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Does anyone have experience with the Spanish or Chinese immersion programs at Oaklawn, Collinswood or EE Waddell? How hard it is to get in with the lottery? How do the kids do? How fluent to they become and how long does it take? My son is in an immersion pre-school (spanish and french) and it looks like we will be moving to Charlotte in the next few months. I would like him to continue the Spanish or start Chinese when he goes into Kindergarten next fall. Are there any private schools that offer language immersion in the area? Any information would be appreciated!!
Last school year, for Collinswood Kindergarten, 169 students applied in the first lottery. 96 were accepted. In Chinese at EE Waddell, 91 applied, 48 were accepted.
Source: http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/cmsdepartme...%20Results.pdf
As you can see, you chances are slightly better than 50/50 to getting in (some people do change their mind so a few people get in from the wait pool)
Collinswood has a very small building which has recently been changed to K-8 so many classrooms are in trailers. They are nice trailers, but still trailers. Waddell has a beautiful building with great sports facilities. It's much bigger as well. At Waddell, your child would also be exposed to students in other languages. Keep in mind that the Spanish program is dual language - half the day in english, half in Spanish. Chinese is all day Chinese (except art, music, PE) until 3rd grade when an english class is added. In the Spanish program, you would however have more native spanish speaking students in the classroom which could be a benefit.
As for fluency, all the language immersian programs claim fluency attainment. In practice, this does not really happen since children are more influenced by their parents and the culture around them. However they do learn to speak, read and understand quite well. Both my kids went through the French program and now speak much better French than they would have, had they started later. But they've had to work to maintain it. Some of their classmates appear to have forgotten most of their French.
In summary, Waddell is a great place. I know less about Collinswood. For either, you mush apply to the lottery by early February. You can also list first and second choices.
You need to apply between October and mid-December to get into the FIRST lottery. Don't wait until the second lottery b/c your chances of getting in are much much lower.
Last year the first lottery was Jan 6- Feb 13. The second one ran March 14- June 4. You do however have to enroll your child in the system earlier in the fall. Enrolling Your Student
Last edited by ex-burgher; 08-13-2012 at 09:53 AM..
Thank you all for the information. It looks like we won't be establishing residency until either late fall of just after the new year. Based on this, it might be hard for us to get into the 1st lottery. Are there any private options that have language immersion? I can't find any doing a google search. I know Chinese teachers are hard to get, but I don't understand why school systems don't offer enough Spanish classes.
The Spanish that is typically taught here is South American Spanish. If you are trying to prep your child for a future in the business world, this is not what is used in business. Just like English, when it is used in business, proper English (or British English) is typically what is used.
I would recommend getting your child into the Chinese immersion school. Chinese is a really difficult language to learn and it would be easier for your child to learn it while he is young. If you needed a tutor, there are many Chinese students at UNCC, and I will bet that you can get one as a tutor.
Just my opinion. A person that is fluent in the Chinese language would be more unique than one that was fluent in Spanish. Might give your child a specific niche that would help him be successful in the future.
I agree that Chinese would to be the most "distinguishing" language to have and is my preferance for my child. His preschool now is full immersion in both Spanish and French (on alternating days he switches teachers). I wish it were Spanish and Chinese, but the founder of the school is French. However, Spanish teachers would be easy to find, and there is value in from a brain development perspective to learning a second language at a younge age. Chinese teachers are harder to get so I see why the opportunities are limited. But the opportunity to really learn Spanish with full immersion schools should be an easier opportunity to offer. Hopefully we can establish residency earlier enough and that the lottery will go in our favor.
If you don't get into the full immersion school, you can DM me, we have a native Chinese speaker we use as a tutor 2x a week. My son and I are actually learning together & our tutor is amazing. I took Chinese in college many years ago (dating myself) and so much of the focus back then was reading, writing and translating. When I actually studied in China, I would wait for a word I could pick out in a conversation - usually a pronoun to try and break it down. On the contrary, my son's accent is amazing; I'm jealous. Languages are so much easier to learn as a child. And, It's much more enjoyable to play games while learning. I did read somewhere that more than being completely fluent, if a child could speak about 40 words flawlessly - they could later pick up the accent, effortlessly -- the grammar may be another story.
Just lookin' - we have thought of a tutor. If we decide to go that way I will DM you. Thanks
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- usually a pronoun to try and break it down. On the contrary, my son's accent is amazing; I'm jealous. Languages are so much easier to learn as a child. And, It's much more enjoyable to play games while learning. I did read somewhere that more than being completely fluent, if a child could speak about 40 words flawlessly - they could later pick up the accent, effortlessly -- the grammar may be another story.
