Centro Nia, Apple Tree, Bridges, Lamb, E.L. Haynes - preschool options - recommendations

[Anonymous]

I'm applying for preschool (3 year old) and am having a hard time finding a central location for information on these charters - their differences, etc. Ideally, I'd like a program where my child can begin learning Spanish. Can anyone provide guidance or information on the above options? I'm especially interested in hearing from folks who attend one of the above. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm applying for preschool (3 year old) and am having a hard time finding a central location for information on these charters - their differences, etc. Ideally, I'd like a program where my child can begin learning Spanish. Can anyone provide guidance or information on the above options? I'm especially interested in hearing from folks who attend one of the above. Thank you.

Great question! As a Bridges parent, I'm happy to fill in the blanks.

Bridges is an inclusion model school, which means that students are welcome and well-served from so many different levels of ability: special needs, typically developing, English Language Learners, gifted & talented... The school specializes in differentiated instruction. (Yes, everybody talks it up lately, but Bridges is actually good at it and has honors to prove it. Come visit!)

Your child will get small group instruction (smaller than DCPS!) and the lead teacher will have a Master's degree (in either Early Childhood Education or Special Education). (See if you can find that guarantee in ANY other public school in the District!) PP: you can choose to have your child in a bilingual classroom. The student body is astoundingly diverse: serving children from all 4 quadrants of the city, a mixed racial demographic, a mixed socio-economic demographic, and diverse learning styles and abilities as well. Bridges Pre-schoolers and Pre-Kindergarteners typically join mainstream DCPS schools from an academically advantaged standpoint due to the expertise of their faculty and the small sizes of their classrooms. Your child does NOT have to be "potty-trained" when school begins, he/she merely has to turn 3 by December 31st of the entering year.

Come visit, or call to ask for the name of an alum - any alum. Bridges has among the BEST parent satisfaction scores in the entire charter school system.

Enjoy your search!

[Anonymous]

For preK 3, spanish immersion, add Elsie Stokes to your list

[Anonymous]

LAMB and Centronia (two progarms - DC Bilingual and Centronia Universal Prek - they are run from different offices so be sure to ask for both) offer bilingual education. So does Bancroft and Marie Reed

[Anonymous]

LAMB parent here. Great school but a definite approach to education that you should be comfortable with. Montessori -- I love it, my child loves it, I truly believe in it. But if you aren't comfortable (as in, hey where are the desks? and why is my child washing tables every day for a month? [answer: because the child chooses that activity]) then probably go with a more traditional approach. Spanish -- again, I believe in bilingual immersion education and have watched my child learn to read and write in two languages. I think it's amazing what the kids can do. But if you are worried that your child will be behind in English or something like that, then it may not be for you.

LAMB does really well with kids with special needs. My DC has a learning disability (didn't discover it right away) but thrives there and has tested normal/better than normal over the past year. Lots of support, little stigma, lots of willingness to try new things and approaches.

The building is renovated (the old section was the first African-American school in northwest but closed in 1954) and a new addition opened last year. There's a field and a nice playground.

Children are only admitted in the pre-S and pre-K years, so no new kids come in after that year. This seems to foster a family feeling there as you get to know the kids and their families really well. The children are almost like siblings in the older classes-- they care about each, watch out for each other. There is very little bullying or roughness.

I do have to admit that the administration sometimes can be a little haphazard in regards to communication. Well-meaning but not a Swiss watch if you know what I mean. I've learned to live with it and even embrace it to some degree. The emphasis is always on the kids, not the parents. And each year the communication improves.

Overall it's been a great experience. We will miss it terribly when we depart for middle school.

[Anonymous]

For the folks who shared info on Bridges and LAMB, many thanks. Does LAMB focus on students with special needs? Is it academically challenging? What about DC Bilingual? I'm finding it really difficult to piece together information because the PCS don't post test scores. Also, the majority of open houses seem to be held during working hours which is difficult for me.

[Anonymous]

I have seen some test scores from LAMB and Bridges and they are both low. Any explanation?

[Anonymous]

Bridges and LAMB are two very different schools.

Bridges is only 3-5 year olds. Their mission is early childhood, and sending a child to K ready to learn. As a current Bridges parent (different from the one posted above), there are no "scores" to look at for Bridges. They do assessments of kids to track progress, but nothing that is a standardized test.

Many parents feel pressure to get their child into a school that has a track into the upper grades, which is understandable. What I like about Bridges is that it takes the pressure off of HAVING to get into a great school right away. It gives you 3 years to experience with school lotteries, waiting lists, etc., but in the meantime your child is in an EXCELLENT preschool program.

LAMB is also a great school, but I'm not as familiar with it so couldn't speak to scores, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have seen some test scores from LAMB and Bridges and they are both low. Any explanation?

