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Just moved to the Charlotte area about a month and a half ago and am looking at schools for my kids. My 3 year old is starting at a private school next year but we were looking at public/magnet for kindergarden onwards.
We are looking at the Montessoris and at the Language school (preference, especially as the Montessoris are so hard to get into) but am struggling to get good information/feedback about parents of kids in the language school. Do any of you have first hand experience sending your kids to the Language academy?
I am mainly considering Japanese and worry that there does not seem to be much interest and they may just cancel it one day, ha! Beyond that, how "profficient" are your kids and how soon i.e. after how many years would they be able to have a basic conversation in the language? how proficient are they when they graduate? Do your kids enjoy it or was it the culture shock of a lifetime to go to school and all of a sudden hear a language you never heard before all day long? What high school would you consider after this school? (it does not go that far, does it?) etc. What do you like most/least about it? Do you feel like you can support your child with his/her education even if you do not speak the language they are learning?
Any other information you can provide this nervous parent I would appreciate .
Thank you so much everyone!
Last edited by happyhuman; 05-07-2012 at 09:04 PM..
it is awesome. it's like a private school... for free. do your research though. we tried first for Montessori but didn't get in.
the good: classy kids, classy parents, proven track record, great faculty and staff. great communication between teacher and students. classes stay together year after year and the students make great friends. They often befriend students in other languages and many are conversational in other languages beside their language of focus.
the bad: not sure yet
My daughter after one year knows many phrases and can understand a lot more than she can translate. The school goes K-8 (great for us, we are in a crappy elementary and middle school district) she will go to Myers Park High School if we don't move.
My best advice is to tour the school during open house periods in the fall. We were considering Charlotte Christian, Trinity Episcopal and Elizabeth Traditional (after we didn't get in the Montessori for Pre-K). Obviously cost was a big factor for us considering magnet vs. private, but the vibe I got at (then Smith, now Waddell) was incredible. My wife and I have to dedicate a lot of extra effort to help our daughter, but so far it is well worth it. Take your time, do your research, but honestly I don't know how this program isn't more popular... it's absolutely incredible in my opinion.
Thank you Native Son! That is super helpful! What language is your daughter taking? And do you or your wife speak it at all?
We are so excited that this is an option as languages (and travel/learning different cultures) are very important to us since we have lived in a few countries and are a mixed family. My son is bilingual now and currently going to a Montessori private school (eek expensive) and we absolutely love it, however we feel like a good foundation in a totally different language gives them such amazing life skills and develops the brain (it literally wires it differently). We too consider doing this until highschool at which point Myers Park High school so sounds like we are on the same page here. I am just nervous that we are considering Japanese and I speak maybe 2 words of it and our son will look at us like we went crazy when/if he comes back from his first class in a random third language, haha.
I am also at a loss as to why this is not more popular, hence your feedback is invaluable to me (I do not know anyone in the area really so it is overwhelming). What a great city Charlotte is proving to be, with so many options and such friendly people, I do not want to move anymore, ever and it has only been a little over a month.
Thank you again. I will definitely take the advice of going to the open houses.
ps. totally unrelated but are there no Waldorfs or Reggios schools in Charlotte at all? I am not looking for one for my kids but it struck me as weird that I could not find one just out of curiosity (but it could be that my googling skills leave a lot to be desired!).
my wife and I do NOT speak the language she is taking (though we are learning it too), but we have immediate family who do and live very, very close by.
I'll send you a DM about our language of choice and why.
OP, I see plenty of homeschooling, Waldorf families in the area. Unfortunately, the Waldorf schools in the state are around RDU and the mountains. Not familiar with Reggio, would love to research it. There's a website called Education Revolution, I believe, that lists alternative schools by state.
My kids went through language immersion in French. We were extremely happy with the school. You are right about Japanese however - it is the language in the least demand. Generally they seat 24 kids in kindergarten and by 5th grade, only 14-15 are left. (people move and they can't accept new students) The advantage is that class size is small, however they do combine grades frequently in some combination after 1rst grade. If they cancel the program, I am fairly certain they would keep it for current students and just not have new students.
The Japanese program does have some nice artistic components like Taiko drumming. Here they are performing at Japanfest in Atlanta: (they were at the Smith bldg them, but are the same)
The one good thing about the Japanese program -you are certain to be accepted. The most popular is Chinese where just over half are accepted. French and German usually have small waiting lists but they often disappear by the beginning of school as people decide to go elsewhere.
Waddell is a wonderful school. Excellent staff, very friendly atmosphere, lots of parental involvement... we have been very happy with the school so far. We speak French at home, so it was an easy decision for us, but most parents don't speak the target language and it does not seem to be a problem at all.
This is so very helpful. Thank you all so much for your input. Now I wish they could study all languages/cultures at once (ok fine, secretly I wish I was that age and going to the school myself haha).
That video looks amazing. It is incredible that there are so many great options, almost too many as now I find it stressful to pick one.
PEABO - thank you. I will check out Education Revolution. The geek in me loves to learn about educational systems, especially those I was not expose to at all growing up. Here is a nice short link (with very generalized) differences between Montessori, Reggio and Waldorf if you are interested. http://www.privateschoolreview.com/articles/180. Back when I had more energy and time I considered trying to find some people to start a charter which combined the best principles of all of these, plus traditional schooling and language. But alas, I am happy to survive these days with non-sleeping kids .
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