Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Somerset has a foundation so there are lots of extras for the kids: free tutoring, professional play production, wonderful summer camp, etc.
Diverse student body (international, not domestic).

The last sentence is so obnoxious. Because it's so much better to be in class with a French kid than, gasp, a Latino or god forbid, an African American.

I made the statement and I did not mean it in the way you are saying. I'm was just noting that the reality of the diversity, that is there are black and brown people at Somerset but they are not African-American or Hispanic-American, they are from Nigeria, Spain, Peru, etc. For some people this may make a difference. Facts are actually useful in making decisions

OP here- thank you PP.

I might take a tour of the school, just to see what it looks like.
I know it is a great school in a wonderful neighborhood, I am just worried about the K class sizes. At Mann, they have two adults/teachers in each class.

Thanks!

I am a Somerset parent with two kids who have recently gone through Kindergarden. I cannot say enough good things about the teachers, the school facility, the PTA and the fellow students. I am not in the Friendship Heights buildings but I know many of the families that are and there's much bonding at the bus stops or on the walk to school. My kids have friends from many different countries and there are at least 5-6 different languages spoken in the classroom which adds to very interesting cultural discussions. The class size can vary from about 23-27 kids but they have a great system of pulling out kids from class to go to a special reading teacher which makes the class size essentially smaller during this important kindergarten year for early readers. A bunch of kids also leave the class for ESOL (English as a Second Language) essentially leaving a much smaller class size.
Another plus for MCSP - if your child is potentially "gifted" there is a special Highly Gifted program that starts in 4th grade that your student can test into. For Somerset in particular, the school is very nearby. Feel free to ask me any questions and I'll try to answer. I also came from the Horace Mann area and moved so we wouldn't have to face the middle school move. We also really like the physical plant of Somerset as compared to HM.

Anonymous wrote:

OP here again - thank you everyone, so much! I stopped by Somerset this morning and talked to the administrators. I was surprised to find out that the school does not teach languages at all.

OP you might want to do some basic research on the DCPS curriculum and that of MCPS. That would give you the answers to questions like the one above about language teaching. Somerset like all MCPS schools except for immmersion programs does not introduce languages until middle school. Westland offers French, Spanish, Chinese and a continuation of Spanish immersion for those students who did hte program at Rock Creek Forest.

With the exception of its immersion schools, DCPS elementary does "world languages", which at most schools means about 45 min of instruction a week. A 45 min/week class is not going to teach your kid how to speak or understand a language in any meaningful way, although I suppose it provides an appreciation for other cultures, which most people have in this area anyway because it's diverse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Somerset has a foundation so there are lots of extras for the kids: free tutoring, professional play production, wonderful summer camp, etc.
Diverse student body (international, not domestic).

The last sentence is so obnoxious. Because it's so much better to be in class with a French kid than, gasp, a Latino or god forbid, an African American.

Well dcum makes it clear there is diversity means different things to different people. Clarifying poster was as likely apologizing as being obnoxious. But hey, assume the worst, thats how we get the 40 page threads...

Assume the worst? I don't have to. People reveal their true selves - bigots and all - on this forum. ... Something about anonymity.

Ok what phrase would you like to use to describe the mix of students attending Somerset.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Somerset has a foundation so there are lots of extras for the kids: free tutoring, professional play production, wonderful summer camp, etc.
Diverse student body (international, not domestic).

The last sentence is so obnoxious. Because it's so much better to be in class with a French kid than, gasp, a Latino or god forbid, an African American.

Well dcum makes it clear there is diversity means different things to different people. Clarifying poster was as likely apologizing as being obnoxious. But hey, assume the worst, thats how we get the 40 page threads...

Assume the worst? I don't have to. People reveal their true selves - bigots and all - on this forum. ... Something about anonymity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Somerset has a foundation so there are lots of extras for the kids: free tutoring, professional play production, wonderful summer camp, etc.
Diverse student body (international, not domestic).

The last sentence is so obnoxious. Because it's so much better to be in class with a French kid than, gasp, a Latino or god forbid, an African American.

Well dcum makes it clear there is diversity means different things to different people. Clarifying poster was as likely apologizing as being obnoxious. But hey, assume the worst, thats how we get the 40 page threads...

Anonymous wrote:Somerset has a foundation so there are lots of extras for the kids: free tutoring, professional play production, wonderful summer camp, etc.
Diverse student body (international, not domestic).

The last sentence is so obnoxious. Because it's so much better to be in class with a French kid than, gasp, a Latino or god forbid, an African American.

OP - thanks PP. That's helpful.

Anonymous wrote:OP- thanks PP. I think we will stay with Mann till Middle and then move. Do you think it will be difficult for my child to make new friends in Middle School?

The transition to MS itself is challenging for some kids without having to make all new friends. That said, certainly Westland has enough feeder schools that lots of kids are making #s of new friends themselves, so it should work out fine & is not significantly different, especially if you help DC keep in touch with ES friends. I just moved my kids around for schools and it took a toll. I would still make the same choices I made, but try to do what you can to recognize that DC will need support to make new/sustain old friends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - thank you PP. Was this recently?

The Chinese family? Yes this was recently, they just moved out of the area last year to another state.

Were the kids high-achieving? That point wasn't clear from your post about the family.

Anonymous wrote:OP - thank you PP. Was this recently?

The Chinese family? Yes this was recently, they just moved out of the area last year to another state.

OP- thanks PP

OP here again - thank you everyone, so much! I stopped by Somerset this morning and talked to the administrators. I was surprised to find out that the school does not teach languages at all.

OP you might want to do some basic research on the DCPS curriculum and that of MCPS. That would give you the answers to questions like the one above about language teaching. Somerset like all MCPS schools except for immmersion programs does not introduce languages until middle school. Westland offers French, Spanish, Chinese and a continuation of Spanish immersion for those students who did hte program at Rock Creek Forest.