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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I finally had a chance to read through this entire thread from the beginning.  I'm new to DCUM so I'd like to take a moment to comment on some things I've read so far.  I thought twice about posting anything here because you guys are a tough crowd when someone posts something with which you don't agree.  Consequently, I didn't find a lot of positive commentary about Sela compared to all the negative opinions regarding the staff turnover, not being added to the DCI, "why Hebrew anyway", and a bunch of seemingly personal attacks on the premise of the school.  Still can't figure out that "sock puppet" absurdity but I'll save that for another day.  Just know I'm not the sock puppet lol.  Jeff, you can verify that if you like :-).  I'm just a parent who met with the administration team at Sela for almost three hours and asked a ton of questions about the plan for the school.  They answered all of them to the best of their ability and I was pleased with the responses.  Sidenote - are there any parents on this forum whose children REALLY attend Sela?  I'm more interested in YOUR comments versus these other naysayers.

I met with both Dr. Lody and Carrie during an open house  and they both were very personable and honest about the challenges the school faced.  It seems a bit unrealistic to believe a new school would not face challenges in leadership and losing teachers.  I've done research on many DC schools and I'm sure I can find a parent, teacher or administrator that would voice concerns about even the "best" of schools.  Judging by all of you who didn't get your first or 18th choice for schools (didn't get waitlisted either), to criticize a school trying to provide a quality education seems really unfair.  Another sidenote - to the poster who mentioned 7 families entering the lottery for another school after having been at Sela...I didn't read a reason for the mass exodus.  Or maybe I missed it?  Care to share?

I am a parent who is less focused on the particular language and more excited about the opportunity my child will have to learn another language in general.  I have quite a few friends whose children attend language immersion schools (not in the DC area) and I think it's great that a child can learn another language at an early age.  I admit I was skeptical of Hebrew.  At the end of the day, however, I was impressed with Sela's vision and plan for the future of the school.  Can they predict everything will fall in place perfectly?  No.  I am ok with that though because I know there is a responsibility of parents to also be involved in their child's education.  I watched the kids interact with their teachers in class.  The kids were happy and singing in Hebrew.  A diverse group of little people eager to learn is a plus in my book.  Oh and that playground "issue" lol.  We were told the land was approved for a playground right outside the school doors and it was in the works to be built.  I'll see about finding a date for when they plan to break ground.

We also met with a few of the teachers who teach Hebrew.  They talked about how the language is taught and its positive effects on a child's learning and development.  Again, I'm sure you can say that about any language.  And again, I'm ok with my child learning Hebrew so as long as she's getting a quality education.  She could learn any language for that matter!

Can someone give me some background on the importance of DCI?  Forgive my ignorance but I saw a lot of commentary about that and Sela presenting this idea as if it were set in stone versus there never being talks of it?  I'm a little confused as to what happened/what was said?

Have a happy weekend!
[/quote]

Is it set in stone that Sela will or will not join DCI?  We're at a DCI feeder, and it seems like they could have potential to be a good fit.  It also seem like that decision could be a few years away given that their oldest class is maybe 2nd grade or so.[/quote]
Sela should no more be a feeder than some other random charter. Hebrew is a non-starter and would just likely cause the school more money than it's worth to support such a self-limiting language. I hope SELA does well, but not at the expense of kids whom are already in feeder schools with viable language options. Sorry, but Hebrew just doesn't cut it. I think families would support Arabic, Russian and perhaps German. These are the languages most in demand behind Mandarin, Spanish and French. Hebrew doesn't come close.[/quote]

We're not at Sela, we're at another DCI feeder.  I just don't understand any hostility to the idea.  It's called DC International, not DC "top of the pops language schools."  Why not Arabic, Russian, or German indeed other than the fact that those schools do not exist.  You have no idea whether or not Hebrew does or does not "cut it" because you are not at all connected to the budget process.  It could easily be that funneling in a group of at-grade-level-and-above students is a very good fit.

You have no idea, and thus your hostility seems vaguely anti-semitic.  [/quote]
You're crazy and your anti-Semitic nonsense is a pathetic cheap shot. You can pretend all you want that Hebrew has some profound importance to warrant inclusion in DCI, but we all know that's absurd. Instead of attacking people for that reality check, why don't you go after the founders of Sela. It was their selfish and ridiculous idea. Now you've got all these people who want in DCI, but they've got Hebrew limiting them. Not our fault. Sela'a fault.[/quote]

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