Washington Yu Ying PCS

220 Taylor Street Northeast

Washington, DC 20017

School District

Washington Yu Ying Pcs
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:11
Type

charter

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on February 17, 2025

The school has one of the best administrations in all of DC. They are responsive and accessible. They have very low teacher turnover and the academics are excellent. My daughter is equally fluent in Chinese and English and is excelling at math at a grade level above.
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2025

To summarize the strengths of this school: (1) the diversity of the student body - no demographic has a majority, which is rare; this is very much by design with its IB focus (2) dedicated and capable staff and leadership - the executive director and principals spend every morning in the streets, directing traffic and welcoming students in the rain/shine/snow (3) community feel - parents and staff are very engaged even outside of school time with many events led by parent volunteers (4) unique academic experience - there's no other Mandarin immersion public school in the city that goes from PK to 5th grade (5) a lot of outdoor time - the school has many playgrounds, a garden, and a nature center on-site (5) an excellent aftercare program - it is run by the school and is the best that I've seen; no screen time and excellent student-teacher ratio; they also offer summer camps which is huge.
Submitted by parent on February 09, 2025

We are so grateful every day that we can send our two little kids to Yu Ying. The staff is so warm and welcoming. They have a beautiful new campus for the Prek3-Kindergarden years. They have wonderful opportunities for parents to get involved in the classroom and for their special events such as KidsFest and Lunar New Year celebrations. Its amazing how quickly they pick up Mandarin and I think its because of the warm environment that fosters learning and curiosity.
Submitted by parent on February 08, 2025

We feel very grateful to be a part of this school community. The teachers are wonderful, the administration is excellent - particularly standing out when it comes to operations and communications, the school community is highly engaged, and the facilities are excellent.
Submitted by parent on November 21, 2024

Washington Yu Ying PCS has a fantastic community that is diverse, warm, inclusive, and dedicated to education of our kids academically, socially, and emotionally. My kids and I have made great friends at the school, and my kids are learning Chinese too! Plus, I love the amount of outdoor space. Our kids have plenty of space to run around, play with sticks and dirt, climb play structures, and just be kids. Plus the staff are very attentive and responsive, and it feels like a lot of staff know every family, which makes the school feel like home.
Submitted by parent on November 07, 2023

We have been at Yu Ying for three years and are having a great experience. My children are currently in 1st grade and Pre K4 and enjoy the school, the teachers, and the community so much. Let provide a few details:1. Administration and Teachers: the teachers are committed to the community and students: there is not high teacher turnover and many teachers have been there for many years. Many of the preK teachers still keep in touch with their children as they advance to the upper grades. The Administration is ultra responsive to school community concerns. Like all school communities there are concerns raised by parents on pedology, test outcomes, pedestrian and biking safety and others but the Administration is always willing to hear from the community and find a best way forward given the varied interest of the school.2. Chinese Immersion - we are a non-Chinese speaking family so our goal for our children has always been medium fluency in Chinese that they could continue as their secondary language through high school and university. We are not seeking native-speaking status but enough to communicate and get around. We have a Chinese Au Pair that complements their Chinese learning at home. We are happy with our child's progress in written and spoken Chinese.3. Math and ELA - Yu Ying knows as a language immersion program English literacy may be behind other English-only schools since the children are learning in two languages. In first grade for example, my son learns his math in English and Chinese morning and afternoon. So Monday math will be in English and Tuesday the same math subject will be in Chinese. Etc. The school is putting extra resources into ensuring that the students test and perform at or better on ELA than English-only speaking schools. They also offer extra resources for math and other subjects to cultivate skills.4. School Community -is awesome and diverse in many ways - the parents are all dedicated (each parent has to volunteer 40 hours per year) and that commitment builds the school community and financial resources of the school. You will find a diversity of parents and interests among the parent community which enriches the community at Yu Ying.5. Campus- location is beautiful will plenty of green space to let the children run, play, and explore nature.
Submitted by parent on August 12, 2022

My two children went to Yu Ying. It gave the everything you would want from a school. I couldn't recommend it more.
Submitted by parent on July 15, 2022

