Anonymous
Post 01/08/2014 20:08     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The core problem with a bilingual program is that the students who will come in native/home speakers live in Columbia Hts, Adams Morgan/Lanier Hts, Mt Pleasant, Park View, and Ward 4. So you will be starting a program like that at Tyler, with no native speakers if in SE Ward 6.

With no Spanish speaking population. Or any other second language population nearby, I might recommend French as a dual language program. I think the Hill would go for it.


There are absolutely native speakers of Spanish in Ward 6, or near native speakers, just not many poor immigrant Latinos at all. I know half a dozen Hill families who mainly speak Spanish at home with little kids whose names sit on the Tyler SI waiting lists for PreS3 and Prek4. The circumstances of the parents vary - one dad is a diplomat, another a former Peace Corps volunteer, another a medical professional who became fluent in Spanish as a teen and adult, another a journalist from Europe.

French wouldn't be a good choice - Stokes has trouble retaining kids. Not much demand - many of us who studied French in high school wish we'd gone with Spanish.

I'd much rather see the Tyler SI program displace the Tyler Traditional program, because the latter has very few IB kids. The Traditional program kids could be moved to Payne, which is 2/3 OOB and has significantly higher test scores. Almost everybody would be better off.

What?? You are saying that the traditional program kids are OOB? Its wishful thinking! The OOB kids are from Potomac Gardens, which is zoned for Tyler. I know why you want them out of Tyler, they and lower SES rougher kids. I get that. But do not lie about them being OOB. You all, in the SI program invaded their neighborhood.

Also, you want an entire SI school at Tyler? Step one would be retain students. What is it, the 5th grade class has less than 10 kids now?


Anonymous
Post 01/08/2014 20:03     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Terrible idea to do SI at Van Ness. There is already an SI school, Tyler just blocks away so we will not pull as many out of boundary kids.
Also, having a successful SI program requires tons of leg work. Finding native speakers, ELL students, a comprehensive plan for dual language... Very few (if any) schools in the district do this well.
IB for Van Ness is a way better fit. If you want SI, go to an existing school and give it a whirl.
Anonymous
Post 12/29/2013 21:01     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Yeah on the tour stokes said French was more popular than Spanish among applicants. Makes sense I suppose since there are other Spanish options but not French as far s I've heard.
Anonymous
Post 12/29/2013 07:43     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The core problem with a bilingual program is that the students who will come in native/home speakers live in Columbia Hts, Adams Morgan/Lanier Hts, Mt Pleasant, Park View, and Ward 4. So you will be starting a program like that at Tyler, with no native speakers if in SE Ward 6.

With no Spanish speaking population. Or any other second language population nearby, I might recommend French as a dual language program. I think the Hill would go for it.


There are absolutely native speakers of Spanish in Ward 6, or near native speakers, just not many poor immigrant Latinos at all. I know half a dozen Hill families who mainly speak Spanish at home with little kids whose names sit on the Tyler SI waiting lists for PreS3 and Prek4. The circumstances of the parents vary - one dad is a diplomat, another a former Peace Corps volunteer, another a medical professional who became fluent in Spanish as a teen and adult, another a journalist from Europe.

French wouldn't be a good choice - Stokes has trouble retaining kids. Not much demand - many of us who studied French in high school wish we'd gone with Spanish.

I'd much rather see the Tyler SI program displace the Tyler Traditional program, because the latter has very few IB kids. The Traditional program kids could be moved to Payne, which is 2/3 OOB and has significantly higher test scores. Almost everybody would be better off.




What a load! Where did you hear this ridiculous BS. Stokes does not have trouble retaining kids in French. It might have in the past, but with the baby boom and the current influx of younger kids, people are trying to break down Stokes' doors to get in their French. And the demand is huge. Another French school would be overrun.
Anonymous
Post 12/29/2013 06:17     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The core problem with a bilingual program is that the students who will come in native/home speakers live in Columbia Hts, Adams Morgan/Lanier Hts, Mt Pleasant, Park View, and Ward 4. So you will be starting a program like that at Tyler, with no native speakers if in SE Ward 6.

With no Spanish speaking population. Or any other second language population nearby, I might recommend French as a dual language program. I think the Hill would go for it.


There are absolutely native speakers of Spanish in Ward 6, or near native speakers, just not many poor immigrant Latinos at all. I know half a dozen Hill families who mainly speak Spanish at home with little kids whose names sit on the Tyler SI waiting lists for PreS3 and Prek4. The circumstances of the parents vary - one dad is a diplomat, another a former Peace Corps volunteer, another a medical professional who became fluent in Spanish as a teen and adult, another a journalist from Europe.

French wouldn't be a good choice - Stokes has trouble retaining kids. Not much demand - many of us who studied French in high school wish we'd gone with Spanish.


