Anonymous
01/21/2014 16:06
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I believe the law allows for tracking, and for testing to be done for tracking. A school could well test for proficiency and if the incoming student is several grade levels behind what they consider appropriate, they could put them in that lower grade level. So if someone had ideas about having their unprepared 4th grader going to a school where they would only be on par with 1st graders, the school could place them in 1st grade.
I'm sure that makes sense in your brain, and it sounds like you're making a sincere effort to add to this conversation. But this is a horrible idea - a 4th grader is 9-10 yrs old. 1st graders are 6-7 yrs old. Putting a 10 yr old in with 6 yr olds? Do you have any sense of how that would be for the 10 yr old from a socio-emotional perspective? And how older kids would see and probably tease that 10 yr old for being in a 1st grade class? This is a terrible idea.
That's the point. It's a terrible idea to put a 9-10 year old in with 6-7 year olds, but it's also just as terrible of an idea to put a kid with little or no Mandarin proficiency in with an immersion group of kids who are 4 years in.
So because the kid is not on fourth grade level Mandarin, Spanish! French, whatever, the kid should be held back academically if she wants to learn a second language. How ridiculous. What if the kid is on grade level or above in English or math.
Isn't the point of immersion to be that the language is part of the ENTIRE curriculum? Meaning, for that 4th grade math you also need to know the Mandarin terms involved, to include all Mandarin math terms for grade 1-4? It sounds like you aren't really grasping the concept of immersion and instead think it's just a separate Mandarin class.
I know exactly what it means. I've been involved with it for the last five years. You still did not answer the question regarding a kid who is proficient in 5th grade math and reading being placed in second grade math because he cannot speak or read Mandarin, especially when one year later, the school will offer sixth grade to non-mandarin speaking students.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 16:03
Subject: Re:Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone! I'm very late to this discussion and haven't read all 17 pages. But I **LOVE** Yu Ying, so I thought I'd share my opinions here, like it or not!
1. "Go start your own Mandarin immersion school if you don't like it."
Actually, sooner or later, this will happen! Just like we have at least two DC charters that teach Spanish, there is more than enough demand for a second Chinese charter school. Perhaps one that focused on traditional characters instead of simplified? Or which offered elective Cantonese? Don't underestimate what DC parents can create.
2. "Yu Ying was just started by a bunch of parents with no experience in education"
And what an amazing job these parents have done! A top-ranked charter school, new campus, international high school, IB accreditation. Applause for the parents! And think of what would have happened had the teacher's unions and "professional" educators been allowed to continue with business as usual before the charter schools came.
3. "I believe the law allows for tracking"
Yes, in fact, Yu Ying already tracks its uppermost grade! And it needs to! Not all kids are going to be at the same level of Chinese; they vary tremendously. Therefore the need to track. Most all schools "track" students in English readers; the advanced kids don't read the same books as the remedial readers.
4. "We need a way to test-in older kids who already speak some Mandarin" Yes, we do, and YY will find a way to do it! The main issue is that students are lost due to natural attrition in the older grades. Let the new students in to replace them! If they speak Mandarin already all the better!
That's it for now guys! Sorry if I seem obnoxiously positive, but some people don't realize what a GREAT school we have and prefer to pick petty fights here! Appreciate what we have!
1. This would be wonderful. But, if it is started in DC, they will not be allowed to do test-in. But they can flaunt the law until they get caught like LAMB, and then it will cease.
2. You are incorrect. YY does not track. The school does differential teaching in the classrooms. In my child's third grade class, the children's reading level range from K-Q. Some students are performing fractions with ease, while others are still laboring under 3 digit addition. The teachers work with the varying levels in one class room. If there was tracking, the advanced students would be in one class and the lower performing students in another. Finally, the students on grade level would be among their peers. There are five classes so enough students for tracking, but no tracking.
3. Your number 4 is also incorrect. YY is busy developing a 6-12 grade school, a p3 class, and an enlargement of its current YY campus. Any attrition gaps from grades 3-5 will be closed with the new incoming 6 graders. At this point why should or would YY expend any of their hard-earned political and economic capital trying to get a test-in for a few privileged families.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 15:56
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I believe the law allows for tracking, and for testing to be done for tracking. A school could well test for proficiency and if the incoming student is several grade levels behind what they consider appropriate, they could put them in that lower grade level. So if someone had ideas about having their unprepared 4th grader going to a school where they would only be on par with 1st graders, the school could place them in 1st grade.
