Sylvia Mendez Elementary - Waitlist
Hello Parents,
My family is considering moving from Davis to Berkeley next semester for a job opportunity. My son is a 1st grader enrolled in a bilingual immersion program in Davis, which he has really enjoyed. We are debating whether to move the whole family to Berkeley. I’ve found it challenging to get clear information from the district regarding the 1st-grade cohort waitlist for the immersion program. I would greatly appreciate it if any parents could share their experiences and insights, especially regarding:
- Your overall experience with the school
- The class size in the 1st-grade immersion program
-
The number of 1st-grade classes offered
Thank you so much for your help!
Best,
Clare
Dec 16, 2024
Parent Replies
We don't attend but one of my daughter's very good friends is in 1st grade there. I believe there are three 1st grade classes. I think the ratio is supposed to be 18:1 but I don't know how set in stone that is.
Sylvia mendez is comprised of 1/3 native speakers , 1/3 heritage speakers (family has some member who is spanish speaking) and 1/3 english speakers. If you fall into the english speaking category it's extremely hard to get in. The other two categories have a brief interview process which I believe is like a 10 minute conversation with your child to validate they know/understand spanish.
Also the school is undergoing a pretty massive construction project. It's disruptive now but the school will be even better once it's done. Feel free to send me a DM if you have additional questions.
I have a second grader at SM. Most grades have 3 classes. I think my daughter's class has about 21 kids in it (not 100% sure on that). I don't know how you get a spot unless someone leaves, which must happen sometimes. I assume it is easier to get in if you are native speaker.
The school is fabulous in so many way, I love it! It has a really great community, the teachers we've had have all been fabulous. My daughter showed up not speaking any Spanish, just so you know where our experience comes from. I have other kids that went to other BUSD elementary schools and I think the community at SM is really something special. If you move and you don't get in the other schools all have great things to offer as well!