Jeff can we just get a YY category. I don't think there is a single school that generates the vitriol or crazy, crazy parents like YY.

We value the diversity and would rather have that than having a few more bilingual kids to engage in cultural exchange for our 4 yr old. Maybe i would care more about having more bilingual kids if my kid was older but at his age it's more important to us that our child learns that the color of someone's skin is irrelevant, that people are people. We love the fact that the school has a little of everything and reflects the city we live in while teaching Mandarin to anyone and everyone lucky enough to get in. I'll take this over a better understanding of Chinese culture any day.

I'm one of these and would prefer the lottery stays the way it is - the school is very diverse and I prefer that to a majority of ABC kids. We can support knowledge of Chinese culture by going to China.

I'm an ABC parent who doesn't want a lottery for ABC kids, not at all. I want a lottery for Chinese-speaking kids, like the one at the Mandarin immersion school my sister's kids attend in NYC. Your kid's name does't go into the Chinese lottery there without getting through a 20-minute interview in a dialect (even at age 4) and many of the ABC kids can't pass the interview. The kids who do pass are often native born Chinese, or the children of non-Chinese parents who knocked themselves out to ensure that Chinese was learned at home, generally through engaging Chinese nannies or au pairs.

Going to China is fine but it's just the tip of the iceberg culturally. My non-Chinese spouse worked in Beijing for a couple years. She likes to say that she didn't know how much she didn't know about Chinese culture until she'd been married to me for a while.

Incidentally, we're planning to switch to an immersion school in MoCo after this coming year. I've had it with the out of touch admin people and parents who are there mainly to escape lousy IB schools. Yes, it's a warm community, but I'm weary of all that goes with being a member of a tiny minority.

Actually there are many families there b/c it's the only decent school their child got into. Bad IB school. Didn't get in anywhere else. No interest in Mandarin at all. It's the way public schools and charters are run in DC. Agree it's crazy and silly. That school in San Fran would never be able to open here with preferences for certain language proficient groups for the same reason there are no gifted programs that admit by examination in DC.

I wouldn't worry too much about the parents who send their kids to Yu Ying primarily for the Mandarin. Many have strong ties to China, speak Mandarin and/or visit often or have lived there, and support their kids Mandarin and knowledge of Chinese culture b/c it's important to their family. I'm one of these and would prefer the lottery stays the way it is - the school is very diverse and I prefer that to a majority of ABC kids. We can support knowledge of Chinese culture by going to China.

-1. From my perspective, and I'm not Chinese or related to any, seems that most of the YY parents are interested in having their children learn Mandarin without having them taught much about Chinese culture, other than the sanitized version politically weak foreign teachers offer. What's the point? 3,000 year-old traditions deserve more respect and understanding. Kudos to the ABCs for being forthright and stating the obvious: a great Chinese immersion school needs a good many Chinese in it. To attract them, you need to listen to them.

Wishing that a branch of the sane sounding San Fran CIS school had opened here rather than YY.

The issue that this thread has put "out in the open" from my perspective is that at least one ABC thinks the school needs to recruit Chinese families by catering to their racial prejudice and remove blacks from school leadership. This, in a city where more taxpayers are African-American than any other race.

Anonymous wrote:+1. Haven't posted before but have been mulling over what promotes the hostility toward the Chinese speakers mentioned. Must be mainly their phenomenal success as an immigrant group. You don't see a lot of Latino immigrants, some of whom have kids at the Sp immersion schools, leapfrogging over other low-SES Americans economically after just a generation in the US. But it's not uncommon to meet Chinese in this city, and other big cities, who run take-out places and laundromats yet send their kids to top colleges. I just asked the couple managing the downtown dry cleaner I go to if they're planning to try to get their toddler twins into YY. They said, no, we've heard it's not a school for Chinese families. We're moving to Rockville for kindergarten.

The hostility is from the fact that many of the Chinese posters feel they should get preference in admissions for the (very) few spots available for their kids simply due to their ethnic heritage. Even those who speak Cantonese and not Mandarin... b/c it'll benefit the pupils (the Cantonese speaker most of all since they stand a much better chance of getting in) the blatant racism about the necessity for a Chinese principal and administrators in a town with an AA plurality. The school is "Chinese for White people" and AA, Hispanic, Asians who don't have a Chinese heritage are getting in while many Chinese families can't get a spot.

How DARE they, don't they know Mandarin is for those who are ethnic Chinese first.

Ahhh, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.

I think when the school says 700 applicants, they are including the sibling / staff children, who have of couse applied. . .

84 spots total for preK but almost half went to siblings/staff...

correction, 700 total applicants for grades preK, K, 1, 2.

PreK admitted 84 students, and had an initial wait list of about 220. So 300 applicants for those slots.

YY received almost 700 applications for 84 PreS 4 spots this year, most from middle-class families! So the school needn't worry about outreach to the Chinese community, or test scores, not as long as DC Charter, the politicians, the media, and parents adore it. With so many affluent families on board, the kids will test OK overall regardless. And with the administrators, and the majority of parents, not minding that few Chinese-speaking families are involved, YY can remain blissfully mired in relativism.

What you hear Chinese parents in the city sensibly suggesting to one another is "pretend that YY doesn't exist, more productive than paying attention." At least this thread has the issue out in the open, for whatever that's worth. Probably zip!

12:43. Wanted to add that YY has been Wonderful for our SN child who we were unaware had any SN when he started there. He has a IEP and the teachers and administration are great, a warm inclusive environment accepting of differences. We feel the school has gone above and beyond what they have to provide in services and support to help our child and truly like and care about him. He is doing great and we are very happy. Returning for K.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about English instruction simply b/c our child was in PreK which was full immersion Mandarin. I'll admit, however, that DC gets tutoring in English, Math, and Mandarin. English and math b/c we would be doing it anyway no matter which school DC attended including the pricy private we turned down for YY and Mandarin b/c it's important to us.

I only mention this b/c I meet LOTS of immersion kids at our tutors. Not only Mandarin, mostly from Maryland public immersion schools not YY, Spanish and French from all over. Most if not all of the parents are 1st gen or immigrants themselves and highly educated professionals. Looks like many people feel their kids may need a boost if they attend an immersion program.

Does your child have a learning difficulty? Otherwise I can't think of any circumstance in which I would consider tutoring for a preK kid.

Yes he has SN and the tutoring is for fine motor issues. He also gets services at school for this and other issues.

+1. Haven't posted before but have been mulling over what promotes the hostility toward the Chinese speakers mentioned. Must be mainly their phenomenal success as an immigrant group. You don't see a lot of Latino immigrants, some of whom have kids at the Sp immersion schools, leapfrogging over other low-SES Americans economically after just a generation in the US. But it's not uncommon to meet Chinese in this city, and other big cities, who run take-out places and laundromats yet send their kids to top colleges. I just asked the couple managing the downtown dry cleaner I go to if they're planning to try to get their toddler twins into YY. They said, no, we've heard it's not a school for Chinese families. We're moving to Rockville for kindergarten.