We're moving to our inbound school next fall from MV. Most parents don't recognize the challenges at MV until they are several years in. By then, your kid typically has a nice groups of friends, and you have to weigh upsetting the routine against what for many people isn't a strong inbound option. So many play the lottery for other options. Some win, others don't.

We waited until my older child finished 5th grade and are moving the younger one. But we are one of the rare families who have a good inbound option. Think about it. You don't see families from Murch or Janney or Key at MV. It has,for better or worse, become a viable option for those who have failing neighborhood schools. And by that measure, depending on your opinion of charters, it serves a valuable purpose and has built great demand. But it isn't a "free version of WIS" or anything those WOTP would consider strong. We know families who have moved from MV to WIS, and it is like night and day.

If MV is the best option in your consideration set, go for it. Just have eyes open and know if will be a lot of work and frustration for you and your kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why the uncertainties. Isn't mundo Verde a top charter?

There are lengthy posts here about opposition to the new school. Many think Mundo is growing too soon.

Current MV parent - they still haven't proven their concept works. The administration is unresponsive and uncommunicative to parents, the test scores are subpar - in the most recent PARCC testing, my child admitteed they haven't been taught much of what they are testing for. The kids do not receive grades, just binders with confusing rubrics so you can't actually assess their performance level, and there are not enoug special ed teachers for those in need. Oh, and they haven't figured out the DCI feeder school dilema. Need I go on?

So you are taking your child out for 19-20?

Yes, so I’m assuming you are leaving? Almost 50% students at MV scored 4 on PARCC in both ELA and math. I wouldn’t call those scores subpar at all.

Sure. Can you help bump me up on a lottery or pay for private school?

So...unhappy at MV but not enough to go to your IB neighborhood school. Got it.

Some people have really bad IB options...

The complaint about academics in the upper elementary grades is common among many charters in the area (YY, Stokes, Two Rivers).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why the uncertainties. Isn't mundo Verde a top charter?

There are lengthy posts here about opposition to the new school. Many think Mundo is growing too soon.

Current MV parent - they still haven't proven their concept works. The administration is unresponsive and uncommunicative to parents, the test scores are subpar - in the most recent PARCC testing, my child admitteed they haven't been taught much of what they are testing for. The kids do not receive grades, just binders with confusing rubrics so you can't actually assess their performance level, and there are not enoug special ed teachers for those in need. Oh, and they haven't figured out the DCI feeder school dilema. Need I go on?

So you are taking your child out for 19-20?

Yes, so I’m assuming you are leaving? Almost 50% students at MV scored 4 on PARCC in both ELA and math. I wouldn’t call those scores subpar at all.

Sure. Can you help bump me up on a lottery or pay for private school?

So...unhappy at MV but not enough to go to your IB neighborhood school. Got it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why the uncertainties. Isn't mundo Verde a top charter?

There are lengthy posts here about opposition to the new school. Many think Mundo is growing too soon.

Current MV parent - they still haven't proven their concept works. The administration is unresponsive and uncommunicative to parents, the test scores are subpar - in the most recent PARCC testing, my child admitteed they haven't been taught much of what they are testing for. The kids do not receive grades, just binders with confusing rubrics so you can't actually assess their performance level, and there are not enoug special ed teachers for those in need. Oh, and they haven't figured out the DCI feeder school dilema. Need I go on?

So you are taking your child out for 19-20?

Yes, so I’m assuming you are leaving? Almost 50% students at MV scored 4 on PARCC in both ELA and math. I wouldn’t call those scores subpar at all.

Sure. Can you help bump me up on a lottery or pay for private school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t appear that renovations are taking place to the school at this time? Does anyone have an idea of when this will occur? I know they have a plan, but with it being May, I hope the building will be ready to go in August.

Much of renovation is permitting, from my understanding. Hopefully that's what they are going through now. I would not worry just yet.

I might worry. I heard they were several months and several hundreds of thousands behind for their kitchen. I'm glad we moved schools. I couldn't take the constant excuses from administrations on why their communication was so behind or vague. Seems with the unionization nothing has changed. (We are now at Stokes)

How is your experience at Stokes compared to MV, are they weaker in some areas?

Anonymous wrote:^ I'm not sure that "many" MV parents have tutors. I suppose it's possible, but I find it hard to believe.

Personally as a MV parent, I'm okay that the teachers are not "teaching to the test" regarding PARCC. There are other charters where kids get to do several rounds of practice PARCC tests and also have heavier homework loads to increase that practice. MV is certainly not perfect (I don't know of any that is), but I hope that they don't change their expeditionary model to teach to the test.

We have a reading tutor and a math tutor. And I agree- don’t teach to the PARCC test per se but my understanding is the kids from MV are going into a lower level English class at DCI because their writing skills are not being well jones at school. This is why we have a reading tutor- we noticed the same.

