How was the meeting with the admin meeting last week at BASIS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For crying out loud -- does any ADULT really think that they will fail an entire chemistry class over behavior issues? OP is being as hysterical as an eighth grader. Stop whipping up your child into a frenzy.

The rookie mistake was by the unqualified dean who made a threat he can't deliver on -- I hope he becomes yet one more in a string of supposed male role models who aren't the right fit for this school.

AMEN to that, brother. But yes, there are at least two PARENTS who are still unclear on what the ultimate consequences are going to be for their children's Chemistry grades. Neither of them understood the HOS email, and both of them share the feeling that while clearly the Chemistry teacher did not mean for anything like this to happen when she called the Dean, she is not in control of their grades because he said she wasn't.

You have to understand that parents and children here come from all sorts of different cultures and backgrounds, some where a group is frequently punished for the actions of one person, even when the person is identified, some from where the rules are only rules until someone higher in authority says they are not, where arbitrary and unfair situations happen all the time, and there is nothing one can do about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

NP here: That may be the case, but many of us who do have a Ph.D. don't support the mad rush to teach calculus to 8th graders, to take 5 AP classes in 10th grade, etc. We want and expect our kids to excel academically but to also have time and energy to be in the school play, join the cross country team, learn to paint, read for leisure, and yes, even play travel soccer. We don't want to raise automatons who can excel in cram schools (see the many articles about kids pushed too far, too fast by these in, for instance, S. Korea); we want well-rounded, well-adjusted, and happy children who can do quite well in math and science while also writing 20-page papers on Plato, learning an instrument or two, and having some semblance of a normal teenage lifestyle. I know Basis has a plan for the math and science, but I am much less sure about the other things. Having visited the school fairly recently, it's quite clear that the other departments--especially English, visual arts, music, and languages--are way behind the game vs. many other schools (public, private, and charter) in the area. Yes, I know that they have a drama club, etc., but what they're offering is not going to meet the standards of many parents who want well-rounded kids AND who have choices, and that may well be why they're losing rising 9th graders. The program just seems very extreme and one-dimensional.

Since there are now, happily, several good choices available for many incoming high schoolers, there's no reason that Basis wouldn't be carefully considered by those who are exclusively interested in STEM--except that Basis doesn't accept ninth graders. In the end, Basis in DC might have a very, very small group of kids, and so might not be able to weather the storm financially.

[b]You have the facts wrong on what BASIS is "pushing" students to do. Most students take Algebra 2 in 8th grade and literally only a handful of students take AP Calculus in 8th grade. Second BASIS only requires the successful completion of 6 AP courses by graduation with one taken in 9th grade, two taken on 10th grade, and 3 taken in 11th grade. This may seem like a lot but the lower school curricula is designed to gradually prepare students for these courses. We found the courses offered our child for the past 3 years in the lower school to be age appropriate. It does sound like a lot to have Biology, Chemistry, and Physics for grades 6, 7, and 8 but the material is presented in an age appropriate manner and a slower manner than a typical high school course. I was told that the Chemistry courses taken over 6 through 8 grades is equivalent to a regular high school course which seems quite reasonable to me. Plus, in 5th grade students take science overview everyday which covers Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Science again in an age appropriate way. The teachers also try to make it engaging and fun as well. I think many kids are quite capable for this sort of curricula and we underestimate their abilities. Now unfortunately DCPS has done such a bang up job with many kids that may have a hard time with the material when they are years behind academically.I will say though that the school offers a ton of support. Is BASIS the right school for everyone? No, it is not, but neither is any other school.

As for finances I am not concerned. BASIS has been doing this successfully since that late 1990's. I do not think some attrition is going to hurt them at all.

[Anonymous]

Basis tries to create a facade, albeit somewhat unsuccessfully, that its pupils study, analyze and extrapolate from the Enlightenment philosophers like that
of John Lock to Russian grand masters like that of Anton Chekhov and to the treasury of the English poetry like " The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."
In truth, nothing could be further away from reality for the quality of a school cannot be determined by the superfluous assignments and questionable
grading practices.
En quote from the aforementioned Russian grand master " People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they are happy."
The truth is that people are not happy with the proud words on dusty shelves Basis provides them with. Lack of extra-curricular activities and sports
are the least of their problems.
Our fearless leaders keep telling us " If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
If they have nothing to hide, why even bring the secretaries from Arizona?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Basis tries to create a facade, albeit somewhat unsuccessfully, that its pupils study, analyze and extrapolate from the Enlightenment philosophers like that
of John Lock to Russian grand masters like that of Anton Chekhov and to the treasury of the English poetry like " The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."
In truth, nothing could be further away from reality for the quality of a school cannot be determined by the superfluous assignments and questionable
grading practices.
En quote from the aforementioned Russian grand master " People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they are happy."
The truth is that people are not happy with the proud words on dusty shelves Basis provides them with. Lack of extra-curricular activities and sports
are the least of their problems.
Our fearless leaders keep telling us " If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
If they have nothing to hide, why even bring the secretaries from Arizona?"

