Reply to Private Immersion (Rochambeau) v. Lafayette, Deal, Wilson: we have never disagreed like this

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Reply to "Private Immersion (Rochambeau) v. Lafayette, Deal, Wilson: we have never disagreed like this"

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[quote=Anonymous]Hi OP, we had a somewhat similar choice to make, and also have an only.  Our kid attended our Deal/Wilson feeder for three years, PK3-K, and then transferred to Rochambeau for 1st, where kid spent the first year in the "immersion" program (program for kids who are not fluent in French).  Kid was initially very reluctant to leave the neighborhood school, but adjusted fairly quickly, and is now in 2nd grade and doing well.

The neighborhood school was great, and kid has lots of neighborhood friends because of the three years spent there. 
 We honestly planned on staying there, but saw an interesting opportunity at the Rollingwood campus, which we were not previously aware of, being somewhat new to the area.  (The Bradley campus is sort of too far for us to make it work given work schedules, whereas the Rollingwood campus for 1st-4th is < 10 min drive.)

To address a couple of your other points:

-Yes, we've found Rochambeau to be a pretty down-to-earth, diverse community.  I do not get the sense that most families are very wealthy.
-Your husband is right that there is turnover.  I believe Valerie mentioned something like 18% attrition each year when I asked a couple years ago?  And indeed, our kid lost one BFF and two other good friends who didn't return this year.  However, these were immersion students--it's possible the families decided they didn't want immersion after their first year.  The turnover rate may be lower among the non-immersion families there, but that's just a guess at this point.  Our kid missed these friends initially, but has other friends who stayed and has made new friends.

We also try to help the kid maintain friendships with neighborhood school friends.  For example, kid sees them at the playground, occasional play dates, and an extracurricular activity that meets regularly at the neighborhood school.

Not sure there's a right answer.  Trips to francophone countries, French nanny/au pair, French Sat. school, etc. could certainly help as a happy medium, as it would allow more neighborhood involvement with the Lafayette community.  It depends on where you both decide to come down on the importance of bilingualism vs. full community involvement.

Happy to answer any other questions if you have them!

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