My eldest kid has completed her elementary school at Washington Yu Ying. She started in pre-k 3, 8 years ago. We had the best experience possible. The Chinese immersion program is excellent. The teachers are loving and care a lot about the well-being of students. The campus is magnificent, with a forest (where kids play); 4 playgrounds, one outdoor art and garden space; murals leading to the school.My youngest has a learning disability, the school has help us beyond duty.The families are diverse and very involved.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2020

We've felt incredibly lucky to be part of the Yu Ying Community for over eight years. No school is perfect, however, Yu Ying's commitment to growth, both for the staff and the students, their openness to feedback, and their agility to respond to the ever-changing needs of their staff and students make it an exceptional school.
Submitted by parent on July 09, 2019

I was so excited because of the Chinese language, but then realized it's the ONLY thing the school has going for them. I will transfer my kid at end of this year. I'd rather get a good school and hire a Mandarin tutor. Also, the kids spent the last weeks of school helping their teachers pack up their classrooms -- no work at all. It's pathetic.
Submitted by parent on December 23, 2018

After six years, my kid is conversational in Mandarin but has deficits in other key subject areas. Writing is not emphasized at the school, but when it happens is largely limited to a word processing program as opposed to physically putting pencil to paper. Curriculum and instruction doesn't seem to be well thought out or consistent between grades. I recall only one semester in one academic year (second grade) where English vocabulary/spelling words were provided consistently. After that brief period it ended with no continuation in later grades. As a parent, I spend a lot of time and financial resources augmenting my child's education which leads me to believe classroom instruction is not effective or efficient. Yu Ying also has a transparency issue where you will likely not get a good sense of what is happening or learning objectives on a daily or weekly basis. If I had to do it over again, I would have likely selected another school.
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2018

While I have to say my child did benefit and gain the ability to communicate in Mandarin to some degree, the sacrifice of my child's integrity, self esteem, and ability to learn without being labeled was a deal breaker, thus the reason why I transferred her out before graduating from 5th grade. I honestly believe allowing her to stay at Yu Ying until 5th grade would have been an extreme disservice to her scholarly endeavors.
Submitted by parent on November 09, 2017

It's our first year (PK4) at this school and I am heartbroken. Coming from a far superior pre-school in another state, I am continuously disappointed by this school each day. The Chinese teachers are RUDE, sent home a rude letter about my daughter, again PK4!!!! Not middle school or anything, and how they can't understand her so they basically just ignore her. Today I found out at lunch time, instead of letting/helping the younger kids eat lunch, they turn down the lights and watch questionable movies. From talking to other parents, I'm finding that most kids get distracted and don't get to eat their lunch - starving by the end of the day. I literally cannot wait to transfer out of this school. I have two kids and have never dealt with such mean, incompetent teachers anywhere. I'm surprised about any of the good reviews, they must be older, because something sure changed here. I will not recommend this school to anyone.
Submitted by other on February 28, 2017

I have been a Yu Ying parent for 6 years and have two children in the school. I have long held out promise for the school's benefit to my children, but still I find myself up at 12 am the night before the lottery closes praying for better options. The issues from my perspective are Staff and Administration arrogance (not teachable), cliques, a bent to support and focus on the exceptional children (that boost their esteem), while marginalizing children who need more work, lack of awareness and engagement on bullying, lack of sensitivity to parents who are from various economic backgrounds, employing ill-equipped teachers, and in general overselling and under delivering. Bullying and Arrogant Educators-It's late and I am clearly tired, but I will say this. I have seen atrocious things happen to my kids at this school and no one noticed until it was too late and when it was all over they held a united front, did not apologize or change much to prevent a recurrence. Ill-equipped teachers--My kids have been placed into special academic booster groups for what is clearly a lack of experience by new teachers. Lack of Sensitivity for People of varied economic background-this is not a place from a person who cannot take off work on a Friday half day (imagine the perks on that job). If you can't take off ($50 per kid per day)... This is real. Overselling and under deliverying-I can't blame them (right?) who would not say "WER'E NUMBER ONE!!" And tell all the parents to vote that way. But these parents (myself included) largely pay $25 per hour and up for tutors, have nannies and o'pairs, or pay nearly $1000 a month for after care (which I admit is very cool,... but the cost). All in all, I give Yu Ying and average to bad rating, because the parents pad the truth with their money and their mouths. I am just tired of being quiet about it.
Submitted by other on May 23, 2016

