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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I will try to remember to respond in detail tomorrow, but in short:

1) Turnout isn't as high as we anticipated. I believe that just one of DC's friends left last year for another post (a black girl, hehe). I would imagine that the attrition rate is similar to some charter schools in the area.

2) This school is truly integrated. Every family brings some diversity. DC's friends are from everywhere and it's not uncommon for kids to speak a language other than French or English at home.

4) We applied with the expectation that DC would begin in the immersion program and transition to a traditional class later in the year. The school and I were in agreement that this was the best plan of action for our child. DC came in with prior French from attending a French preschool and tested into the traditional classroom. I was really concerned about this initially but the school made the right call. Instead, DC was pulled out to work with a specialist for non-native French speakers (think ESL). There were two immersion kids who were apart of her class as well and were brought in for some lessons with the class regularly. I know that at least one transitioned full time to the classroom by the end of the year. From what I understand, the immersion track focuses heavily on spoken French with very little, if any, grammar. The kids will take English with their assigned traditional class as well.

3) I really don't have an answer to this. I know of one active parent who pulled one kid for one of the Bethesda schools in the "W" cluster. We went in with every intention to go public for HS and that's still the plan.

5) There are black girls! AA girls, in particular.

I'm using my phone and I'm half awake, so hopefully my answers make some sense.lol

[/quote]

OP.  Thanks for your feedback!  This is helpful.

One other question I have is about the lack of testing (WPPSI-IV, etc.).  I see that apparently they test your kid's French aptitude, but don't do any other aptitude testing.  This seems to differ from most other independent schools.  Any idea why that is?  Just curious.[/quote]

I am French and raised in the French system. I was very surprised coming here that a IQ testing was required to apply in Primary Schools. It is all the more surprising that is it very unclear how results are considered. They seem good enough to the schools when they serve the schools' purpose but should not be used by parents to serve theirs when discussing DC's needs with schools. The hypocrisy that runs here around testing young children and then dismiss the results of the tests for no reason is just ridiculous.

Anyway - in the French system, you would use those tests ONLY if the teacher/ the school suspects something needs to be investigated to better accommodate the child's needs, from attention to giftedness. At least it is crystal clear. Most private schools that are European (British, German...) would follow the same way of seeing things.

The lack of testing does not undermine at all the average level of the class - on the contrary as the discipline and the rigor required are not for everyone (No, my DC does not attend Rochambeau and I still find Rochambeau excellent). [/quote]

OP here.  Thanks for this thorough explanatioN![/quote]

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