Anonymous wrote:My kids attended RCF, Westland and BCC. We were zoned for RM so putting up with the commute was never about getting into a better high school. (The kids were provided transportation for elementary school but not middle school.) It was always about the language aspect. Usually only about 30 kids stay all the way through to 9th. Almost half the kids who start immersion leave before 9th because they move away, go to their home school or go to a religious or private school. The attraction to BCC for the non-zoned kids was BCC’s IB program. But by the time the kids are in middle school, many parents recognized the close bond the kids have formed.

The PP above is right - when the RCF kids were zoned out, it was partly because some BCC parents wanted to get rid of kids from the eastern part of the county. The immersion kids were collateral damage. It’s unfortunate because the immersion kids are a great cohort. I hope the county reconsiders.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended RCF, Westland and BCC. We were zoned for RM so putting up with the commute was never about getting into a better high school. (The kids were provided transportation for elementary school but not middle school.) It was always about the language aspect. Usually only about 30 kids stay all the way through to 9th. Almost half the kids who start immersion leave before 9th because they move away, go to their home school or go to a religious or private school. The attraction to BCC for the non-zoned kids was BCC’s IB program. But by the time the kids are in middle school, many parents recognized the close bond the kids have formed.

The PP above is right - when the RCF kids were zoned out, it was partly because some BCC parents wanted to get rid of kids from the eastern part of the county. The immersion kids were collateral damage. It’s unfortunate because the immersion kids are a great cohort. I hope the county reconsiders.

DP. An IBDP program that *should* only take native-nearnative-fluent language speakers and students who attended lanuguage immersion schools from ES.

Well, that’s not the model we have anywhere in MCPS, let alone with a program like B-CC’s, which is not test-in.

Students who are not native, near native, weren't a language immersion student from ES, nor fluent in the language they plan to study in IB by the time they are in HS can struggle with the language IB courses.

There are plenty of kids who start with language in 6th grade who do fine -- these are the kids who would be doing AP language if not IB. And there are options at B-CC to do IB and start a language in high school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended RCF, Westland and BCC. We were zoned for RM so putting up with the commute was never about getting into a better high school. (The kids were provided transportation for elementary school but not middle school.) It was always about the language aspect. Usually only about 30 kids stay all the way through to 9th. Almost half the kids who start immersion leave before 9th because they move away, go to their home school or go to a religious or private school. The attraction to BCC for the non-zoned kids was BCC’s IB program. But by the time the kids are in middle school, many parents recognized the close bond the kids have formed.

The PP above is right - when the RCF kids were zoned out, it was partly because some BCC parents wanted to get rid of kids from the eastern part of the county. The immersion kids were collateral damage. It’s unfortunate because the immersion kids are a great cohort. I hope the county reconsiders.

DP. An IBDP program that *should* only take native-nearnative-fluent language speakers and students who attended lanuguage immersion schools from ES.

Well, that’s not the model we have anywhere in MCPS, let alone with a program like B-CC’s, which is not test-in.

Students who are not native, near native, weren't a language immersion student from ES, nor fluent in the language they plan to study in IB by the time they are in HS can struggle with the language IB courses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended RCF, Westland and BCC. We were zoned for RM so putting up with the commute was never about getting into a better high school. (The kids were provided transportation for elementary school but not middle school.) It was always about the language aspect. Usually only about 30 kids stay all the way through to 9th. Almost half the kids who start immersion leave before 9th because they move away, go to their home school or go to a religious or private school. The attraction to BCC for the non-zoned kids was BCC’s IB program. But by the time the kids are in middle school, many parents recognized the close bond the kids have formed.

The PP above is right - when the RCF kids were zoned out, it was partly because some BCC parents wanted to get rid of kids from the eastern part of the county. The immersion kids were collateral damage. It’s unfortunate because the immersion kids are a great cohort. I hope the county reconsiders.

RCF kids are not zoned out of B-CC. Those who are aimed for RCF are zoned to B-CC (with SCMS in between). However, kids who are immersion and not zoned to B-CC return to their home schools for HS (or a regional/county-wide program).

Yes, I’m aware and we’re arguing semantics here because RCF kids were all zoned to BCC, even if that was via transfer. For those who didn’t live in BCC area, it was an automatic transfer. (And yes, we had to reapply for the transfer at each stage: ES, MS and HS.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended RCF, Westland and BCC. We were zoned for RM so putting up with the commute was never about getting into a better high school. (The kids were provided transportation for elementary school but not middle school.) It was always about the language aspect. Usually only about 30 kids stay all the way through to 9th. Almost half the kids who start immersion leave before 9th because they move away, go to their home school or go to a religious or private school. The attraction to BCC for the non-zoned kids was BCC’s IB program. But by the time the kids are in middle school, many parents recognized the close bond the kids have formed.

The PP above is right - when the RCF kids were zoned out, it was partly because some BCC parents wanted to get rid of kids from the eastern part of the county. The immersion kids were collateral damage. It’s unfortunate because the immersion kids are a great cohort. I hope the county reconsiders.

RCF kids are not zoned out of B-CC. Those who are aimed for RCF are zoned to B-CC (with SCMS in between). However, kids who are immersion and not zoned to B-CC return to their home schools for HS (or a regional/county-wide program).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Immersion already gets to up rated for most of the students from their native school zone until middle. Why would it carry over to high school after the program ends. If you want to go to BCC there is a simple way to do it, buy a home zoned for it. Silver Spring is great until your kids have to mix with other silver spring kids?

