Anonymous wrote:Feeling lazy so will ask the question here instead of researching: do students need to already be fluent in a second language to enter DCI in 6th grade? Or is there a separate program for kids coming from immersion elementary school?

Almost certainly not, but it doesn't sound like it's all be sorted out yet. Although the immersion charters won't allow kids who are fluent in Spanish, Chinese, French and Hebrew well to test into higher elementary grades, they won't be able to keep them out of immersion/advanced language classes at DCI if they lottery in.

What a ridiculous system - MoCo and Fairfax freely allow kids who speak languages to test into immersion programs from 1st or 2nd grade.

Brent doesn't lose kids until 5th grade. Many of the kids that they lost ARE the Hill East kids who were squeamish about Eo[L]P (can you not say EH here?). We know plenty of them and not one is on the Hill any longer for middle school. Even the few who stuck around for 5th grade are now in Charters or at Hardy. A few went private...very few.

That is what Maury needs to look at. If they think they will keep the kids because DCI is opening they are crazy. Plenty of charter kids are going to head there too.

Nope, I don't know the answer, just glad it isn't my problem any longer.

I was the PP who failed to mention Watkins - it was simply an oversight, nothing more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, I think Maury will have better upper grades in two years, and I think Watkins will always be kinda okay, but never really great unless there are big changes.

I think Maury needs to look at Brent to see what will happen to their upper grades.

I think Maury is well advised to pursue it's own solution for upper grades. Maury's 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade aren't experiencing the kind of attrition that Brent is in 5th. Not to say it's all rosy - never is, never will be, nowhere - but those grades have something unique to offer and there is a sense of community, among kids, parents, staff in those grades that I for one wouldn't easily compromise on. The 5th grade experience is pretty unique actually and may well be a model for others to follow.

Maybe I have this all wrong but I think the doomsday predictors just don't account for the fact that Maury's location and catchment area are different. For one thing, many parents live in Hill East and aren't all that squeamish about venturing Eo[L]P to look for middle school if that's what it takes.

Anonymous wrote:Both schools seem to be on track to sort out most of their grade 3 and 4 issues (mainly lack of challenge for advanced learners) within the next several years.

I think you're going to see more high-SES families staying for 5th at both Maury and Brent before heading to private middle schools - that's our plan. And more will probably stay to lottery into DCI MS, opening in fall 2014 up at Walter Reed, which won't start until 6th, unlike BASIS and Latin.

Watkins will only be able to compete with the other middle-class friendly elementary schools by scaling down (so not enough room for a gaggle of Ward 7 and 8 kids) and moving K from Peabody. The Cluster has struggled to keep high-SES kids for a quarter-century now.

I agree. At Brent it will definitely keep some 5th graders who will look at private middle schools IF --and it is a big one--it can sort out the level of expectation and teaching in the upper classrooms. It will not be about pullout or advanced math sections. It will have to be an across the board improvement in the curriculum to include more challenging material, writing assignments and critical thinking for all of the students. If that doesn't happen, people will go private in third and fourth and not waste time. This is already happening

Feeling lazy so will ask the question here instead of researching: do students need to already be fluent in a second language to enter DCI in 6th grade? Or is there a separate program for kids coming from immersion elementary school?

Both schools seem to be on track to sort out most of their grade 3 and 4 issues (mainly lack of challenge for advanced learners) within the next several years.

I think you're going to see more high-SES families staying for 5th at both Maury and Brent before heading to private middle schools - that's our plan. And more will probably stay to lottery into DCI MS, opening in fall 2014 up at Walter Reed, which won't start until 6th, unlike BASIS and Latin.

Watkins will only be able to compete with the other middle-class friendly elementary schools by scaling down (so not enough room for a gaggle of Ward 7 and 8 kids) and moving K from Peabody. The Cluster has struggled to keep high-SES kids for a quarter-century now.

Yes. Believe me, Upper grades at Brent have some issues

Anonymous wrote:No, I think Maury will have better upper grades in two years, and I think Watkins will always be kinda okay, but never really great unless there are big changes.

I think Maury needs to look at Brent to see what will happen to their upper grades.

No, I think Maury will have better upper grades in two years, and I think Watkins will always be kinda okay, but never really great unless there are big changes.

So you think Maury upper grades are better than Watkins upper grades?

Anonymous wrote:Strange that you left out Peabody/Watkins. Also interesting that all of the schools you listed do ( or could ) feed to the same middle school.

Not strange to me. Peabody is good, Watkins peters out and most middle class families leave before SH.

Strange that you left out Peabody/Watkins. Also interesting that all of the schools you listed do ( or could ) feed to the same middle school.

I think most families on the Hill are pretty excited with the following options - Maury, Brent, SWS, and Tyler Spanish. I think that the nearby charters help make up the slack. But these schools are all pretty different - from each other and from the Ward 3 schools. Many, many families are happy at them all, and they all share the same problem - they lack a good middle school option.