Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why this thread is already 3 pages long and why anyone is trying to sell OP on YY. As a parent who didn't even enter the lottery this year and who is happy where I am, if you have this many questions, I'd say go to Hearst which you seem to already feel is a school that meets your needs. If you have that many questions about YY, leave the spot to a family who wants it more than anything and who would jump in the moment they were offered. I agree with whoever said you've answered your own question by even asking and expressing so many doubts.

This is a great point. My children love YY and have absolutely thrived there. Our family has made friends, and though we're from an international background, I continue to appreciate how much it continues to broaden our world.

Having said that, I've also been privately heartbroken - more than once - for families whom I know that passionately wanted Yu Ying and didn't get in. Both families had really low WL numbers (high single digits or low teens) and never got in. Both had lived in China or had a Chinese parent. They wanted it so much, and would have been such amazing additions to the community. It's sad for all of us that students who could contribute so much in the classroom aren't allowed to improve the school for everyone's benefit.

If you don't really love and want the idea of a bilingual education, then maybe it's best to give it to someone who does.

.

I feel the exact same way. I find it devastating that so many families who would have been a wonderful addition are shut out. It bothers me when people put their much older child in an immersion setting when they have zero background in the language only to pull them out again when there are many families whose kid would have thrived there. I agree that they're allowed to do this, but it makes me feel for the child who lost a year of school and the lost opportunity for someone who would have been so happy for the spot. I know that's an unpopular position, but it does make me sad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why this thread is already 3 pages long and why anyone is trying to sell OP on YY. As a parent who didn't even enter the lottery this year and who is happy where I am, if you have this many questions, I'd say go to Hearst which you seem to already feel is a school that meets your needs. If you have that many questions about YY, leave the spot to a family who wants it more than anything and who would jump in the moment they were offered. I agree with whoever said you've answered your own question by even asking and expressing so many doubts.

This is a great point. My children love YY and have absolutely thrived there. Our family has made friends, and though we're from an international background, I continue to appreciate how much it continues to broaden our world.

Having said that, I've also been privately heartbroken - more than once - for families whom I know that passionately wanted Yu Ying and didn't get in. Both families had really low WL numbers (high single digits or low teens) and never got in. Both had lived in China or had a Chinese parent. They wanted it so much, and would have been such amazing additions to the community. It's sad for all of us that students who could contribute so much in the classroom aren't allowed to improve the school for everyone's benefit.

If you don't really love and want the idea of a bilingual education, then maybe it's best to give it to someone who does.

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why this thread is already 3 pages long and why anyone is trying to sell OP on YY. As a parent who didn't even enter the lottery this year and who is happy where I am, if you have this many questions, I'd say go to Hearst which you seem to already feel is a school that meets your needs. If you have that many questions about YY, leave the spot to a family who wants it more than anything and who would jump in the moment they were offered. I agree with whoever said you've answered your own question by even asking and expressing so many doubts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
(And OP- remember that people will post on here with the intent of opening up a spot for themselves.)

This, a million times this. Which is why the only legit reason for posting your school choices on DCUM is to humble brag about them.

Anonymous wrote:YY does differentiaton well. It starts with fluid groupings in PreK. My DC got in the 98th percentile on the ELA map test. But struggled so much with writing that DC has an IEP and one on one support during the writing block. YY is good with all of this, have seen it myself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have two YY kids that have done or are in the upper grades and another starting next year. Do you have specific questions or do you want a general impression?

Would love to hear your general impressions about the quality of teachers and curriculum, as well as whether YY does a good job meeting the academic needs of kids at all levels, both below and above grade level. At the Hearst open house I heard about how they tailor the instruction to the kid's needs and abilities (e.g., if the kid already knows how to tell time, she doesn't have to sit through the math unit on telling time and might go to the next grade up for math, or do pull-outs with a specialist). I know the class sizes in the upper grades at YY are quite small, so I assume they are well-situated to differentiate the instruction, but I'd like to get more concrete info on how they do that. And more generally, do you think the academic instruction suffers at all from being in Chinese? The principal was quite upfront in saying that kids do not graduate from YY "fluent" in Chinese, so what does that mean for kids being taught core subjects in a language they're not fluent in, esp. in a language that is so different from English?

