Anonymous wrote:You'd be a fool to give up on Yu Ying.

-a parent at a different immersion school.

Personally, I agree with you. However, immersion isn't for everyone. If a family doesn't have what it takes to support a particular kind of education, then perhaps they should consider something that makes it more likely for the student to succeed. A child's sense of success is of paramount importance in future endeavors.

YY is a great school for an advanced or academically curious child.

My DC loves the school. In the 3rd grade level I was concerned about her reading (after all, she'd had half the English instruction as her monolingual peers). Yet somewhere in the most recent 4th grade months she's jumped ahead of the expected reading level for her age/grade. We've heard that's to expected of children who have the opportunity to be bilingual.

Now, she's ahead of her peers in English, Math, and Chinese.

The cognitive benefits of a second language are gifts that resonate through a lifetime.

That said, if you are a family that isn't interested in a second language, then please say no to YY. There are so many families that would love a special education for their children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have two YY kids that have done or are in the upper grades and another starting next year. Do you have specific questions or do you want a general impression?

Would love to hear your general impressions about the quality of teachers and curriculum, as well as whether YY does a good job meeting the academic needs of kids at all levels, both below and above grade level. At the Hearst open house I heard about how they tailor the instruction to the kid's needs and abilities (e.g., if the kid already knows how to tell time, she doesn't have to sit through the math unit on telling time and might go to the next grade up for math, or do pull-outs with a specialist). I know the class sizes in the upper grades at YY are quite small, so I assume they are well-situated to differentiate the instruction, but I'd like to get more concrete info on how they do that. And more generally, do you think the academic instruction suffers at all from being in Chinese? The principal was quite upfront in saying that kids do not graduate from YY "fluent" in Chinese, so what does that mean for kids being taught core subjects in a language they're not fluent in, esp. in a language that is so different from English?

Not pp but I have a child in 3rd grade and very happy with the instruction. A lot of the core academics is done in small groups and the school differentiates very well in Math and English. My child is 3+ grades above grade level in English and works mostly in his literary group with 3 other students on discussion and writing instruction led by the teacher. Same for math. DS does very well in math and being taught in two languages isn't an issue. I like the fact that math is taught in both Chinese and English as it promotes understanding concepts rather than rote memorization of the process. My kid has been at YY since prek4 and dual language is perfectly "normal" for these kids and not a big deal. If a child has issues, there probably will be the same issues at a monolingual school.

Upper grades at least our grade isn't that small. There is less attrition than there use to be. Third grade classroom size range from 16-18 kids and will probably stay around the same for 4th and 5th.

We really loves Yu Ying as does DS. He loves to go to school every day

Anonymous wrote:I have two YY kids that have done or are in the upper grades and another starting next year. Do you have specific questions or do you want a general impression?

Would love to hear your general impressions about the quality of teachers and curriculum, as well as whether YY does a good job meeting the academic needs of kids at all levels, both below and above grade level. At the Hearst open house I heard about how they tailor the instruction to the kid's needs and abilities (e.g., if the kid already knows how to tell time, she doesn't have to sit through the math unit on telling time and might go to the next grade up for math, or do pull-outs with a specialist). I know the class sizes in the upper grades at YY are quite small, so I assume they are well-situated to differentiate the instruction, but I'd like to get more concrete info on how they do that. And more generally, do you think the academic instruction suffers at all from being in Chinese? The principal was quite upfront in saying that kids do not graduate from YY "fluent" in Chinese, so what does that mean for kids being taught core subjects in a language they're not fluent in, esp. in a language that is so different from English?

I have two YY kids that have done or are in the upper grades and another starting next year. Do you have specific questions or do you want a general impression?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What grade are you talking about? Hearst doesn't have PK3 and even IB you'd have to lottery into PK4. So unless you're talking about K, Hearst isn't actually an option for next year, so you might as well try YY. If you are talking about K, you might want to get more info about what it's like to come into YY in K, after the other kids have had two years of immersion.

Yeah, I'm a little confused about how this is an option now because unless you're already IB for this year , which it doesn't sound you are, then you won't be going to Hearst until next year. Assuming this is for PreK4. We love Hearst but we're not interested in immersion education so I can't really give a good comparison. It seems a bit like comparing apples and oranges. That being said, I agree that you can always move IB for Hearst so why not try YY if you are already in? Plus, what would be your alternative for this year if not YY?

