DCUM Forum

Anonymous

02/12/2013 13:44 Subject: Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Them?

Anonymous wrote:thank goodness for Mundo Verde! I'm sure YY is great for people who want the "private school" feel, but I as completely turned off by YY administration. This is all so crazy, glad I'm not a part of the YY community. I am nervous about MV joining forces with YY for middle school, but I am confident in the MV administration that they will continue the MV mission and dodge some of YY's questionable practices.

I am not a YY or MV (or LAMB) parent, but neither am I going to base my opinions on their administrations solely on what I read on DCUM. If you have personal experience with these questionable practices, feel free to share.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 13:41 Subject: Re:Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Th

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We can afford a more serious school where our input is more likely to be valued, and can find the Mandarin elsewhere.

Curious where you can find Mandarin elsewhere. I have looked and can't seem to find it. Most schools teach language as a subject among many (i.e. Brent, Thompson, Sidwell), but if your kid is coming from Immersion or speaks Mandarin at home there is not much available.

There have been several mentions of MoCo Chinese programs, I don't know a thing about them but apparently they exist and are much much more welcoming of Cantonese speakers than YY. But I don't know if the MoCo programs address what you're asking, which is the immersion/bilingual track all the way through (as opposed to just classes).

From what I've heard, the MoCo Chinese programs lets kids test-in for any open spots, any grade, unlike Yu Ying which will accept anyone via lottery, no testing for proficiency, for any open spots up to 2nd grade. Even in MoCo, people apply via lottery but there is no preferences given to native speakers for K - the starting grade for immersion. Since the other options are so much better in MoCo, the Chinese immersion program only attracts people who are interested in Chinese - not people who are escaping crappy schools, thus more native speakers and people who have a strong connection to China.

MoCo also has much much better school options so many of the kids who start in immersion will transfer out to G&T in 3rd grade or later leaving spots which are filled by test-in kids.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 13:40 Subject: Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Them?

thank goodness for Mundo Verde! I'm sure YY is great for people who want the "private school" feel, but I as completely turned off by YY administration. This is all so crazy, glad I'm not a part of the YY community. I am nervous about MV joining forces with YY for middle school, but I am confident in the MV administration that they will continue the MV mission and dodge some of YY's questionable practices.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 13:31 Subject: Re:Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Th

Anonymous wrote:Disgusting and cheating are a narrow-minded YY take. Lamb administrators and parents have shown a willingness to buck a bad system to draw in the native speakers they need to serve their students and community well. The parents aren't complaining, so why are you? You're sure that few native speakers means the greater good is served?

More power to 'em for their cheatin' ways.

We part company there. If you think breaking the law is good idea, keep on keeping on. It's not how I live, how I want to raise my children, or where I want to be. I may not like the law, but it's still the law and until it is changed I'm not interested in breaking it.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 13:22 Subject: Re:Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Th

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We can afford a more serious school where our input is more likely to be valued, and can find the Mandarin elsewhere.

Curious where you can find Mandarin elsewhere. I have looked and can't seem to find it. Most schools teach language as a subject among many (i.e. Brent, Thompson, Sidwell), but if your kid is coming from Immersion or speaks Mandarin at home there is not much available.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 11:56 Subject: Re:Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Th

Anonymous wrote:

We can afford a more serious school where our input is more likely to be valued, and can find the Mandarin elsewhere.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 11:37 Subject: Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Them?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lamb still cheats the system.

Wow. Disgusting!

What's disgusting is that DC, running one of the country's lowest-performing school districts, doesn't have the good sense to do what's done in high-performing school districts. This would include doing its best to ensure that language immersion programs are dual immersion for the sake of the kids! Disgusting for the powers that be to bully charter schools into doing what doesn't work well.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 11:31 Subject: Re:Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Th

Disgusting and cheating are a narrow-minded YY take. Lamb administrators and parents have shown a willingness to buck a bad system to draw in the native speakers they need to serve their students and community well. The parents aren't complaining, so why are you? You're sure that few native speakers means the greater good is served?

More power to 'em for their cheatin' ways.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 11:08 Subject: Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Them?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lamb still cheats the system.

