During the open house the principles said that First Grade is the latest grade that they would recommend an English dominant child starting at Oyster. In the course of the tour, however, they introduced us to a Third Grader who had started Oyster that year and caught up. My child began kindergarten at Oyster and will be starting Second Grade in Fall. Her Spanish is minimal and that is true for many of her classmates. I doubt that they are much ahead of your kids in spoken ability, though probably ahead in comprehension. Oyster tells parents it takes five years. I think that you should mainly decide how important bilingualism is for you. I think it's a wonderful place and the second poster is more critical than I would be. Thet ask for a lot of volunteers but you can decide which actvitiies are worthwhile.

We started OA when DC was entering second. He had no Spanish. His mom and I speak Spanish. He did fine, but we did a lot of work to support him catching up (outside tutoring, practicing with him at home). You can't plan on him just picking it up from class. Also, the first year will be hard.

It's a little complicated, like a lot of things at O-A.

Has your kids' Spanish teacher told you they are ready for O-A type immersion model? Are your kids really excited about Spanish classes? Are they already secure in English reading and math? Do you and your kids have friends currently in Oyster? Are you planning on learning Spanish as well? Is your current IB school a mess? Would you be OK with teachers who can't speak or write in English? Is it cheaper for you to live IB than where you are now? Would you be willing to stick it out through 8th grade? (Research says it takes 4 or more years to be bi-literate and bilingual.) Are both the Oyster and Adams buildings (mile apart) convenient for you? Do you have a high tolerance for administrative miscommunication? Are you OK with being asked for money and/or time every couple of weeks?

The more yes answers, the more a move might make sense for you.

There are quite a few hard to quantify positives to O-A, like friendly and supportive families, fun events, respect for diversity, and some pretty amazing educators. For us, for now, the positives outweigh the challenges.

But we're always keeping our eyes open for other options. No school is perfect for all children.

We are thinking about moving to a neighborhood that is in boundary for Oyster. English-speaking at home. Kids have only minimal exposure to Spanish through twice a week class. What is the latest year in which they can enroll? The school website was not specific - had language that "Oyster may not be appropriate" for all in-bounds kids and the necessity of being "grade level" in Spanish. I thought they had some sort of grade cutoff. Or do they use testing? We would be looking at first/ second grade for entry. Thanks.