Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You are confused on one key point: a kid's primary caretaker is his/ her parents.

No Spanish-speaking nanny supercedes an English-speaking family, sorry.

No, you are being pedantic while failing to address the points raised. "Primary caretaker" was clearly defined as the person who spends the most time with the child. If you prefer different wording that's fine, but to pretend to not understand the argument is disingenuous. The child in that example speaks Spanish as their primary form of communication, regardless of how it was acquired.

Obviously the OP’s child doesn’t speak Spanish as her primary form of communication—or at least she didn’t on testing day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You are confused on one key point: a kid's primary caretaker is his/ her parents.

No Spanish-speaking nanny supercedes an English-speaking family, sorry.

No, you are being pedantic while failing to address the points raised. "Primary caretaker" was clearly defined as the person who spends the most time with the child. If you prefer different wording that's fine, but to pretend to not understand the argument is disingenuous. The child in that example speaks Spanish as their primary form of communication, regardless of how it was acquired.

Anonymous wrote:

You are confused on one key point: a kid's primary caretaker is his/ her parents.

No Spanish-speaking nanny supercedes an English-speaking family, sorry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think anyone cares about where the kid's Spanish derives from, what matters is that it is the primary language in the household, and therefore the main language in which the kid thinks/ speaks/ responds.

You don't get there by having a nanny or a grandma speaking Spanish. You get there when both parents predominantly speak Spanish to the kid and between themselves, and most friends and relatives around also speak it.

That's what justifies the "Spanish dominant" preference in the OA model.

I'm sorry, but the DC Handbook defines Spanish dominance as "the primary language of communication for the applying student." Contrary to your claim, that is the case when the child's primary caretaker (nanny, grandmother, cousin, whatever), who spends more time with the child than anyone else, is solely a Spanish speaker. That child will in most cases be a Spanish speaker first and foremost. And I'm not sure how parents in that situation, or any fair outside judge, could reasonably pinpoint anything other than Spanish as "the primary language of communication for the applying student."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think anyone cares about where the kid's Spanish derives from, what matters is that it is the primary language in the household, and therefore the main language in which the kid thinks/ speaks/ responds.

You don't get there by having a nanny or a grandma speaking Spanish. You get there when both parents predominantly speak Spanish to the kid and between themselves, and most friends and relatives around also speak it.

That's what justifies the "Spanish dominant" preference in the OA model.

I'm sorry, but the DC Handbook defines Spanish dominance as "the primary language of communication for the applying student." Contrary to your claim, that is the case when the child's primary caretaker (nanny, grandmother, cousin, whatever), who spends more time with the child than anyone else, is solely a Spanish speaker. That child will in most cases be a Spanish speaker first and foremost. And I'm not sure how parents in that situation, or any fair outside judge, could reasonably pinpoint anything other than Spanish as "the primary language of communication for the applying student."

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think anyone cares about where the kid's Spanish derives from, what matters is that it is the primary language in the household, and therefore the main language in which the kid thinks/ speaks/ responds.

You don't get there by having a nanny or a grandma speaking Spanish. You get there when both parents predominantly speak Spanish to the kid and between themselves, and most friends and relatives around also speak it.

That's what justifies the "Spanish dominant" preference in the OA model.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There is a clear and consistent standard at Oyster, under the current principal: Spanish dominance, for purposes of lottery admission, must not be derived from nanny (aunt/grandma/play cousin) or preschool care. You don’t have to like it, but that’s the standard.

Btw, life is all about imposed value judgments, both official and implied.

The DC school enrollment handbook says otherwise and has done so for many years. So, if your statement is correct, the principal is applying a standard contrary to what parents are told to expect from the handbook. In addition, as others have pointed out, the standard comes very close to a national original test as well as being inconsistent across dual language schools. You haven't addressed any of these issues.

Anonymous wrote:Here is the DCPS policy on language skills for a child seeking a Spanish dominant seat at one of its schools. This applies to all of them, from Tyler to Oyster. https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/sites/dcpsenrollment/files/page_content/attachments/SY19-20%20DCPS%20Enrollment%20and%20Lottery%20Handbook_FINAL_Nov%202018%20%28English%29.pdf

"Language Dominance (PK3-1 Grades)
To support dual language learning in grades PK3-1, many schools strive to create linguistically balanced classrooms. As such, schools request that applicants identify as “English-dominant” or “Spanish-dominant ” on their lottery application. Language-dominance is defined as the primary language of communication for the applying student.

After the release of lottery results and prior to enrollment, schools may require students claiming Spanish dominant to be assessed for language proficiency. If the student does not pass the assessment, he or she may be required to forfeit their match in that school's dual language program. In these cases, the applicant will be placed on the school’s non-Spanish dominant waitlist.

Spanish Proficiency Screening (2-12 Grades)
In grades 2-12, students who attend dual language programs are expected to learn grade-level content in Spanish. If the applicant is not currently enrolled in a DCPS or DC public charter school dual language program, he or she will be required to take a Spanish-proficiency test. Testing occurs after lottery matches are released, at the school to which the student was matched. If the student does not pass the assessment, he or she may be required to forfeit their match in that school's dual language program. In these cases, at the parent’s request, the applicant will be placed back on the waitlist of all schools where the student was “not waitlisted.” This request must be made to My School DC by the parent and can only be made once the family has failed the proficiency test.