I think your tin-foil hat needs adjusting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For crying out loud -- does any ADULT really think that they will fail an entire chemistry class over behavior issues? OP is being as hysterical as an eighth grader. Stop whipping up your child into a frenzy.

The rookie mistake was by the unqualified dean who made a threat he can't deliver on -- I hope he becomes yet one more in a string of supposed male role models who aren't the right fit for this school.

AMEN to that, brother. But yes, there are at least two PARENTS who are still unclear on what the ultimate consequences are going to be for their children's Chemistry grades. Neither of them understood the HOS email, and both of them share the feeling that while clearly the Chemistry teacher did not mean for anything like this to happen when she called the Dean, she is not in control of their grades because he said she wasn't.

So other parents understood from the HOS email that grades would not be affected.
Perhaps the two parents who are uncertain should ask for clarification from the HOS.

Your complaint is that the email was poorly written is rather ironic.

[Anonymous]

Your complaint [strikeout]is[/strikeout] that the email was poorly written is rather ironic.

[Anonymous]

So as an educator with first hand knowledge I feel that it is my duty to chime in against the PR BASIS puts out (the solution for what ails American public education, #1 ranked, etc). To me what makes BASIS a good school is that it has a reputation for excellence and for that reason attracts excellent teachers and highly motivated and above-average students. But BASIS admin thinks it is excellent because of its "world-renown" program that it devised from on high. They take away initiative and discretion from teachers (and make sure we know that we a replaceable) and adopt a take it or leave it mentality with parents.

I am fascinated by your observations for a number of reasons.

First off, in our experience in terms of English, and foreign language instruction, it seems to me they give way too much discretion to inexperienced teachers. Last year in English 7, our children read three small books (Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Night (if you add all the pages together you MIGHT get the Odyssey or the Iliad or a book by Charlotte Bronte, and wrote 2/3 LONG and sometimes incoherent essays. The only thing the teacher HAD to teach was grammar for the Basis wide portion of the Comprehensive Exam, and she failed to do that until the 11th hour for the Precomps and thus many grades were a shock to students, and I believe as a result she was fired.

Some of these English teachers do not know how to teach, and the fact that they are given permission to decide how many and what types of books the our children read, how many and what types of essays our children write, and have them engage in extensive but pointless annotations of these texts because their comments never translate into a written product, is shocking to me. Last year, despite NUMEROUS complaints from parents, the only thing they did with this woman who was having our class read "To Kill a Mockingbird" OUT LOUD (can you imagine?) was fire her at the end of the year. By the end of the year, she had basically quit and thankfully assigned NO essay on the final book, but our students had lost another year of decent English instruction.

In all fairness, it does appear that they are now trying to be a bit more proactive at least with the new 8 English teacher, helping her re curriculum etc because her plan initially was AGAIN to have the children read 3 short books and write 3 long essays when some of them tragically can no longer write the 5 paragraph essays they were taught (or not, in some cases) at their previous schools in 4th and 5th grade, or even single paragraphs properly constructed with appropriate topic sentences.

To the poster who said they were a STEM school, they completely are, and I think to advertise that they are not is deceptive, which they do - "a rigorous liberal arts education" - hardly ! What is worse, and I do not believe happens at TJ (and now even children at STA can ultimately study Differential Equations if I am not mistaken), in our experience they NEGLECT the English teachers and do not seem to care that not only are our children not refining their writing techniques, but the skill set they entered with has been eroded, through lack of reinforcement and practice, to an appalling extent. Some of them can no longer correctly quote from texts, nor even select the proper passage in the first place. To do this to such bright and willing students is criminal. Written English is essential even for scientists (who must publish peer reviewed papers), and no college that I know of allows even engineers to escape English 101.

