PP here. If it's just early childhood, like AppleTree, then it doesn't really matter what you do. There are always families who need high quality childcare/education for little ones, mostly in Wards 7 & 8.

The DC public education market is not Baltimore or Maryland. Stop right there if you're looking to Charm City for examples to replicate in DC. No education reformer in their right mind or with a big wallet would support that. No offense to Baltimore, but just because the majority of kids are black and low-income doesn't mean the systems are comparable.

If you want to stand out in the very crowded education market in DC, try STEAM with language enrichment, not immersion. For example, the Arts part could be music in Spanish or dance in French. Heck, you could offer extended day programs in Latin or Greek.

The problem is teacher staffing. Teaching a non-English language as a subject itself is entirely different than teaching a subject, like math, in a non-English language. The former is plentiful and even available via Rosetta Stone at the public libraries, while the latter skill is really, really hard to attract and retain in this region. For DCPS, things are even worse because of the irrelevant and outdated licensing practices for non-native English teachers.

DC doesn't need more schools per pupil, but it does need better, more competitive programming and more stable infrastructure and facilities planning.

Not saying anything new. To the Eager Beaver marketing booster, do a little more homework before trying to get into the belly of the education reform beast.

Check out the Washington Post article regarding the future of languages: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/24/the-future-of-language/?tid=sm_tw

PP provides some helpful feedback. Since this initiative is fairly new it is good to get some helpful insight before moving down the wrong path. The ultimate goal is to do what's best for the children. All feedback is greatly appreciated!

the reality is that to have a successful you need about 60% (is that right or is it 70%) middle class (economically and educationally middle class). The low income students in this cohort will achieve. So as you design the school, think about the kind of educational environment middle-class parents want for their kids. East DC you will tend to find more liberal middle class parents who want a progressive education. Good academics for them will not mean lots of homework and lost of acceleration It will instead mean a school environment that fosters creativity and independent thinking and lots of critical thinking. Entrepreneurship might be a way to get this (totally turns me off, but I'm likely the minority for whom who owning my own business sounds like pure hell). A great language program and music/art program can also be also key.

I think you have to decide a main vision though and pick one not two accessories - language immersion with a focus on Entrepreneurship (this for the win likely) . Or Steam with a focus on language. Or Entrepreneurship with a focus on language. MV is a language immersion school that does experiential learning. CM is an experiential learning school with a focus on arts. See?

So that would mean a school like Yu Ying should be failing since they teach Chinese. I don't think there is much evidence to support that argument. Best practices can help one get over that initial hurdle.

The biggest problem with the languages selected is e intensive time commitment to learning the characters and how to read and write them. There is simply not enough hours to provide the focused, repetitive instruction needed to master some of those languages.

Languages deemed critical by the government sounds interesting. It's probably grant money available.

The languages can be negotiated and debated. It is the concept and vision that matters right now. The vision is to create a school with multiple language options. Best practices would need to be explored to come up with the best model. Might even think about Russian, Ethiopian (can't think of name now), or German. Maybe the languages can based on powerful counties (e.g., Brazil, Russia, India, China), languages deemed critical by the government (e.g., Arabic) or those that are creating powerful economies. The goal is to create a magnificent school that provides several language options to help children become bilingual. The school would also provide an innovative, attractive STEAM program, and guide children in the principles of entrepreneurship and leadership. The school/academy would be East of the River. Language classes can be immersion or classes based on levels, e.g., French I, II... Thanks for joining in the discussion and helping to move the vision in the right direction. We need to post the benefits of learning a second language. Please continue to share your thoughts so that we can try to create a unique school that will prepare our children for an ever changing world and competive global economy/society. By the way, learning another language helps with mastering English.

Anonymous wrote:Why couldn't you have 2 classes of each language that have small class sizes? Just curious why was it possible in Baltimore but can't be done in DC?

Because the costs of hiring that many teachers. If you are talking five languages, two in each, thats 10 classes per grade? seriously.

Anonymous wrote:Double checked and the meeting is still on Saturday from 10:15 to 12:15 at Gregory Library. It's an exciting time in D.C. Now to determine whether DCPS can move the initiative forward or whether the better approach is to go charter. Can the closed Davis Elementary be reopened or should a new school be built to look like Brookland Middle School? Can the school become a reality by 2017? Can it become a magnet school? Is there another key language that should be considered? Are there other ideas that should be incorporated, e.g. Project based learning or expeditionary learning? Is there a DCPS liaison that should be involved? What are the steps to take. Good that the meeting Saturday is open to concerned citizens that want to make a difference and want to sign on to help.

Can't be a magnet unless this is a DCPS school. Congress would have to pass legislation amending the DC charter law before any DC charter school can have competitive or selective admissions.

Why couldn't you have 2 classes of each language that have small class sizes? Just curious why was it possible in Baltimore but can't be done in DC?

Good intentions but impossible to implement well. Best case scenario you offer a few hours of language instruction per week. You can't do immersion in that many languages unless you are planning a school of around 1000 students and 3-5 classes per grade. And teaching portuguese is hardly preparing a student for a global world economy. Although I do wonder why schools no longer teach German.

HTTRS gonna hate.

They will learn soon enough what is feasible and what is not. For now, let them dream and put some ideas on paper. When they take it to the money folks, maybe they learn that two languages is better than five.

Anonymous wrote:What on earth is early childhood entrepreneurship? What could that possibly be?

This might help you understand the concept:

http://lemonadeday.org