Try for Sylvia Mendez or pick Emerson/John Muir?
Hi -
We are about to register for kindergarten. Emerson and John Muir are closest to us, but we wondered about trying the Spanish Immersion program at Sylvia Mendez. Our daughter and family are English-speaking. Does that make it very hard to get in? Are there other reasons to choose/not choose Sylvia Mendez? We'd love for her to learn Spanish - but could she do that in other ways? And we really want a diverse student body (we are a mixed race family - Black/white) and teachers if possible - do Emerson and John Muir have that?
Thanks in advance!
Jan 8, 2024
Parent Replies
If you're not a heritage or native spanish speaking family, her chances of getting in are slim to none. That being said Emerson is amazing! We had silvia mendez as our first choice last year and ended up at Emerson and we absolutely love it. There is lots of diversity at Emerson and among the teaching staff. Ms Holmes the principal does an amazing job with the students and helping out for kids that are having a hard time adjusting to kindergarten like our child did. One thing to consider in terms of Emerson and John Muir is the start times. John Muir starts at 9am vs Emerson I believe starts at 8:15am. The john muir campus is beautiful but the later start time just didn't work for our schedules. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions.
It's true that there are very few spots for English-speaking kids in kindergarten at Sylvia Mendez every year. However, throwing your hat in the ring for Sylvia Mendez does not have any effect on your ranking at other schools. Because it's a district-wide magnet program, its lottery is separate. So, you can check the Sylvia Mendez box, and there's a tiny chance your child would get in, and if not, she'd be assigned just as if you'd never checked the box. Beyond that, I'd say go for whichever school is more convenient, either in proximity or start time.
Hi there. We are currently at SM and love it. We have a family friend who are not POC and did not get into SM, but into Emerson and see their daughter is thriving there. My child is mixed (black and Mexican), but went to Spanish Immersion at EBI for 2 years. However, our neighbor who is Filipino and White w/no Spanish background got into SM. The way Two Way Immersion was explained to me is that SM is there to enrich the learning of children of color/children of the heritage. It is to have Native speakers (who know little English), to learn English from their peers and vice versa. Diversity at SM is amazing, I'd say 80% POC, which is amazing. Each classroom has 1/3 native speakers, 1/3 heritage speakers (children who have a background in Spanish, but it is their second language), and 1/3 English speakers only. I hope this is helpful in anyway.