The foreign language instruction as well until this year (and I am now only cognizant of what is happening in 2 out of 4 languages) has also been abysmal (in Chinese the class just went too slowly for some). Our teacher (not teaching Chinese) was fired at the end of the year, as was her predecessor, but this "teacher" would say things like "I was going to teach you today, but you are too disruptive, so I teach you nothing." When a student timidly asked if the teacher could send the disruptive students to the Dean (NOT the one we have now) and get on with her lesson plan, her response was that since she would have to send almost the entire class it was pointless. The Blocks promised to have a track for native speakers in at least some languages, and of course given the situation THAT has not happened either. We are seriously considering supplementing with Rosetta Stone, but have to investigate further how they handle literacy in languages as opposed to fluency.

I do wish they had been more up front and honest not only about their math and science focus but about their failure to focus on English and Foreign languages. Forget Theatre or the Arts. And to me this blindspot is incomprehensible given that the World History Advanced Placement Exam requires 3 different types of essays. Perhaps that is why they have changed the History curriculum for the future at all Basis schools, inserting US History in grade 7, and stating that students will henceforth only be allowed to take the World History Advanced Placement test if they are granted permission by their teachers.

There is no LEAP English being offered this year due to alleged "lack of interest."- but the academically advanced students were not allowed, for reasons that elude me, to take both LEAP English and LEAP Chemistry, so they all got together and opted for Chem. I would posit that this 8th grade section is probably the most well behaved and least disruptive in the entire school, and certainly would never steal candy from their chemistry teacher. But I also am sure that the Dean could frighten them as well, and in the same way, threaten all of the children's academic standing because they failed to identify the miscreant, and at least initially, these children, whom have seen much happen over the last three years that made little sense, would believe him and would be devastated.

What lack of discretion are you referring to?
(having experienced the negative consequences of teachers being given utterly no guidance whatsoever.........

I can see how Saxon math does not allow a teacher much discretion in what to teach - they either teach it well or badly, but curiously (and I am not a maths expert at all), many of the kids who left Basis "well ahead of their peers in science" found themselves having to repeat the math class they had just taken AT Basis, both in public (but selective) high schools, and at least for one student, in a private school, and it all seems to have to do with the gaps in Algebra instruction that have to do with Geometry (which is only a part of the BASIS curriculum to the extent it is interwoven with Algebra, and clearly it is not enough.)

They do no tracking here except in math until LEAP Chemistry, because that apparently is not their philosophy, but when we have children who come in SO behind in math that they have created a category below Saxon 7/8, whom they deem to far behind to even TAKE physics in grade 6 (was that true at your former school?), and then put those children into the same section in grade 7 as the children who are in the two highest math classes, it really does not seem fair to either group. And the mathematically advanced children felt like in many ways grade 7 was a complete waste of their time. They are also, I believe, allowing pre Calculus to become a two year course, which I have no objection to. And Maths is the only Comprehensive Exam a child can fail and still be moved up a grade at the end of the year BASIS wide, and that was indeed a great boon to Basis DC.

Do you think under these circumstances some form of tracking might be appropriate?

Where the gaps are so wide, and the 60% bar really does not compensate for them in grade 7?

I have also suggested that the 5th graders might really benefit from being separated into groups that require basic fundamental instruction in not only subject matter but study skills so that their chances of success at this school are higher.

What do you think about that?

In terms of the take it or leave it mentality with parents, for reasons I do not have time to explain at the moment, but are both financial and academic, I think that attitude will have to change rapidly to avoid Basis DC becoming truly embarrassing to the Blocks....and potentially destroying their credibility on the issue of whether they can, in fact, educate anyone, and whether the product they are offering is so superior (especially here, where even the high school options leave a lot to be desired) that they can attract and retain the "top students" in Washington DC.............

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For crying out loud -- does any ADULT really think that they will fail an entire chemistry class over behavior issues? OP is being as hysterical as an eighth grader. Stop whipping up your child into a frenzy.

The rookie mistake was by the unqualified dean who made a threat he can't deliver on -- I hope he becomes yet one more in a string of supposed male role models who aren't the right fit for this school.

AMEN to that, brother. But yes, there are at least two PARENTS who are still unclear on what the ultimate consequences are going to be for their children's Chemistry grades. Neither of them understood the HOS email, and both of them share the feeling that while clearly the Chemistry teacher did not mean for anything like this to happen when she called the Dean, she is not in control of their grades because he said she wasn't.

So other parents understood from the HOS email that grades would not be affected.
Perhaps the two parents who are uncertain should ask for clarification from the HOS.