I'm sure that makes sense in your brain, and it sounds like you're making a sincere effort to add to this conversation. But this is a horrible idea - a 4th grader is 9-10 yrs old. 1st graders are 6-7 yrs old. Putting a 10 yr old in with 6 yr olds? Do you have any sense of how that would be for the 10 yr old from a socio-emotional perspective? And how older kids would see and probably tease that 10 yr old for being in a 1st grade class? This is a terrible idea.
That's the point. It's a terrible idea to put a 9-10 year old in with 6-7 year olds, but it's also just as terrible of an idea to put a kid with little or no Mandarin proficiency in with an immersion group of kids who are 4 years in.
So because the kid is not on fourth grade level Mandarin, Spanish! French, whatever, the kid should be held back academically if she wants to learn a second language. How ridiculous. What if the kid is on grade level or above in English or math.
Isn't the point of immersion to be that the language is part of the ENTIRE curriculum? Meaning, for that 4th grade math you also need to know the Mandarin terms involved, to include all Mandarin math terms for grade 1-4? It sounds like you aren't really grasping the concept of immersion and instead think it's just a separate Mandarin class.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 15:52
Subject: Re:Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Uh, actually, the founding parents included an MBA, a college education professor, and an IB PYP educator and trainer. It wasn't just a random bunch of parents....
Anonymous
01/21/2014 15:30
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I believe the law allows for tracking, and for testing to be done for tracking. A school could well test for proficiency and if the incoming student is several grade levels behind what they consider appropriate, they could put them in that lower grade level. So if someone had ideas about having their unprepared 4th grader going to a school where they would only be on par with 1st graders, the school could place them in 1st grade.
I'm sure that makes sense in your brain, and it sounds like you're making a sincere effort to add to this conversation. But this is a horrible idea - a 4th grader is 9-10 yrs old. 1st graders are 6-7 yrs old. Putting a 10 yr old in with 6 yr olds? Do you have any sense of how that would be for the 10 yr old from a socio-emotional perspective? And how older kids would see and probably tease that 10 yr old for being in a 1st grade class? This is a terrible idea.
That's the point. It's a terrible idea to put a 9-10 year old in with 6-7 year olds, but it's also just as terrible of an idea to put a kid with little or no Mandarin proficiency in with an immersion group of kids who are 4 years in.
So because the kid is not on fourth grade level Mandarin, Spanish! French, whatever, the kid should be held back academically if she wants to learn a second language. How ridiculous. What if the kid is on grade level or above in English or math.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 14:59
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:...but no one is proposing the latter.
Exactly. Where in this 17 pages of writing does anyone propose putting non-Mandarin proficient kids in with kids with 4 yrs + of proficiency? You're making a point no one else has even raised.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 14:29
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
...but no one is proposing the latter.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 14:21
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I believe the law allows for tracking, and for testing to be done for tracking. A school could well test for proficiency and if the incoming student is several grade levels behind what they consider appropriate, they could put them in that lower grade level. So if someone had ideas about having their unprepared 4th grader going to a school where they would only be on par with 1st graders, the school could place them in 1st grade.
I'm sure that makes sense in your brain, and it sounds like you're making a sincere effort to add to this conversation. But this is a horrible idea - a 4th grader is 9-10 yrs old. 1st graders are 6-7 yrs old. Putting a 10 yr old in with 6 yr olds? Do you have any sense of how that would be for the 10 yr old from a socio-emotional perspective? And how older kids would see and probably tease that 10 yr old for being in a 1st grade class? This is a terrible idea.
That's the point. It's a terrible idea to put a 9-10 year old in with 6-7 year olds, but it's also just as terrible of an idea to put a kid with little or no Mandarin proficiency in with an immersion group of kids who are 4 years in.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 14:15
Subject: Re:Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone! I'm very late to this discussion and haven't read all 17 pages. But I **LOVE** Yu Ying, so I thought I'd share my opinions here, like it or not!
1. "Go start your own Mandarin immersion school if you don't like it."
Actually, sooner or later, this will happen! Just like we have at least two DC charters that teach Spanish, there is more than enough demand for a second Chinese charter school. Perhaps one that focused on traditional characters instead of simplified? Or which offered elective Cantonese? Don't underestimate what DC parents can create.
