Anonymous wrote:Latin's charter "niche" is a classical education model. All kids take Latin in middle school---you have to take 4 years of it. You can add a modern language starting in 8th grade. If you want your child to study a modern foreign language earlier, then you should choose another school.

Anonymous wrote:Latin's charter "niche" is a classical education model. All kids take Latin in middle school---you have to take 4 years of it. You can add a modern language starting in 8th grade. If you want your child to study a modern foreign language earlier, then you should choose another school.

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Anonymous wrote:Im not sure why the fixation with Spanish..yes, it's a cool language and pretty regular in patterns, and therefore fairly easy to learn to a certain level (maybe not Cervantes or AP) if you know Latin. You can kind of pick it up at any point in life..I'm surprised kids coming from a bilingual school a) didn't choose a different school if they wanted to intensively continue with Spanish or b) find a way to supplement it when they join Latin, individually with tutors or an outside class, or joining with other families and bringing in a teacher for an after school club. Latin families are super nice about covering those who can't afford - seems super doable.
I can see wanting Spanish at Latin, but I can't really see being upset that it isn't offered since it never has been. I can see feeling both - wanting/not upset- at the same time.

YES. This. They don’t offer Spanish. Send your kid elsewhere if it means that much to you.

Anonymous wrote:Im not sure why the fixation with Spanish..yes, it's a cool language and pretty regular in patterns, and therefore fairly easy to learn to a certain level (maybe not Cervantes or AP) if you know Latin. You can kind of pick it up at any point in life..I'm surprised kids coming from a bilingual school a) didn't choose a different school if they wanted to intensively continue with Spanish or b) find a way to supplement it when they join Latin, individually with tutors or an outside class, or joining with other families and bringing in a teacher for an after school club. Latin families are super nice about covering those who can't afford - seems super doable.
I can see wanting Spanish at Latin, but I can't really see being upset that it isn't offered since it never has been. I can see feeling both - wanting/not upset- at the same time.

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Anonymous wrote:Latin has its own BS. Talk to parents who spent years lobbying for challenging math for advanced students. Parents of the most advanced math students used to band together to hire math tutors under the radar, with admins stubbornly insisting that the math taught was plenty hard enough, parents simply refused to believe it.

For the longest time, Latin wouldn't let kids take AP Calc before senior year. Then it was junior year. Finally, 15 years in, it's sophomore year.

Latin wouldn't teach Spanish for a decade, even to kids coming in with advanced Spanish from Lamb, Tyler etc. More lobbying on the part of parents, and finally change.

Whoa! Is Latin finally going to offer Spanish? We almost didn’t take a spot just due to no Spanish (child coming from a Spanish bilingual school).

No idea about Latin Cooper, but the original Latin plans to offer Spanish for 7th graders+ this fall. Not sure how much challenge for child coming from a Spanish bilingual school though. Probably not nearly enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin has its own BS. Talk to parents who spent years lobbying for challenging math for advanced students. Parents of the most advanced math students used to band together to hire math tutors under the radar, with admins stubbornly insisting that the math taught was plenty hard enough, parents simply refused to believe it.

For the longest time, Latin wouldn't let kids take AP Calc before senior year. Then it was junior year. Finally, 15 years in, it's sophomore year.

Latin wouldn't teach Spanish for a decade, even to kids coming in with advanced Spanish from Lamb, Tyler etc. More lobbying on the part of parents, and finally change.

Whoa! Is Latin finally going to offer Spanish? We almost didn’t take a spot just due to no Spanish (child coming from a Spanish bilingual school).

No idea about Latin Cooper, but the original Latin plans to offer Spanish for 7th graders+ this fall. Not sure how much challenge for child coming from a Spanish bilingual school though. Probably not nearly enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin has its own BS. Talk to parents who spent years lobbying for challenging math for advanced students. Parents of the most advanced math students used to band together to hire math tutors under the radar, with admins stubbornly insisting that the math taught was plenty hard enough, parents simply refused to believe it.

For the longest time, Latin wouldn't let kids take AP Calc before senior year. Then it was junior year. Finally, 15 years in, it's sophomore year.

Latin wouldn't teach Spanish for a decade, even to kids coming in with advanced Spanish from Lamb, Tyler etc. More lobbying on the part of parents, and finally change.

Whoa! Is Latin finally going to offer Spanish? We almost didn’t take a spot just due to no Spanish (child coming from a Spanish bilingual school).

Anonymous wrote:Latin has its own BS. Talk to parents who spent years lobbying for challenging math for advanced students. Parents of the most advanced math students used to band together to hire math tutors under the radar, with admins stubbornly insisting that the math taught was plenty hard enough, parents simply refused to believe it.

For the longest time, Latin wouldn't let kids take AP Calc before senior year. Then it was junior year. Finally, 15 years in, it's sophomore year.

Latin wouldn't teach Spanish for a decade, even to kids coming in with advanced Spanish from Lamb, Tyler etc. More lobbying on the part of parents, and finally change.

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Tell us again why Latin didn't get any of the large school buildings that came up for bid and were obtained by other charters.

The city doesn't owe Latin a building FFS.


No, they did not "owe" Latin, they "owed" the educational landscape of our city. The law at the time gave charters right of first offer (an analogy would be DC tenants' rights to organized and purchase when a residential building is being sold), but released school buildings were instead sold off for great profit to developers by the city or simply sat upon. So no schools/school children got them. There are extensive articles and investigations into this like the one linked below that may help to clarify your understanding.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dc-is-deny...a-9cc9-e19cfbc87e51_story.html

This. Latin has an extremely long wait list, was strongly encouraged to open a second campus by the PCSB, the city has spent hundreds of millions to renovate high schools like Cardozo, Coolidge and Dunbar which sit underenrolled, and still the city will not relinquish existing vacant school buildings for use by high-demand charters.

At the risk of introducing logic and reason into this discussion...The amount of money DCPS has spent to renovate its operating schools is irrelevant to the discussion. By law DCPS doesn't fund charter buildings so that's a red herring. The argument that this issue in any way informs whether or to what degree Latin II was denied a building is also nonsense; DC has not disposed of any "excess" buildings in the period relevant to Latin II's opening. What pissed me (and many others) off was when DC used to sell (or basically gift) to developers DCPS buildings for development as condos or other non-education related uses. That was what drove the requirement for right of first refusal for charters.

As school enrollments and projections have increased DC has basically stopped the practice of labeling physical resources as "excess" thereby leaving no pool of buildings for charters to claim under a right of first refusal. Unless you can point to an excess building Latin was denied perhaps the discussion could focus on relevant matters?

What pissed ME off was when they kept doing this, or sitting on buildings, after the requirement was passed. In my books DC owes public charter kids a few buildings due to their own past violations of the requirements. They are doing right by regular public school kids with their renovations, which have been a good thing even with some striking overruns (Ellington for example)

You are entitled to that belief. Unfortunately the law does not speak to reparations.

No, but those saying "Latin isn't owed anything" can have their facts straight about the double dealing that took place on valuable educational real estate by our city, and voice support for charter schools in the future on this issue.