Your complaint is that the email was poorly written is rather ironic.

I don't usually point out grammatical errors, but I truly hope you were intoxicated when you wrote this...

I never said how many parents understood that.
Some were too busy calming down their kids to even look at their computers
IF THEY HAVE COMPUTERS BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY IN THE FRIGGIN WORLD DOES

Again, maybe two parents, maybe three kids... you all are unbelievably unsympathetic broken records

How many scared kids should it take to get the man to simply step into the classroom and be clear with these kids:
the Dean does not have the power to change your grade,
and he was wrong to threaten you.
Your grades are not going to be hurt in any way, and you can take that to the bank, kids, because I am HOS.

How many frightened or confused kids should it take? One! One is enough. Every child counts.
Then maybe there will be no more crying in the bathroom.
Then maybe the 5th graders will stop speculating.

how many confused parents should it take for the man to get his head out of his ass for one second
and send an email to parents that says:
The dean was wrong. Your child's grade is safe and will not be hurt. We are so sorry about what happened and any confusion it may have caused, but this is not the Basis way. Basis believes that children earn their grades and no dean can change them.


How many confused parents should it take? One! One is enough.
Every parent decides where their child goes to school next year.
Every parent may be the parent of a "top student" who will be part of the exodus in the THIRD graduating class
Every parent may be the parent who is now definitely going to pull his kid out when they get into SWW
or start searching NOW for a private high school to give his "top" Basis student a full scholarship,
b/c said child is maybe a candidate for HYP - such children do actually exist at Basis DC
minority, impoverished, first generation but with employed concerned parents who
GOT that child to Basis. You think with a little help he cannot GET his child into a big 3 or 5 for 9th grade?
and you know what your precious Cameron has created here?
A situation in which other parents in the section will gladly help him and sadly understand,
and not even ask him to reconsider because you know what, we get it.

How "ironic" is this? Given how scared the kids were, how concerned the parents were, you tell me the irony you see in this STUPID STUPID STUPID email sent by our fearless leader.

Again, after this, your suggestion is that parents or children who are still scared and confused COMMUNICATE with this man? Instead of him just getting off his high horse and communicating with them first???????
Because through his silence he is adding to the confusion, fueling the fire, providing more grist for the rumor mill

WHY should the burden be on them? Parents or children? They did not create this problem. They did not sit back and watch it grow. They did the best they could with what they had. They did not try to get the Chemistry teacher to do their dirty work, to clean up their mess, to have a "meeting" with all of 8La with another staff member - and guess what, the kids didn't believe the chemistry teacher.
I cannot believe that you find this remotely amusing.
You are disgusting.

One of my best friends at my Ivy League college was the first in her family to be born in the US, and she was born into poverty. Her parents still do not speak English. But they don't have to. At any given time they probably have at least 3 grateful children who will translate for them.



On Oct 15, 2014 6:59 PM, "Cameron Louis" <[e-mail]> wrote:

Good evening everyone,

I just wanted to take a quick moment to follow up regarding an incident that took place in Ms. Pickett’s Chemistry classroom and our response. Our Dean of Students may have incorrectly messaged to the whole element that their grades might be adversely affected by one student’s decision to steal lab materials. We’ve taken a number of steps to make sure that this messaging was retracted and that the students feel comfortable with what transpired. I don’t want to make this a bigger issue than it was, but I did want to share with you all that no student’s grades will be negatively affected. Thank you and know that we’re constantly reflecting on how to make BASIS the best, student-centered environment possible and on how to be better for all of your students. Thank you all and I hope that you’re having a wonderful week!


Please tell me, amidst the chaos of your crying child who is in true fear of FAILING chemistry, if you do not speak English, how you could possibly sit down and parse this opaque and idiotic communication? What, they should ask their traumatized child to do it? Assuming they have a computer that is. Do you think their first thought was we should go to the library and see if there is an email from fearless leader.... who hid behind the Chemistry teacher's skirt

Don't you get it? The Chemistry teacher has unequivocally at this point (because unlike the messaging man, or maybe at the request of the messaging man who realizes) as she realizes (as do other staff members) that she has a crisis on her hands

tried to tell the kids that their grades are safe
they don't believe her
now put on your thinking cap and imagine how bad this encounter with the Dean really was to generate these "irrational" responses on the part of the students, and the lack of comprehension by some of the parents
who heard their kids try to describe the incident

Then put your irony and your superiority complex (and your badly worded sentence) all in a pipe and smoke them. And for the love of God Almighty, please please shut up.

