Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 13:36     Subject: Re:German and French Aftercare
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:German nationals on short term assignments are generally not looking for aftercare that focuses on German culture and other German nationals, they're looking for an American experience. You may need to find German immigrants for that, someone who is looking to give there kids a taste of Germany. The Embassy crowd gets enough of Germans/Germany.


Cannot disagree more, and the evidence speaks against this sentiment. To wit, DSW classes.

Most germans in DC are ex-pats not on short-term assignment. Perhaps the mention of "embassy folks" was a red herring; bankers may be a more appropriate description of the likely clientele.


What are you disagreeing with? THat those on short term assignments are unlikely to be interested? I didn't say that most Germans in DC are on short term assignments; I don't really understand? Just how many German bankers do you think are here?

My only point was that the most *suitable* clientele would be long term Germans, not those here for 1-4 yrs.


(In response to bolded question Tons. Largest represented nationality at the WB (or, at least, was; I could be out-of-date). IMF is likely the same.

We probably agree and my "I object" was only tangentially connected to the words in your post.

I was objecting to the insinuation that most Germans here are either immigrants (i.e., permanent) or short-term detailees. There is a giant in-between group of ex-pats who are here for an indefinite period of time but don't consider themselves American and want to maintain any-and-all ties to the motherland. They are IMFers, WBers, etc. This is the sweet-spot in terms of clientele.

I know very little about the French but would expect a similar dynamic (except with way more French speaking immigrants).


I wasn't really thinking of them as bankers--I was thinking of UBS, Credit Suisse, etc as bankers. IMF, WB is quasi government in my mind, but you're right.

Also, jeez...you must not be German. It's not a motherland, it's the Vaterland.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 13:24     Subject: German and French Aftercare
Anonymous wrote:Turtle Park isn't 2 blocks from St. Ann's. St. Ann's is at Albemarle and Wisconsin, and Turtle Park is at 45th and Van Ness. It's nearly a mile away.


No, it's not. I walk it often. About 2/3 of a mile. (You're right, though, 2 blocks is wrong. Four, maybe five, blocks.)
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 12:48     Subject: German and French Aftercare
Turtle Park isn't 2 blocks from St. Ann's. St. Ann's is at Albemarle and Wisconsin, and Turtle Park is at 45th and Van Ness. It's nearly a mile away.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 12:45     Subject: German and French Aftercare
We live in Capitol Hill. So driving or taking the bus after school to AU would be too much. CH could be OK.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 12:40     Subject: German and French Aftercare
I don't thnk this would be geared towards Germans. I am not German but my husbands entire family is German (he was raised in the US) and we would love for our daughter to have more exposure to the German language for family purposes and trips overseas. Most parents who are interested in immersion languages are probably not of the descent either but realize the benefits to a second language. I live east of the park, near the Petworth metro station. I think something here in the center of the City would be ideal, especially if its metro accessible. The target is not going to be employees of the German embassy, as they clearly are already immersed in German!
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 11:27     Subject: Re:German and French Aftercare
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:German nationals on short term assignments are generally not looking for aftercare that focuses on German culture and other German nationals, they're looking for an American experience. You may need to find German immigrants for that, someone who is looking to give there kids a taste of Germany. The Embassy crowd gets enough of Germans/Germany.


Cannot disagree more, and the evidence speaks against this sentiment. To wit, DSW classes.

Most germans in DC are ex-pats not on short-term assignment. Perhaps the mention of "embassy folks" was a red herring; bankers may be a more appropriate description of the likely clientele.


What are you disagreeing with? THat those on short term assignments are unlikely to be interested? I didn't say that most Germans in DC are on short term assignments; I don't really understand? Just how many German bankers do you think are here?

My only point was that the most *suitable* clientele would be long term Germans, not those here for 1-4 yrs.


(In response to bolded question Tons. Largest represented nationality at the WB (or, at least, was; I could be out-of-date). IMF is likely the same.

We probably agree and my "I object" was only tangentially connected to the words in your post.

I was objecting to the insinuation that most Germans here are either immigrants (i.e., permanent) or short-term detailees. There is a giant in-between group of ex-pats who are here for an indefinite period of time but don't consider themselves American and want to maintain any-and-all ties to the motherland. They are IMFers, WBers, etc. This is the sweet-spot in terms of clientele.