Great! Logical choice, serving students. Lamb parents are committed enough to attracting a critical mass of bilingual kids that you don't hear many complaints. With media coverage and a united front, the immersion schools would have a shot at convincing dcpc to make it much easier for programs to attract native speakers. Each charter board member should be handed a stack of academic studies proving that 2-way/dual immersion produces better outcomes than 1-way, and invited to attend the big dual-immersion schools conference held out West every spring. The need to "cheat" the system to promote high standards is a political issue, and politics is a work in progress.

Wow. Disgusting!

Anonymous

02/12/2013 11:04 Subject: Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Them?

Anonymous wrote:Lamb still cheats the system.

Great! Logical choice, serving students. Lamb parents are committed enough to attracting a critical mass of bilingual kids that you don't hear many complaints. With media coverage and a united front, the immersion schools would have a shot at convincing dcpc to make it much easier for programs to attract native speakers. Each charter board member should be handed a stack of academic studies proving that 2-way/dual immersion produces better outcomes than 1-way, and invited to attend the big dual-immersion schools conference held out West every spring. The need to "cheat" the system to promote high standards is a political issue, and politics is a work in progress.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 07:25 Subject: Re:Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Th

+1. We make the best of things because we can't afford privates and don't want to move. We considered relocating for one of the moco chinese immersion programs (we're not chinese) but our commutes would have become unworkable. YY is just ok.

Anonymous

02/12/2013 07:10 Subject: Re:Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Th

Why go private now. Did the school not measure up?

If you really want to know, Chinese instruction isn't our concern. We both studied some in college and DC's Mandarin seems fine. But we agree with PPs who think that these admins are not the right ones, and that having so few bilingual kids at YY is a problem (but disagree with those claiming that the lottery and small number of native speakers in the District explain the tiny number).

We're tired of hearing about the lovely, welcoming atmosphere when we voice concerns. It's an in-bred school where constructive criticism tends to be viewed as dissent. We're busy professionals without the stamina to challenge. Above all, we're not happy with the non-Chinese curriculum. You can't speak freely about the issues when most of the children who struggle are low-SES AA. I don't believe that such kids, other than a few gifted ones, belong in a Chinese immersion school, and don't like the way DCPC lets in many then fails to provide those it has with the inputs needed to thrive. It all sounds wonderful, but isn't a practical approach. Our kid is already bored too much in classes disrupted by rowdy kids who can't handle the work.

It's a like it or lump it program and most parents do love it, at least before around 3rd grade. Sidwell or wherever for us with our spot remainining empty when a Chinese-speaking kid could take it if the calculus weren't absurdly politicized. We can afford a more serious school where our input is more likely to be valued, and can find the Mandarin elsewhere.

Anonymous

02/11/2013 23:04 Subject: Re:Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Th

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So dude, you got in? So all the dialect speakers can arrange a meeting with the VP so they can jump the line...

Yes, in. Don't know if the dialect speakers get the same treatment, doubt it, since no one in admin speaks a dialect. The "meeting" was in Mandarin (I also speak a dialect, but not my child). Planning to go private for 2nd or 3rd, so our spot will stay empty for several years unless something changes. Ridiculous when we know Mandarin-speaking kids whose parents would take it.

If thinking that YY could be friendlier to native speakers to boost enrollment of bilingual kids makes me a crazy, I'll go with that.

This does not surprise me and I'm generally pro YY. Which class? Prior to the current preK, YY has gone through their entire waitlist for preK so any favoritism like what happened to you really made no difference. At least this will make "let's recruit more native speakers" people happy.

Not true. I can't speak to other classes, but this year's 1st grade class (students who entered PreK in Fall of 2010) definitely did not go through the waitlist. We have some friends who were in the 20s and they never got a call, even once the September shuffle started.

Then your friends missed the email and phone calls, we were on the waitlist, 20ties, and currently in 1st and we got off the waitlist in May that yr. I don't know how far into the waitlist they went into that yr but know people in the 80ties who got in.

I know a family who really, really wanted Yu Ying and didn't get in that year. Fortunately, they learned about the 1st-in-line lottery system and were able to get in from the top of the waitlist the following year (last year's Kindergarten). They are at the school now and love it, but would have loved even more to have been there in PreK. They definitely didn't miss a call or email, they had been hoping for it all summer long.