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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
It's nothing small at all.  The lack of admission tests is part of the charter law, and it won't change in the next 25 years for two reasons:

*  allowing an admission test at charters and not at public schools would reinforce the perception that (some) charters are actually exclusive clubs operating on the taxpayer dime.  (Read any of the BASIS threads for examples of this fight.)
* DC's political class is terrified of setting children apart and calling them smarter than other kids.  That's why there are no programs for gifted kids, and why the only admission-based schools are high schools.

As an aside, several posters have invoked the PA as a group that should be changing things.  YY is run by its board and administrators appointed by the board.  The PA exists to support the school, which has sometimes included individual parents doing pro bono legal work regarding amendments to the school's charter, but the PA has no legal standing to change anything at the Charter Board (or any other) level.  [/quote]

Thank you for this illuminating post, and your even handed-tone.  Unfortunate situation, but at least you've taken the trouble to explain it.  The PA may not have the legal standing to effect charter board outcomes, or even YY board outcomes, but focused groups of parents do have influence in DC Charter, and could surely exert more pressure to improve matters.  It's just that YY wasn't supported by a Chinese community from the get go, meaning that involving one belatedly is highly unlikely.

I talk to Cantonese-speaking merchants in DC's Chinatown who chuckle when they describe how, when YY first came knocking, they convinced reps from the school that they didn't want their kids to focus on learning Mandarin.  What they really didn't want were non-Chinese administrators and, yes, to deal with a slew of white and black families who judged and annoyed them.  They sent their kids to cozy heritage Mandarin classes in MoCo now, and still do.

What I'd like to see are barriers between these communities broken down, however that works.  Running YY as is may facilitate effective teaching of Mandarin, but it's fundamentally a lazy approach.  Language learning without contending with a bothersome, insular Chinese community with much to teach outsiders, a community which includes includes everybody from waiters and street vendors to a member of the Cabinet.

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