I am lucky enough to be in a public school district with a 90/10 bilingual immersion program from K-5, and growing. The district currently offers a Mandarin and Spanish program, and is about to expand the Spanish program to a second elementary school. Because my daughter will be eligible for Kindergarten in Fall 2013, this Fall has been spent touring our public, charter, and private options. It’s been exhausting and eye-opening.
With preschool we were lucky enough to find the “perfect” place which met all our priorities — diverse, play-based, holistic, small, affordable, and in a natural setting. They even include Spanish throughout the day, although it is not a “bilingual” program per se. It’s run by teachers and a director who truly love the children they care for and clearly enjoy every day with them. It is really a place that our entire family loves.
For kindergarten, we have come to realize that we will have to pick which of our priorities we are willing to sacrifice and pick the “good enough” school rather than focus on finding the “perfect school.”
There is no private Spanish bilingual elementary school in our area, so even if we could afford a private school, we would have to sacrifice a bilingual education and for the most part, racial diversity. These schools have been the most progressive in terms of philosophy — they understand that children learn through play and while there are desks in these schools, student have ample time to move around, play, and spend time outdoors. These schools have lovely music, art and science programs. They tend to be on pretty campuses and include many enriching field trips.
There is no Spanish biliingual charter school in our area either. While there are two excellent, and fairly progressive charters nearby, again, bilingualism is not a part of their curriculum. We are entering these lotteries, knowing they are a long shot, but hoping that we might have one of these as an option.
There is, as I mentioned, a promising public Spanish biligingual immersion elementary in my district, San Rafael Elementary. I toured the school yesterday and left with mixed feelings. The school has some great things to offer:
- A 90/10 bilingual immersion program starting in Kindergarten and moving to 50/50, with a 10% shift each year
- A student body which includes many Latino families
- An active and passionate PTA
- A safe campus
However, as I spoke with parents and principal, I realized the limitations of this school. Unlike some other public schools in the district, which consistently offer a school library, art, music and gifted and talented programs, San Rafael is dependent on the PTA and individual parents to fund or volunteer art and music opportunities for the students. While some of the things they do, like bringing in a local art center to work with the children six weeks a year and a yoga teacher to work with some grades, these opportunities are dependent on having specific parents in the community who create these opportunities.
While walking to the local library is a fine alternative to the school library, as an English teacher, I would love for my kids to have their own librarian. I also noticed that while there were many Latino and Anglo students, there were very few Asian or African-American students, unlike at other public schools.
I realized that if we choose San Rafael, we will need to be sure to supplement what the school offers with extracurricular art, music and enrichment activities. This is not a big deal, but knowing that those things are offered at other schools is probably the reason why there is not a huge waiting list at San Rafael.
What was absolutely equivalent between San Rafael and other schools in the district was the philosophy and method of teaching — traditional, seated at desks and using workbooks, starting in kindergarten. The traditional approach is one that I survived as a child, so obviously it can be fine. The children there seemed happy enough, but it’s not what I envision for the next 13 years of Marisol’s education.
Despite my concerns about what San Rafael lacked there is something I keep coming back to: in each class, children of all races where communicating in Spanish, Spanglish, and a little English. Clearly, these children are successfully learning how to think and communicate en español. This is a skill which will serve them their entire lives.
While we try to speak Spanish at home, and our girls understand most spoken Spanish, they are not bilingual. If we want them to be bilingual, I think San Rafael is our only option.
So what matters most — things like pedagogy, art, music, a library, and the other things I did not love at San Rafael or a bilingual program?
I don’t know. Our family is talking and thinking and talking some more. I’m sure many of you can relate to trying to pick the best of non-ideal options for your child and the anxiety about making the wrong choice. How is your kindergarten or school search going?
{photo by bloomsberries}
Elsie, we are going through the exact same thing now, as Isaiah will be in kindergarten next fall. In Orange County, FL, we can apply for “magnet” programs, where the child can attend regardless of assigned district (as long as they are accepted). I have applied for two foreign language magnet programs for him and have to wait to find out about acceptance, but they are on two opposite ends of town and each may present a challenge if we end up moving again. I hate to start him in a wonderful program like the immersion one I just toured (half of the main subjects are taught in Spanish) and then have to pull him out later! Is it better to just send him to our closer elementary school and sacrifice the bilingual factor, or would it be okay to risk starting him in the bilingual program and then moving him? I’m just as confused as you are!
At the end of the day, I have to remind myself…it’s just kindergarten! The kids will remember the fun field trips and friends, but they won’t fault us for choosing one school over another.
My personal opinion is to consider what you think you can reasonably supplement to their education. If you feel like you can add enough minority language to their education (reading and writing included) then go with the one of the charter or private schools. If you feel like you can give her outside art and music experiences then go with the bilingual program. I’m trying to convince my husband that I think we should do dual immersion and supplement my little one’s education in other ways. He wants a private Catholic school, none of which in our area offer any immersion or early Spanish language programs. I say with the amount of money we would spend on a private school (VERY expensive) we can pay for lots of outside lessons, family educational trips and “after school” supplies. We have a few years still thank goodness!
Elsie,
I am experiencing the same dilemmas but for my 2 1/2 year old
Sabrina speaks mostly Spanish and her current day care (2 full days) has been obviously supporting that, BUT we have decided to opt for a day care that has more of a play-curriculum because, well, shes 2. My next post will be about this dilemma, but basically it seems like most foreign language schools are stricter even with the little ones…..quien sabe, amiga. I think you know what your family needs best. Long term I dont think she will stay in an “english” school but for now—-it may be what is best for her childhood.
Not sure I made since. Shes in between schools right now. Shes at a spanish immersion one now and will be moving to an english one that has a play curriculum.
I know the feeling. We struggled with a similar situation. For us it’s an issue of diversity. We had to decide whether or not it was important to have our kids go to a school in an environment where they saw positive images of themselves in the books, teachers, principal…etc. We debated over other kindergarten programs that had proven to make gains. And while this school has a great reputation for reading they are not as strong in math and science. But, we balance that with the fact that they also promote Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s), successful (local or not) people of color on the walls and plenty of opportunities to be leaders or presenters (and we enhance math at home). We believe that having our children develop a positive identity about themselves while also having them enter a classroom where they expect diversity and high expectations is crucial to a successful start in school.
Wow, we’re struggling with the same thing over here. Spanish immersion has been a top priority, but we didn’t have a lot of options when my oldest started kindergarten 3 years ago. So they’re in a public DL school. The Spanish aspect is working out (although it’s 50/50, not 90/10 as I would have preferred) and since I’m not a Spanish speaker, I can’t supplement too much at home. However, the “public school” cliches are really true in this case. And it is becoming increasingly clear that my daughter is really struggling with it. My son seems to love that kind of learning style, though (as I did). So we’re facing a real challenge: stay with a less-than-optimal school for the sake of DL? Or miss out on DL for the sake of an better educational fit for a struggling student?
Tough decision.
Elise,
We must live in the same area because San Rafeal Elementary school is the only school in our district with a dual immersion program. I’m assuming that the charter schools you are referring to are Aveson and Odyssey. I face the same issues in our neighborhood but my son will turn 3 in March so I’m looking into bilingual preschool. I have not found any except for San Rafeal as they offer preschool in Spanish, but you are right they are strict as compared to traditional English preschools. I’m curious what preschool was your daughter in? It’s something I would consider if the teachers and staff speak Spanish through out the day. I’d like to keep in touch considering we face the same issues in the same neighborhood.
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