Reply to Positive Momentum in Alexandria?

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[quote=Anonymous]I live near the Mount Vernon school and many of our neighbors and friends in this area either have kids in the school (some in immersion, some not) or expect to within the next few years (this latter group includes us).  The PP makes an important point that I see borne out in my conversations with these families.  Many of them opted for (or are seriously considering) the immersion program not so much because they are super-keen on their kids becoming fluent Spanish speakers, but rather because they perceive the program as having a higher level of parental involvement and support, and because (as the PP point out) the parents who pro-actively choose to enter the lottery tend to be a segment of the ACPS population that cares more about education generally, selecting out those with lower educational aspirations, apathetic families, or who don't already speak one of the immersion languages at home.  These people see the immersion program as providing a better educational milieu and a community of like-minded families.  Whatever language gains the kids make are sort of an incidental bonus.  (Some of these families are bi- or tri-lingual anyway.)  FWIW, most of these are families for whom private school or moving to another district ARE options, and some (though not all) plan to exercise those options when they get to middle school.

I'll also add that I have a nephew in one of the much-vaunted immersion programs in FCPS, and I see all the same issues there that prior PPs have mentioned in this thread with regard to the ACPS immersion programs (mistakes in both languages, inconsistent use of the target language, questionable how much actual usable knowledge of the language the child has after several years in the program, etc.)  I'm not trashing on that program, my nephew has benefited from it, just saying that I personally haven't seen anything that convinces me that it's so much better or more serious than the one here in my neighborhood.[/quote]

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