Questions about Yu Ming Charter School

Our child is a rising second grader at the Alcatraz campus and it's been a tremendous struggle made worse with the pandemic. Shelter in place started during K, and 1st grade was 100% distance learning, and hybrid started in April with 2.5 hours in school for Mandarin and Math, with English and other classes on Zoom.

We're not an immersion household so it went from 90% mandarin immersion to 0-10% during the pandemic. With our kid's extremely high energy levels, sitting for 15-20 zoom classes/week during the pandemic was extremely tough for everyone. The expectations were not only to keep the camera on at all times, but also look at the camera the whole time. (This is a huge challenge even for me, let alone a K-1st grader.)  There is definitely an expectation that all the kids behave a specific way which we have perceived as overly rigid and hard for neuro-diverse kids. The exception was the 1st grade English teacher (no longer teaching at YM) who really knew how to engage the kids and let them release energy while showing enthusiasm. Our child LOVED his zoom class. 

Pre/during pandemic, classroom expectations are very rigid. Ironically, they have 2 weeks of Gentle Beginnings where the kindergartners switch between multiple classrooms/teachers. Our kid got lost and was so upset and scared about not knowing where to go, so not ideal for emotional stability in a new school/routine. The curriculum seems to focus on teaching kids how to pass tests. 

For us, we're undecided about whether to keep him at YM after 2nd grade since we're happy if our kid is a B/B- student. On one hand, when hybrid schooling started, our child went from struggling on zoom to being really engaged in-person. We also don't want our child to "have it easy" early on only to struggle in high school/college (it's what happened to me). On the other hand, my kid only likes lunchtime when to socialize with friends and be true to their nature and complains every day about not liking school.

On top of that, after-school care is not guaranteed due to a labor shortage. So full-time dual-income households will need to make contingency plans. 

Yu Ming is a great public opportunity for Mandarin immersion, but it definitely comes with some clear trade offs in our experience. My kids have been at the school since the 2nd year of existence, and while we are not mandarin-speaking, they went to a mandarin immersion preschool that supported them as whole people. They came into Yu Ming with Mandarin. I will give you our experience, but note that some things have slightly improved over the years as the school has been repeatedly pushed by parents of kids with needs and the ACOE to be more socioeconomically representative of the greater community.
The school is extremely academically oriented, and I think best suited for kids who are low needs, thrive in academic environments on their own, and have parents rich with resources (money and/or time) to supplement. That is certainly what the expectations are set at. These have been and are a large majority of kids at Yu Ming. There's definitely a general school culture of exceptionalism and academic achievement above all else. There is a lot of homework beginning in kindergarten, and the demands of reading/writing and speaking in a second language require even more academic work and the bar is very high given the culture and makeup of the school. There are A LOT of worksheets, though some of this is necessary for character writing drills. A dual language environment does mean doubling language work, and the expectations for academics and work production are high. If your child struggles because they don't fit this or has special needs, you will need to be a very strong advocate for them more so than non-immersion schools, because demands are high, the immersion aspect delays/suppresses identification of reading/writing struggles in either language, and there's a general culture of shame for those who don't meet the bar for whatever reason. One of my children went from a bright, happy, curious, motivated learner in early elementary to a kid who had clinical anxiety about strict teachers that took years to unwind. In early elementary, he went from naturally excited about learning and school to refusing to try anything for fear of "strict teachers who are mean" and fear of being punished for not being good enough. One of my children had none of those issues and is a very laid back personality, but gets anxious about never being able to keep up with all the work asked. There is not a lot of celebration of anything other than academic achievement and personal pressure to always be achieving more, even if you're doing well. There is a renewed lip service a culture of equity and inclusion, but that was not our experience. In our experience, the culture was very much one of expectations meeting or shame if you're not the person we expect you to be - a top academic achiever.