Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

This is one of the funniest but also saddest responses I’ve heard on this forum in a long time. It should be mandatory reading for all people considering middle school in dc.

Honestly what's crazy to me is the the Hill still doesn't have a viable high school equivalent to JR, although it's been gentrified and home to families for decades, longer than the upper NW. I am sure there is a history there, and I am hoping someone here can link out to a nice detailed article about it (or book!)...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

This is one of the funniest but also saddest responses I’ve heard on this forum in a long time. It should be mandatory reading for all people considering middle school in dc.

Honestly what's crazy to me is the the Hill still doesn't have a viable high school equivalent to JR, although it's been gentrified and home to families for decades, longer than the upper NW. I am sure there is a history there, and I am hoping someone here can link out to a nice detailed article about it (or book!)...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also at a DCI feeder with a DCI offer (thankfully) and families that didn’t get in are talking about moving. Precarious situation to be in and I feel terribly for those kids who are facing both that disappointment and a major transition.

Yeah I really don't like this. This is supposed to be a feeder track that appears to run parallel to DCPS as an alternative. The system should be organized so that all the feeder elementary schools can send their kids to the middle school.

Who is running this system?

The elementary schools are very aware of DCI’s enrollment constraints. They expanded after DCI told the middle school would not match the moves.

But most charters have to expand enrollment to continue being viable. So it’s a no-win situation for the elementaries.

Stokes had plans to open a small language-focused MS EOTR and DCI made them abandon that effort. It would work so much better for the kids at the East End Campus.

Would love to hear more takes on the State of The Immersion Charters as you all see this lottery data coming in. For instance, which schools are still worthwhile from a learning/academic perspective even if you don't end up at DCI? I'd like to think that several years of language immersion or bilingual experience is not nothing, especially for a family targeting a heritage language. I see the WL shrinking for some but don't think that's necessarily a good signal and am new to this data and process. We're yet another Hill family interested in language but out of bounds for Chisholm.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

This is one of the funniest but also saddest responses I’ve heard on this forum in a long time. It should be mandatory reading for all people considering middle school in dc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

I'd have sent my kid to Wells if I knew I could just pay for private or that my kid could test into Banneker or Walls. Instead, we needed a charter with a high school. It would shock me if there weren't parents with this attitude on the Hill, both who go charters as a result or who stick with their DCPS middle because they have an exit.

I truly am so unimpressed with both Banneker and walls, and I don’t think the admission process is super transparent and makes sense. So I wouldnt roll the dice and send my bright kid to a mediocre dcps school with the hopes of a not that impressive application high school. But if you live in dc this could be the best case scenario for many people unless dcps improves a lot.

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

The reality is affluent parents are able to see the really bad quality of DCPS middle schools like SH and go to a charter or move. They have choices.

Why would affluence affect charter selection? What now?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

The reality is affluent parents are able to see the really bad quality of DCPS middle schools like SH and go to a charter or move. They have choices.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regarding kids at the immersion charters who are shut out of DCI. Is Macfarland an option? Or CHEC? How do you lottery into a DCPS middle school language track? I am very unfamiliar with DCPs language tracks and how to lottery into them.

No feeder families have been shut out of DCI even with the expansion of the feeders. None.

Relax and see how this years results pan out.

There will be at some point so it’s not a ridiculous question.

There are 3-4 dozen Spanish feeder kids on waitlists this year. I don’t see how the school can accommodate all of them even if some were to switch to the French or Chinese tracks. So pre-expansion historical data aside, it is not unreasonable at all for families to be worried and considering what their back up options are.

The how is obvious. Figure out your school’s attrition and how many kids are likely to make it through 5th grade. Do some sensitivity analysis with some different assumptions.

It’s not hard. It is a little bit of legwork to figure out attrition.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

I'd have sent my kid to Wells if I knew I could just pay for private or that my kid could test into Banneker or Walls. Instead, we needed a charter with a high school. It would shock me if there weren't parents with this attitude on the Hill, both who go charters as a result or who stick with their DCPS middle because they have an exit.