BASIS Equitable Access Preference

[Anonymous]

I'm confused, why would BASIS have to be anyone's number one choice? Lots of people match at BASIS because they didn't get into Latin. Is this some sort of requirement to utilize the preference?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prediction: in 5 years, BASIS test scores are in the toilet, between this equitable access decision and the strain of opening a second campus. You heard it here first.

If they can't get decent scores with a tiny increase in at-risk population, they're not a very good school. Nobody thinks they're going to actually admit very many.

[Anonymous]

It seems slightly crazy that a publicly funded school, using a lottery entry system, could (by their admission) become so captured by middle and upper middle class interests in one ward and to have somehow distorted at risk in take so much. That alone seems reason enough to review the entire process let along just for at risk children. This isn’t to take away from the achievements of the school but rather to ensure that our publicly funded education system as a whole delivers on the access it’s supposed to give. I’d make this comment across the board - no idea why some charter middle schools are allowed “feeders” for example

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS has announced they're doing an equitable access preference. The email makes it sound like they will be admitting equitable access students in ALL GRADES (5-12): "We plan to reserve a certain number of spots for at-risk students entering grades 5-12."

I personally don't love this. Underperforming disruptive students are already a problem at BASIS. BASIS is successful because those students are weeded out. This seems like yet another school that will be ruined in the name of "equity."

It is a public school funded with taxpayer dollars yes?

Your “not loving it” is immaterial.

[Anonymous]

People. When non-weed out schools add equitable access, you need to worry about what that is going to do about the education the school will be able to provide to non at risk students. But this is the point of attending a weed-out school. You don’t have to worry about any of this because basis will stay true to its weed out mission regardless. So relax and let the rest of us worry about “equity” across dcps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People. When non-weed out schools add equitable access, you need to worry about what that is going to do about the education the school will be able to provide to non at risk students. But this is the point of attending a weed-out school. You don’t have to worry about any of this because basis will stay true to its weed out mission regardless. So relax and let the rest of us worry about “equity” across dcps!

So basically 5th grade at BASIS will be even more of a hot mess than it currently is. Then, kids who didn't have a good experience and didn't pass will be dumped into DCPS middle schools for 6th. Fun times!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uh, holy sh*t. This is bizarre. "A fighting chance"? "No chance in the world"? "Play make believe"? "Truly and deeeeeeeply desires"? "REALLY number one choice"?

Right. What they mean is a fair number of their applicants are fleeing the poor blacks.

[Anonymous]

I'd be willing to bet that BASIS has agreed to apply the preference for all grades in which they open lottery seats to new students.

They only take new students at 5th so, in practice, those at-risk seats will only be available for 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd be willing to bet that BASIS has agreed to apply the preference for all grades in which they open lottery seats to new students.

They only take new students at 5th so, in practice, those at-risk seats will only be available for 5th grade.

They do take siblings at higher grades who somehow magically are all a good fit whereas no other students across DC are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, holy sh*t. This is bizarre. "A fighting chance"? "No chance in the world"? "Play make believe"? "Truly and deeeeeeeply desires"? "REALLY number one choice"?

Right. What they mean is a fair number of their applicants are fleeing the poor blacks.

I mean, we are and we aren't. On the one hand, we signed up for Basis because it's a school in which our kids can learn at academically advanced levels, and the race and income levels of their classmates are irrelevant. On the other hand, as anyone who hasn't had their head in the sand for the past 200 years knows, race and income are hugely correlated with academic achievement, so there's no way in which race and income are not relevant to this discussion. But when Basis has an at-risk rate of only 9 percent, there's certainly room for more disadvantaged but ambitious kids. That letter is bad, but at least it doesn't sugar-coat the fact that helping kids who need more support means more work for the school. I read it as saying that they will support motivated but underprepared kids, but not totally unmotivated kids.

[Anonymous]

The letter is bad, like they clearly don't really want to do this, but it's also just weird! Definitely reads like a quid pro quo for getting an elementary school approved. And sounds like they wouldn't have the preference for middle school anymore if they did? The part about it being their first choice is confusing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh, holy sh*t. This is bizarre. "A fighting chance"? "No chance in the world"? "Play make believe"? "Truly and deeeeeeeply desires"? "REALLY number one choice"?

Right. What they mean is a fair number of their applicants are fleeing the poor blacks.

I mean, we are and we aren't. On the one hand, we signed up for Basis because it's a school in which our kids can learn at academically advanced levels, and the race and income levels of their classmates are irrelevant. On the other hand, as anyone who hasn't had their head in the sand for the past 200 years knows, race and income are hugely correlated with academic achievement, so there's no way in which race and income are not relevant to this discussion. But when Basis has an at-risk rate of only 9 percent, there's certainly room for more disadvantaged but ambitious kids. That letter is bad, but at least it doesn't sugar-coat the fact that helping kids who need more support means more work for the school. I read it as saying that they will support motivated but underprepared kids, but not totally unmotivated kids.

No matter how you slice it, segregation was your goal

[Anonymous]

I’d make this comment across the board - no idea why some charter middle schools are allowed “feeders” for example

The only middle or high school with feeders is DCI. They got the council to pass an exception.

[Anonymous]

It reads like "Don't worry, we'll make sure it's only a few more poors, and we'll make sure they're super desperate to be here!"

Imagine how different this letter would be if they actually wanted to do this. Of course, if they wanted to, they would have done it already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People. When non-weed out schools add equitable access, you need to worry about what that is going to do about the education the school will be able to provide to non at risk students. But this is the point of attending a weed-out school. You don’t have to worry about any of this because basis will stay true to its weed out mission regardless. So relax and let the rest of us worry about “equity” across dcps!

BASIS's whole schtick is that BASIS is too hard for ANY children to join after 5th grade, because they're "so advanced." They're now planning to add kids to the *high school* who will be incredibly underprepared by definition, coming from foster care, homelessness etc. This is a recipe for disaster. They also don't weed out with comps after 8th grade, so those underprepared kids will be permanently in the high school.

The sole reason BASIS is doing this is because they're trying to push through the elementary school for funding reasons, which parents were already concerned would harm the middle and high school. And now we're seeing it happen, in real time.