I'd much rather see the Tyler SI program displace the Tyler Traditional program, because the latter has very few IB kids. The Traditional program kids could be moved to Payne, which is 2/3 OOB and has significantly higher test scores. Almost everybody would be better off.






Not enough to have a balanced population as Ward 1 and 4.
Anonymous
Post 12/29/2013 06:15     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The core problem with a bilingual program is that the students who will come in native/home speakers live in Columbia Hts, Adams Morgan/Lanier Hts, Mt Pleasant, Park View, and Ward 4. So you will be starting a program like that at Tyler, with no native speakers if in SE Ward 6.

With no Spanish speaking population. Or any other second language population nearby, I might recommend French as a dual language program. I think the Hill would go for it.


There are absolutely native speakers of Spanish in Ward 6, or near native speakers, just not many poor immigrant Latinos at all. I know half a dozen Hill families who mainly speak Spanish at home with little kids whose names sit on the Tyler SI waiting lists for PreS3 and Prek4. The circumstances of the parents vary - one dad is a diplomat, another a former Peace Corps volunteer, another a medical professional who became fluent in Spanish as a teen and adult, another a journalist from Europe.

French wouldn't be a good choice - Stokes has trouble retaining kids. Not much demand - many of us who studied French in high school wish we'd gone with Spanish.

Not enough to have a balanced population as Ward 1 and 4.

I'd much rather see the Tyler SI program displace the Tyler Traditional program, because the latter has very few IB kids. The Traditional program kids could be moved to Payne, which is 2/3 OOB and has significantly higher test scores. Almost everybody would be better off.



Anonymous
Post 12/29/2013 05:04     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Anonymous wrote:The core problem with a bilingual program is that the students who will come in native/home speakers live in Columbia Hts, Adams Morgan/Lanier Hts, Mt Pleasant, Park View, and Ward 4. So you will be starting a program like that at Tyler, with no native speakers if in SE Ward 6.

With no Spanish speaking population. Or any other second language population nearby, I might recommend French as a dual language program. I think the Hill would go for it.


There are absolutely native speakers of Spanish in Ward 6, or near native speakers, just not many poor immigrant Latinos at all. I know half a dozen Hill families who mainly speak Spanish at home with little kids whose names sit on the Tyler SI waiting lists for PreS3 and Prek4. The circumstances of the parents vary - one dad is a diplomat, another a former Peace Corps volunteer, another a medical professional who became fluent in Spanish as a teen and adult, another a journalist from Europe.

French wouldn't be a good choice - Stokes has trouble retaining kids. Not much demand - many of us who studied French in high school wish we'd gone with Spanish.

I'd much rather see the Tyler SI program displace the Tyler Traditional program, because the latter has very few IB kids. The Traditional program kids could be moved to Payne, which is 2/3 OOB and has significantly higher test scores. Almost everybody would be better off.



Anonymous
Post 12/28/2013 21:02     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Why don't they just focus on elementary school? Seems a bit ambitious to expect dcps to compete with the charter immersion schools with multiple different languages at different sites.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2013 20:46     Subject: Re:Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Or maybe German? Seriously. There's no competition in DC public or charters (unlike French, Spanish, Mandarin, and Hebrew). It's useful for chemistry and English vocabulary, widely used in Europe (exchange programs), has a significant impact on American culture, and it's challenging. Well, it was for me. Even if not full immersion, there could be intensive German language classes or enrichment funded by the German government and cultural organizations. Isn't Chinese language and culture subsidized by China at Eaton in NW? Why not German near Navy Yard? Maybe Bolling Air Force base could be included in boundary for Van Ness. Currently many of those families go to Stoddert, which has no foreign languages, in Burleith NW by bus.

The benefits of second language learning aren't limited to any particular combination of languages. The important things are to have high quality content and cultural exposure. DCPS should seize on unique opportunities and not try to replicate what charters or doing or try to cannibalize on it's existing Spanish programs.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2013 15:05     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
The core problem with a bilingual program is that the students who will come in native/home speakers live in Columbia Hts, Adams Morgan/Lanier Hts, Mt Pleasant, Park View, and Ward 4. So you will be starting a program like that at Tyler, with no native speakers if in SE Ward 6.

With no Spanish speaking population. Or any other second language population nearby, I might recommend French as a dual language program. I think the Hill would go for it.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2013 11:22     Subject: Spanish Immersion at Van Ness Elementary School
Yu ying is very open that it s a constant juggle to keep qualified native speakers, clearly Chinese would be more difficult, but Spanish teachers are both greater in supply and demand. I could see it being more difficult on a practical level than you might think at first.

On a different note, for the spanish soeaking student recruitment, Maybe they could try the oyster model with span dom getting preference for some OOB slots?