2. "Yu Ying was just started by a bunch of parents with no experience in education"
And what an amazing job these parents have done! A top-ranked charter school, new campus, international high school, IB accreditation. Applause for the parents! And think of what would have happened had the teacher's unions and "professional" educators been allowed to continue with business as usual before the charter schools came.
3. "I believe the law allows for tracking"
Yes, in fact, Yu Ying already tracks its uppermost grade! And it needs to! Not all kids are going to be at the same level of Chinese; they vary tremendously. Therefore the need to track. Most all schools "track" students in English readers; the advanced kids don't read the same books as the remedial readers.
4. "We need a way to test-in older kids who already speak some Mandarin" Yes, we do, and YY will find a way to do it! The main issue is that students are lost due to natural attrition in the older grades. Let the new students in to replace them! If they speak Mandarin already all the better!
That's it for now guys! Sorry if I seem obnoxiously positive, but some people don't realize what a GREAT school we have and prefer to pick petty fights here! Appreciate what we have!
Actually, hardly any of what you say is in question here. The reason this thread is 17 pages long is because so many people want access but can't figure out how to get it. No, you don't seem obnoxiously positive. It just might be helpful for you to understand that no one is questioning whether it's a great school or not, people just have a lot of opinions about how access to your great school should or should not look. And different reasons/values for why they feel the way they feel. That's what the 17 pages have been about, not about questioning the value or greatness of the school.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 13:42
Subject: Re:Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Hi everyone! I'm very late to this discussion and haven't read all 17 pages. But I **LOVE** Yu Ying, so I thought I'd share my opinions here, like it or not!
1. "Go start your own Mandarin immersion school if you don't like it."
Actually, sooner or later, this will happen! Just like we have at least two DC charters that teach Spanish, there is more than enough demand for a second Chinese charter school. Perhaps one that focused on traditional characters instead of simplified? Or which offered elective Cantonese? Don't underestimate what DC parents can create.
2. "Yu Ying was just started by a bunch of parents with no experience in education"
And what an amazing job these parents have done! A top-ranked charter school, new campus, international high school, IB accreditation. Applause for the parents! And think of what would have happened had the teacher's unions and "professional" educators been allowed to continue with business as usual before the charter schools came.
3. "I believe the law allows for tracking"
Yes, in fact, Yu Ying already tracks its uppermost grade! And it needs to! Not all kids are going to be at the same level of Chinese; they vary tremendously. Therefore the need to track. Most all schools "track" students in English readers; the advanced kids don't read the same books as the remedial readers.
4. "We need a way to test-in older kids who already speak some Mandarin" Yes, we do, and YY will find a way to do it! The main issue is that students are lost due to natural attrition in the older grades. Let the new students in to replace them! If they speak Mandarin already all the better!
That's it for now guys! Sorry if I seem obnoxiously positive, but some people don't realize what a GREAT school we have and prefer to pick petty fights here! Appreciate what we have!
1. "Go start your own Mandarin immersion school if you don't like it."
Actually, sooner or later, this will happen! Just like we have at least two DC charters that teach Spanish, there is more than enough demand for a second Chinese charter school. Perhaps one that focused on traditional characters instead of simplified? Or which offered elective Cantonese? Don't underestimate what DC parents can create.
2. "Yu Ying was just started by a bunch of parents with no experience in education"
And what an amazing job these parents have done! A top-ranked charter school, new campus, international high school, IB accreditation. Applause for the parents! And think of what would have happened had the teacher's unions and "professional" educators been allowed to continue with business as usual before the charter schools came.
3. "I believe the law allows for tracking"
Yes, in fact, Yu Ying already tracks its uppermost grade! And it needs to! Not all kids are going to be at the same level of Chinese; they vary tremendously. Therefore the need to track. Most all schools "track" students in English readers; the advanced kids don't read the same books as the remedial readers.
4. "We need a way to test-in older kids who already speak some Mandarin" Yes, we do, and YY will find a way to do it! The main issue is that students are lost due to natural attrition in the older grades. Let the new students in to replace them! If they speak Mandarin already all the better!
That's it for now guys! Sorry if I seem obnoxiously positive, but some people don't realize what a GREAT school we have and prefer to pick petty fights here! Appreciate what we have!
