So I think you are saying your kid has been in dual immersion since first grade or kindy. He is approaching high school and trying to decide whether to stay in it or go in to a more traditional high school program like IB.
My question would be, since he’s part of the first cadre goign through the 12 year program, is the high school prepared and fully equipped to offer all or at least half of the high school’s most challenging classes in Spanish and English? Do they have fluent Spanish speaking teachers who can also deliver Chemistry, Physics, History and Calculus? Do those teachers have a track record of students doing well on the exams?
@CU123: I already tried to search but I couldn’t find any thread related to 4 letters TWBI. I gave it a chance in hope that someone in there will answer.
Well, Proposition 58 (in California) just declared its victory in 2016 for teaching foreign language.
I beg to differ. While I have never heard of TWBI, I am familiar with dual immersion programs, and I doubt I am alone here. Giving something a fancy name and wrapping it with pink ribbon does not make it more unique.
Not the case for an Ivy League school unless the applicant is a recruited athlete. The Varsity QB who is not recruited has no more of an advantage than the first violinist, all things being equal (which is never the case).
IMO, the OP {or the kid, but I’m betting the former) is falling into a common trap - choosing courses/electives to impress an AO. That strategy rarely works.
@VickiSoCal: he has been TWBI program since Kindergarten. Most of his teachers (the ones who taught him subject Spanish classes like Math/science/social studies etc) got Master degree from USA (but they either from Spain or Latin American).
The TWBI high school is a big school, about 2000 students. It is not far from the local community college. If they don’t offer any AP they send kids to other schools within the district or community college. The problem for me to consider is 45’ away from my house. IB school is 5’ away.
Also, TWBI school doesn’t offer my son’s best sport although they have so many great sports & clubs. I will talk about sport in different thread. Just keep foreign language.
I will ask about track record when the school starts.
OP - If your son is already fluent in Spanish, I would opt for the IB school. Being close to home is a blessing not only for ease of getting to/from extra curriculuars, but also for the extra time for academics. Plus, IB curriculums are known for their high rigor. (I say this as the mother of a child who went to high school 35 miles from home each way and was on the road 90 minutes/day).
As was pointed out above if a service Academy is his main goal he needs to focus on a sport. A sport that is good at and has a good chance of being team captain.
Given all that and the distance I would do IB all the way. As a note my older daughter did IB and we were very pleased with the program.
@momofsenior1: since he has been on the roads for so long, he studies in the car for many years. It is the time for audiobooks. He finishes about 400-500 audiobooks a year, depends on the size of the books. You know that Overdrive & Libby offer about 50,000 book tittles.
A silly question: should he include how many audiobooks he already listened in his essay? :)) :-/
Personally I believe the IB program is the way too go but I’m not willing to give that advice without a really good idea of what the OP is talking about.
@ServiceAcademy if this is a “brand new program” how many students have already received high school diplomas having done this?
If not very many…your questions related to it cannot be easily answered.
The IB program is a well established one.
But I will also add, there are PLENTY of kids accepted to Ivy League schools and who receive service academy appointments who do regular old high school diploma programs with AP courses or whatever is the most challenging course load at their school.
The Ivies reject roughly 90% of applicants. Read that again…the Ivies reject roughly 90% of applicants. The notion that you can package a kid for assured admission to an Ivy is…ridiculous.
Appointments to service academies…well…read @ChoatieMom thread about that. You will see. It’s not just about one or two things. It’s about a whole package…but mostly it’s about the STUDENT and their commitment to military service…and evidence of leadership, commitment.
@thumper1 : I don’t think my State (and many states follow their steps) is stupid sponsoring hundred million dollar for proposition 58 & Seal of Biliteracy. TWBI is the head of the program. The TWBI schools/programs are built everywhere. I don’t think they will let the program die for any reason. In my humble opinion, they are trying to get rid of IB in the near future or at least try to get the bigger market share.
The first few generations of TWBI may end up in nowhere or in legacy.
You can look at Seal of Biliteracy and see the members (State) are growing really fast.
As much as my son would like to be fluent in Spanish (he’ll continue to pursue languages in college), I can’t imagine giving up the other excellent IB classes he has had which have added so much to his academic development. I would suggest researching the IB curriculum to understand the full range of academic challenges offered. I’m sure your son can be successful whichever path is chosen, but it might be good to make the choice based not only on his interests but on developing other skills that may benefit him in the future.
My daughter got the seal of biliteracy in an IB program.
