Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with most of this, also have a 3rd grader.

I do not feel as positive about the administration as you do. We did try to lottery out for Oyster Adams just in case.

But the last line is worth calling out as to why stay: -Our kids are happy and don't want to move.

Anecdote from DCI: LAMB kids seem to do just fine there and certainly not worse than other school cohorts; in fact they may actually be doing better. They must be learning something in upper el, but I'd love a more rigorous school with more structure in those upper grades.

Anonymous wrote:We have a 1st and 3rd grader at LAMB.

The big thing about LAMB: If you're going to be happy there post pre-k, you have to really embrace a bilingual Montessori education. So my first advice: it's worth spending time outside of DCUM researching the Montessori pedagogy and making sure you really 'get' it. There are good articles and books out there. 

Truly a lot of what makes LAMB and Montessori amazing ALSO can at times drive me crazy. 

So here is just a list of thoughts / experience 
- Very well resourced school, strong community, kind, creative, and welcoming kids, behavioral issues are low (not nonexistent) 
-Combined age classes allow kids to learn from each other and flex up or down on content. It also means that kids have real friendships across grades (and there is some research that multi age classrooms in elementary school reduces bullying).
-Kids are with the same teachers from 1st-3rd (and 4th-5th). Plus there are 2 teachers in every classroom (ratio of 2:25). This means the teachers know the kids EXTREMELY well and there is almost no friction at the beginning of the year (except transition yeras). 
-That said, there is variable quality in some of the teachers, probably not more dramatic than other schools, but you can feel it more accutely if you are with the same teacher for 3 years (though I do know kids who have switched classes)
- The kids learn in small group sessions within the classroom (no teacher at blackboard in front of room), reinforced with hands on learning of materials ("work cycles")
-This means the kids get a lot of attention when they are in the small group session, but the work cycles require a lot of self-discipline and executive functioning 

 In terms of LAMB itself, our experience with the administration has been positive, the facilities are gorgeous, and we've been impressed at the increased focus on 'teaching to the test' on math + reading in interventionists settings to supplement in-class room learning

All that said: have we found it to be a highly rigorous, demanding academic environment? Definitely not. My husband and I have debated moving our 3rd grader who probably would benefit from being pushed more. But at the end of the day we are staying because:
-For elementary school, we believe that the pros of the incredible environment (and the Montessori conceptual thinking) outweigh the cons of the (lack) of academic rigor (we figure they will catch up at DCI)
-The school is 10/10 for social emotional learning and teaching friendships / being kind and in this world that matters so much
-We like the low screen use 
-We like the Spanish
-Our kids are happy and don't want to move 

Counterpoint: I absolutely hear the opposite about LAMB kids at DCI.

Sure, Jan. We can tell you're totally not just making that up.

Anonymous wrote:I will note that my dear friends who are LAMB parents- their kids are on level and fine at DCI, but there is and was a lot of parent drama there. Relatively easy to avoid, but can be a thing even compared to other DC schools.

I'm getting that vibe from the 23 page DCI parent petition thread that is over two months old haha. My hope is that the parent drama will pass soon! The school seems great.

I will note that my dear friends who are LAMB parents- their kids are on level and fine at DCI, but there is and was a lot of parent drama there. Relatively easy to avoid, but can be a thing even compared to other DC schools.

Anonymous wrote:I agree with most of this, also have a 3rd grader.

I do not feel as positive about the administration as you do. We did try to lottery out for Oyster Adams just in case.

But the last line is worth calling out as to why stay: -Our kids are happy and don't want to move.

Anecdote from DCI: LAMB kids seem to do just fine there and certainly not worse than other school cohorts; in fact they may actually be doing better. They must be learning something in upper el, but I'd love a more rigorous school with more structure in those upper grades.

Anonymous wrote:We have a 1st and 3rd grader at LAMB.

The big thing about LAMB: If you're going to be happy there post pre-k, you have to really embrace a bilingual Montessori education. So my first advice: it's worth spending time outside of DCUM researching the Montessori pedagogy and making sure you really 'get' it. There are good articles and books out there. 

Truly a lot of what makes LAMB and Montessori amazing ALSO can at times drive me crazy. 

