An intrinsic problem to the DC charter system - admin becoming unresponsive?

[Anonymous]

As potential new YY family, I would appreciate more elaboration on the serious problems left unaddressed by the administration. The fluency/culture issue has been worn into the ground on this forum, and I’ve also seen some unhappiness with holes in the curriculum. Are there other issues as well?

[Anonymous]

The fluency/cultural issues give rise to classroom management issues in Chinese classes, which is to say almost half the time. The head doesn't have an intimate knowledge of Chinese culture or the education system in Mainland China. This means she doesn't really have head around how Chinese teachers have been trained, and what sort of teaching experience they bring to YY. She knows a lot more than she did 7 or 8 years ago, but it's not enough.

The result is that the Chinese classes can be poorly managed, particularly from 2nd grade+. The craziest kids are those who struggle to understand what Chinese teachers are saying (no shortage of them). Kids get used to acting up in Chinese classes and import the dynamic to other classes, particularly ELA.

The DCI Chinese track suffers from a toned down version of imported rowdiness. Some YY and DCI parents leave because of the craziness of the Chinese classes.

[Anonymous]

I know you like to think you are "right"- but when vocal parents "run the show" with admin, they may be ones you disagree with....so there's that. The pta, board and the charter board should be able to evaluate and address parent concerns - and in a way that removes you from one on one with the admin, so you don't have to be "that parent". DC is considered, nationally, to have a very strong charter board with strong oversight. Is there a way to let them know that there is a gap in ombudsmanship for parent feedback? Perhaps they can create one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know you like to think you are "right"- but when vocal parents "run the show" with admin, they may be ones you disagree with....so there's that. The pta, board and the charter board should be able to evaluate and address parent concerns - and in a way that removes you from one on one with the admin, so you don't have to be "that parent". DC is considered, nationally, to have a very strong charter board with strong oversight. Is there a way to let them know that there is a gap in ombudsmanship for parent feedback? Perhaps they can create one.

You must be new here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fluency/cultural issues give rise to classroom management issues in Chinese classes, which is to say almost half the time. The head doesn't have an intimate knowledge of Chinese culture or the education system in Mainland China. This means she doesn't really have head around how Chinese teachers have been trained, and what sort of teaching experience they bring to YY. She knows a lot more than she did 7 or 8 years ago, but it's not enough.

The result is that the Chinese classes can be poorly managed, particularly from 2nd grade+. The craziest kids are those who struggle to understand what Chinese teachers are saying (no shortage of them). Kids get used to acting up in Chinese classes and import the dynamic to other classes, particularly ELA.

The DCI Chinese track suffers from a toned down version of imported rowdiness. Some YY and DCI parents leave because of the craziness of the Chinese classes.

+1. DCPC tries to separate the fluency/cultural issues from administrative/management issues at YY. It doesn't really work.

[Anonymous]

The fluency/cultural issues give rise to classroom management issues in Chinese classes, which is to say almost half the time. The head doesn't have an intimate knowledge of Chinese culture or the education system in Mainland China. This means she doesn't really have head around how Chinese teachers have been trained, and what sort of teaching experience they bring to YY. She knows a lot more than she did 7 or 8 years ago, but it's not enough.

The result is that the Chinese classes can be poorly managed, particularly from 2nd grade+. The craziest kids are those who struggle to understand what Chinese teachers are saying (no shortage of them). Kids get used to acting up in Chinese classes and import the dynamic to other classes, particularly ELA.

Thanks, this is helpful. Is this persistent, or one grade/class/teacher? Year after year? Also, regardless of their depth of understanding of the cultural background and issues, wouldn’t the administration be able to observe this mismanagement? Is the problem that they aren’t doing anything about it, or aren’t willing/able to hire more stronger Chinese native teachers?

[Anonymous]

Respect for the head among the YY Chinese teachers isn't the school's strong suit. Parents like her better than teachers. Some teachers bad mouth her in their dialects openly, because they can. If you're one of the few parents who understands Cantonese, Hakka or Fujian dialect, you probably know what I mean.

If the heads wanted stronger Chinese teachers she could have hired ABC or Chinese immigrants with experience teaching Mandarin in US public schools (and/or good international schools in China) long ago. She goes with bargain teachers from the Mainland trained to teach in govt schools in a culture emphasizing rote learning where educators are highly respected (and kids behave in class). The teachers don't have the authority to challenge the head. They come on temp visas. YY doesn't have the budget to afford US native speakers with teaching certifications or the school culture to draw them.

The main problem is what's tolerated in the Chinese classes spills over into other classes, onto the playground and into the hallways. Admins try to get a handle on behavior/discipline, ever year, but the rowdiness has deep roots. DCPC could care less. Long WL.

