suburban IB programs in this Metro area work. If an upper-class student demonstrates that she or he can't, or won't, do the work to earn the full Diploma over time, they are counseled out. The bar isn't actually set all that high to earn the full Diploma, but a student needs to be an industrious A or B student to pull it off.

No public school can do a good job being everything to every sort of student who might rock in. Give the polyglots, especially hard workers, and high fliers at DCI, and those coming up in the chain in the feeders, the resources, structure and support they need to excel academically and grow personally. Absent the international focus, this is no different from what BASIS and Latin are doing.

Well they'd have to amend their charter agreement to 'simplify' as it was granted with the understanding that students could pursue either the IB Diploma or the IB Career-Related Certificate.

http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/DCI%20Restated%20Agreement%202014.pdf

IMHO, offering the meaningless IB Career-Related Certificate track was a bad, and eminently avoidable, mistake on the part of the founding group. No surprise - members lacked background in administering high-performing IBD programs. Crafting a pragmatic charter would have been a lot easier than amending an impractical one.

Making DCI an all-IB Diploma school would draw in the families needed to make the school successful on a par with BASIS and Latin within the charter system. If DCI can't build a critical mass of high-performing kids on the three immersion tracks (as I expect, at least for another 10-15 years), the school's college acceptances won't measure up to the best DCPC and DCPS HS options. This will be true no matter how nice the Walter Reed facility is, or how many resources are lavished on the program.

The writing is already on the wall for the two tracks to motivate the strongest students from the feeders to bail for Walls, Wilson (with in-boundary status or spectacular lottery luck) and Banneker. The scenario could still be avoided if tough decisions are made.

I'm not discounting your view, but where we supposed to glean something in particular from reading the whole charter you posted? Would you like to point it out?

I point out that the IB Career-Related Certificate (aka "IBD Consultation Prize") is essentially meaningless as a terminal secondary school examination-based credential, and not just in this country. I was disappointed to find multiple references to it in the charter. Perhaps you need to know something about the history of the IB Diploma Program in the US, and how the Certificate is reviewed in college admissions, to understand what you're supposed to glean.

If you want a top charter attracting and retaining a large cohort of top students, build a top charter attracting and retaining a large cohort of top students, vs. yet another DC public high school that can't produce a single National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist year after year. Walls has 5 semifinalists this year, up from 2 last year. With a IBD-only program, DCI could give Walls rising a run for its money. Would that be bad?

[Anonymous]

Charters must serve whoever shows up. Not just college. bound. To their credit zdCI is trying to serve the non college bound in a meaningful way.

At the open house I attended 2 years ago that's what we were told was the reason for the IBD certificate track. They discussed partnerships with software companies to develop classes in computer networking and certifications are is for the students who choose that path.

Your vision for DCI is not the founders' or the Board's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Interesting, they have to take language courses for all 3 non-English languages?

No. But, for example, they might take PE from a Spanish or Chinese speaker, and be expected to pick up a little of that language.

[Anonymous]

Problem is, their vision will turn off many, if not most, of the high SES parents in the feeder schools. Many will avoid DCI altogether. Plenty of others will use the MS as a stop on trains bound for Walls, Wilson, Banneker, the burbs and privates.

I've seen how IB courses get watered down when full Diploma studies aren't required. BASIS requires its students to pass comprehensive exams to advance from 6th to 8th grades, and HS students to pass AP tests (with 3s or better), to sidestep the watering down pitfall. The DC charter sector already has a model promoting real rigor at the HS level, because BASIS fought a long, hard political battle to build it. DCI could piggyback on BASIS' success (but they're losing most of the strongest 8th grade students to Walls anyway). At Walls, charter language immersion grads could take advanced classes in their languages, if not in the school, at George Washington Univ next door. Same with Howard U for Banneker. Wilson's AP Chinese program is coming along. DCI will have real trouble competing.

In a city where several big DCPS Taj Mahal high schools (loaded with under-used vocational training programs) sit half empty, we don't need more of the same.