So here is just a list of thoughts / experience 
- Very well resourced school, strong community, kind, creative, and welcoming kids, behavioral issues are low (not nonexistent) 
-Combined age classes allow kids to learn from each other and flex up or down on content. It also means that kids have real friendships across grades (and there is some research that multi age classrooms in elementary school reduces bullying).
-Kids are with the same teachers from 1st-3rd (and 4th-5th). Plus there are 2 teachers in every classroom (ratio of 2:25). This means the teachers know the kids EXTREMELY well and there is almost no friction at the beginning of the year (except transition yeras). 
-That said, there is variable quality in some of the teachers, probably not more dramatic than other schools, but you can feel it more accutely if you are with the same teacher for 3 years (though I do know kids who have switched classes)
- The kids learn in small group sessions within the classroom (no teacher at blackboard in front of room), reinforced with hands on learning of materials ("work cycles")
-This means the kids get a lot of attention when they are in the small group session, but the work cycles require a lot of self-discipline and executive functioning 

 In terms of LAMB itself, our experience with the administration has been positive, the facilities are gorgeous, and we've been impressed at the increased focus on 'teaching to the test' on math + reading in interventionists settings to supplement in-class room learning

All that said: have we found it to be a highly rigorous, demanding academic environment? Definitely not. My husband and I have debated moving our 3rd grader who probably would benefit from being pushed more. But at the end of the day we are staying because:
-For elementary school, we believe that the pros of the incredible environment (and the Montessori conceptual thinking) outweigh the cons of the (lack) of academic rigor (we figure they will catch up at DCI)
-The school is 10/10 for social emotional learning and teaching friendships / being kind and in this world that matters so much
-We like the low screen use 
-We like the Spanish
-Our kids are happy and don't want to move 

Counterpoint: I absolutely hear the opposite about LAMB kids at DCI.

Anonymous wrote:I agree lamb is not especially rigorous, which is why I opted to supplement heavily at 4/5th grade for all of my kids. Writing is a serious weakness and I’m glad I spent the money to ensure that. I did not think my inbounds dcps (highly regarded) was any more rigorous than lamb so we considered Maryland or Virginia. But dci turned out to be great so we are glad we spent the money on moving and stuck with it.

LAMB could solve a lot of its problems if it rethought its fourth and fifth grade curriculum to make it less Montessori and more like a traditional school.

I agree lamb is not especially rigorous, which is why I opted to supplement heavily at 4/5th grade for all of my kids. Writing is a serious weakness and I’m glad I spent the money to ensure that. I did not think my inbounds dcps (highly regarded) was any more rigorous than lamb so we considered Maryland or Virginia. But dci turned out to be great so we are glad we spent the money on moving and stuck with it.

I agree with most of this, also have a 3rd grader.

I do not feel as positive about the administration as you do. We did try to lottery out for Oyster Adams just in case.

But the last line is worth calling out as to why stay: -Our kids are happy and don't want to move.

Anecdote from DCI: LAMB kids seem to do just fine there and certainly not worse than other school cohorts; in fact they may actually be doing better. They must be learning something in upper el, but I'd love a more rigorous school with more structure in those upper grades.

Anonymous wrote:We have a 1st and 3rd grader at LAMB.

The big thing about LAMB: If you're going to be happy there post pre-k, you have to really embrace a bilingual Montessori education. So my first advice: it's worth spending time outside of DCUM researching the Montessori pedagogy and making sure you really 'get' it. There are good articles and books out there. 

Truly a lot of what makes LAMB and Montessori amazing ALSO can at times drive me crazy. 