[Anonymous]

Just fyi 8:55 -- there is no such thing or entity called DCPC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Respect for the head among the YY Chinese teachers isn't the school's strong suit. Parents like her better than teachers. Some teachers bad mouth her in their dialects openly, because they can. If you're one of the few parents who understands Cantonese, Hakka or Fujian dialect, you probably know what I mean.

If the heads wanted stronger Chinese teachers she could have hired ABC or Chinese immigrants with experience teaching Mandarin in US public schools (and/or good international schools in China) long ago. She goes with bargain teachers from the Mainland trained to teach in govt schools in a culture emphasizing rote learning where educators are highly respected (and kids behave in class). The teachers don't have the authority to challenge the head. They come on temp visas. YY doesn't have the budget to afford US native speakers with teaching certifications or the school culture to draw them.

The main problem is what's tolerated in the Chinese classes spills over into other classes, onto the playground and into the hallways. Admins try to get a handle on behavior/discipline, ever year, but the rowdiness has deep roots. DCPC could care less. Long WL.

So you're saying that YY Chinese teachers don't respect the Admin, but those same teachers are also "bargain teachers" and poor at classroom management? In that case, why should I care what such ineffective teachers think about their bosses?

I would argue that the reason DCPCB isn't as upset as you (parent? former parent? outside observer? I'm not sure.), isn't because of a long WL. The school has solid results. I admire your commitment to criticizing the school. It shows tenacity and dedication to your particular goals. But YY is not a struggling school. It performs. Most parents are happy. How about directing your goals toward improving your own school? I imagine your energy would be effective at fundraising efforts or recruitment campaigns.

[Anonymous]

Not PP you're arguing with but agree that situation in Chinese classes could be a lot better. Have have kids at YY for 6 years. We lack a good alternative so we stay.

Parents like lower grades better than upper. Classroom management slides as you go up.

Booster, go on, launch into me for criticizing YY. Heresy.

[Anonymous]

Are the English-speaker teachers better at the classroom management? (And how would you rate them overall? I’ve heard very little about them)

[Anonymous]

Yes, much better. They're Americans with MAs who can communicate freely with the students and the head.

[Anonymous]

That is good to know. So what is their role in all of this? Have they been actively communicating with the administration to discuss these problems? It seems that even if theirs classrooms are better managed, the problems can’t be confined to just the Chinese classrooms. Are they expressing concerns?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fluency/cultural issues give rise to classroom management issues in Chinese classes, which is to say almost half the time. The head doesn't have an intimate knowledge of Chinese culture or the education system in Mainland China. This means she doesn't really have head around how Chinese teachers have been trained, and what sort of teaching experience they bring to YY. She knows a lot more than she did 7 or 8 years ago, but it's not enough.

The result is that the Chinese classes can be poorly managed, particularly from 2nd grade+. The craziest kids are those who struggle to understand what Chinese teachers are saying (no shortage of them). Kids get used to acting up in Chinese classes and import the dynamic to other classes, particularly ELA.

The DCI Chinese track suffers from a toned down version of imported rowdiness. Some YY and DCI parents leave because of the craziness of the Chinese classes.

This is true in every grade, and the poor classroom management leads to other issues such as bullying. The teachers have extremely poor social emotional development skills, and just aren't equipped to manage these issues for kids of any socioeconomic background. It shows more in the upper grades when behavior issues typically become more noticeable. By first or second grade, there are serious problems.

The classroom management issues lead to poor standardized test scores for ELA and Math, along with just generally poor teaching skills across the board. Yu Ying has some teachers who seem to really care, but they're just not being developed appropriately. There's just no excuse for the low scores given the relatively high SES of the student body. By second grade, the gap for English is supposed to close for language immersion, but it hasn't. Of course your kid will be at the school for 4-5 years by the time you realize the teaching is just weak, as opposed to a temporary gap due to the nature of language immersion.

The Head of School surrounded herself with sycophants as opposed to looking for the best leaders to improve the school. As a result, the administration's approach seems to be more about sticking to rules and getting kids and parents in line, as opposed to trying to figure out how to work with parents and students to resolve serious issues. There's also a culture of booster parents attacking parents who try to identify areas for improvement, and see their role as defending the administration. I'm sure you've seen some of them here.

That said, there are lots of great students and parents too, and it's the only Chinese immersion game in town.

It's a shame because YY has the opportunity to be an excellent school, but it won't get there with the current leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are the English-speaker teachers better at the classroom management? (And how would you rate them overall? I’ve heard very little about them)

I just posted at 9:53. I would say this is very mixed. On the whole, they're MUCH better than the Chinese teachers, but they're still severely lacking in social emotional skills, behavior management, etc. Most of them seem very caring, but they're young and haven't been properly developed at YY. Also consider that a lot of parents haven't been involved with other schools and don't know what they're missing. We're missing a LOT in this area.