Anonymous
07/22/2012 09:34
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
WOTP guy again. There are practical reasons YY and DCI might want to consider hiring dialect-speaking administrators, not just to focus on outreach, as was suggested on the last thread.
I have a sibling in LA who's been happier with her public Chinese immersion program (which goes through 8th) than we were partly because immigrant administrators there go the extra mile to ensure that the school builds on children's dialect skills as a bridge to Mandarin. There are pullout groups for kids speaking all seven of the major dialects. The view at that school is not that dialect speakers are "weirdly entitled," or seeking preferential treatment, as pps put it, but rather advancing the Mandarin learning goals of the school.
By contrast, YY essentially treats all the kids the same as language learners, not an academically sound approach when a few, like mine, arrive speaking decent Chinese at age 4-7, if not Mandarin. YY could develop ties to the MoCo immersion and private language schools where academic and cultural bridges between dialects/regions and Mandarin/northern China are being built, particularly Rockville Cantonese School (where maybe 1/4 of the 250 students are DC kids), to promote cross-fertilization.
All this could help attract more bilingual families to YY's lottery.
I have a sibling in LA who's been happier with her public Chinese immersion program (which goes through 8th) than we were partly because immigrant administrators there go the extra mile to ensure that the school builds on children's dialect skills as a bridge to Mandarin. There are pullout groups for kids speaking all seven of the major dialects. The view at that school is not that dialect speakers are "weirdly entitled," or seeking preferential treatment, as pps put it, but rather advancing the Mandarin learning goals of the school.
By contrast, YY essentially treats all the kids the same as language learners, not an academically sound approach when a few, like mine, arrive speaking decent Chinese at age 4-7, if not Mandarin. YY could develop ties to the MoCo immersion and private language schools where academic and cultural bridges between dialects/regions and Mandarin/northern China are being built, particularly Rockville Cantonese School (where maybe 1/4 of the 250 students are DC kids), to promote cross-fertilization.
All this could help attract more bilingual families to YY's lottery.
Anonymous
07/22/2012 09:17
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: As I said on the earlier thread, most of the Chinese families we knew at YY weren't reallly bilingual. And they did seem pretty happy. Committed dialect speakers, like us, tend to go their own route, at good IB schools or in MoCo, as has been explained.
Must admit, this guy's onto something. I'M Chinese and fine with YY, but then my Cantonese sucks and my kids' is worse! We're the last people willing to drive to RCS (Rockville Cantonese School) on a Sunday. Less assimilated families do seem to avoid YY. Anybody disagree? Can't see this changing without a change in administration.
Staying the course with immersion takes the kind of stamina native speakers often bring.
DCI wouldn't suffer from involving many
I disagree. There were several (over 10) new families this year who are from the PRC (all over) whose parents do not speak a ton of English.
Anonymous
07/22/2012 09:11
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Like I JUST said, I am Chinese and have never felt what the "high SES AA" parent who doesn't even go to the school says I have felt. It's so rich----The school is great, 99% of us Chinese parents are happy as hell with it, and I just wish the parents WHO AREN'T EVEN AT THE SCHOOL AND LIVE IN MD would shut up. I j
On the last thread, I was "WOTP" guy, who left YY for my fine IB school.
I think I know the "high-SES AA" family who departed for a MoCo immersion school. One of the things that didn't work for us at YY, although there were some fine teachers, is the way that administrators and parents tended to think like the independent school crowd.
The comment above illustrates the point. Wait a minute, we tried YY, and so did the other family. We're DC taxpayers and so are they (owning a home in the District). The school isn't Sidwell, where, if you aren't involved, you don't have a dog in the fight. Public monies are behind charters. It was, if you don't like the way we do things, get out of town.
I can attest to the fact that there are Cantonese speakers, self included, who have privately approached charter board members to ask if another Chinese immersion school might have a shot at seeing the light of day. We didn't take the issue to the DC Public School Charter Board, we quietly sounded out the situation. Off the record, we were told that our bilingual population was far too small to support a second school, where Cantonese was the language of instruction in the lower grades, as at immersion schools in the Bay Area. There are roughly 20x as many Spanish speakers in the city (and even 5x as many Ethiopian immigrants).
