Reply to Asking for Advice - Rejection from Oyster-Adams Preschool

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

There is a clear and consistent standard at Oyster, under the current principal:  Spanish dominance, for purposes of lottery admission, must not be derived from nanny (aunt/grandma/play cousin) or preschool care.  You don’t have to like it, but that’s the standard.

Btw, life is all about imposed value judgments, both official and implied.  [/quote]

The DC school enrollment handbook says otherwise and has done so for many years.  So, if your statement is correct, the principal is applying a standard contrary to what parents are told to expect from the handbook.  In addition, as others have pointed out, the standard comes very close to a national original test as well as being inconsistent across dual language schools.  You haven't addressed any of these issues.[/quote]

The quote below very clearly says that up until first grade they are testing for dominance, and that after first grade they are testing for proficiency.  Can you provide a link that says otherwise?  [/quote]

Can someone link me to this handout?[/quote]

Link and relevant portion posted at 10:58[/quote]

Here it is again:

Here is the DCPS policy on language skills for a child seeking a Spanish dominant seat at one of its schools. This applies to all of them, from Tyler to Oyster. https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/sites/dcpsenrollment/fil...Nov%202018%20%28English%29.pdf

"Language Dominance (PK3-1 Grades) 
To support dual language learning in grades PK3-1, many schools strive to create linguistically balanced classrooms. As such, schools request that applicants identify as “English-dominant” or “Spanish-dominant ” on their lottery application.[b] Language-dominance is defined as the primary language of communication for the applying student. 
[/b]
After the release of lottery results and prior to enrollment, schools may require students claiming Spanish dominant to be assessed for language proficiency. If the student does not pass the assessment, he or she may be required to forfeit their match in that school's dual language program. In these cases, the applicant will be placed on the school’s non-Spanish dominant waitlist.

Spanish Proficiency Screening (2-12 Grades) 
In grades 2-12, students who attend dual language programs are expected to learn grade-level content in Spanish. If the applicant is not currently enrolled in a DCPS or DC public charter school dual language program, he or she will be required to take a Spanish-proficiency test. Testing occurs after lottery matches are released, at the school to which the student was matched. If the student does not pass the assessment, he or she may be required to forfeit their match in that school's dual language program. In these cases, at the parent’s request, the applicant will be placed back on the waitlist of all schools where the student was “not waitlisted.” This request must be made to My School DC by the parent and can only be made once the family has failed the proficiency test.

Note: If one school finds the student does not meet the language requirements, the student is ineligible for ALL DCPS dual language programs in that grade, if applicable."

I also wanted to add that OP says that it's normal for kids to mix up the two languages.  As a former preschool teacher who has taught many bilingual preschoolers, and language learning preschoolers, I have to say that that has not been my experience at all.  Kids learn very early on which language is which, and while a student who is still learning a language may revert back to his fluent language when the language they are learning runs out for them, or under stress, a kid who is truly bilingual usually has them completely straight before their 2nd birthday.  The only exception I've seen is where one set of vocabulary is only learned in one language.  So, a kid who speaks Spanish at home and English at school, might use a word like "perpendicular" when trying to explain a math concept in Spanish because they haven't heard those kinds of academic words in Spanish, or might refer to their aunt as "Tia" at school, because they aren't used to referring to her in English.

[/quote]

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