Note: If one school finds the student does not meet the language requirements, the student is ineligible for ALL DCPS dual language programs in that grade, if applicable."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree on the nanny thing. The point of wanting a certain percentage of Spanish dominant kids is that those kids will bring continuing Spanish fluency to the school. What happens when the kid ages out of the nanny and now no one at home speaks Spanish? Or the kid is now in school for most of the day and spends little time with that nanny? And frankly, I think it's BS that wealthier parents would be able to essentially buy their way in by hiring a Spanish-speaking nanny. I don't blame them for wanting to screen that out. OP's case seems unusual, in that the kid really does have a real connection to Spanish language. If I were OP, I'd contact the school and DCPS, explain the situation, and seek redress that way.

The point is neither you nor anyone else know the personal circumstances of a given family. It could be the "nanny" is an aunt or grandmother who will continue to live with the family. Could be the family continues to employee the nanny for another 18 years. You are making value judgements that have little to do with whether that child is actually Spanish dominant at the time they take the test. It is more than reasonable for parents to want clear and consistent standards that are applied across all dual language schools. It is also reasonable to expect that these standards are not based on socio-economic status or cultural background or any criteria other than actual language ability ("dominance"). It is especially important to have them since the test is administered after parents school lottery results are already set in stone.

There is a clear and consistent standard at Oyster, under the current principal: Spanish dominance, for purposes of lottery admission, must not be derived from nanny (aunt/grandma/play cousin) or preschool care. You don’t have to like it, but that’s the standard.

Btw, life is all about imposed value judgments, both official and implied.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree on the nanny thing. The point of wanting a certain percentage of Spanish dominant kids is that those kids will bring continuing Spanish fluency to the school. What happens when the kid ages out of the nanny and now no one at home speaks Spanish? Or the kid is now in school for most of the day and spends little time with that nanny? And frankly, I think it's BS that wealthier parents would be able to essentially buy their way in by hiring a Spanish-speaking nanny. I don't blame them for wanting to screen that out. OP's case seems unusual, in that the kid really does have a real connection to Spanish language. If I were OP, I'd contact the school and DCPS, explain the situation, and seek redress that way.

The point is neither you nor anyone else know the personal circumstances of a given family. It could be the "nanny" is an aunt or grandmother who will continue to live with the family. Could be the family continues to employee the nanny for another 18 years. You are making value judgements that have little to do with whether that child is actually Spanish dominant at the time they take the test. It is more than reasonable for parents to want clear and consistent standards that are applied across all dual language schools. It is also reasonable to expect that these standards are not based on socio-economic status or cultural background or any criteria other than actual language ability ("dominance"). It is especially important to have them since the test is administered after parents school lottery results are already set in stone.

There is a clear and consistent standard at Oyster, under the current principal: Spanish dominance, for purposes of lottery admission, must not be derived from nanny (aunt/grandma/play cousin) or preschool care. You don’t have to like it, but that’s the standard.

Btw, life is all about imposed value judgments, both official and implied.

Anonymous wrote:

There is a clear and consistent standard at Oyster, under the current principal: Spanish dominance, for purposes of lottery admission, must not be derived from nanny (aunt/grandma/play cousin) or preschool care. You don’t have to like it, but that’s the standard.

Btw, life is all about imposed value judgments, both official and implied.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree on the nanny thing. The point of wanting a certain percentage of Spanish dominant kids is that those kids will bring continuing Spanish fluency to the school. What happens when the kid ages out of the nanny and now no one at home speaks Spanish? Or the kid is now in school for most of the day and spends little time with that nanny? And frankly, I think it's BS that wealthier parents would be able to essentially buy their way in by hiring a Spanish-speaking nanny. I don't blame them for wanting to screen that out. OP's case seems unusual, in that the kid really does have a real connection to Spanish language. If I were OP, I'd contact the school and DCPS, explain the situation, and seek redress that way.

The point is neither you nor anyone else know the personal circumstances of a given family. It could be the "nanny" is an aunt or grandmother who will continue to live with the family. Could be the family continues to employee the nanny for another 18 years. You are making value judgements that have little to do with whether that child is actually Spanish dominant at the time they take the test. It is more than reasonable for parents to want clear and consistent standards that are applied across all dual language schools. It is also reasonable to expect that these standards are not based on socio-economic status or cultural background or any criteria other than actual language ability ("dominance"). It is especially important to have them since the test is administered after parents school lottery results are already set in stone.

Anonymous wrote:
I agree on the nanny thing. The point of wanting a certain percentage of Spanish dominant kids is that those kids will bring continuing Spanish fluency to the school. What happens when the kid ages out of the nanny and now no one at home speaks Spanish? Or the kid is now in school for most of the day and spends little time with that nanny? And frankly, I think it's BS that wealthier parents would be able to essentially buy their way in by hiring a Spanish-speaking nanny. I don't blame them for wanting to screen that out. OP's case seems unusual, in that the kid really does have a real connection to Spanish language. If I were OP, I'd contact the school and DCPS, explain the situation, and seek redress that way.