It seemed clear that we would hit a wall, in part because many of the bilingual families don't feel like public schools serve them, not just YY. As I said on the earlier thread, most of the Chinese families we knew at YY weren't reallly bilingual. And they did seem pretty happy. Committed dialect speakers, like us, tend to go their own route, at good IB schools or in MoCo, as has been explained.
We hope that the DCI planning goes well because it would be excellent for the city to have another high-performing middle school appealing to a diverse group of families. We wish you folks well.
And we wish you well too! Now why do you keep posting on the DC public and Charter Schools list if you've no axe to grind??? I smell Troll......
Anonymous
07/22/2012 05:00
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Anonymous wrote: As I said on the earlier thread, most of the Chinese families we knew at YY weren't reallly bilingual. And they did seem pretty happy. Committed dialect speakers, like us, tend to go their own route, at good IB schools or in MoCo, as has been explained.
Must admit, this guy's onto something. I'M Chinese and fine with YY, but then my Cantonese sucks and my kids' is worse! We're the last people willing to drive to RCS (Rockville Cantonese School) on a Sunday. Less assimilated families do seem to avoid YY. Anybody disagree? Can't see this changing without a change in administration.
Staying the course with immersion takes the kind of stamina native speakers often bring.
DCI wouldn't suffer from involving many
Anonymous
07/22/2012 03:26
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Anonymous wrote:Like I JUST said, I am Chinese and have never felt what the "high SES AA" parent who doesn't even go to the school says I have felt. It's so rich----The school is great, 99% of us Chinese parents are happy as hell with it, and I just wish the parents WHO AREN'T EVEN AT THE SCHOOL AND LIVE IN MD would shut up. I j
On the last thread, I was "WOTP" guy, who left YY for my fine IB school.
I think I know the "high-SES AA" family who departed for a MoCo immersion school. One of the things that didn't work for us at YY, although there were some fine teachers, is the way that administrators and parents tended to think like the independent school crowd.
The comment above illustrates the point. Wait a minute, we tried YY, and so did the other family. We're DC taxpayers and so are they (owning a home in the District). The school isn't Sidwell, where, if you aren't involved, you don't have a dog in the fight. Public monies are behind charters. It was, if you don't like the way we do things, get out of town.
I can attest to the fact that there are Cantonese speakers, self included, who have privately approached charter board members to ask if another Chinese immersion school might have a shot at seeing the light of day. We didn't take the issue to the DC Public School Charter Board, we quietly sounded out the situation. Off the record, we were told that our bilingual population was far too small to support a second school, where Cantonese was the language of instruction in the lower grades, as at immersion schools in the Bay Area. There are roughly 20x as many Spanish speakers in the city (and even 5x as many Ethiopian immigrants).
It seemed clear that we would hit a wall, in part because many of the bilingual families don't feel like public schools serve them, not just YY. As I said on the earlier thread, most of the Chinese families we knew at YY weren't reallly bilingual. And they did seem pretty happy. Committed dialect speakers, like us, tend to go their own route, at good IB schools or in MoCo, as has been explained.
We hope that the DCI planning goes well because it would be excellent for the city to have another high-performing middle school appealing to a diverse group of families. We wish you folks well.
Anonymous
07/21/2012 16:08
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:A few Chinese spoke to charter board members - we supported them. They gave up fast, no interest there.
What year did this take place? I've been searching the PCSB board meeting minutes and haven't found any reference to this. (Again, I'm very surprised at an earlier poster's contention that the PCSB doesn't support the opening of a Cantonese charter--it goes against most of their other actions regarding bilingual schools--and want to know more about the thinking involved.)
Oh please---can't you tell by that poster's comments that he/she was a raving troll??? There was no such conversation EVER.
