Reply to Why apply to one of the DCI feeder schools...

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What about students at the DCPS dual-language schools?  Can they lottery in at 9th grade?

What about those with home-language or test-verifiable proficiency in one of the DCI target language programs?   Can they get in?

I'm thinking of this because DC is at a DCPS bilingual program and we speak Spanish at home; I have no doubt DC would take to a school like this with ease, and Walter Reed is close to home.  Is there anything wrong with trying to go that route?[/quote]

The lottery will be open to all. It will be up to the parents to get additional help in a target language if they lottery for DCI and there child has no past experience. My DC is currently at Powell Dual Language School and we are hoping to lottery for DCI for 6th grade.  Charters aren't allowed to test-in applicants. I don't see why a parent would lottery is heir child doesn't have any past language experience. They will be doing their child a disservice. [/quote]

I attended the meetings.  There will be no need for a child who enters through the lottery to be bilingual.  The school will offer 101, 102 and 201 Language classes in French, Spanish and Mandarin.  That way, if a child who is from one of the Spanish Immersion classes whiches to pick up a third language can elect to take Mandarin or French.

Also, remember that Stokes admit students as late as the fifth grade and some of those childrenmay not be bi-lingual/bi-literate.  YY has two tracks beginning in the third grade; therefore all their students will not be fully proficeint in Mandarin.

The school will offer content based subjects such as literature, history, etc in Mandarin, Spanish and French for those students who want to continue and become more proficient in the language learned in their respective feeder schools.  Other classes such as math and science will be taught in English so that the students from the varying schools can mingle.

The school is following the IB program, so students can elect to work for the IB diploma or simply the certificate.  The school hours are from 8:30 am to 4:15pm.  There will be no early release days as are currently provided in some of the lower schools.  All kids are required to take visual and media art, and something else.  I forget.

The bottom line is that if your kid is not proficient in one of the three languages, it will be okay.  There are thousands of IB graduates around the world who did not pick up a second language until middle or high school and succeeded.  [/quote]

Thanks, I'm the PP who asked how this would work, that's really helpful.  So you can still choose to graduate with an IB diploma even if you start as late as 8th grade?

And another question, with Mandarin, anyone know if there are levels of proficiency and on average what level is reasonable to expect a child who starts Mandarin for the 1st time in 8th grade?[/quote]

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