^ I'm not sure that "many" MV parents have tutors. I suppose it's possible, but I find it hard to believe.

Personally as a MV parent, I'm okay that the teachers are not "teaching to the test" regarding PARCC. There are other charters where kids get to do several rounds of practice PARCC tests and also have heavier homework loads to increase that practice. MV is certainly not perfect (I don't know of any that is), but I hope that they don't change their expeditionary model to teach to the test.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why the uncertainties. Isn't mundo Verde a top charter?

There are lengthy posts here about opposition to the new school. Many think Mundo is growing too soon.

Current MV parent - they still haven't proven their concept works. The administration is unresponsive and uncommunicative to parents, the test scores are subpar - in the most recent PARCC testing, my child admitteed they haven't been taught much of what they are testing for. The kids do not receive grades, just binders with confusing rubrics so you can't actually assess their performance level, and there are not enoug special ed teachers for those in need. Oh, and they haven't figured out the DCI feeder school dilema. Need I go on?

So you are taking your child out for 19-20?

Yes, so I’m assuming you are leaving? Almost 50% students at MV scored 4 on PARCC in both ELA and math. I wouldn’t call those scores subpar at all.

This is what I dont get, if it really that bad, why is the student retention above 90% and the waitlist so long?

I think most parents only start to see the flaws in the upper grades and by then most stay because they want the DCI access and their kids have worked really hard to learn Spanish so the parents don't want their kids to leave for a non-bilingual school. Many parents have tutors which helps boost the scores for those with resources.

Per the financial Q above, the school also told parents that they expanded because they got a big grant to pay for planning the expansion and the school needed that money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why the uncertainties. Isn't mundo Verde a top charter?

There are lengthy posts here about opposition to the new school. Many think Mundo is growing too soon.

Current MV parent - they still haven't proven their concept works. The administration is unresponsive and uncommunicative to parents, the test scores are subpar - in the most recent PARCC testing, my child admitteed they haven't been taught much of what they are testing for. The kids do not receive grades, just binders with confusing rubrics so you can't actually assess their performance level, and there are not enoug special ed teachers for those in need. Oh, and they haven't figured out the DCI feeder school dilema. Need I go on?

So you are taking your child out for 19-20?

Yes, so I’m assuming you are leaving? Almost 50% students at MV scored 4 on PARCC in both ELA and math. I wouldn’t call those scores subpar at all.

This is what I dont get, if it really that bad, why is the student retention above 90% and the waitlist so long?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why the uncertainties. Isn't mundo Verde a top charter?

There are lengthy posts here about opposition to the new school. Many think Mundo is growing too soon.

Current MV parent - they still haven't proven their concept works. The administration is unresponsive and uncommunicative to parents, the test scores are subpar - in the most recent PARCC testing, my child admitteed they haven't been taught much of what they are testing for. The kids do not receive grades, just binders with confusing rubrics so you can't actually assess their performance level, and there are not enoug special ed teachers for those in need. Oh, and they haven't figured out the DCI feeder school dilema. Need I go on?

So you are taking your child out for 19-20?

Yes, so I’m assuming you are leaving? Almost 50% students at MV scored 4 on PARCC in both ELA and math. I wouldn’t call those scores subpar at all.

Anonymous wrote:Someone said they opened a new campus because of financial issues, but I did not really understand why. Can anyone explain?

The idea is that if they increase their enrollment significantly they get access to that additional per-child money. But, I'm not sure how that all pans out in terms of the expenses which also increase. I do not know if there are other incentives to get schools to grow, because I know there is some kind of pressure for well performing schools to replicate.

Anonymous wrote:Someone said they opened a new campus because of financial issues, but I did not really understand why. Can anyone explain?

But I think what was alluded to is that if they agreed to expand now, the 8th Street building could be secured with unusually low-cost financing and/or a grant to defray the acquisition cost. That was driving the 'expand now' push.

And, if you have 2x as many students, and lower facility cost at one of them, the per-pupil facilities allocation goes further, theoretically freeing up funds for other needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t appear that renovations are taking place to the school at this time? Does anyone have an idea of when this will occur? I know they have a plan, but with it being May, I hope the building will be ready to go in August.

Much of renovation is permitting, from my understanding. Hopefully that's what they are going through now. I would not worry just yet.

I might worry. I heard they were several months and several hundreds of thousands behind for their kitchen. I'm glad we moved schools. I couldn't take the constant excuses from administrations on why their communication was so behind or vague. Seems with the unionization nothing has changed. (We are now at Stokes)

Someone said they opened a new campus because of financial issues, but I did not really understand why. Can anyone explain?