Anonymous
07/21/2012 14:34
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Anonymous wrote:A few Chinese spoke to charter board members - we supported them. They gave up fast, no interest there.
What year did this take place? I've been searching the PCSB board meeting minutes and haven't found any reference to this. (Again, I'm very surprised at an earlier poster's contention that the PCSB doesn't support the opening of a Cantonese charter--it goes against most of their other actions regarding bilingual schools--and want to know more about the thinking involved.)
Anonymous
07/21/2012 14:21
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Anonymous wrote:I was the poster who suggested starting a Cantonese-speaking school. This was a serious suggestion, and not meant to be critical of any person or group (sarcastically or not). With huge wait lists, it is clear that there is a strong demand for Chinese amongst families in DC. I wouldn't see another school as competition to YY, just another choice for all families.
It's a great idea! (not meant sarcastically). I know YY faculty and families feel badly that not everyone can get in who wants to get in. Clearly there's lots of demand. Now let's see if people will really do something instead of complaining.
Anonymous
07/21/2012 13:18
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
I was the poster who suggested starting a Cantonese-speaking school. This was a serious suggestion, and not meant to be critical of any person or group (sarcastically or not). With huge wait lists, it is clear that there is a strong demand for Chinese amongst families in DC. I wouldn't see another school as competition to YY, just another choice for all families.
Anonymous
07/21/2012 10:50
Subject: CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
10:37, what grade(s) are your kids in? How long have you been at the school?
Anonymous
07/21/2012 10:37
Subject: CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Yu Ying parent. I agree with 8:41. The school doesn't want more bilingual families. The program is weak (though there are a few really good Chinese teachers sprinkled about the school) and parents who speak fluent Mandarin can hear how bad the tones are on so many of the children.
The admin has a highly abrasive style that brings out the worst in people. The vitriol on this board is testament to the inability of the principal and the head of school to effectively communicate with all sorts of families.
I predict that the High School will run into many road bumps. The leaders at LAMB are kind and thoughtful. I predict they will be turned off by the Yu Ying attitude and the leaderships relentless focus on "competitiveness," and making a buck over educating all sorts of children in a warm and nuturing environment.
The admin has a highly abrasive style that brings out the worst in people. The vitriol on this board is testament to the inability of the principal and the head of school to effectively communicate with all sorts of families.
I predict that the High School will run into many road bumps. The leaders at LAMB are kind and thoughtful. I predict they will be turned off by the Yu Ying attitude and the leaderships relentless focus on "competitiveness," and making a buck over educating all sorts of children in a warm and nuturing environment.
Anonymous
07/21/2012 09:14
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Anonymous wrote:+1. YY wanting more bilingual families is a crock. Parents want the Chinese as they want them, vs. as they are. Even the mildest of suggestions from bilingual parents meet with such over-the-top reactions that I'm having a hard time picturing DCI retaining the small number YY has now. The resentment is pathetic. Parents want the spots at both schools to go to their own kind, period.
Please tell us how you arrived at your ideas. From everything in my experience this is a complete and udder bunch of bullshit.
Anonymous
07/21/2012 08:58
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
Like I JUST said, I am Chinese and have never felt what the "high SES AA" parent who doesn't even go to the school says I have felt. It's so rich----The school is great, 99% of us Chinese parents are happy as hell with it, and I just wish the parents WHO AREN'T EVEN AT THE SCHOOL AND LIVE IN MD would shut up. I j
Anonymous
07/21/2012 08:41
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
+1. YY wanting more bilingual families is a crock. Parents want the Chinese as they want them, vs. as they are. Even the mildest of suggestions from bilingual parents meet with such over-the-top reactions that I'm having a hard time picturing DCI retaining the small number YY has now. The resentment is pathetic. Parents want the spots at both schools to go to their own kind, period.
Anonymous
07/21/2012 08:36
Subject: Re:CHARTERS MAY MERGE AT WALTER REED (The DC International School, IB Diploma Programme)
hee hee!! I AM Chinese!!!! That's what's so rich about all of this! Stay in MD and stay off our board.