Anonymous
01/21/2014 13:33
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:YY was started by a bunch of parents. I believe only one or two of the founders had experience in education. For everyone on this board who wants a mandarin test-in school, go start your own charter, and you can send your children to that school. However, you will need to open it in another jurisdiction. The federal mandate prohibits it for charter schools in the District.
This X 100. None of these people who think they're smart enough to insist on what is better for YY were around when the hard decisions and work were being done. Now that it's successful so far, they want to change it and are mystified why it's not changing (hmmm maybe because YY isn't allowed to change it?). Quit griping and start your own schools. Won't hold my breath though, since some of you sound so used to everyone doing everything for you, you wouldn't get past step 1. Starting and running schools is incredibly hard work - for starters, they need to be able to do this while dealing with impossible parents like you! I don't envy them their jobs at all.
It's interesting that all the complaints come from people who don't have kids at Yu Ying... go start your own Mandarin immersion school if you don't like it.
You are so right! But in some ways, it's not surprising. The people complaining are the people trying to figure their way in. And while I understand and appreciate every parent trying to find a good school for their kids and get their kids in, the endless griping and insisting that they know what's best is tiring at best, obnoxious, delusional and patronizing at worse. And absurd as well, since there is nothing that can be done differently under current charter laws. Yup, go start your own Mandarin immersion school. And we welcome you coming back and bragging about it in 4 or so years when you're ready to open. That is, unless you get bored about an hour after deciding to do it because you can't find someone else to do it for you.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 12:39
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:YY was started by a bunch of parents. I believe only one or two of the founders had experience in education. For everyone on this board who wants a mandarin test-in school, go start your own charter, and you can send your children to that school. However, you will need to open it in another jurisdiction. The federal mandate prohibits it for charter schools in the District.
This X 100. None of these people who think they're smart enough to insist on what is better for YY were around when the hard decisions and work were being done. Now that it's successful so far, they want to change it and are mystified why it's not changing (hmmm maybe because YY isn't allowed to change it?). Quit griping and start your own schools. Won't hold my breath though, since some of you sound so used to everyone doing everything for you, you wouldn't get past step 1. Starting and running schools is incredibly hard work - for starters, they need to be able to do this while dealing with impossible parents like you! I don't envy them their jobs at all.
It's interesting that all the complaints come from people who don't have kids at Yu Ying... go start your own Mandarin immersion school if you don't like it.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 12:28
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:I believe the law allows for tracking, and for testing to be done for tracking. A school could well test for proficiency and if the incoming student is several grade levels behind what they consider appropriate, they could put them in that lower grade level. So if someone had ideas about having their unprepared 4th grader going to a school where they would only be on par with 1st graders, the school could place them in 1st grade.
I'm sure that makes sense in your brain, and it sounds like you're making a sincere effort to add to this conversation. But this is a horrible idea - a 4th grader is 9-10 yrs old. 1st graders are 6-7 yrs old. Putting a 10 yr old in with 6 yr olds? Do you have any sense of how that would be for the 10 yr old from a socio-emotional perspective? And how older kids would see and probably tease that 10 yr old for being in a 1st grade class? This is a terrible idea.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 12:24
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
Anonymous wrote:YY was started by a bunch of parents. I believe only one or two of the founders had experience in education. For everyone on this board who wants a mandarin test-in school, go start your own charter, and you can send your children to that school. However, you will need to open it in another jurisdiction. The federal mandate prohibits it for charter schools in the District.
This X 100. None of these people who think they're smart enough to insist on what is better for YY were around when the hard decisions and work were being done. Now that it's successful so far, they want to change it and are mystified why it's not changing (hmmm maybe because YY isn't allowed to change it?). Quit griping and start your own schools. Won't hold my breath though, since some of you sound so used to everyone doing everything for you, you wouldn't get past step 1. Starting and running schools is incredibly hard work - for starters, they need to be able to do this while dealing with impossible parents like you! I don't envy them their jobs at all.
Anonymous
01/21/2014 11:21
Subject: Yu Ying - Transferring to Yu Ying from another state
I believe the law allows for tracking, and for testing to be done for tracking. A school could well test for proficiency and if the incoming student is several grade levels behind what they consider appropriate, they could put them in that lower grade level. So if someone had ideas about having their unprepared 4th grader going to a school where they would only be on par with 1st graders, the school could place them in 1st grade.