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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My child has been in a Spanish dual language program since pre k but now as we prepare for middle school it doesn’t seem like that many options. The only school I really hear given as best choice is DCI however it is so far. Is there any talks of them getting a bus from eastern market like other schools? What is everyone take on the few other dual language middle schools? I would hate to abandon language immersion. [/quote]

[b]DCI is the only charter/public school in the city with serious language programming[/b] and an IB diploma in high school.

But you won’t get in the Spanish track since you are not in a feeder.

The only other serious option is private which is WIS.[/quote]

Oyster is a much better middle school language option. DCI middle is language light in comparison. If you are in 3rd-4th you can probably get a spot at a DCI feeder since most people don’t want to start DL in upper elementary. You can also try for Oyster if your kid can pass the proficiency test. The Jefferson program seems promising and if you live on the hill I would consider it. I don’t think DCI is worth the commute (I have kids there).[/quote]

I have a kid at DCI middle.  No the language model is not light.  I am assuming your kid is in the lower language level tracks then. If so, then yes limited course options.  They are not going to put a kid in many classes in the language if they are not even proficient yet.

My kid is in the highest track and so has lots of classes in the language.  DCI has 6, yes six, levels of language classes and they test the kids every year with STAMP to know where they are and to place them.  Kids in the highest track not only has language classes but also other subject like social studies actually taught in the language.  Electives can also be in the language if you are in the higher track. Also exchange programs late middle are optiins if you are in the higher track.  Lots of kids with native speaking families in this track also.  Also if you are in the highest track, you can take a 2nd language starting as early as 7th and work towards an IB bilingual diploma.

I can’t comment on Oyster since I don’t have a kid there, but since you seem to know, you can let us know how extensive is the offerings in languages.and courses are there.

Also I agree with another poster that doubtful the Jefferson program will be successful when you have so little students coming in with proficiency in the language.  Also majority of kids are not even on grade level in ELA, so I don’t see how they will be able to master a 2nd language.[/quote]

DP, parent of an Adams grad.

I think the post above is full of good information about DCI, which I’ve heard good things about.

In case it helps OP - when my kid was at Adams, 1/2 of subjects for all kids were in Spanish and 1/2 were English.  So math might be in English and science in Spanish.  IIRC, at least one year one of my kid’s teachers in an English subject was completely bilingual (like no accent in either) and taught a bit in both.

Our kid started Oyster in 2nd and went through 8th at Adams.  He then did AP Spanish Lang and Lit 2 years at JR.  we spoke very little Spanish at home, but travelled regularly to Latin America and socialized in Spanish regularly. In college, DS took content classes in Spanish and had a prof ask what country he was from.  Prof was surprised he grew up in DC and didn’t speak Spanish at home.  DC’s job in college was also all in Spanish.  So, we thought OA was very effective at teaching Spanish.   [/quote]

Glad your kid had a good experience at Adams.

We did not look at Adams at all because it is so small.  About 70-75 kids a grade.  Above sounds like a repeat of elementary to us with the 50/50 classroom model.

We wanted a more traditional middle school experience with periods and where you could track for each individual subjects, a very robust curriculum of core subjects, lots of electives, in addition to full array of clubs and sports.

The extensive language level tracking works really well to meet each kid where they are and allows the higher performing kids to advance much more quickly.

DCI is very data driven and uses standardized testing as a hard measure of where the kids are in addition to grades and teachers recommendations.  They are very transparent about it too in communications to families.

The middle school kids just all finished their standardized testing in language, math, ELA, and science.  Some kid’s schedules will change due to their scores with moving up or down levels.  It will also dictate which kids need more support classes. It’s a lot of work to evaluate and do this for over 600 kids in the middle school, but ensures that the kids are met where they are.  They will retest in winter and repeat above.  So there is a lot of fluidity in the class levels. This IMO is what I think is good practice and  equity.  It is not lowering standards.  It is upholding standards and expectations and supporting the low performers to bring them up .[/quote]

Adams is really small, and DC was more than ready for a bigger cohort when he went to JR.

Specifically for sports, DS had a good experience at Adams — played his main sport any two others that he wouldn’t have been able to play at a school like deal. He went on to play at JR in a sport commonly thought of as very competitive, as did one of his Adams teammates.   Some friends from another sport made varsity as freshmen, and ended up doing very well.   When DS was there, a big percentage of the school was active in sports, and it was a nice community experience.   Not sure if that’s still how it is. [/quote]

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