This. Where’s the proof that all DCI students who don’t speak languages at home and never have are fluent?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are only two ways your DCPS/PCSB kid is fluent: (1) you have or more native speakers in the home, have had this since birth, and those native speakers communicate almost exclusively in that language, or (2) your kid spends summers or gap years in foreign countries speaking only that language. Full stop. There is no other way your kid is fluent.

I think you simply don't know students with innate language talent. My kid can mimic any accent he hears and is an avid reader. That plus all media being set to his second language and a strong peer group of native speakers seems to have done the trick.

Yawn. Same old magical thinking about "innate language talent" and the wonders of media exposure. Don't forget the marvels of Duo Lingo.

Believe what you want but your kid can't become fluent in a language without full fledged immersion living experiences for months, possibly years. Admins at DCI feeders and DCI should be much more upfront with parents. They could start by publishing IB Diploma language scores (and other scores) like many IB World Schools do.

Especially the new director. If anybody has had a productive conversation with him about honors middle school classes outside math and language, let us know. My sense is that change is not afoot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and 50% kids work below grade level. The DCI middle school English teachers struggle to serve both the stragglers and the high achievers. Same story with social studies and science. The policy against tracking for English, social studies and science just doesn't work well at DCI. It's hard on everybody, particularly the teachers.

The policy isn't the end of the world, but it's certainly not the best prep for IB Diploma. Many DCI students could work above grade level happily enough if they were in honors classes from 7th or 8th grades. But the conversation is a non-starter with DCI admins.

Even the new director?
Offering honors alone would be problematic, but what about pairing honors with desirable summer catch up programs? Or fundraisers to have more supports in the regular and remedial tracks. Even starting at the feeders (where we are now) there are so many bright kids of all races not being appropriately challenged. It's sad to see some leave at fifth for more challenge. Having an honors track could ultimately lead to better outcomes for all.

You're a native speaker of the target language? The kid has scored 6 or 7 on a HL IB Diploma language exan? If not, how do you know what's done the trick? The kid may well be "proficient" in the target language (presumably Spanish, since there are hardly any true native speakers of French or Mandarin in the DCI feeders or at DCI. They're not fluent. I'm fluent/native speaker of one of the DCI target languages and proficient in another, so, yea, I know how full-fledged bilingualism is attained.

Anonymous wrote:There are only two ways your DCPS/PCSB kid is fluent: (1) you have or more native speakers in the home, have had this since birth, and those native speakers communicate almost exclusively in that language, or (2) your kid spends summers or gap years in foreign countries speaking only that language. Full stop. There is no other way your kid is fluent.

I think you simply don't know students with innate language talent. My kid can mimic any accent he hears and is an avid reader. That plus all media being set to his second language and a strong peer group of native speakers seems to have done the trick.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's see. DCI went from zero Ivy League admissions in 2020 to "amazing," "multiple" Ivy League admissions each of the next three years.

Yeah, right. Let's see the lists.

2020 was a tiny, under resourced founding class. Very different from 2021-2023. Look at the DCI Facebook and IG, where students announced their destinations (and many awards and prestigious scholarships) in 2021-2022. The list of current acceptances is available to current families already. Since you don't have it, you obviously have no connection to dci and are talking out of your a__. What is your grudge against DCI?

Then post the lists for 2021-2023.

Lol. They never do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's see. DCI went from zero Ivy League admissions in 2020 to "amazing," "multiple" Ivy League admissions each of the next three years.

Yeah, right. Let's see the lists.

2020 was a tiny, under resourced founding class. Very different from 2021-2023. Look at the DCI Facebook and IG, where students announced their destinations (and many awards and prestigious scholarships) in 2021-2022. The list of current acceptances is available to current families already. Since you don't have it, you obviously have no connection to dci and are talking out of your a__. What is your grudge against DCI?

Then post the lists for 2021-2023.

Anonymous wrote:Let's see. DCI went from zero Ivy League admissions in 2020 to "amazing," "multiple" Ivy League admissions each of the next three years.

Yeah, right. Let's see the lists.

2020 was a tiny, under resourced founding class. Very different from 2021-2023. Look at the DCI Facebook and IG, where students announced their destinations (and many awards and prestigious scholarships) in 2021-2022. The list of current acceptances is available to current families already. Since you don't have it, you obviously have no connection to dci and are talking out of your a__. What is your grudge against DCI?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and 50% kids work below grade level. The DCI middle school English teachers struggle to serve both the stragglers and the high achievers. Same story with social studies and science. The policy against tracking for English, social studies and science just doesn't work well at DCI. It's hard on everybody, particularly the teachers.

The policy isn't the end of the world, but it's certainly not the best prep for IB Diploma. Many DCI students could work above grade level happily enough if they were in honors classes from 7th or 8th grades. But the conversation is a non-starter with DCI admins.

Yeah bc it’s racist. If the blacks cannot meet a given standard, intellectual rigor associated with honors classes, then that standard must be removed.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and 50% kids work below grade level. The DCI middle school English teachers struggle to serve both the stragglers and the high achievers. Same story with social studies and science. The policy against tracking for English, social studies and science just doesn't work well at DCI. It's hard on everybody, particularly the teachers.

The policy isn't the end of the world, but it's certainly not the best prep for IB Diploma. Many DCI students could work above grade level happily enough if they were in honors classes from 7th or 8th grades. But the conversation is a non-starter with DCI admins.

Anonymous wrote:If you care about your kid’s education at all - in the sense that you want him to learn the 3 Rs - do not go to DCI. Walls or Wilson are the only public options. Every other public option is really just day care disguised as a high school. Move if you can’t go to Walls or Wilson and private is not an option.

No, Wilson which is now JR is terrible. 9th grade is a wasted year, and 10th grade also with honors for all. All the families with high performing kids with options leave. Percentages of kids at and above grade level in ELA similar to DCI, but in math, way lower than DCI, almost 50% lower.

Walls is also going downhill with the new opaque admissions standards. The most recent class is weaker and needing much more support than previous classes. Many teachers at Walls are mediocre at best, and some just apathetic.

I would argue if you care about education, get out of DCPS. It’s a race to the bottom and that bottom just gets lower and lower especially after Covid.

If you care about your kid’s education at all - in the sense that you want him to learn the 3 Rs - do not go to DCI. Walls or Wilson are the only public options. Every other public option is really just day care disguised as a high school. Move if you can’t go to Walls or Wilson and private is not an option.

Yes, and 50% kids work below grade level. The DCI middle school English teachers struggle to serve both the stragglers and the high achievers. Same story with social studies and science. The policy against tracking for English, social studies and science just doesn't work well at DCI. It's hard on everybody, particularly the teachers.

Anonymous wrote:The point is that DCI middle school English isn't even taught at grade level, other than where there's an exceptionally good teacher (the 7th grade teacher who fit the bill suddenly quit a few weeks ago). There are too many kids who work behind grade level in English classes for that to be true. It's not unusual for families hire English tutors.

Data doesn’t support your premise. Almost 50% of the kids are at or above grade level in ELA. You might be unlucky and not have a great teacher. That happens.