Berkeley Parents Network: Washington Elementary School

Berkeley Parents Network

Washington Elementary School

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > K-12 Schools > West Contra Costa County School District > Washington Elementary School

May 2009

Hi, Our son will be starting kindergarten in 2010 and we are looking into Washington. I would like to get some feedback, from parents who have children currently enrolled there, on the quality of the teachers, curriculum, and overall environment. I would also like to know about the aftercare program and the level of parent involvement in the PTA. Thank you in advance

My son is in kindergarten at Washington Elementary and we love it. He is in the dual immersion program learning Spanish and English (we speak English at home) and I can't believe how much Spanish he has already picked up. They have traditional English-only track too. The PTA is very active and growing fast. They are working on many different activities to improve life a the school and of course a lot of fundraising that makes these projects possible. There are days they get together to work on the gardens, movie nights, classroom volunteers and many other activities which help the school run smoothly. The campus has been recently renovated - clean and neat, the kids wear uniforms - white, blue and khaki. The teachers I have met so far are dedicated above and beyond the call and really seem to enjoy their work.

There is an after school program that I don't know a lot about. It takes the same holidays as the school - easter week, winter break, 2 weeks at Christmas. I didn't look into it since that aspect didn't work with my schedule. There is also Y-care just next door and the Y-care teachers come to pick up the kids when school is out. That is where my son goes a few days a week.

I highly recommend you contact the Principle and pay a visit. ilona

Nov 2008

Re: Transfering from Albany to a Berkeley dual immersion program
HI- I can't answer your questions about Berkeley, but if dual- immersion is important to you I believe you would have a much greater chance of getting into Pt. Richmond's Washington Elementary, (which used to have half day K but last I heard was close to switching to longer day kindergarten.) Albany should have no problem letting you out, and WCCUSD I'm sure would let you in if there is room in the program, which is an excellent dual immersion program. chris

Sept 2008

Does anyone have any recent feedback about K at Washington Elem's dual Spanish Immersion Program in PT Richmond? I am very interested in a dual immersion program for my son and it is in our district. Thanks in advance- Wanting a bilingual boy

My sister in law is the principal at Washington School, and here's her reaction:

''The Dual Immersion program at Washington is currently kindergarten through fourth grade. Our program is a '90-10'program, meaning that in the kindergarten year, the instruction is 90% Spanish and 10% English. Then in 1st grade, it is 80% Spanish and 20% English and so on through the grades. The classes are ideally composed of 50% Spanish speakers and 50% English speakers. This is a challenging program and we ask parents to commit to 6 years in order for the students to be bi-lingual and bi-literate. The kindergaten classes do fill up early so if you are interested, sign up in early February. There will be a Parent information evening in December for prospective kinder parents. Call the school for more information about that evening 231-1417. Lisa Levi, Principal.

-Maureen

Oct 2007

Hi, I'm looking into a Dual Immersion program for my son who will start kindergarten in Fall 2008--our district is West Contra Costa. My son doesn't speak any Spanish now and my husband and I only speak a little. While I'm excited about the opportunity for my son to become bilingual, I'm curious about the experience of non-Spanish speaking children in a dual immersion program--it looks like the school in our district is 90% Spanish/10% English in kindergarten. I'm afraid he may get frustrated or feel like he's failing if he can't understand much of what goes on in the classroom. I'd love to hear from other families about their children's experiences in general and also about experiences at Washington School in Richmond, in particular. Thanks. Dual Immersion for us?

I will be sending my child to the dual immersion kindergarten at Washington Elementary next year. Many of my friends have put their children in there this year and they love it! Most of them are in the situation as you and I - their kids don't speak any Spanish and the parents have little or no Spanish. The kids really seem to be settling in well and enjoying themselves! This is a growing program; they will be up to 4th grade next year. The teachers are excellent and very committed and they are supported by an active parent community. Washington recently underwent a remodel and the new facilities look fantastic. It is located in Point Richmond, which is a great little community and very safe.

If you would like some more information about the program, please feel free to get in touch with the dual-immersion parent contacts. There will also be an information night at the school at 6pm on Thursday December 16th. Elizabeth

My two girls are in the third grade in Washington's Dual Immersion program and they love it. We do not really speak any Spanish (just had a bit in high school) but now the girls do! They went to a different school for kindergarten so missed the first year but that wasn't a problem. Before they went to Washington my girls had a little exposure to Spanish (45 minutes a week for a few months). Although I can't really comment on kindergarten what I saw of the beginning of first grade was that the teacher was very verbal in her body language and thus if the children didn't understand the words they understood what the teacher was doing or motioning/ demonstrating for them to do. Homework has been going OK. I don't have any problem with the math homework. We keep a good dictionary to help with the Spanish language arts homework. Please feel free to email me it you have other questions.

There is a recruitment night, December 13 at 6:00 in the Washington school auditorium. Karen

Oct 2007

Re: Kindergarten options in west contra costa unified
You might want to check out the Spanish Immersion program at Washington Elementary in Point Richmond. The Point is not a separate city/town...it is Richmond. The school is a public, West County school. The immersion program has been available there since 2004, I believe. I have several VERY discriminating friends whose children attend. They have been very pleased. In El Cerrito, there is Madera that has the stellar reputation. Wishing you good luck

Dec 2005

I've heard there is a Spanish Dual Immersion program at Washington Elementary School in Point Richmond. Does anyone have any information about or experience with this program? Thanks Karen

Our son is a kindergarten student in the English-Spanish Dual Immersion program at Washington School. We would be happy to share our experience and put you in touch with the woman who runs the program. Patrick

Hi! I happen to have my daughter in the Washington Elementary School immersion program. She's in first grade and started last year in kindergarten when the program started. I'm thrilled with how she's doing. Her Spanish is superb- she comprehends evrything, she's speaking and reading and writing in Spanish- she's doing great. The families in this program are really wonderful- they're very committed to their children's education and they are very involved. I feel like she's in a private school and I would pay for the education she's getting. These families have chosen this program just like you would chose your private school. The children all progress through school together as a special class, just like you would in a private school. The families are committed and involved, just like in a private school. The teachers are really good and clever in integrating arts into the academic curriculum. Recently, they successfully argued to the district that they should utilize a different curriculum than Open Court because it's not appropriate for these dual immersion kids. And yet, it's a public school! We just completed a renovation, so the kids have new classrooms, new library, new facilities- they love it! We'll have some introductory meetings in January, but you can contact me any time for more information. I'll be glad to answer questions and take you on a tour! Diane

Jan 2004

Washington School (K-5) in Pt. Richmond is creating a Dual- Immersion/Spanish-English program to begin with the Kindergarten class starting Fall 2004. In addition to teaching kids to be bilingual and biliterate, research has shown that Dual Immersion programs develop skills in all subjects and by 5th grade the test scores are typically above grade level for both English and Spanish speakers. Washington School has a new principal this year and will have a remodeled campus by Fall 2005. The school maintains it's Magnet School status and receives significant Federal funds which support the whole school. The school also receives tremendous support from the Pt. Richmond community and businesses through the Many Hands program.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Janet Heckmann, 236-6088. Janet is a community parent who is spearheading this effort. Spanish speaking parents may call Jon Mayer, 215-2828.

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