You are giving all Basis parents a bad bad name, as if the reputation of the BOOSTERS was so great to begin with, that those of you with zero stake have now been going on for how many posts? Maybe the devil is in the details, but I see nothing "ironic" about a Dean scaring a bunch of children, who are still on a hunt for the "criminal" who may be one of their closest friends in the class or heck may not even be in the element, about an idiotic email, about a man who is supposed to be our HOS who has been "messaged" by parents that there is still fear and confusion....DOING NOTHING

[Anonymous]

Well, thanks for posting that.

I quote, from that email you posted, which was sent out on the 15th, nine days ago, when the incident happened, "no student’s grades will be negatively affected"

As I read that, it's crystal clear that grades will not be affected - there's simply NO other way to interpret that, and that all of the "fear", and business about "frightened children" and "uncertainty" and everything else that's been trotted out over the course of the last week is totally unwarranted - and not to mention all of the bashing along with it. That's not "messaging" - it's a clear statement, and I can see zero reason whatsoever for this overblown nine-day kerfluffle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, thanks for posting that.

I quote, from that email you posted, which was sent out on the 15th, nine days ago, when the incident happened, "no student’s grades will be negatively affected"

As I read that, it's crystal clear that grades will not be affected - there's simply NO other way to interpret that, and that all of the "fear", and business about "frightened children" and "uncertainty" and everything else that's been trotted out over the course of the last week is totally unwarranted - and not to mention all of the bashing along with it. That's not "messaging" - it's a clear statement, and I can see zero reason whatsoever for this overblown nine-day kerfluffle.

Well genius, the kids did not get the email. Most of the parents did not get the email that night (because they were too busy comforting their kids about an experience that was emotionally traumatic for most of them.) Some of the parents don't have computers, and some do not speak English. If that message was so clear, why were the rumors still flying at the beginning of this week amongst the students, who are the ones that matter. If I were trying to use google translate to get that from Greek I am sure I would come up with kerfluffle.

But more to the point, at the very least the Chemistry teacher and one other staff member were aware that despite that email message that had so many unclear statements in it, the kids were STILL scared and confused THIS week, and had a meeting with the upset kids to reassure them and they did not believe it, maybe because they have been erroneously given Friday Reflection one time too many.

Again, this is less about what the Dean said than how the students felt. This is less about what Mr. Louis said than how it was interpreted (to some it was incomprehensible, for some it made them furious, and some thought we were dealing with really expensive lab equipment,)

Sorry, but all he had to do was man up. And he did not. End of story, and bye bye more students after 8th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, thanks for posting that.

I quote, from that email you posted, which was sent out on the 15th, nine days ago, when the incident happened, "no student’s grades will be negatively affected"

As I read that, it's crystal clear that grades will not be affected - there's simply NO other way to interpret that, and that all of the "fear", and business about "frightened children" and "uncertainty" and everything else that's been trotted out over the course of the last week is totally unwarranted - and not to mention all of the bashing along with it. That's not "messaging" - it's a clear statement, and I can see zero reason whatsoever for this overblown nine-day kerfluffle.

Well genius, the kids did not get the email. Most of the parents did not get the email that night (because they were too busy comforting their kids about an experience that was emotionally traumatic for most of them.) Some of the parents don't have computers, and some do not speak English. If that message was so clear, why were the rumors still flying at the beginning of this week amongst the students, who are the ones that matter. If I were trying to use google translate to get that from Greek I am sure I would come up with kerfluffle.

But more to the point, at the very least the Chemistry teacher and one other staff member were aware that despite that email message that had so many unclear statements in it, the kids were STILL scared and confused THIS week, and had a meeting with the upset kids to reassure them and they did not believe it, maybe because they have been erroneously given Friday Reflection one time too many.

Again, this is less about what the Dean said than how the students felt. This is less about what Mr. Louis said than how it was interpreted (to some it was incomprehensible, for some it made them furious, and some thought we were dealing with really expensive lab equipment,)

Sorry, but all he had to do was man up. And he did not. End of story, and bye bye more students after 8th.

On Oct 15, 2014 6:59 PM, "Cameron Louis" <[e-mail]> wrote:

Good evening everyone,

I just wanted to take a quick moment to follow up regarding an incident that took place in Ms. Pickett’s Chemistry classroom and our response.

There was no response except this email, but let's proceed.