We would be moving to Hearst this spring/summer to attend this fall for K. I know that YY is immersion and Hearst is not, but I was hoping that people could speak just to the academics. If you have a kid in the upper elementary grades, are you happy with the teaching and curriculum, and do you feel your child is getting the right level of instruction for his/her needs?

Sorry, younger kid here so I can't speak to the upper grade instruction. What really makes Hearst stand out to me is the community. We're an out of bounds family and from day one, we've loved the small school/class size, the fact that everyone knows my kid, and the diversity at the school. In terms of classroom experience, we've only had one not so great year and it was a checked out teacher who has since left the school. We've been happy with the level of academics and classroom instruction. But again, not an upper grade family.

But I still think the immersion aspect is such a game changer that if that's what you want, you're not going to get that at a regular public school.

OP -

I think you will get better info if you have both schools put you in touch with the PTA/PTO and talk to some actual parents. Not so many upper grade folks on DCUM, especially on lottery day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What grade are you talking about? Hearst doesn't have PK3 and even IB you'd have to lottery into PK4. So unless you're talking about K, Hearst isn't actually an option for next year, so you might as well try YY. If you are talking about K, you might want to get more info about what it's like to come into YY in K, after the other kids have had two years of immersion.

Yeah, I'm a little confused about how this is an option now because unless you're already IB for this year , which it doesn't sound you are, then you won't be going to Hearst until next year. Assuming this is for PreK4. We love Hearst but we're not interested in immersion education so I can't really give a good comparison. It seems a bit like comparing apples and oranges. That being said, I agree that you can always move IB for Hearst so why not try YY if you are already in? Plus, what would be your alternative for this year if not YY?

We would be moving to Hearst this spring/summer to attend this fall for K. I know that YY is immersion and Hearst is not, but I was hoping that people could speak just to the academics. If you have a kid in the upper elementary grades, are you happy with the teaching and curriculum, and do you feel your child is getting the right level of instruction for his/her needs?

Anonymous wrote:What grade are you talking about? Hearst doesn't have PK3 and even IB you'd have to lottery into PK4. So unless you're talking about K, Hearst isn't actually an option for next year, so you might as well try YY. If you are talking about K, you might want to get more info about what it's like to come into YY in K, after the other kids have had two years of immersion.

Yeah, I'm a little confused about how this is an option now because unless you're already IB for this year , which it doesn't sound you are, then you won't be going to Hearst until next year. Assuming this is for PreK4. We love Hearst but we're not interested in immersion education so I can't really give a good comparison. It seems a bit like comparing apples and oranges. That being said, I agree that you can always move IB for Hearst so why not try YY if you are already in? Plus, what would be your alternative for this year if not YY?

Anonymous wrote:What grade are you talking about? Hearst doesn't have PK3 and even IB you'd have to lottery into PK4. So unless you're talking about K, Hearst isn't actually an option for next year, so you might as well try YY. If you are talking about K, you might want to get more info about what it's like to come into YY in K, after the other kids have had two years of immersion.

I'm talking about K. The principal said kids do fine coming in at K, and mine knows some Chinese from home and weekend school, so I'm not too concerned.

Another vote for Hearst. We are there OOB and didn't apply to YY--I really didn't like it after the open house. I would only recommend YY t people who are passionate about Mandarin. I am not.

YY gets hundreds and hundreds of teacher applications each year. They have their pick. As for Chinese teachers, visa status sometimes causes problems because that is at the whim of the Chinese government. We had it impact instruction one year in upper elementary but otherwise it hasn't been an issue.

Anonymous wrote:Plus the teachers I know at YY say it is a great place to work. I don't know whether teachers consider DCPS/Hearst a great place to work. No experience there.

Yup. They also go on group vacations together like during Spring Break and have a sense of camaraderie.

What grade are you talking about? Hearst doesn't have PK3 and even IB you'd have to lottery into PK4. So unless you're talking about K, Hearst isn't actually an option for next year, so you might as well try YY. If you are talking about K, you might want to get more info about what it's like to come into YY in K, after the other kids have had two years of immersion.

Plus the teachers I know at YY say it is a great place to work. I don't know whether teachers consider DCPS/Hearst a great place to work. No experience there.