Reply to Reason to transfer school in APS?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We live south of Rt 50 in Arlington and we love it. I have been reading threads for a while and I have noticed there have been a lot of conversations about the number of ESL children who have entered school in Arlington and Alexandria. I thought I saw somewhere that in Del Ray, the Mount Vernon school had so many ESL students that the school was a de facto immersion school. While I think immersion could be nice, I don't know that I want my DC to be the only English as a first language child in the kindergarten, so that the classes are really geared more for making ESL students literate in both, vice teaching just to one group's advantage. So, if something like that were about to happen, is it possible to ask for a transfer to another school? We're a few years away from school, but I am curious. I assume that the situation will not be that extreme.

I did see this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-fairfax-county-kindergarten-classes-school-systems-future-comes-into-focus/2014/06/28/1ced10d2-f25e-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html

But I want to know is this something I should be worried about? Or is it a non-issue? [/quote]

You're right that a lot of the "immersion" schools are really just a fig leaf to teach immigrants in their native language.

They can't force you to attend an immersion school, but you'll usually only be given one alternative. You can't say, "Hey, gee, no immersion for me. Enroll my kid in Discovery."[/quote]

[b]Incorrect. The immersion schools are just as much about teaching English-as-a-first-language kids Spanish. They do a great job at that - the kids are coming out with Spanish proficiency.  We were extremely happy with our immersion school.[/quote][/b]

+1 Please don't let the few folks who rant on here about MVCS (and who don't have kids at the school) scare you about dual language/immersion programs. MVCS is a dual language school by choice - the community chose that years ago by an overwhelming vote - it is not something that just happened. Yes, in part the reason for making the initial proposal was that there were and a large number of native Spanish speakers (or ESL students) at the school, but the native English speaking families (SSL students!) chose it too. Learning a second language early in life, regardless of reason the program was proposed, helps neurological development.  Our children attended and still attend MVCS. We do not speak Spanish at home (the kids make fun of our accents when we try) and it has never been a problem. Our kids can read, write, and speak both languages and have done very well in school and on the various standardized tests. They are also part of a lovely and supportive community that *gasp* includes really wonderful kids whose first language was Spanish as well as kids whose first language was English. If you are concerned about your school, reach out to parents of current students and get to know the school that way. [/quote]

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