For the 30-40 RCF immersion kids, who have been going to school together for eight years, and have formed friendships with kids at Westland, it is hard to be forced to go to a high school where you essentially know no one. The social and emotional well-being of these kids also needs to be considered.

As for numbers there are about 30-40 RCF immersion students per grade at Westland, some of whom are already zoned for BCC. It is not a large cohort.

That’s the reality of going into a specialty program. When it’s over, you return ti your home school. Same for kids who go to magnet middle schools, or CES programs. If staying with the same kids is important to a family, they should stick with their inbounds schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended RCF, Westland and BCC. We were zoned for RM so putting up with the commute was never about getting into a better high school. (The kids were provided transportation for elementary school but not middle school.) It was always about the language aspect. Usually only about 30 kids stay all the way through to 9th. Almost half the kids who start immersion leave before 9th because they move away, go to their home school or go to a religious or private school. The attraction to BCC for the non-zoned kids was BCC’s IB program. But by the time the kids are in middle school, many parents recognized the close bond the kids have formed.

The PP above is right - when the RCF kids were zoned out, it was partly because some BCC parents wanted to get rid of kids from the eastern part of the county. The immersion kids were collateral damage. It’s unfortunate because the immersion kids are a great cohort. I hope the county reconsiders.

DP. An IBDP program that *should* only take native-nearnative-fluent language speakers and students who attended lanuguage immersion schools from ES.

Well, that’s not the model we have anywhere in MCPS, let alone with a program like B-CC’s, which is not test-in.

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended RCF, Westland and BCC. We were zoned for RM so putting up with the commute was never about getting into a better high school. (The kids were provided transportation for elementary school but not middle school.) It was always about the language aspect. Usually only about 30 kids stay all the way through to 9th. Almost half the kids who start immersion leave before 9th because they move away, go to their home school or go to a religious or private school. The attraction to BCC for the non-zoned kids was BCC’s IB program. But by the time the kids are in middle school, many parents recognized the close bond the kids have formed.

The PP above is right - when the RCF kids were zoned out, it was partly because some BCC parents wanted to get rid of kids from the eastern part of the county. The immersion kids were collateral damage. It’s unfortunate because the immersion kids are a great cohort. I hope the county reconsiders.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended RCF, Westland and BCC. We were zoned for RM so putting up with the commute was never about getting into a better high school. (The kids were provided transportation for elementary school but not middle school.) It was always about the language aspect. Usually only about 30 kids stay all the way through to 9th. Almost half the kids who start immersion leave before 9th because they move away, go to their home school or go to a religious or private school. The attraction to BCC for the non-zoned kids was BCC’s IB program. But by the time the kids are in middle school, many parents recognized the close bond the kids have formed.

The PP above is right - when the RCF kids were zoned out, it was partly because some BCC parents wanted to get rid of kids from the eastern part of the county. The immersion kids were collateral damage. It’s unfortunate because the immersion kids are a great cohort. I hope the county reconsiders.

DP. An IBDP program that *should* only take native-nearnative-fluent language speakers and students who attended lanuguage immersion schools from ES.

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended RCF, Westland and BCC. We were zoned for RM so putting up with the commute was never about getting into a better high school. (The kids were provided transportation for elementary school but not middle school.) It was always about the language aspect. Usually only about 30 kids stay all the way through to 9th. Almost half the kids who start immersion leave before 9th because they move away, go to their home school or go to a religious or private school. The attraction to BCC for the non-zoned kids was BCC’s IB program. But by the time the kids are in middle school, many parents recognized the close bond the kids have formed.

The PP above is right - when the RCF kids were zoned out, it was partly because some BCC parents wanted to get rid of kids from the eastern part of the county. The immersion kids were collateral damage. It’s unfortunate because the immersion kids are a great cohort. I hope the county reconsiders.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Immersion already gets to up rated for most of the students from their native school zone until middle. Why would it carry over to high school after the program ends. If you want to go to BCC there is a simple way to do it, buy a home zoned for it. Silver Spring is great until your kids have to mix with other silver spring kids?

For the 30-40 RCF immersion kids, who have been going to school together for eight years, and have formed friendships with kids at Westland, it is hard to be forced to go to a high school where you essentially know no one. The social and emotional well-being of these kids also needs to be considered.

As for numbers there are about 30-40 RCF immersion students per grade at Westland, some of whom are already zoned for BCC. It is not a large cohort.

That’s the reality of going into a specialty program. When it’s over, you return ti your home school. Same for kids who go to magnet middle schools, or CES programs. If staying with the same kids is important to a family, they should stick with their inbounds schools.

Your comparison is inapt - kids who go to a CES magnet or magnet middle school are only with a different cohort for 3 years, so it's easier for them to return to a homeschool. Kids who have dome
the RCF immersion have been together for all of ES and MS, they have no relationships at their homeschool to return to.

Let's be honest about what drove the desire of BCC parents to end the progression of immersion kids to BCC - parents were upset that these kids somehow "got into" BCC without "paying" for BCC by buying a house in boundary - which one really can't do for under $750 anymore.

I say this as a longtime Chevy Chase resident who finds that sentiment rather ugly. I think it would be a benefit for the school if we had immersion kids more fluent in spanish taking upper level Spanish AP and IB classes. But, many view them as lower SES riff-raff who somehow cheated their way into a more expensive club.