Really? Where did you see those scores? Care to share? I'm getting really sick of people with no first hand experience jumping in with baseless negative comments on these school threads.

[Anonymous]

Bridges has no DC CAS because it serves only early childhood. But at Open House, I was told they do their own internal assessments. I assume the special needs kids bring the scores down, understandably so.

In last year's DC school chooser, 2008 math was 0% and reading was 50%. It seems low to me considering its rep.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have seen some test scores from LAMB and Bridges and they are both low. Any explanation?

Really? Where did you see those scores? Care to share? I'm getting really sick of people with no first hand experience jumping in with baseless negative comments on these school threads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bridges has no DC CAS because it serves only early childhood. But at Open House, I was told they do their own internal assessments. I assume the special needs kids bring the scores down, understandably so.


Oops, this is for Bridges below:

In last year's DC school chooser, 2008 math was 0% and reading was 50%. It seems low to me considering its rep.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have seen some test scores from LAMB and Bridges and they are both low. Any explanation?

Really? Where did you see those scores? Care to share? I'm getting really sick of people with no first hand experience jumping in with baseless negative comments on these[/b] school threads.

[Anonymous]

Double oops. Not Bridges. Stats are for LAMB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have seen some test scores from LAMB and Bridges and they are both low. Any explanation?

Are you trolling? Bridges is pre-school/pre-K only. LAMB is pre-school to 3rd. The DC-CAS isn't administered until 4th grade. What is wrong with you?

[Anonymous]

Did you see my previous responses? Did you look at the school chooser? DC-CAS starts at 3rd grade. In 2010, LAMB goes up to 6th grade (see their web site). We've applied to both LAMB and Bridges so just reporting what I have seen and heard. You can still love a school with low test scores. Just be aware of it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have seen some test scores from LAMB and Bridges and they are both low. Any explanation?

Are you trolling? Bridges is pre-school/pre-K only. LAMB is pre-school to 3rd. The DC-CAS isn't administered until 4th grade. What is wrong with you?

[Anonymous]

LAMB parent here again. LAMB currently has 4th graders and over the next few years will grow to sixth grade. There are about 170 kids total, starting from the pre-S year on up through 4th grade. The kids are divided into three year classrooms -- 3,4, and 5 year olds in Primary, 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders in Lower Elementary and 4th - 6th graders in Upper Elementary. In most cases, the child would stay in the same classroom with the same teachers for all three years. There is some flexibility in moving kids around but most stay. That way they really know the kids, the routine, the teachers know the children already and so forth.

A previous poster asked if LAMB targets special needs kids. No, but of course they are in the LAMB population, as they are in any school, and my point is that they do a great job with these kids. Most parents don't know if their 3 or 4 year olds have ADD or a learning disability or whatever-- that comes up later. If that ends up being the case, LAMB does right by these kids. They supply good services, they are in full compliance with special ed procedures and laws. But more importantly, each kid is supported in a way that allows him/her to succeed, and parents don't have to fight/sue to get services that their child needs. There's an attitude there that is refreshing regarding special education. It's not a stigma, it's just help for children.

LAMB is small so the DC CAS is administered to a small group of students, starting in 3rd grade. That makes it a less than ideal measure of achievement. The first year only six or so kids took it. There wasn't too much test prep and with a bilingual, montessori curriculum, the kids struggled with the test. Last year, 15 or so kids took it. There was improvement between the two years. The number of kids was still not enough to publish the results (I think the magic number is 25 or 30 kids). However, the administration is using it as a tool because eventually there will be enough kids to make it statistically significant. It's difficult because Maria Montessori didn't imagine DC CAS so they have to add test-taking and so forth as a separate subject. In adidtion, the kids spend about 50-60% of the time working in Spanish, so the amount of time spent on English test prep is naturally limited. I think they are trying to strike the right balance between helping the kids do well enough on the DC CAS so they make AYP but not overburdening the kids with too much test prep.

For the parents of a 3 year old, you should know some things about the primary classes. You'll see mixed age classes, with 3,4 and 5 year olds together. The kids nap in the afternoon, they do not have to be potty trained before they start school and they have a nice long recess. The kids put their own coats away, get on their slippers, etc., even if it takes them a long time. The school lunch provider is Revolution Foods which serves all organic, healthy, etc. meals. The day is from 8:30 to 3 pm for little ones (older kids have 30 minutes more). There is a spanish dominant teacher and an English-dominant teacher in the class, and usually an aide to help with pottying, lunch, etc. The goal of the preschool year is to acclimate the kids and get them understanding and speaking the 2nd language. By imitating the older children, they learn to do the montessori activities and how to act in the classroom. Some kids come in speaking only Spanish, some come in speaking only English and some are bilingual already. By the end of the first year, all the kids function in both languages.

Hope this info is useful.