Anonymous wrote: Hopefully, this will ensure that IB families that choose Oyster are truly committed to the school.

This is overly simplistic assumption, that all the middle school needs is committed families. It's a real slap in the face to people who stayed, were involved, and finally left because their children were ignored.

Hopefully the new principal will be committed to all students. It will take more than committed families to improve the curriculum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last I checked, if you start elementary in O-A, there is not English-only backup. If you choose to leave O-A, your assigned school, you have to apply by lottery. Preference would be based on proximity to the MS.

Where is it stated that SWWFS is backup? The DCPS site has conflicting info about O-A feeding to Wilson vs Roosevelt. Cardozo idea was shut down.

Vote for Catania and you don't have to worry about being assigned to a lower-performing school.

A vote for Bowser means it all goes back to the table and nobody knows who's going to be at said table and Bowser has never set foot inside Oyster as far as I know.

You should read the implementation plan that was released on Halloween. Under that plan, FS-SWW is now Oyster's official English-school alternative. Wilson is still Oyster's IB high school. All Oyster graduates have a right to attend Wilson. However, if you would like to continue the dual language program, Oyster graduates also have a right to attend Roosevelt.

Yes, this is all correct.

This is happening for all dual language schools, but is especially good for Oyster. It has been hard in recent years to maintain the 50/50 native speaker split, because almost all of the new arrivals in the Oyster district are English-dominant. This means that for every IB English dominant who arrives, Oyster has to find a Spanish dominant from OOB. This is leading to gradual crowding (and I think it is not even 50/50 now - maybe 65% English dominant? There is a document about this problem on the school website if you are very interested.) The DME did two things to address this. First, expand the Oyster boundary to include an area which provides some more Spanish speakers (although a lot of it is pretty gentrified), and second, give an attractive English-only option which may be of interest to some IB families and will reduce the need to bring in more Spanish speakers via OOB to maintain the ratio.

None of the other dual language schools has an explicit ratio policy.

Francis-Stevens is hardly an attractive alternative.

That's good. Hopefully, this will ensure that IB families that choose Oyster are truly committed to the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should anyone be worried about Oyster having an English only option?
The rest of us cannot choose Oyster as our bilingual option.
Oyster needs to serve their students.

The middle school has not been serving its advanced students. This can be changed, but who knows whether the administration will feel any obligation or commitment to do this. I worry that now that IB families have lost our attractive public alternative, the school will take even less interest in its students who need more stimulation.

Monica's reign/era is over. I agree, Monica really wasn't terribly concerned about parent/student concerns...and it showed by her inaction (as long as Oysters test scores remained high). Why don't you give the new principal (a real educator, btw) a chance to improve rigor in the middle school math curriculum before you start to complain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last I checked, if you start elementary in O-A, there is not English-only backup. If you choose to leave O-A, your assigned school, you have to apply by lottery. Preference would be based on proximity to the MS.

Where is it stated that SWWFS is backup? The DCPS site has conflicting info about O-A feeding to Wilson vs Roosevelt. Cardozo idea was shut down.

Vote for Catania and you don't have to worry about being assigned to a lower-performing school.

A vote for Bowser means it all goes back to the table and nobody knows who's going to be at said table and Bowser has never set foot inside Oyster as far as I know.

You should read the implementation plan that was released on Halloween. Under that plan, FS-SWW is now Oyster's official English-school alternative. Wilson is still Oyster's IB high school. All Oyster graduates have a right to attend Wilson. However, if you would like to continue the dual language program, Oyster graduates also have a right to attend Roosevelt.

Yes, this is all correct.

This is happening for all dual language schools, but is especially good for Oyster. It has been hard in recent years to maintain the 50/50 native speaker split, because almost all of the new arrivals in the Oyster district are English-dominant. This means that for every IB English dominant who arrives, Oyster has to find a Spanish dominant from OOB. This is leading to gradual crowding (and I think it is not even 50/50 now - maybe 65% English dominant? There is a document about this problem on the school website if you are very interested.) The DME did two things to address this. First, expand the Oyster boundary to include an area which provides some more Spanish speakers (although a lot of it is pretty gentrified), and second, give an attractive English-only option which may be of interest to some IB families and will reduce the need to bring in more Spanish speakers via OOB to maintain the ratio.

None of the other dual language schools has an explicit ratio policy.

Francis-Stevens is hardly an attractive alternative.

Anonymous wrote:Why should anyone be worried about Oyster having an English only option?
The rest of us cannot choose Oyster as our bilingual option.
Oyster needs to serve their students.

The middle school has not been serving its advanced students. This can be changed, but who knows whether the administration will feel any obligation or commitment to do this. I worry that now that IB families have lost our attractive public alternative, the school will take even less interest in its students who need more stimulation.

So, what will they do about overcrowding at Ross? Seems silly to have switched out Eaton as the default.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last I checked, if you start elementary in O-A, there is not English-only backup. If you choose to leave O-A, your assigned school, you have to apply by lottery. Preference would be based on proximity to the MS.

Where is it stated that SWWFS is backup? The DCPS site has conflicting info about O-A feeding to Wilson vs Roosevelt. Cardozo idea was shut down.

Vote for Catania and you don't have to worry about being assigned to a lower-performing school.

A vote for Bowser means it all goes back to the table and nobody knows who's going to be at said table and Bowser has never set foot inside Oyster as far as I know.