Our son was lucky enough to be accepted into one of the first PK-3s. We could not be happier that he got into Yu Ying!! He is very interested in Chinese (already) and in less than an year of full immersion he is able to make full sentences to reply to his teacher. The administration is very professional and all the staff is friendly. The teachers are very caring and my son never looked back (to daycare); he really wants to go to school every day and even watches Chinese shows at home. The environment is nurturing with 2 playgrounds, a wooded area and many activities revolving around everyday's life (cooking, picking vegetables, learning about insects etc). We made the right choice and we are grateful to be part of the Yu Ying family!
Submitted by parent on May 22, 2014

Washington Yu-Ying started out as a great school. it had an engaged staff and great administrators and a principal that the children loved. However a change in key administration and many teachers and staff moving on to other pursuits has caused a deep void in the school. i have never seen a public school that costs so much. The reduced fees for participation in the after school program are still expensive. In addition, in my personal case, my child is more proficient in Chinese than English. In addition, their are clicks or special groups at the school and all children are not afforded the opportunity to participate in all activities. In addition, bullying is a serious problem. Teachers do nothing when children tell them they are being bullied and the child being attacked is often the one suspended when defending themselves. Some of the Chinese teachers are very abrasive. The attitude and the lack of support from administration to help children keep their hands to themselves is crazy. In addition, the children of the staff are treated very different than other children. This school has no idea of how to control children and other children suffer because of it.
Submitted by parent on October 25, 2013

I am the proud parent of two Washington Yu Ying students. I couldn't be happier with the school. The teachers are engaged and passionate, the administration is communicative and innovative and the school community is friendly and diverse. I also feel there is a great collaboration between teachers/administration and parents. IB program allows kids the develop into well-rounded children. Washinton Yu Ying is also a Green Ribbon school! They organize fuel- free commute to school regularly (which takes a lot to coordinate since kids come from all over the city). Finally, the after-care school program is excellent, offering variety of quality classes, such as music, sports, photography, creative writing. Overall, I would highly recommend this school to anyone in Washington.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2013

My daughter has been attending this school for, four years the teachers have been so supportive and helpful to my daughter and me. The school does such a great job with trying to assist students who may need extra help. WME
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2013

We really like Yu Ying, the dynamic staff and diverse student body. My daughter started in PreK 2 yrs ago and is speaking Chinese w/other native speaking children. She loves going to school---especially when the school is decorated during the chinese new year & the kids learn about chinese culture, eat dumplings and moon cookies. She loves the nature center, garden, tree swing, the chicken coop (they had for a couple of months) and can be found after school playing on the awesome playground. We like the healthy food choices (no candy or sugary snacks), the streamlined morning drop off process, the REEF after school programs offerings (which have gotten better over time), the student led conferences (where students present to the parents what they have been learning), the parent portal w/teachers' blogs and the responsiveness of staff. I am always impressed when I see the head of school/principal greeting students in the morning. Our only concern has been ensuring that our daughter is challenged in the classroom since she is above level.The teachers have been willing to think creatively about this and work w/ us during the parent conferences but its always a concern.
Submitted by parent on August 13, 2013

We have been at Yu Ying for 2 years with our oldest, and our 2nd is starting PreK-4 soon. Overall, the school is great. In fact, we can't move outside of DC because we don't know where to find a better school for the kiddos. How to improve: most of the teachers are young and relatively inexperienced. This is common in charters, but seems exacerbated among the Chinese staff. We had a problem with multiple Chinese teachers during the school year, which was worrisome to parents. The administration handled it well, holding a parent meeting, and laid out a strategy to prevent this problem in the future. In response to other reviews: 1) Yes, the parent association's listserv is intense / annoying, but you don't have to subscribe to stay involved. The school connects with parents regularly through email / parent web site. 2) I think the school runs the risk of inducing fundraising fatigue at times. But the only "mandatory" giving is a 1-time fee of $100/student for school supplies (saving you from buying them yourself), all other giving is optional. We generally don't use aftercare and pack our kids' lunches, but on the occasions we've used these services, the fee is appropriate.