Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The comment about how the info night isn't Chinese parent friendly wasn't idiotic, it was indicative - I had a similarly off putting experience. The comment about the holidays was just an example - no part of the presentation seemed geared toward bilingual families. I like to keep coments constructive, so maybe matters will improve if the PA knows this is an issue. I raised my hand and asked the presenters--one was the school principal--which dialects kids at the school speak, which dialects teachers speak, and how many kids speak Chinese at home. Normal questions a Chinese parent might ask. The answer I got in every case was something to the effect of "the school doesn't have this info and if it did, we couldn't give it out in a public charter school context." They seemed annoyed by my line of inquiry and I felt out of place. I left puzzled, without knowing how many bilingual kids are in the school.

I'm a current parent of a YY PK student, and can absolutely see what you're talking about re the open house presentation. It seems that the presentations are made by administrators who don't have access to fairly basic information that a prospective parent would want. I've been wondering what I as a newbie parent can do.

In my case, I had questions about how the PK program addressed basic socialization issues (making friends, learning to wipe one's nose, etc.). The admin making the presentation looked at me like I had two heads--she didn't even understand the question, let alone have information on what the program does. Again, I had to go to current parents to get my questions answered.

Really?
Teach your kid how to wipe his/her nose him/herself and shut up. Maybe they were annoyed because you're an annoying person. As for PA and admins "listening" to you---guess what. they don't read dcum because it would be like purposely sticking sharp sticks in their eyes.

"The comment about how the info night isn't Chinese parent friendly wasn't idiotic, it was indicative - I had a similarly off putting experience. "

Nice of you to support your own post. You should try to vary your writing style if you want to sock puppet.

Why should YY cater to dialect speakers? The standard in China is Mandarin.

Anonymous wrote:The comment about how the info night isn't Chinese parent friendly wasn't idiotic, it was indicative - I had a similarly off putting experience. The comment about the holidays was just an example - no part of the presentation seemed geared toward bilingual families. I like to keep coments constructive, so maybe matters will improve if the PA knows this is an issue. I raised my hand and asked the presenters--one was the school principal--which dialects kids at the school speak, which dialects teachers speak, and how many kids speak Chinese at home. Normal questions a Chinese parent might ask. The answer I got in every case was something to the effect of "the school doesn't have this info and if it did, we couldn't give it out in a public charter school context." They seemed annoyed by my line of inquiry and I felt out of place. I left puzzled, without knowing how many bilingual kids are in the school.

I'm a current parent of a YY PK student, and can absolutely see what you're talking about re the open house presentation. It seems that the presentations are made by administrators who don't have access to fairly basic information that a prospective parent would want. I've been wondering what I as a newbie parent can do.

In my case, I had questions about how the PK program addressed basic socialization issues (making friends, learning to wipe one's nose, etc.). The admin making the presentation looked at me like I had two heads--she didn't even understand the question, let alone have information on what the program does. Again, I had to go to current parents to get my questions answered.

The comment about how the info night isn't Chinese parent friendly wasn't idiotic, it was indicative - I had a similarly off putting experience. The comment about the holidays was just an example - no part of the presentation seemed geared toward bilingual families. I like to keep coments constructive, so maybe matters will improve if the PA knows this is an issue. I raised my hand and asked the presenters--one was the school principal--which dialects kids at the school speak, which dialects teachers speak, and how many kids speak Chinese at home. Normal questions a Chinese parent might ask. The answer I got in every case was something to the effect of "the school doesn't have this info and if it did, we couldn't give it out in a public charter school context." They seemed annoyed by my line of inquiry and I felt out of place. I left puzzled, without knowing how many bilingual kids are in the school. Friends tell me that what you have to do is go up at the end of a school day, corner a Chinese teacher and ask in dialect. With luck, they'll steer you to another teacher who speaks your dialect, and maybe even a parent. I send my kid to weekend "heritage Mandarin" classes at Kuang Chi Chinese School in Rockville, where dialect speakers are catered to. I'd rather have a free option in the District, but it doesn't sound like YY's lottery situation is ever going to change. No, bilingual parents wouldn't want to weed out all the poor minority children - those with exceptional language learning capabilities and special help from the school (e.g. CDs and DVDs to use at home) surely do fine. Kuang Chi takes some and they seem to thrive in classes in which most of the other kids are Chinese speakers.

Anonymous wrote:There does seem to be a lot of confusion on the board about the rules regarding charter schools. They are required by law to have only first come, first serve lotteries. If they think they have a better educational model than the public schools, they are required to prove that it really works without creaming off wealthier or more involved parents.

Oyster can have a two tier lottery because they are a DCPS magnet program.

A DCPS school can become a charter school, provided it can come up with a board and get community buy in to do so. A charter school cannot become a DCPS school. To do so, they would have to convince DCPS to start a magnet program, and all teacher and administrators would fall under DCPS jurisdiction and regulations, which is what charter schools are set up to avoid.

Fucking thank you... If I have to read another comment about how "All YY has to do is become a 'magnet school' and start implementing selective admissions based on various criteria designed to winnow out any poor black children" I'm going to scream.