You should read the implementation plan that was released on Halloween. Under that plan, FS-SWW is now Oyster's official English-school alternative. Wilson is still Oyster's IB high school. All Oyster graduates have a right to attend Wilson. However, if you would like to continue the dual language program, Oyster graduates also have a right to attend Roosevelt.

Yes, this is all correct.

This is happening for all dual language schools, but is especially good for Oyster. It has been hard in recent years to maintain the 50/50 native speaker split, because almost all of the new arrivals in the Oyster district are English-dominant. This means that for every IB English dominant who arrives, Oyster has to find a Spanish dominant from OOB. This is leading to gradual crowding (and I think it is not even 50/50 now - maybe 65% English dominant? There is a document about this problem on the school website if you are very interested.) The DME did two things to address this. First, expand the Oyster boundary to include an area which provides some more Spanish speakers (although a lot of it is pretty gentrified), and second, give an attractive English-only option which may be of interest to some IB families and will reduce the need to bring in more Spanish speakers via OOB to maintain the ratio.

None of the other dual language schools has an explicit ratio policy.

Why should anyone be worried about Oyster having an English only option?
The rest of us cannot choose Oyster as our bilingual option.
Oyster needs to serve their students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last I checked, if you start elementary in O-A, there is not English-only backup. If you choose to leave O-A, your assigned school, you have to apply by lottery. Preference would be based on proximity to the MS.

Where is it stated that SWWFS is backup? The DCPS site has conflicting info about O-A feeding to Wilson vs Roosevelt. Cardozo idea was shut down.

Vote for Catania and you don't have to worry about being assigned to a lower-performing school.

A vote for Bowser means it all goes back to the table and nobody knows who's going to be at said table and Bowser has never set foot inside Oyster as far as I know.

+1. Woodley Park and Kalorama Triangle families have been handed a lump of coal.

How so? The only thing that IB Oyster families lost was Deal. As an IB parent with a kid at Oyster, I happen to think that's a good thing. Perhaps now, Oyster will retain more students who would have left for Deal. Retention of long-time students, along with the positive curriculum changes the principal will make, will make Oyster's middle school even stronger. Btw, despite the rumors, Oyster's middle school is already good. We're committed to keeping our children at Oyster until 8th grade. I would like more parents at Oyster who share that commitment. Fence sitter and Dealphiles (my word) are welcome to start their kids off at a Deal feeder in PK or K.

Anonymous wrote:Last I checked, if you start elementary in O-A, there is not English-only backup. If you choose to leave O-A, your assigned school, you have to apply by lottery. Preference would be based on proximity to the MS.

Where is it stated that SWWFS is backup? The DCPS site has conflicting info about O-A feeding to Wilson vs Roosevelt. Cardozo idea was shut down.

Vote for Catania and you don't have to worry about being assigned to a lower-performing school.

A vote for Bowser means it all goes back to the table and nobody knows who's going to be at said table and Bowser has never set foot inside Oyster as far as I know.

You should read the implementation plan that was released on Halloween. Under that plan, FS-SWW is now Oyster's official English-school alternative. Wilson is still Oyster's IB high school. All Oyster graduates have a right to attend Wilson. However, if you would like to continue the dual language program, Oyster graduates also have a right to attend Roosevelt.

Anonymous wrote:Last I checked, if you start elementary in O-A, there is not English-only backup. If you choose to leave O-A, your assigned school, you have to apply by lottery. Preference would be based on proximity to the MS.

Where is it stated that SWWFS is backup? The DCPS site has conflicting info about O-A feeding to Wilson vs Roosevelt. Cardozo idea was shut down.

Vote for Catania and you don't have to worry about being assigned to a lower-performing school.

A vote for Bowser means it all goes back to the table and nobody knows who's going to be at said table and Bowser has never set foot inside Oyster as far as I know.

Yes, Catania and his magic wand will ensure that all children are above average and all schools are higher-performing than all other schools.

Anonymous wrote:Last I checked, if you start elementary in O-A, there is not English-only backup. If you choose to leave O-A, your assigned school, you have to apply by lottery. Preference would be based on proximity to the MS.

Where is it stated that SWWFS is backup? The DCPS site has conflicting info about O-A feeding to Wilson vs Roosevelt. Cardozo idea was shut down.

Vote for Catania and you don't have to worry about being assigned to a lower-performing school.

A vote for Bowser means it all goes back to the table and nobody knows who's going to be at said table and Bowser has never set foot inside Oyster as far as I know.

+1. Woodley Park and Kalorama Triangle families have been handed a lump of coal.

Last I checked, if you start elementary in O-A, there is not English-only backup. If you choose to leave O-A, your assigned school, you have to apply by lottery. Preference would be based on proximity to the MS.

Where is it stated that SWWFS is backup? The DCPS site has conflicting info about O-A feeding to Wilson vs Roosevelt. Cardozo idea was shut down.

Vote for Catania and you don't have to worry about being assigned to a lower-performing school.

A vote for Bowser means it all goes back to the table and nobody knows who's going to be at said table and Bowser has never set foot inside Oyster as far as I know.

Anonymous wrote:If your kid doesn't want to continue middle school in Spanish, is Hardy now the back-up English option?

No, it's Francis Stevens--SWW (based on the implementation report). At least that's the official alternative. I don't think that Oyster parents will have trouble getting their kids into Hardy (if that's what they want).

If your kid doesn't want to continue middle school in Spanish, is Hardy now the back-up English option?