More Email but No Good News from Montgomery County Schools

So as I detailed in my last post, we were kinda doing the back and forth with Montgomery County Schools office of Consortia Choice and Application Programs (hereafter known as MCSCC&AP). In the last email I sent, I lobbied for a change to their Immersion Programs admission process based on the argument that they had a responsibility to ensure the smooth transition of kids in county funded Spanish immersion preschools into Spanish immersion elementary programs. When I sent the last email, I cc'd all the parents and administrators at CentroNia adn also Rolf Grafwallner, Assistant State Superintendent, Early Childhood Development with the Maryland State Department of Education. I did this because I remember back when I was a reporter, I attended some meeting where he expressed an interest in making sure that early education programs in Maryland did a better job of coordinating with school systems. I thought, what better way to shine a light on this issue and possibly engage him. After that email, here is the response I got from Karen Danco in the office of MCSCC&AP today (Thursday afternoon):

Greetings Ms. Wilson,

I am delighted that you were able to attend the open house at Rolling Terrace Elementary School last week and enjoyed your visit. Our office has shared the concerns with leadership and there are no plans to explore changing the admissions process at this time. Changes to any admissions process requires the approval by the Board of Education and we have not received any indication that this is a direction they are exploring.

We recognize that the county is rich with bilingual preschool programs and your interest in continuing this experience once students enter kindergarten. With that being said, Montgomery County Public Schools supports the current admission process for immersion programs because of the broad access it provides to families interested. That is how the programs were designed. A plan for provisioning some of these seats for students with prior experience is not part of the original design of the program because many students do not have access to bilingual education in the preschool years; and it would further limit their access. In addition, the programs are designed for non-native speakers of the immersion language or students with no prior experience in the language.

Thank you for your interest and below is information about participation in the lottery for any one of the seven immersion programs. The program considerations regarding region, sibling and seats available in kindergarten can be found on this website. The forms are available online as of today and can be found at http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/admissions/immersion_news.shtm
Regards,
Karen

Okay, I must admit, I kinda bummed and a tad bit annoyed because it seems she is still saying that the Spanish immersion elementary program is not designed to accomodate a child from an immersion preschool. This is what I wrote back:

Ms. Danco:

Thank you graciously for your timely reply. I understand completely and the CentroNia coalition of parents will address the matter with the Montgomery County Board of Education.

I just want to respond to one part of your letter that I think is a mischaracterization. While the elementary school Spanish Immersion program may be designed for children with no prior experience speaking the language, Spanish Immersion program director, Georgiana Jimenez at Rolling Terrace Elementary made clear at the Open House that the Kindergarten teachers are sticking strictly to the standard Montgomery County Kindergarten curriculum. The only difference is that the instruction is in Spanish.

Therefore, it does not matter that a child from a Spanish immersion preschool has prior experience. I feel like you are implying that a child from a Spanish immersion preschool would be incompatible for the program and I think that is counterintuitive.
It makes all the difference in the world, and makes good sense, that a child with prior experience in a county funded Spanish immersion preschool be guaranteed a right to continue in a Spanish Immersion elementary program.

If the children were in a private program, I would have no argument. But they are in a county funded program and the Maryland State Department of Education has made clear that they want early education programs to coordinate more closely with county school systems.

Again, these are issues I will take up with the Board of Education.

Thanks again for your response to this issue.

Best,
Allyson Wilson

So now I think we're back to square one, except for the fat that we maybe rattled some cages and alerted the MCSCC&AP to a legitimate issue. I have to figure out who to contact at the Board of Education and focus some energy on the other two schools we are eyeing for Andrew-- Washington International School and Burnt Mills Elementary's Spanish immersion. I'll let you know what's up with that in my next edition... If you took the time to read this, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!