I know very little about the French but would expect a similar dynamic (except with way more French speaking immigrants).
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 11:18     Subject: Re:German and French Aftercare
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:German nationals on short term assignments are generally not looking for aftercare that focuses on German culture and other German nationals, they're looking for an American experience. You may need to find German immigrants for that, someone who is looking to give there kids a taste of Germany. The Embassy crowd gets enough of Germans/Germany.


Cannot disagree more, and the evidence speaks against this sentiment. To wit, DSW classes.

Most germans in DC are ex-pats not on short-term assignment. Perhaps the mention of "embassy folks" was a red herring; bankers may be a more appropriate description of the likely clientele.


What are you disagreeing with? THat those on short term assignments are unlikely to be interested? I didn't say that most Germans in DC are on short term assignments; I don't really understand? Just how many German bankers do you think are here?

My only point was that the most *suitable* clientele would be long term Germans, not those here for 1-4 yrs.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 11:10     Subject: German and French Aftercare
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The Dcjcc sends buses everyday to pick up kids from a few dcps and charters for aftercare. But I think they do 1 or 2 schools each day, not a larger route to pick a couple from many schools, so it might be ve.

I've heard about this and would like to look to them for guidance. Also, I'm partial to Columbia Heights not only because it's closer to me, but because it has a really nice facility and is close to Rock Creek Park. This is the big divider between East and West. Families from upper NW could get there easily and it isn't awful for the kids in NE charters to get there (since a lot of them live near CH anyway). But, again, I think everything is on the table. If someone wants to call around and get some real viable options that would be great. Also, I don't think the bulk of kids will be German embassy kids. There may be some, but I think there will be lots of Teutophiles like myself. And, there's a large Francophone community in CH (because there's a clinic, which has done outreach to a lot of newly arrived Franophone West African immigrants right near the CH metro), who might be interested as well.


This all sounds great! I love that you're considering it as a 5 days a week option, and that the transportation wouldn't necessarily involve parents.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 11:09     Subject: German and French Aftercare
I assume you intend to charge for this product, right? So keep that in mind when envisioning your clientele. (Not trying to be mean -- and I'd love love love to see the children of recent immigrants there -- but let's keep our feet on the ground.)

I could be dead-wrong (as I have absolutely no data to back up my bald suppositions), but I would expect the distribution across the city of ES-aged German speakers and French speakers to look very different than the distribution of DCPSers. (Again, see caveat above, but I would expect the distribution of likely clientele to be skewed heavily towards WOTP. And, please, don't cite the two people you know at "charter in NE;" we're talking about distributions, not data points.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 11:08     Subject: German and French Aftercare
Would definitely be interested in this.

Wisconsin Ave Baptist Church (also just south of Tenleytown metro) runs language immersion preschool in their building (French & Spanish). The program is run by an organization called City Gate, if this is a useful lead.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 11:01     Subject: German and French Aftercare
Anonymous wrote:The Dcjcc sends buses everyday to pick up kids from a few dcps and charters for aftercare. But I think they do 1 or 2 schools each day, not a larger route to pick a couple from many schools, so it might be ve.

I've heard about this and would like to look to them for guidance. Also, I'm partial to Columbia Heights not only because it's closer to me, but because it has a really nice facility and is close to Rock Creek Park. This is the big divider between East and West. Families from upper NW could get there easily and it isn't awful for the kids in NE charters to get there (since a lot of them live near CH anyway). But, again, I think everything is on the table. If someone wants to call around and get some real viable options that would be great. Also, I don't think the bulk of kids will be German embassy kids. There may be some, but I think there will be lots of Teutophiles like myself. And, there's a large Francophone community in CH (because there's a clinic, which has done outreach to a lot of newly arrived Franophone West African immigrants right near the CH metro), who might be interested as well.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 10:58     Subject: Re:German and French Aftercare
Anonymous wrote:St. Anne's school on right by the AU metro station is closing and will have space if it hasn't already been claimed. No green space though.


Yes, but two blocks or so to Turtle Park and playing fields. (Thanks: that's the name I was looking for.) Very good location since it's on many bus lines and a metro stop.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 10:51     Subject: German and French Aftercare
... Very different.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 10:51     Subject: German and French Aftercare
The Dcjcc sends buses everyday to pick up kids from a few dcps and charters for aftercare. But I think they do 1 or 2 schools each day, not a larger route to pick a couple from many schools, so it might be ve.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2014 10:50     Subject: Re:German and French Aftercare
St. Anne's school on right by the AU metro station is closing and will have space if it hasn't already been claimed. No green space though.