Anonymous wrote:I have a lot of severe learning disabilities that weren't diagnosed until I was 19, so I just failed hard at most aspects of school. I don't know how it was done but my mother got it put into my IEP that I was foreign language exempt.

I wasn't diagnosed with language issues, but I can tell you that I can't hear the difference between "dog" and "but" in spanish. Like my ear/brain literally can't process a difference between the two sounds. Did you ever see Joey learning French on Friends? That's me.

So my guess is that if you put your kid in immersion, he'd learn more Spanish than he'd otherwise learn if he weren't in immersion, but he won't learn as much as they intend for him to learn or enough to keep up with the rest of his grade. Sorry, I can tell that's not what you want to hear.

Nah it’s fine I welcome all the feedback. I’ve also heard of people doing ASL as their language.

I have a lot of severe learning disabilities that weren't diagnosed until I was 19, so I just failed hard at most aspects of school. I don't know how it was done but my mother got it put into my IEP that I was foreign language exempt.

I wasn't diagnosed with language issues, but I can tell you that I can't hear the difference between "dog" and "but" in spanish. Like my ear/brain literally can't process a difference between the two sounds. Did you ever see Joey learning French on Friends? That's me.

So my guess is that if you put your kid in immersion, he'd learn more Spanish than he'd otherwise learn if he weren't in immersion, but he won't learn as much as they intend for him to learn or enough to keep up with the rest of his grade. Sorry, I can tell that's not what you want to hear.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is he already fluent in Spanish? If not, he's not eligible to enter Key. You can only enter as a non-native Spanish speaker as a K or 1st grader.

He’s not a Spanish speaker at all. I noted that when I entered the lottery. Is it possible they extended that requirement to 2nd due to Covid? Honestly I’d love for this to be a non issue- if he’s not eligible this is all moot!

He'll need to be able to learn 2nd grade math taught entirely in Spanish from the get go. Can he do that? Immersion isn't like taking a Spanish class. They teach math in Spanish. If he doesn't understand, then he won't learn 2nd grade math.

This year my kindergartener learned to count to 100 in Spanish, plus she can skip count (by 5s and 10s) and do addition and subtraction all in Spanish. She also knows shapes and colors and can follow basic directions. She can talk about more and less than in Spanish. All math vocabulary.

Sorry I re-read this. He definitely cannot count to 100 but he can count to ten, knows his colors in two foreign languages, including Spanish, can do shapes. No other math vocabulary though.

Language immersion students already have a strike against them, in that they typically need to learn two different things simultaneously -- in math class, for example, they need to be learning math at the same time as the target language, and the increased cognitive load makes this a difficult task.This isn't going to be a good fit for someone already struggling with language issues. Give him a different gift.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is he already fluent in Spanish? If not, he's not eligible to enter Key. You can only enter as a non-native Spanish speaker as a K or 1st grader.

He’s not a Spanish speaker at all. I noted that when I entered the lottery. Is it possible they extended that requirement to 2nd due to Covid? Honestly I’d love for this to be a non issue- if he’s not eligible this is all moot!

He'll need to be able to learn 2nd grade math taught entirely in Spanish from the get go. Can he do that? Immersion isn't like taking a Spanish class. They teach math in Spanish. If he doesn't understand, then he won't learn 2nd grade math.

This year my kindergartener learned to count to 100 in Spanish, plus she can skip count (by 5s and 10s) and do addition and subtraction all in Spanish. She also knows shapes and colors and can follow basic directions. She can talk about more and less than in Spanish. All math vocabulary.

He can do that in English, not Spanish. Could he learn? Maybe…I have no idea. If he could learn in K I guess he could learn in 2nd bc they say the brain keeps that flexibility. We lived in Japan when he was a baby, and Americans routinely threw their kids in JAPANESE school- like, all ages- from elementary to high school! Same in Germany. I suppose many Spanish speakers and people who immigrate here do the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is he already fluent in Spanish? If not, he's not eligible to enter Key. You can only enter as a non-native Spanish speaker as a K or 1st grader.

He’s not a Spanish speaker at all. I noted that when I entered the lottery. Is it possible they extended that requirement to 2nd due to Covid? Honestly I’d love for this to be a non issue- if he’s not eligible this is all moot!

He'll need to be able to learn 2nd grade math taught entirely in Spanish from the get go. Can he do that? Immersion isn't like taking a Spanish class. They teach math in Spanish. If he doesn't understand, then he won't learn 2nd grade math.

This year my kindergartener learned to count to 100 in Spanish, plus she can skip count (by 5s and 10s) and do addition and subtraction all in Spanish. She also knows shapes and colors and can follow basic directions. She can talk about more and less than in Spanish. All math vocabulary.

It sounds like he might not even be eligible. But even if he is, it’s a terrible idea to put a child with a language-based learning disability into language immersion.

