Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attend the bruce monroe info meeting Oct 6 to voice your opinion about a test in middle school

I was just informed that this meeting is ONLY in spanish. So that tells me already what DCPS thinks about trying to attract diversity/high SES families to the school. The PTA person is asking the CIty to send a translator for English. Does not seem like a good start.

Is this true? If so, that says to me that this lip service about "dual language" is really about providing a separate track for native Spanish speakers which basically has the benefit of letting Dcps off the hook in teaching those children English. Someone please tell me my thinking process on this is wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attend the bruce monroe info meeting Oct 6 to voice your opinion about a test in middle school

I was just informed that this meeting is ONLY in spanish. So that tells me already what DCPS thinks about trying to attract diversity/high SES families to the school. The PTA person is asking the CIty to send a translator for English. Does not seem like a good start.

Is this true? If so, that says to me that this lip service about "dual language" is really about providing a separate track for native Spanish speakers which basically has the benefit of letting Dcps off the hook in teaching those children English. Someone please tell me my thinking process on this is wrong.

That sounds like a meeting targeted at the parents. I don't think DCPS was ever on the hook for teaching the parents English also.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attend the bruce monroe info meeting Oct 6 to voice your opinion about a test in middle school

I was just informed that this meeting is ONLY in spanish. So that tells me already what DCPS thinks about trying to attract diversity/high SES families to the school. The PTA person is asking the CIty to send a translator for English. Does not seem like a good start.

Is this true? If so, that says to me that this lip service about "dual language" is really about providing a separate track for native Spanish speakers which basically has the benefit of letting Dcps off the hook in teaching those children English. Someone please tell me my thinking process on this is wrong.

Anonymous wrote:Have you ever been to a meeting where both English and Spanish translations were given? It's a mess! Hopefully they will have the same info. session for English only at a later date.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attend the bruce monroe info meeting Oct 6 to voice your opinion about a test in middle school

I was just informed that this meeting is ONLY in spanish. So that tells me already what DCPS thinks about trying to attract diversity/high SES families to the school. The PTA person is asking the CIty to send a translator for English. Does not seem like a good start.

Is this true? If so, that says to me that this lip service about "dual language" is really about providing a separate track for native Spanish speakers which basically has the benefit of letting Dcps off the hook in teaching those children English. Someone please tell me my thinking process on this is wrong.

Anonymous wrote:DCPS can figure out something for the preschool parents over the next 8 years. Here are my two cents on what to do now: recruit, one by one, families of students who will excel in sixth grade next year.

First, the advantages of the small, dual language focused school can be laid out almost like a new charter. New dual language choice! on the side of the bus, at the Columbia Heights and Petworth Metro, along Mt. Pleasant Street, etc. That should and can be done well.

Further there are serious advantages to a small start. There are 65 students year one, maybe 75, so DCPS can actually go to the dual language schools and start asking the fourth grade teachers to recommend students to them. Think college recruiting. Take a hard run at 20 individual families from Powell, 15 from Bancroft, 15 from Marie Reed, 15 from Bruce Monroe, 5 from Cleveland and 5 from Tyler. Ask them to come. Answer all of their questions and bring them together.

Strongly supportive families of dual language students will make the core of the school strong. These will be the families that will propel their students to exceed expectations. Everything else can happen, sure, but these students will be what will make or break the school.

And to me, more than a specific program of language rigor or IB compliance or a set number of field trips or a new building, that expectation-exceeding success will be what will draw others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS can figure out something for the preschool parents over the next 8 years. Here are my two cents on what to do now: recruit, one by one, families of students who will excel in sixth grade next year.

First, the advantages of the small, dual language focused school can be laid out almost like a new charter. New dual language choice! on the side of the bus, at the Columbia Heights and Petworth Metro, along Mt. Pleasant Street, etc. That should and can be done well.

Further there are serious advantages to a small start. There are 65 students year one, maybe 75, so DCPS can actually go to the dual language schools and start asking the fourth grade teachers to recommend students to them. Think college recruiting. Take a hard run at 20 individual families from Powell, 15 from Bancroft, 15 from Marie Reed, 15 from Bruce Monroe, 5 from Cleveland and 5 from Tyler. Ask them to come. Answer all of their questions and bring them together.

