Are your kids coming in with some background in Spanish? If not, I'm not sure either would take them as 2nd and 3rd graders. My neighbor's kids go to Key and her oldest started as a 1st grader which I thought she told me was the latest they could start. At some point, they figure the kids can't catch up to their peers who have been doing immersion since K or 1st....

What sort of improvements has Claremont made since 2009?

In terms of improving 4th and 5th grade, is it a matter of changing curriculum, training teachers,or getting new teachers and how likely are these things to happen?

Claremont still has some work to do on the upper grades but it is has improved a lot since 2009. The students in 4th and 5th rotate to each of the teachers for different subjects - depending on your child it could be a lot of transition. The Spanish teachers are much stronger in the lower grades - improving that end in 4th and 5th would help tremendously. The parent community is wonderful and highly involved.

I'd be interested in any more thoughts/information on the upper grades at Claremont.

I read those reviews on greatschools (referenced in above post) as well, and they are a bit concerning.

PP, can you elaborate on what needed to be tweaked and in what ways the kids were not prepared?

Parent of a Claremont student (3rd grader) and very happy. I think (but not certain) that they have tweaked the 4-5 grade program a bit over the past couple of years to ensure that the kids are better prepared to continue the immersion program into middle school at Gunston. We've been very happy with the program and the quality of the teachers. The extended day program is fine -- our child has fun. It's not "outstanding" but there are lots of different things for kids to do. Good luck!

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We plan to move this spring/summer and would love people's thoughts about the two different Spanish immersion schools in Arlington, Key and Claremont. I've heard more about Key--it was the first to be established and I think is seen as a model in many ways. On the other hand, their test scores took a serious nose dive last year. Is that just a fluke or cause for concern? Also hear mixed reviews of the principal. Claremont seems to be an up and comer--just got recognized by the Spanish government as one of the best immersion programs in the country. On the downside, I saw some comments on greatschools.net that the older grades (ie 4th and up) at Claremont are not very good. Our kids will be in 3rd and 2nd next year, so that would be a concern. On the other hand, I think those comments were from 2009, so don't know if they are still accurate.

Can anyone way in on pros and cons to the two schools? Also interested in how the schools handle gifted/talented kids and the quality of their extended day programs if anyone has experience with those issues.

For what it's worth, we're committed to staying in the Yorktown or Washington-Lee HS district, but there are both Key and Claremont areas that feed into those schools.

Thanks!