So here is just a list of thoughts / experience 
- Very well resourced school, strong community, kind, creative, and welcoming kids, behavioral issues are low (not nonexistent) 
-Combined age classes allow kids to learn from each other and flex up or down on content. It also means that kids have real friendships across grades (and there is some research that multi age classrooms in elementary school reduces bullying).
-Kids are with the same teachers from 1st-3rd (and 4th-5th). Plus there are 2 teachers in every classroom (ratio of 2:25). This means the teachers know the kids EXTREMELY well and there is almost no friction at the beginning of the year (except transition yeras). 
-That said, there is variable quality in some of the teachers, probably not more dramatic than other schools, but you can feel it more accutely if you are with the same teacher for 3 years (though I do know kids who have switched classes)
- The kids learn in small group sessions within the classroom (no teacher at blackboard in front of room), reinforced with hands on learning of materials ("work cycles")
-This means the kids get a lot of attention when they are in the small group session, but the work cycles require a lot of self-discipline and executive functioning 

 In terms of LAMB itself, our experience with the administration has been positive, the facilities are gorgeous, and we've been impressed at the increased focus on 'teaching to the test' on math + reading in interventionists settings to supplement in-class room learning

All that said: have we found it to be a highly rigorous, demanding academic environment? Definitely not. My husband and I have debated moving our 3rd grader who probably would benefit from being pushed more. But at the end of the day we are staying because:
-For elementary school, we believe that the pros of the incredible environment (and the Montessori conceptual thinking) outweigh the cons of the (lack) of academic rigor (we figure they will catch up at DCI)
-The school is 10/10 for social emotional learning and teaching friendships / being kind and in this world that matters so much
-We like the low screen use 
-We like the Spanish
-Our kids are happy and don't want to move 

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I assume any kid transferring out of lamb is doing so because it’s not working and they’re below grade level. People switching to Latin or basis is a different story.

Why assume that? They may be transferring because the school isn’t rigorous enough for their above-grade-level child.

LAMB parent here. I have never heard of anyone doing that. If people leave early, it's usually because the Spanish is too much or because their kid needs more structure or the family is leaving DC or they're going to Latin or BASIS.

No one will tell you that the school you chose for your kids isn’t good enough for their kids.

It's a relatively small community and people gossip. If it was actually happening, you'd hear it through the grapevine. You can also just look at the numbers. LAMB doesn't backfill so it was happening, it would be evident in the numbers.

The school does lose students in upper EL. The 4th and 5th grade classes are smaller than other classes. If you lol at enrollment data there is 76 in 2nd, 72 in 3rd, 59 in 4th and 51 in 5th. That is starting at 80 in lower El. I doubt that many get into basis or Latin but obviously kids do leave.

I think there's a number who leave for BASIS and especially Latin. If people are going to move for good, i.e. leave DC, they're also probably going to do it in elementary school rather than middle or high school.

It's a Montessori, so kids are encouraged to do their own thing. In one of my kids' classes, the kids would compete to see who could be the furthest above grade level. We'd hear about how so-and-so is reading at a sixth grade level but some other kid is doing seventh grade math and reading at sixth grade so they're the most ahead. I get the sense that DCPS tends to do lowest-common-denominator-type stuff, but that doesn't happen in Montessori where kids of widely differing abilities are in the same class and it's no big deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I assume any kid transferring out of lamb is doing so because it’s not working and they’re below grade level. People switching to Latin or basis is a different story.

Why assume that? They may be transferring because the school isn’t rigorous enough for their above-grade-level child.

LAMB parent here. I have never heard of anyone doing that. If people leave early, it's usually because the Spanish is too much or because their kid needs more structure or the family is leaving DC or they're going to Latin or BASIS.

No one will tell you that the school you chose for your kids isn’t good enough for their kids.

It's a relatively small community and people gossip. If it was actually happening, you'd hear it through the grapevine. You can also just look at the numbers. LAMB doesn't backfill so it was happening, it would be evident in the numbers.

The school does lose students in upper EL. The 4th and 5th grade classes are smaller than other classes. If you lol at enrollment data there is 76 in 2nd, 72 in 3rd, 59 in 4th and 51 in 5th. That is starting at 80 in lower El. I doubt that many get into basis or Latin but obviously kids do leave.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher who has had LAMB students transfer to my school throughout the years. They have all come below grade level. Most of the parents are extremely confused because for years they have been told their child was performing on grade level/doing well. That is not the case when they are in a regular classroom with standard learning. It’s been very eye opening for the parents. Many of the children lack foundational skills and struggle. I’d be very careful in the upper grades and would consider a tutor/outside educational opportunities if my child attended.