Strongly supportive families of dual language students will make the core of the school strong. These will be the families that will propel their students to exceed expectations. Everything else can happen, sure, but these students will be what will make or break the school.

And to me, more than a specific program of language rigor or IB compliance or a set number of field trips or a new building, that expectation-exceeding success will be what will draw others.

???

not even independent schools do this in bold. charters certainly don't, and I don't see DCPS doing it either.

I think thats the issue. Is that YES the parents know about McFarland but when DCPS decides to hold their first community meeting regarding the dual language announcement but only hold the meeting in Spanish-they are sending a pretty clear signal. Non-spanish speaking/gentrifiers are not who the school is for. it takes well over a decade to build a good middle school. Heck, most IB parents are fully committed to Hardy or Stuart Hobson and they have been working on it for well over a decade and have solid feeders. DCPS actually needs to be selling the parents of preschoolers in the feeders now. Commit to a feeder and have a clear and solid immersion path through middle school. Thats huge. Most parents leave the questionable feeders if they have an option because they are in fact thinking about middle school when their kid is only 5 or 6 years old.

By the way, I doubt there are many parents at the dual language feeder schools who are unaware of MacFarland. We talk about it at our PTO, there are representatives from all or most of the feeder schools attending the MacFarland parent meetings, people are interested to see how it goes. It's not a question of awareness of its existence, it's a question of parents believing it is the best option for their kids. I am optimistic they can do something good, we will see. Are you at one of the feeder schools? You should go to the meetings, or send someone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS can figure out something for the preschool parents over the next 8 years. Here are my two cents on what to do now: recruit, one by one, families of students who will excel in sixth grade next year.

First, the advantages of the small, dual language focused school can be laid out almost like a new charter. New dual language choice! on the side of the bus, at the Columbia Heights and Petworth Metro, along Mt. Pleasant Street, etc. That should and can be done well.

Further there are serious advantages to a small start. There are 65 students year one, maybe 75, so DCPS can actually go to the dual language schools and start asking the fourth grade teachers to recommend students to them. Think college recruiting. Take a hard run at 20 individual families from Powell, 15 from Bancroft, 15 from Marie Reed, 15 from Bruce Monroe, 5 from Cleveland and 5 from Tyler. Ask them to come. Answer all of their questions and bring them together.

Strongly supportive families of dual language students will make the core of the school strong. These will be the families that will propel their students to exceed expectations. Everything else can happen, sure, but these students will be what will make or break the school.

And to me, more than a specific program of language rigor or IB compliance or a set number of field trips or a new building, that expectation-exceeding success will be what will draw others.

???

not even independent schools do this in bold. charters certainly don't, and I don't see DCPS doing it either.

By the way, I doubt there are many parents at the dual language feeder schools who are unaware of MacFarland. We talk about it at our PTO, there are representatives from all or most of the feeder schools attending the MacFarland parent meetings, people are interested to see how it goes. It's not a question of awareness of its existence, it's a question of parents believing it is the best option for their kids. I am optimistic they can do something good, we will see. Are you at one of the feeder schools? You should go to the meetings, or send someone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you ever been to a meeting where both English and Spanish translations were given? It's a mess! Hopefully they will have the same info. session for English only at a later date.

We are at a dual-language school (one of the MacFarland dual language feeders) and we do this all the time at school events and PTO meetings. It works fine if you know what you are doing. I recommend you get used to this, if you are interested in having your kids attend a dual-language school!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you ever been to a meeting where both English and Spanish translations were given? It's a mess! Hopefully they will have the same info. session for English only at a later date.

We are at a dual-language school (one of the MacFarland dual language feeders) and we do this all the time at school events and PTO meetings. It works fine if you know what you are doing. I recommend you get used to this, if you are interested in having your kids attend a dual-language school!

This has been known to NOT work at one of the feeders and from my recollection, the language difference was not the main issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you ever been to a meeting where both English and Spanish translations were given? It's a mess! Hopefully they will have the same info. session for English only at a later date.

We are at a dual-language school (one of the MacFarland dual language feeders) and we do this all the time at school events and PTO meetings. It works fine if you know what you are doing. I recommend you get used to this, if you are interested in having your kids attend a dual-language school!

This has been known to NOT work at one of the feeders and from my recollection, the language difference was not the main issue.

It has been done for years at LAMB -- makes for a longer meeting but otherwise not an issue. Can't imagine doing it another way.