Reply to 1st–5th at LAMB

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "1st–5th at LAMB"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I agree with most of this, also have a 3rd grader.

I do not feel as positive about the administration as you do. We did try to lottery out for Oyster Adams just in case.

But the last line is worth calling out as to why stay: -Our kids are happy and don't want to move.

Anecdote from DCI: LAMB kids seem to do just fine there and certainly not worse than other school cohorts; in fact they may actually be doing better. They must be learning something in upper el, but I'd love a more rigorous school with more structure in those upper grades.

[quote=Anonymous]We have a 1st and 3rd grader at LAMB.

The big thing about LAMB: If you're going to be happy there post pre-k, you have to really embrace a bilingual Montessori education. So my first advice: it's worth spending time outside of DCUM researching the Montessori pedagogy and making sure you really 'get' it. There are good articles and books out there.

Truly a lot of what makes LAMB and Montessori amazing ALSO can at times drive me crazy.

So here is just a list of thoughts / experience 
- Very well resourced school, strong community, kind, creative, and welcoming kids, behavioral issues are low (not nonexistent) 
-Combined age classes allow kids to learn from each other and flex up or down on content. It also means that kids have real friendships across grades (and there is some research that multi age classrooms in elementary school reduces bullying).
-Kids are with the same teachers from 1st-3rd (and 4th-5th). Plus there are 2 teachers in every classroom (ratio of 2:25). This means the teachers know the kids EXTREMELY well and there is almost no friction at the beginning of the year (except transition yeras). 
-That said, there is variable quality in some of the teachers, probably not more dramatic than other schools, but you can feel it more accutely if you are with the same teacher for 3 years (though I do know kids who have switched classes) 
- The kids learn in small group sessions within the classroom (no teacher at blackboard in front of room), reinforced with hands on learning of materials ("work cycles")
-This means the kids get a lot of attention when they are in the small group session, but the work cycles require a lot of self-discipline and executive functioning

In terms of LAMB itself, our experience with the administration has been positive, the facilities are gorgeous, and we've been impressed at the increased focus on 'teaching to the test' on math + reading in interventionists settings to supplement in-class room learning

All that said: have we found it to be a highly rigorous, demanding academic environment? Definitely not. My husband and I have debated moving our 3rd grader who probably would benefit from being pushed more. But at the end of the day we are staying because:
-For elementary school, we believe that the pros of the incredible environment (and the Montessori conceptual thinking) outweigh the cons of the (lack) of academic rigor (we figure they will catch up at DCI)
-The school is 10/10 for social emotional learning and teaching friendships / being kind and in this world that matters so much
-We like the low screen use 
-We like the Spanish
-Our kids are happy and don't want to move [/quote][/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics