personally, I'd cut it off at top 20

What languages meet the threshold for a DC charter? Here's a list of the top 130 languages ranked by the number of native speakers. Where's the cut-off?

Mandarin 845 million
Spanish 329 million
English 328 million
Hindi-Urdu 240 million
Arabic 206 million
Bengali 181 million
Portuguese 178 million
Russian 144 million (2002)
Japanese 122 million
Punjabi 109 million
German 118 million
Javanese 85 million
Wu 77 million
Marathi 75 million
Telugu 70 million
Vietnamese 69 million
French 68 million
Korean 66 million
Tamil 66 million
Italian 62 million
Yue 56 million
Turkish 51 million
Pashto 50 million
Min Nan 47 million
Gujarati 46 million
Polish 40 million
Persian 39 million
Bhojpuri 39 million
Awadhi 38 million
Ukrainian 37 million
Malay 37 million
Xiang 36 million
Malayalam 36 million
Kannada 35 million
Maithili 35 million
Sundanese 34 million
Burmese 32 million
Oriya 32 million
Marwari 31 million
Hakka 30 million
Thai 26 million
Hausa 25 million
Tagalog 24 million
Romanian 23 million
Dutch 22 million
Gan 21 million
Sindhi 21 million
Uzbek 20 million
Azerbaijani 20 million
Rajasthani 20 million
Lao–Isan 19 million
Yoruba 19 million
Igbo 18 million
Northern Berber 15–22 million
Amharic 17.5 million
Oromo 17 million
Chhattisgarhi 17.5 million
Assamese 16.8 million
Kurdish 16 million
Serbo-Croatian 16 million
Sinhalese 16 million
Cebuano 15.8 million
Rangpuri 15 million
Malagasy 15 million
Khmer 15 million
Zhuang 15 million
Sotho–Tswana 15 million
Nepali 14 million
Rwanda-Rundi 14 million
Somali 14 million
Madurese 14 million
Haryanvi 13 million
Fula 13 million
Bavarian 13 million
Magahi 13 million
Greek 13 million
Chittagonian 13 million
Deccan 12.8 million
Hungarian 12.5 million
Catalan 11.5 million
Bulgarian-Macedonian 11.2 million
Shona 10.8 million
Min Bei 10.3 million
Zulu 10.3 million
Sylheti 10 million
Czech 9.5 million
Kanauji 9.5 million
Min Dong 8.6 million
Lombard 9.1 million
Uyghur 8.9 million
Chewa 8.7 million
Belarusian 8.6 million
Kazakh 8.3 million
Swedish 8.3 million
Akan 8.3 million
Makuwa 8.0 million
Tatar-Bashkir 7.9 million
Bagheli 7.9 million
Xhosa 7.8 million
Haitian 7.7 million
Konkani 7.6 million
Albanian 7.5 million
Gikuyu 7.2 million
Neapolitan 7.0 million
Ilokano 7.0 million
Balochi 7.0 million
Southern Quechua 6.9 million
Batak 6.8 million
Turkmen Turkic 6.6 million
Mossi-Dagomba 6.4 million
Armenian 6.4 million
Sukuma-Nyamwezi 6.4 million
Tshiluba 6.3 million
Santali 6.2 million
Venetian 6.2 million
Kongo 6 million
Hiligaynon 5.8 million
Tigrinya 5.8 million
Mongolian 5.7 million
Bhili 5.6 million
Danish 5.6 million
Minangkabau 5.5 million
Kashmiri 5.6 million
Hebrew 5.3 million
Finnish 5.1 million
Slovak 5.0 million
Afrikaans 4.9 million
Guarani 4.9 million
Many many more . . .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only spends money if your kid needs help passing NCLB. Presumably, most of the kids at a Hebrew charter would be able to pass NCLB with flying colors. As others have said, there's an argument for spending money to keep middle class kids in the DCPS system, but DCPS probably figures it already has that covered, if inadequately, with JLKM, Latin, Banneker, Walls, and that ilk.

So as an exercise, in preparation for the charter application, can somebody explain why:
(1) DCPS should allocate money to kids who will already pass NCLB with flying colors, and
(2) how taking these kids out of other NW schools would not increase the risk these other schools will fail to make AYP the following year?

Latin isn't DCPS. Neither is YY. That's part of the bitterness?

Duh. But they're options available to any wealthy family in DC, no?

Should it become available, the option of Washington Hebrew would available to any family in DC, wealthy or otherwise, regardless of religion.

Can you follow the argument being made above? Can you see how your point is a non sequitur? (Are you going to call me nasty names now?)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only spends money if your kid needs help passing NCLB. Presumably, most of the kids at a Hebrew charter would be able to pass NCLB with flying colors. As others have said, there's an argument for spending money to keep middle class kids in the DCPS system, but DCPS probably figures it already has that covered, if inadequately, with JLKM, Latin, Banneker, Walls, and that ilk.

So as an exercise, in preparation for the charter application, can somebody explain why:
(1) DCPS should allocate money to kids who will already pass NCLB with flying colors, and
(2) how taking these kids out of other NW schools would not increase the risk these other schools will fail to make AYP the following year?

Latin isn't DCPS. Neither is YY. That's part of the bitterness?

Duh. But they're options available to any wealthy family in DC, no?

Should it become available, the option of Washington Hebrew would available to any family in DC, wealthy or otherwise, regardless of religion.

Errr... Don't a huge majority of religious people believe that belonging to their religion makes them "God's Chosen People"? After all, if someone else's religion is "God's Chosen People" to your way thinking, wouldn't you convert? How are Jews somehow offensive by this belief?

Jews are not offended by what other religions think. In fact, one of the reasons they don't prosthelytize is that they believe there are many paths to the divine. So far, none of the posters arguing about this concept seem to have any idea what this phrase actually means and should probably spend a few years researching the concept (beyond wikipedia).

Not sure this is getting us anywhere. Nor should it, because some philosophical/theological questions are unanswerable.

Ignore the crazy poster. Trading crude insults won't get us any closer to understanding the proposed charter school.

FYI - the idea of being chosen is not like a prize or lottery. It doesn't mean that if you are chosen then are good or right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I guess you and Hitler have a lot in common then. Just go ahead and blame them for the fortunes/misfortunes of birth.

You need to take a deep breath. And maybe a valium.

On what planet do you think it's OK to harass people and then get outrageously offensive when they argue back? The grownups were having a civilized conversation, and you need to participate as a mature person, or stop participating in the conversation.

What she needs to do is tell us about catholic whorehouses again. She's insane, really.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only spends money if your kid needs help passing NCLB. Presumably, most of the kids at a Hebrew charter would be able to pass NCLB with flying colors. As others have said, there's an argument for spending money to keep middle class kids in the DCPS system, but DCPS probably figures it already has that covered, if inadequately, with JLKM, Latin, Banneker, Walls, and that ilk.

So as an exercise, in preparation for the charter application, can somebody explain why:
(1) DCPS should allocate money to kids who will already pass NCLB with flying colors, and
(2) how taking these kids out of other NW schools would not increase the risk these other schools will fail to make AYP the following year?

Latin isn't DCPS. Neither is YY. That's part of the bitterness?

Duh. But they're options available to any wealthy family in DC, no?

Anonymous wrote:

I guess you and Hitler have a lot in common then. Just go ahead and blame them for the fortunes/misfortunes of birth.

You need to take a deep breath. And maybe a valium.

On what planet do you think it's OK to harass people and then get outrageously offensive when they argue back? The grownups were having a civilized conversation, and you need to participate as a mature person, or stop participating in the conversation.

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only spends money if your kid needs help passing NCLB. Presumably, most of the kids at a Hebrew charter would be able to pass NCLB with flying colors. As others have said, there's an argument for spending money to keep middle class kids in the DCPS system, but DCPS probably figures it already has that covered, if inadequately, with JLKM, Latin, Banneker, Walls, and that ilk.

So as an exercise, in preparation for the charter application, can somebody explain why:
(1) DCPS should allocate money to kids who will already pass NCLB with flying colors, and
(2) how taking these kids out of other NW schools would not increase the risk these other schools will fail to make AYP the following year?

Latin isn't DCPS. Neither is YY. That's part of the bitterness?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not concerned that the Hebrew school will teach religion or that it will proselitize. I'm concerned that it is using a language only attractive to a small religious minority as a pretense for a public charter school.