100%. I'm a teacher who has seen many kids transfer from Montessori schools and this is exactly my experience as well. A lot of them specifically seem to struggle with writing tasks.

I was the one who originally responded with the 1st- and 3rd-grader.

I don't doubt your experience at all. But I think one of the genuinely hard things about LAMB, or any Montessori school, is teasing apart how much of a child appearing "below grade level" is the school lacking academic rigor, versus the kids simply learning fundamentally different things than what a traditional classroom teaches.

There's a lot of data suggesting that Montessori kids (even from the most academically rigorous Montessori schools) struggle in their first year transitioning to a traditional classroom. That can look like being below grade level while they catch up on content and memorization they didn't get in Montessori. But the data equally shows these kids catch up extremely quickly, and in math and science often surpass their peers, because the conceptual thinking and learning skills Montessori builds in early elementary can look like falling behind when really they're just learning different things, supplemented with content later.

So the real question is that what's happening at LAMB? My honest read is that two things are true at once.
1. It's a Montessori school, and the kids are learning different things. Plenty of them are doing just fine academically and might have a rocky transition to a new school, but that's because they've been spending their energy on different skills, which is the point of Montessori.

2. and this is the part the 100%, ride-or-die LAMB parents won't say — I also don't think LAMB is especially academically rigorous. Some of that is the bilingual model and some of it is that they genuinely pride themselves on not being a high-pressure environment, which can mean kids don't feel the academic pressure you might expect. I'm truly not sure exactly where the line is.

So even though I really do love LAMB, I'm not overly defending LAMB's academics here. As I've said, I haven't found it especially rigorous either. But there's real nuance in what "on grade level" even means, because the definition depends entirely on the curriculum you're measuring against. If what you want as a parent is to check the box of progress against a curriculum that looks like the one you grew up with, LAMB might not be the right fit.

Again: For us, the pros have majorly outweighed the cons. We recognize LAMB is giving our kids a ton right now that they wouldn't get at a traditional public elementary and at this point in their childhood, that matters more to us than an overly academic environment. I do think that needs to shift by 5th grade, which is why a lot of parents supplement heavily that year.

Then by middle school DCI is quite rigorous and the kids catch up, event though it may take a year to get there, and that's okay.

So the question is really not whether LAMB is a good school or not, but whether LAMB is the right school for you and your family. Because really the pros are magical and unlike anything I've seen at other schools - and the cons are ones that a lot of people feel are solveable.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry for the novel above. I just am going to miss lamb despite all my issues with it, and was in my feelings!

Appreciate your candid input!

Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher who has had LAMB students transfer to my school throughout the years. They have all come below grade level. Most of the parents are extremely confused because for years they have been told their child was performing on grade level/doing well. That is not the case when they are in a regular classroom with standard learning. It’s been very eye opening for the parents. Many of the children lack foundational skills and struggle. I’d be very careful in the upper grades and would consider a tutor/outside educational opportunities if my child attended.

100%. I'm a teacher who has seen many kids transfer from Montessori schools and this is exactly my experience as well. A lot of them specifically seem to struggle with writing tasks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I assume any kid transferring out of lamb is doing so because it’s not working and they’re below grade level. People switching to Latin or basis is a different story.

Why assume that? They may be transferring because the school isn’t rigorous enough for their above-grade-level child.

LAMB parent here. I have never heard of anyone doing that. If people leave early, it's usually because the Spanish is too much or because their kid needs more structure or the family is leaving DC or they're going to Latin or BASIS.

No one will tell you that the school you chose for your kids isn’t good enough for their kids.

It's a relatively small community and people gossip. If it was actually happening, you'd hear it through the grapevine. You can also just look at the numbers. LAMB doesn't backfill so it was happening, it would be evident in the numbers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I assume any kid transferring out of lamb is doing so because it’s not working and they’re below grade level. People switching to Latin or basis is a different story.

Why assume that? They may be transferring because the school isn’t rigorous enough for their above-grade-level child.

LAMB parent here. I have never heard of anyone doing that. If people leave early, it's usually because the Spanish is too much or because their kid needs more structure or the family is leaving DC or they're going to Latin or BASIS.

No one will tell you that the school you chose for your kids isn’t good enough for their kids.