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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Beware of "Bilingual by default, not by design."  It's the reason Powell, Bruce Monroe, Marie Reed, etc. have such poor academic scores.  You're taking the bait to bring up the stats for schools with high FARMS, high ESL, low scores.

Schools with legitimately high performance for Spanish Immersion:  LAMB, Oyster, Cleveland, Stokes, and probably Mundo Verde.

Be very, very, [i]very[/i] cautious about the rest.  Just designating a Spanish Immersion program doesn't make it a worthwhile learning experience.  Visit Bruce Monroe if you don't believe.[/quote]

I'm a parent at Powell and I'm so tired of people saying it's bilingual by default.  have you gone and seen instruction, talked to the teachers and leadership, and families?  I sat down with the head of DCPS bilingual instruction and talked through different programs available at DCPS dual language schools, and looking at Powell specifically, I don't understand how anyone who knows what's going on can say it's bilingual by default.  Reading 3rd grade leveled books in kindergarten, in both English and Spanish, doesn't seem "bilingual by default."  Purposefully hiring bilingual teachers at every grade so kids don't have to shuffle back and forth between their English and Spanish instructors (and possibly repeat or skip content in the process) doesn't seem "bilingual by default."  Serving a high-FARM, high-ELL population is what Powell has been doing, but it doesn't mean that they aren't purposefully providing high quality instruction in both languages.

I'm under no illusion that Powell is a top-performing, well-established school in the city, but I do see my kid thriving there and lots of other kids as well, no matter their backgrounds. FWIW, Powell is "Rising" under ESEA, and was one of the top 12 schools in the city showing growth on DC-CAS scores last year.

OP, I wish you luck wherever you land!

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