I don't doubt that the proposal for the Hebrew school is constitutionally sound; that doesn't mean it meets an educational need in DC.

It is against Jewish religious law to proselytize. You should learn something about Judaism before you fear it.

Wait, the only way you can become jewish, and feel secure that you're one of God's chosen people, is to be born into it, right? And that's a good thing?

(Sorry, but your comment is so darn off-the mark, and enough of you are out there trashing other religions anyway, that you asked for this.)

Errr... Don't a huge majority of religious people believe that belonging to their religion makes them "God's Chosen People"? After all, if someone else's religion is "God's Chosen People" to your way thinking, wouldn't you convert? How are Jews somehow offensive by this belief? Traditional Mormonism hold that babies who die before they're baptized (at around age 5) can't go to Heaven.

There's nothing really offensive about this belief. It's not like the Jews go out and bomb infidels.

I'm a little scared of the anti-semitism in any suggestions otherwise. Guess what? You can convert to Judaism! Just ask Sammy Davis Jr.!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It is, as a matter of fact. It is vastly superior to conversation at the point of a sword, being burnt at the stake, or being bombed in a cafe in Tel Aviv, but at least you're a baby so your death is collateral damage and you'll be accepted into Heaven.

I'll take Jewish lack of proselytization any day of the week, thank you very much.

Oh, and I'm not Jewish.

A person is superior to everybody else -- one of God's chosen people -- only because of birth. Everybody else is doomed and has no possibility of becoming chosen, because it's already too late for everybody else.

The flaw in your tirade above is that you don't even mention choice in religion. Which is everything, in my book.

I guess you and Hitler have a lot in common then. Just go ahead and blame them for the fortunes/misfortunes of birth.

Thanks for the lesson in acronyms. Yes, I know NCLB is a law, in fact I work for Congress. Lots of people refer to the "NCLB tests" as shorthand, as no doubt you're aware.

Apparently I'm not a complete pedant like you. Thank goodness!

You know what my point is, don't play coy. Can you answer any of the questions, using whatever acronyms please you best?

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only spends money if your kid needs help passing NCLB. Presumably, most of the kids at a Hebrew charter would be able to pass NCLB with flying colors. As others have said, there's an argument for spending money to keep middle class kids in the DCPS system, but DCPS probably figures it already has that covered, if inadequately, with JLKM (PTAs privately fund most extras, not DCPS), Latin (charter, not DCPS), Banneker (49% low income, Walls [/b]competitive citywide application, class/boundary don't guarantee entry), and that ilk.

So as an exercise, in preparation for the charter application, can somebody explain why:
(1) DCPS should allocate money to kids who will already pass NCLB with flying colors, [b](DCPS would not because it would be a charter school) and
(2) how taking these kids out of other NW schools would not increase the risk these other schools will fail to make AYP the following year? (This assumes students are already in those schools. Also, this doesn't factor that AYP is often determined by results of "subgroups" of non-white minorities, limited English speakers, and special education/disabled students. Apparently these aren't the same as the "smart Jewish kids" people seem to think would populate a Hebrew charter.)

You might want to read up on acronyms and educational definitions in DC.

NCLB is a law. It is not a test. I assume you're referring to DC CAS standardized tests for all publicly-funded schools, charter and DCPS. DC CAS tests are not "pass/fail". There are tiers from below basic to advanced. Perhaps you're referring to achieving AYP, adequate yearly progress, versus "passing" DC CAS.

DCPS is required to spend money on students with IEPs (special education) and in Title I schools based on laws that predate NCLB. These are not necessarily the same students who are "failing" DC CAS, but in some cases they are. Therefore, yes, DCPS is spending money on kids who haven't reached proficiency on DC CAS.

Your use of DCPS is unclear. It seems like you are simultaneously referring to a) OSSE, the "statewide" superintendent for all forms of education (but not budgets); b) the DC Public School System (DCPS) which only covers 60% of public school students; c) DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) which approves and oversees the dozens of independent charter schools that cover the other 40% of public school kids with absolutely no connection to DCPS (Washington Latin is a public charter school); and d) DC taxpayers.

OP, could you rephrase what your point is?