Our Dean of Students may have incorrectly messaged to the whole element that their grades might be adversely affected by one student’s decision to steal lab materials.

He just messed up the message, he did not terrorize the kids, or exceed his authority by threatening their grades, and BTW, I am definitely NOT going to tell you that the "lab materials" were candy, or that he and the teacher stepped out and gave the kids 5 minutes to find the candy and his statement was in response to their failure to find the candy,

We’ve taken a number of steps to make sure that this messaging was retracted and that the students feel comfortable with what transpired.

Oh fearless leader, pray tell what steps were those? Because your footprints are invisible. You surely cannot have meant that on that day you intended the Chem teacher the following week to try (and fail) to reassure these scared students that they and their grades were safe.

I don’t want to make this a bigger issue than it was,

you could have avoided every subsequent issue that came up just by coming into the class with the Dean and telling not messaging the kids that you as the HOS would never let their grades be affected - and the Dean made a mistake. Nothing more nothing less.

but I did want to share with you all that no student’s grades will be negatively affected.

double negative and at the end when some parents had already thrown in the towel as in F you, my kid is crying, and you don't want to make it a bigger issue than it was? It is a heck of a bigger issue now than it was then boss man

Thank you and know that we’re constantly reflecting on how to make BASIS the best, student-centered environment possible and on how to be better for all of your students.

Yes your behavior here and the tardy policy being selectively and not transparently enforced convince us that you are student - centered rather than self centered.

Thank you all and I hope that you’re having a wonderful week!

Oh fearless leader boss man, of course we are, because you make every day better for us and you certainly have given us a wonderful week.

Peanut gallery, feel free to comment on said email under said circumstances and explain to the rest of these idiots why maybe just maybe the email did not quite get the message through......... and was totally inappropriate under the circumstances.

Please, somebody, anybody, help me out here with these BOOSTERS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, thanks for posting that.

I quote, from that email you posted, which was sent out on the 15th, nine days ago, when the incident happened, "no student’s grades will be negatively affected"

As I read that, it's crystal clear that grades will not be affected - there's simply NO other way to interpret that, and that all of the "fear", and business about "frightened children" and "uncertainty" and everything else that's been trotted out over the course of the last week is totally unwarranted - and not to mention all of the bashing along with it. That's not "messaging" - it's a clear statement, and I can see zero reason whatsoever for this overblown nine-day kerfluffle.

Well genius, the kids did not get the email. Most of the parents did not get the email that night (because they were too busy comforting their kids about an experience that was emotionally traumatic for most of them.) Some of the parents don't have computers, and some do not speak English. If that message was so clear, why were the rumors still flying at the beginning of this week amongst the students, who are the ones that matter. If I were trying to use google translate to get that from Greek I am sure I would come up with kerfluffle.

But more to the point, at the very least the Chemistry teacher and one other staff member were aware that despite that email message that had so many unclear statements in it, the kids were STILL scared and confused THIS week, and had a meeting with the upset kids to reassure them and they did not believe it, maybe because they have been erroneously given Friday Reflection one time too many.

Again, this is less about what the Dean said than how the students felt. This is less about what Mr. Louis said than how it was interpreted (to some it was incomprehensible, for some it made them furious, and some thought we were dealing with really expensive lab equipment,)

Sorry, but all he had to do was man up. And he did not. End of story, and bye bye more students after 8th.

Ah, I see. The lack of reading comprehension demonstrated by you and maybe two or three others (it quite clearly says there will be no negative impact on grades above), along with your obvious overreliance on rumor and your insistence on heightening and perpetuating anxieties and misinformation by repeating rumors, which you've evidently decided should trump the actual, clear and authoritative information directly from the school and HOS (which you've meanwhile suppressed for 9 days) is somehow supposed to be everyone else's problem.

Got it.

[Anonymous]

When this issue was first brought up last week, I had sympathy for the upset parent, but at this point, and especially after coming back and reading the last several of her posts (particularly after the actual email came to light, and particularly as she dissects and parses it line by line), it's painfully obvious that this is a person who's off the rails and who seems hellbent on ignoring reason and willfully and deliberately distorting, twisting and misrepresenting every. single. thing.

[Anonymous]

After reading that email from the HOS, I think a lot of people need more instruction in English, both in writing and reading comprehension. He does seem to try to mask his inexperience with a lot of jargon.

[Anonymous]

Huh? "no student's grade will be negatively affected" is "a lot of jargon?"

Sure seems pretty understandable to me.