Anonymous wrote:
(And OP- remember that people will post on here with the intent of opening up a spot for themselves.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats on having to fantastic options! Personally, I'd go with Yu Ying because the option for a second chance is unlikely. With regard to the immersion point, the laymen on here simply don't understand the benefits of second language fluency. There's tons of science to back up the superior brains of bilinguals. Really, it's a two second Google search. Americans are way behind getting this, but elsewhere it's a given that people will be bi and possibly trilingual. Honestly, it's exasperating reading opinions on here that are based on absolutely nothing. I'm a science person and the science supports that bilingualism is a fantastic thing. So, I'd go with that if that was an option. We happen to be in at a HRCS for Spanish and count our lucky stars. That said, it is truly a commitment and nothing to shrug your shoulders too. It's gut-wrenching when families need to move and there isn't a Chinese option at the new school. They've spent years investing in Chinese, only to have to give it up because life happens and people have to move, etc... Spanish has that challenge as well, but easier. Also, we do a lot of enrichment, which isn't cheap. Also, aftercare is expensive as well. I've heard that Yu Ying parents feel the need to invest in tutoring, Au Pairs, etc... Again, not cheap. I can't say whether that's valid and that stuff is actually needed, but speaking from experience with Spanish, my child would not be as good without all of the extras. She's perfectly fluent to the amazement of the large Latin American community we know and it's because we're very strict with it. For me as a mom, I'm constantly evaluating whether it's all too much, but that's me. I want a healthy happy kid more than anything, so if the language piece gets out of hand, I'll be choosing happiness if a choice was ever needed to be made!

Second language "fluency" from DC charter immersion without a native speaker in the home and a strong commitment to at least one adult in the home speaking only the target language to the children? Dream on. We're native Mandarin speakers who haven't been impressed with the Chinese of YY kids without a Chinese-speaking adult in the home, and we often speak Chinese to upper grades YY kids who've been in the school since PreK4.

I'd go with Hearst. We go with a JKLM and speak Chinese at home and writing/reading lessons on weekends. The reality is that our kids are ahead of almost the entire YY crowd in English, Chinese, math,you name it. There's happiness for you.

Anonymous wrote:Congrats on having to fantastic options! Personally, I'd go with Yu Ying because the option for a second chance is unlikely. With regard to the immersion point, the laymen on here simply don't understand the benefits of second language fluency. There's tons of science to back up the superior brains of bilinguals. Really, it's a two second Google search. Americans are way behind getting this, but elsewhere it's a given that people will be bi and possibly trilingual. Honestly, it's exasperating reading opinions on here that are based on absolutely nothing. I'm a science person and the science supports that bilingualism is a fantastic thing. So, I'd go with that if that was an option. We happen to be in at a HRCS for Spanish and count our lucky stars. That said, it is truly a commitment and nothing to shrug your shoulders too. It's gut-wrenching when families need to move and there isn't a Chinese option at the new school. They've spent years investing in Chinese, only to have to give it up because life happens and people have to move, etc... Spanish has that challenge as well, but easier. Also, we do a lot of enrichment, which isn't cheap. Also, aftercare is expensive as well. I've heard that Yu Ying parents feel the need to invest in tutoring, Au Pairs, etc... Again, not cheap. I can't say whether that's valid and that stuff is actually needed, but speaking from experience with Spanish, my child would not be as good without all of the extras. She's perfectly fluent to the amazement of the large Latin American community we know and it's because we're very strict with it. For me as a mom, I'm constantly evaluating whether it's all too much, but that's me. I want a healthy happy kid more than anything, so if the language piece gets out of hand, I'll be choosing happiness if a choice was ever needed to be made!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You'd be a fool to give up on Yu Ying.

-a parent at a different immersion school.

Personally, I agree with you. However, immersion isn't for everyone. If a family doesn't have what it takes to support a particular kind of education, then perhaps they should consider something that makes it more likely for the student to succeed. A child's sense of success is of paramount importance in future endeavors.