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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Btw, I'm confident that the  middle  school will offer even more math  differentiation under the new principal--she has stated that it's one of her priorities.  She even hired a male AP who has an educational background/speciality in math.[/quote] You mean the AP for 4th and 5th? Meh. Nice guy, but not ready for administrator level in the sink-or-swim DC principal world. He doesn't teach math classes or tutor, that I know of, and he can barely handle recess discipline. I've never heard him described as a math specialist. That would be nice, but I wouldn't count on him as some kind of fix for those who are really into math at advanced levels.

There are many, many positives about the school, but it will take a while for the new (28 year old?) principal and the relatively new elementary PK-3 AP and the brand new 4th/5th AP and the MS AP (who is useless and has been there long enough to have fixed differentiation but didn't) and the MS Dean of Students to gel as a team.  You read that right. THREE APs and a DoS for a MS of less than 180 kids. Meanwhile, at the Oyster building there is a part-time music teacher for roughly 300 kids.

Think of O-A more like a charter than a neighborhood school. Like PP also said, reality is somewhere between paradise and purgatory. The experience [b]also [/b]depends on the individual child. Some kids end up tri-lingual stars at selective private and public high schools. Other kids in the same family end up switching to English-only DCPS programs, charters, or private schools before 4th grade. This happens across all demographics. It's not exactly Sophie's Choice, but it's hard to predict which student, let alone family, will stay or go in any given year. The new admin hasn't quite grasped this phenomenon. It will probably take a few years.

If you're looking for some degree of consistency, try any private school in DC. They're all about $35K and almost all the DC ones offer or require Spanish language starting in Kinder.

If your priority is diversity west of Rock Creek, then by all means go IB for O-A. Just make sure you have a plan B for each child.[/quote]

Lol--it sounds as if you had to make Sophie's choice in your own family.  You definitely sound a little bitter--I guess Spanish immersion didn't work out for one or more of your children--not sure if that's Oyster's fault though.  For another perspective, our children (who come from an English speaking home) have thrived at Oyster--and they are not the exception.  There are children who will struggle...at Oyster and any other immersion program.  Dual immersion schools aren't for everyone folks.  Oyster can't make every lump of coal a diamond.  And please don't forget that WIS (and every other $35k plus/ year school) gets to screen their applicants via an IQ test, interviews and an extensive application (not to mention affluence).  [b]Oyster has to educate everyone who lives IB and/or wins a seat in the lottery.[/b]
Btw, Oyster doesn't have much in common with the charters I've toured (and I've toured every language immersion charter in DC).  Among other things, there is definitely a neighborhood feel for those of us who live IB.  We also have a library (Lamb), no non-immersion tracks (Yu Ying), relatively low poverty (DC Bilingual and Stokes), a useful target language (Sela), a nice affluent neighborhood (MV) and the highest test score of all immersion schools.  
Look, I understand that Oyster is a target, but please stop perpetuating lies.  It's not perfect, but it's a great school.  If it's not for you, move on and open up a space for a more suitable student.[/quote]

Oyster-Adams [b]can [/b]refuse entry to IB students past 2nd grade who are not at or near proficiency in both languages. The principal decides who gets in OOB and is not obligated to follow lottery results.

What we do have that other schools don't is a high percentage of middle and upper income Latinos and Spanish-fluent non-Latinos both IB and OOB. Our little carbon deposits show up at the school's door already cut and polished. ;)  One of the best things about Oyster-Adams is it's diversity overall and within the Latino population. It would be wonderful if that continues, but it's hard to say. The "love it or leave it" attitude is less pervasive around 3rd grade. It's more like "respect it, but open to options." This is just the reality of the school choice environment in DC. People should not judge others' commitment to a school. We are all committed to our children first, no?[/quote]

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