I don’t think bilingual immersion programs have anything to do with trying to unseat IB. In our district the bilingual immersion program seems primarily designed to keep white parents in schools with large Hispanic populations instead of taking their kindergartners off to other in district schools that are whiter or more Asian with higher test scores.
I agree that he should think about which program he wants.
The California Seal of Biliteracy is very easy to earn. Here are the requirements for native English speakers, which can be achieved at most any HS:
– 4 years of English classes with 2.0 GPA or better
– “standard met” achievement level on the state ELA test in 11th grade
– Any one of the following:
3 or better on an AP foreign language test
4 or better on an IB foreign language test
600 or better on a SAT subject test in FL
3.0 average GPA over 4 years of foreign language
My son got it and he is definitely not fluent in Spanish. He took 4 years of Spanish with the last year being IB Spanish SL. A bunch of students get it every year at his HS, and there is no evidence that colleges care about it beyond placement for college classes.
If his goal is a military academy, he should find a sport where he can be a team captain and follow any other advice from @ChoatieMom.
If his goal is elites like Ivies, I’m guessing IB would help, though a school with access to a lot of APs could also be good. The offerings at the IB school in comparison to his likely major are important. For example, our HS’s IB program has the HL classes in humanities only and the STEM subjects only have SL classes (lower-level). So, that specific school’s IB program doesn’t work for people interested in STEM.
Law is not an undergrad program, but the LSAT is very focused on logic, reading, and writing. I would think that IB would be a good program if law is a long-term goal.
What is your evidence that the district is trying to get rid of the IB program? It is true that things can change in a HS over the course of 4 years.
@VickiSoCal: there have a few levels of Seal of Biliteracy, it depends on which state and grade.
In FL, they have Gold & Silver. They don’t state clearly who qualify for which. Kind of cloudy.
In CA, they have Seal of Biliteracy for Service, Participation, Attainment, Diploma, etc depends on Districts, grade level. They keep adding in. Which kind does your kid get? I am curious since you tell me it is along with IB.
@Ynotgo: like I said above, there are many levels of Seal of Biliteracy. Which one did your kid get? Did your kid go to 13 years of TWBI? Did he get certified of translator? The combo of TWBI has many free bling bling toys for kids who go all the way from K-12. In my district, they give out a trophy from the district and certificate from county.
Are you seeing something about different levels of the CA Seal of Biliteracy on a state website or on your district’s site? This FAQ (https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/ssbfaq.asp) seems current as of 2017 and does not mention a variety of seals. I am not finding anything at the state level about “Seal of Biliteracy for Service, Participation, Attainment, Diploma”. If this is something your school or district awards, it is nice to have, but not something that will get him into elite schools.
There is an Assembly Bill 24 that passed and establishes a State Seal of Civic Engagement. But, that says the criteria need to be set by 2020, which is a ways off. (And it is not related to languages.)
I found a Golden State Seal Merit Diploma for merit in 6 subjects. That was from 1996 and I didn’t hear anything about it when my son was in HS. Maybe other HSs still do it. Sounds like just another one of those cords and certificates they hand out like candy at the end of senior year.
(My son did not get certified as a translator or do any type of language immersion. Our high schools do train students who are native Spanish speakers as translators. This is especially useful for events attended by parents who don’t speak English. It is a great program that keeps students engaged in school who would otherwise be at risk of dropping out.)
Anyway, I would caution you that district/county level certificates aren’t likely to get someone into Ivy/elite colleges without other factors.
If he is truly interested in the military and is already proficient in Spanish, he might consider a 3rd language that would be useful to the military such as Chinese, Russian, or Arabic. You could see if any of those are available at your local community college.
To post a link, you just copy the URL from your web browser’s address bar and paste it in as text. (There are some websites where URLs get *** out, but those are mainly blogs and sites that compete with CC.)
Once more…this poster is asking how a NEW program will be viewed in the college admissions process. Until there is a track record for this…and I mean years…that question really can’t be answered.
But I am going to repeat…there is NO…NO magic program out there that will,guarantee acceptance to the Ivies, or appointments to Service Academies.
Despite this posters lack of willingness to answer this…I would strongly opine that this kid’s SAT or ACT score and GPA could very well be the first cut at SOME colleges. Once he makes that cut…then at most Ivies, his application will be viewed holistically.
I’m not going to post @ChoatieMom info again…but I would suggest the OP read it…over and over and over.
As an FYI, @ServiceAcademy , your post is not getting flagged because you are quoting incorrectly; it is getting flagged because you are trying to include a link (in this case, prepscholar) which is not allowed. Per the forum rules:
:-/