Anonymous wrote:I always dreamed of letting my son go to Spanish immersion. We bought when Key was our neighborhood school. Then, he relocated, and also my son was diagnosed with a language disorder. For those reasons, I abandoned my immersion hopes. Fast forward, and I kind of spontaneously entered him in the lottery for key as he enters second grade, and we got in. I need some real talk on whether this is viable at this point. My son still struggles with receptive and expressive language delays. Language is hard for him. He gets a ton of support through an IEP. On the other hand, ironically, he really enjoys foreign languages, because the way that foreign language is taught is so visual, and it’s slow, and there’s lots of repetition. Which is exactly what he needs. We are not a Spanish-speaking family. I never even talk Spanish in school and I have no attitude for it. It’s not something that I could help him with. But I am not adverse to getting tutoring assistance for him.

My husband and I come from rich cultural backgrounds, and our parents never taught us our mother tongues. It’s a constant source of sadness for both of us that we missed out on language opportunities. I think Spanish is a great and very practical foreign language and I would love to give my son the gift of bilingualism.

We need to make a decision very soon and I would love your honest opinions on whether it is too late or we would not be a good fit for Key.

The other thing I need to consider is that I depend on extended day. The extended day sign up is this Monday. If I don’t register at our current elementary school, we will likely lose our spot. So, while my plan would be that if key doesn’t work out we could just go back to our wonderful elementary school, we would be going back without extended day, which is pretty problematic for me.

I bolded the answer you wrote to your own question. We had two kids do immersion at a well regarded private. It was difficult for all students who did not have the language spoken at home by at least one parent. Past experience had taught the school not to offer spots to children who had issues with learning a first language. We have good friends who have utilized Saturday school, parents speaking the target language, and tutors to give the "gift" of bilingualism to their child who had receptive and expressive language delays. After years they have a child who is substantially behind their grade cohort in both languages. It can be hard to know when it is more a parental desire than something actually good for the actual child, but this seems not really a direction that is about your child's needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is he already fluent in Spanish? If not, he's not eligible to enter Key. You can only enter as a non-native Spanish speaker as a K or 1st grader.

He’s not a Spanish speaker at all. I noted that when I entered the lottery. Is it possible they extended that requirement to 2nd due to Covid? Honestly I’d love for this to be a non issue- if he’s not eligible this is all moot!

I would call the school and ask. Historically, kids can’t start immersion after 1st grade unless they already know some Spanish.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is he already fluent in Spanish? If not, he's not eligible to enter Key. You can only enter as a non-native Spanish speaker as a K or 1st grader.

He’s not a Spanish speaker at all. I noted that when I entered the lottery. Is it possible they extended that requirement to 2nd due to Covid? Honestly I’d love for this to be a non issue- if he’s not eligible this is all moot!

Anyone who registers is offered a seat. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of seats they run a lottery. There are fewer students entering 2nd grade and above because they have to pass a language proficiency test. So it looks like your kid won’t pass that because it requires that they handle academic Spanish, reading and writing.

This is a terrible idea. I think enrolling him in outside language classes if he enjoys it is a great idea.

Anonymous wrote:Is he already fluent in Spanish? If not, he's not eligible to enter Key. You can only enter as a non-native Spanish speaker as a K or 1st grader.

He’s not a Spanish speaker at all. I noted that when I entered the lottery. Is it possible they extended that requirement to 2nd due to Covid? Honestly I’d love for this to be a non issue- if he’s not eligible this is all moot!

So it really doesn’t sound like your kid is a good fit for immersion. Extended day registrations will transfer from neighborhood schools to option schools so that’s a non-issue.

Is he already fluent in Spanish? If not, he's not eligible to enter Key. You can only enter as a non-native Spanish speaker as a K or 1st grader.

I always dreamed of letting my son go to Spanish immersion. We bought when Key was our neighborhood school. Then, he relocated, and also my son was diagnosed with a language disorder. For those reasons, I abandoned my immersion hopes. Fast forward, and I kind of spontaneously entered him in the lottery for key as he enters second grade, and we got in. I need some real talk on whether this is viable at this point. My son still struggles with receptive and expressive language delays. Language is hard for him. He gets a ton of support through an IEP. On the other hand, ironically, he really enjoys foreign languages, because the way that foreign language is taught is so visual, and it’s slow, and there’s lots of repetition. Which is exactly what he needs. We are not a Spanish-speaking family. I never even talk Spanish in school and I have no attitude for it. It’s not something that I could help him with. But I am not adverse to getting tutoring assistance for him.

My husband and I come from rich cultural backgrounds, and our parents never taught us our mother tongues. It’s a constant source of sadness for both of us that we missed out on language opportunities. I think Spanish is a great and very practical foreign language and I would love to give my son the gift of bilingualism.

We need to make a decision very soon and I would love your honest opinions on whether it is too late or we would not be a good fit for Key.

The other thing I need to consider is that I depend on extended day. The extended day sign up is this Monday. If I don’t register at our current elementary school, we will likely lose our spot. So, while my plan would be that if key doesn’t work out we could just go back to our wonderful elementary school, we would be going back without extended day, which is pretty problematic for me.