There does seem to be a lot of confusion on the board about the rules regarding charter schools. They are required by law to have only first come, first serve lotteries. If they think they have a better educational model than the public schools, they are required to prove that it really works without creaming off wealthier or more involved parents.

Oyster can have a two tier lottery because they are a DCPS magnet program.

A DCPS school can become a charter school, provided it can come up with a board and get community buy in to do so. A charter school cannot become a DCPS school. To do so, they would have to convince DCPS to start a magnet program, and all teacher and administrators would fall under DCPS jurisdiction and regulations, which is what charter schools are set up to avoid.

If the school can do whatever it wants with the wait list, can they put in the the question about Chinese speaking ability on the application and use it to sort their wait list? I agree more native speakers would only improve an immersion program. Also, it is important to have a liaison who is familiar with the language and culture of China and here (they had one but she had to move away).

Anonymous wrote:gotta love the way this thread has gone full circle...

ITA... Too elite/not diverse enough to not elite enough/too diverse.

I honestly think most parents would love it if there were more Chinese-speaking kids in the class. Personally I scan the waitlists every year hoping for more Chinese kids. But--the first attempt at a Chinese charter school in DC failed because it was perceived as too elite. YY has to tread VERY carefully in order to prove that it's different and, as is painfully obvious, it is barely succeeding. I can't see how they can possibly change the lottery given all of this although I really, really wish they could--most of us aren't able to jet off to China every year and realize that all the literature shows that only duel immersion really produces fluency.

gotta love the way this thread has gone full circle...

I totally agree that asian kids who speak chinese should be able to enter a separate lottery - it would greatly enhance the experience for all students, and help those non-native chinese speakers learn.

On a related note, studies have shown that kids from high SES households do better in school, and also that low SES kids tend to do better if a mix of high SES kids are in their classes. And in DC, unfortunately, SES status is closely correlated to race. Therefore, I think white students should have separate lotteries for the city's charter schools. It's in everyone's best interest, you seen.

What's that you say? That's an absurd suggestion, and the primary motivator is selfishness?

Oh.

Also, Yu Ying's current set-up tends to non plus us for subtle reasons unlikely to occur to non-Chinese parents. For example, go to an information night and hear from a non-Chinese administrator how the school teaches its families how to celebrate Chinese holidays, the assumption being that those those in the audience wouldn't know how. You think to yourself, what if these parents were being told that they'd be taught how to celebrate Thanksgiving, the 4th of July and Christmas?

What an idiotic comment. If I lived in China, and my kid was in an English immersion program, I wouldn't find it all odd that the school explained how US holidays are celebrated. The assumption that many of the families wouldn't know would be perfectly logical, despite the fact that some, including me, would know. Why would a Chinese family in Beijing know how the US celebrates the 4th of July, or Labor Day, or Thanksgiving?

If you're raising your kid bilingual, you tend to resent a brutal lottery in which a non-Chinese speaking child has the same shot as yours.

Translation - the lottery is unfair because it's hard to get in the school. Kids whose parents are fortunate enough to be able to teach them two languages at an early age (before 4 yo!) should be given preferential treatment.

Further translation: The PP is a horse's ass, and doesn't care who knows it. Self-interest camouflaged as altruism.

Anonymous wrote:All that terrific diversity in preK can seem much less wonderful by 3rd or 4th grades, when so many of the students providing it are struggling. You definitely aren't going to attract a lot more bilingual kids, who wouldn't struggle, without Chinese administrators or a parallel lottery, no matter what sort of outreach you might do. Truly, YY might have worked better as a magnet, leaving it in a position to screen applicants for suitability. Some children, regardless of family background, have exceptional language aquisition apptitude; others don't. If the school were in a position to test, identify and bring in droves of language gifted kids, and bilingual kids, its prospects would be brighter. Romance language learners don't face the same hurdles, because, as has been pointed out, Chinese is a whole lot harder. My ABC spouse often has his usage in dialect corrected by his immigrant parents, and he spoke nothing but Chinese until age 5. DCPCSB and the city council need a reality check on the "luck as sole entrance criterion" approach, and fast.

Whatever... go start a MAGNET Chinese school to your liking.

Some of these posts by ABC parents that won't enter Yu Ying have an underlying message on diversity, "PCness" and the student body at Yu Ying which makes me ask:

Is the Yu Ying student body too black for you?

You are sending out that vibe and I hope I stand corrected.

All that terrific diversity in preK can seem much less wonderful by 3rd or 4th grades, when so many of the students providing it are struggling. You definitely aren't going to attract a lot more bilingual kids, who wouldn't struggle, without Chinese administrators or a parallel lottery, no matter what sort of outreach you might do. Truly, YY might have worked better as a magnet, leaving it in a position to screen applicants for suitability. Some children, regardless of family background, have exceptional language aquisition apptitude; others don't. If the school were in a position to test, identify and bring in droves of language gifted kids, and bilingual kids, its prospects would be brighter. Romance language learners don't face the same hurdles, because, as has been pointed out, Chinese is a whole lot harder. My ABC spouse often has his usage in dialect corrected by his immigrant parents, and he spoke nothing but Chinese until age 5. DCPCSB and the city council need a reality check on the "luck as sole entrance criterion" approach, and fast.