Basis Mclean

[Anonymous]

Jeff- thank you so much for investigating this thread. I was going to post it to you to review actually- glad you saw it first.

I have no bone to pick in this fight but I think it should be deleted or locked or something. It's impossible to figure out if there's any truth to anything here whatsoever!

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Chris interested in the schools at all or is he just a profit driven salesman?

I am a former BASIS.ed employee (I left to return because my spouse was transferred out of state and there are no BASIS offices where we live). I have seen the posts on Chris Zefferys and Tamara Block Handler of BASIS Independent. I have worked with both of them, and they're two of the hardest working, most straight forward, and nicest people I have met professionally. Both are extremely smart, and each has a lot of experience doing what they're doing for BASIS Independent Schools.

The question about whether Chris is "invested in the schools" -- you have to be no matter what you do at BASIS.ed or BINS (BASIS Independent Schools). Chris knows the schools well. He spent a LOT of time touring different BASIS charter schools in Arizona, and was in San Jose and Brooklyn classrooms too. He knows the schools, knows the curricular philosophy, and has seen THAT it works and HOW it works for most children (not all). We all have. Well, most of us.

Just as each BASIS.ed school is filled with smart teachers - really, the upper end of teachers in any given community -- the BASIS offices are also filled with smart folks who know that their purpose is to support great schools. Hence, everyone is "invested" in the schools.

As for Tamara Block Handler, she is a bright, funny, ray of sunshine whose loud laugh filled the hallways at the BASIS.ed headquarters before she moved to New York to better support the east coast schools. She is also an experienced educator having been a senior director for a national health care nonprofit organization which provided education to patients and doctors for a specific disease -- Chron's disease and ulcerative colitis. She is as hard working as anyone there. She knows her way around a classroom, a board room, a marketing meeting, an office of professionals, or a policy session. Very capable.

Someone called her "evil" on this thread -- haha. That's probably someone whom she spoke truth to, about something they were doing or not doing. Tamara says what needs to be said, and I always appreciated that honest and forthright thought and speech. (An aside - we call men who are like that 'successful,' and women who are like that 'evil'! Oh well). She's only "evil" if dedicating your entire professional life to getting great medical care to seriously ill patients, and getting a great curriculum to students who want it, is "evil".

She's awesome. So is Chris.

This poster is an obvious shill. In the course of this thread, the poster has claimed to have been a onetime DC resident who considered BASIS DC who then moved to McLean and is interested in BASIS McLean, to have called the BASIS McLean office and had a bad experience, to have had conversations with Chris Zefferys (whoever that is), and now to be a former BASIS employee living in a place with no BASIS offices (an interesting term for what are normally called "schools"). The poster appears to be located in New York City.

Thank you for the update. It all wasn't making sense - one thing after another of a proud Basis supporter. It is interesting that Basis Brooklyn Independent School has alot of their central staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I saw Diane Ravitch speak about charter schools years ago, right when Basis dc was opening. Her basic point was public schools are not as bad as the school choice movement says they are, so there is no need for school choice, charter schools, magnet schools, and private schools.

i asked her afterwards if a charter school with a good record and a curriculum, where most (tho not all) parents at existing schools had good things to say about their kids' education, and about which smart education reporters like Jay Mathews at the Post consistently laud what is happening -- if that was coming to a community like it was coming to mine, what is the downside to sending my children there?

She said, there is no downside. She essentially said that she was speaking in a macro sense about "the choice movement" and how it denigrates public schools; that's her beef. But she said of course individual charter schools like basis or others could provide a great education for some kids, if not all kids.

And my husband followed up and asked, what school IS good for ALL kids? Is Harvard? Is SUNY Binghamton? She laughed and said no, not every school is right for every child, and public schools are at a disadvantage because they have to try harder to be, and charter schools have an advantage because while they should be, the burden on them is less stringent. Which may or may not be true, i dont know. But I see Basis dc seems t try. And it doesn't succeed with every kid, but I am not going to take my child out bc someone else had a worse experience.

The point is there are education professionals like ravitch who can rail against charters, but even she acknowledges, if you find a school that fits YOUR child -- go! Use it! That is a blessed opportunity!

The other point is, with the tens of thousands of parents who have sent their children to Basis schools in Arizona and Texas and the district and now california and new york, of course there are going to be some with "horror stories" of how it wasnt right for their kid. And that could be eventually true for our child too - and if it is, we will go back to our public school. So far, so good. (My 8th grader is at Basis DC, and my 2nd and 3rd graders will be there eventually).

But if Basis, with its acknowledged great curriculum and acknowledged great enthusiastic teachers who are truly excited to teach, is good for 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 percent of the kids who try it out -- whatever the number is -- that is fantastic for any community that lands a Basis school.

Does BASIS have fifth graders do sample PR statements as part of the curriculum? That's what this sounds like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AMA poster: The staff based out of Brooklyn, however, well let's hope you never have to talk to them...

What are the issues with the staff? Do you think this is unique to Brooklyn or is it something about the culture? Personally, I'm hesitant about the idea of a "network" of schools. Teachers and staff make or break a school and if the organization has a track record of turnover and/or transferring staff to other schools in the network how can I be confident that my child will have continuity in his education? Maybe year one isn't the best time to enroll. In anyone's experience, do these staffing issues tend to even out as the schools mature?

You sound like you have way to many questions to enroll year one. Yes, we have experience with a first year charter and you need to be there for the long haul and enjoy the ride. It doesn't mean you can't have questions and critiques, but you can't nitpick or act surprised by every little thing. Also, staff turmoil is super common in beginning schools. Last, I am not a fan of the Basis model (is this the same Basis in DC?) but if you are a fan go for it. As long as you buy into a school's premise the good usually outweighs the bad.

Poo
I appreciate the well wishes but this is a private school that costs 25,000 a year not a charter.

It appears they are related however and I would think much the same applies. Like the model, go for it. But I would say starter schools are for the more adventuresome and risk tolerant. There will be hiccups.

[Anonymous]

Has New York City stopped posting? No more corporate response?

[Anonymous]

Must be past their bedtime!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has New York City stopped posting? No more corporate response?

Why is there so much animosity towards BASIS? Just curious. Makes for fun reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has New York City stopped posting? No more corporate response?

Why is there so much animosity towards BASIS? Just curious. Makes for fun reading?

That was supposed to be a winky-face, not a question mark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has New York City stopped posting? No more corporate response?

Why is there so much animosity towards BASIS? Just curious. Makes for fun reading?

That was supposed to be a winky-face, not a question mark.

Someone in New York City pretended to be from DC, Arizona, to be a child applying to McLean, "SB", to have seen some charter school expert, to have called whenever a school opens that is right for your child a "blessed opportunity", referenced some SUNY campus nobody has heard of, "SB" turned into a parent, pretended to work for Basis, then called some lady named "Tamara Block Handler" a ray of sunshine but never said who she is. Oh, and this person also said the Blocks, the founders of Basis should make "a couple hundred thousand dollars" a year and said "Go Blocks Go" and attempted to defend the for-profit status. The interesting twist in the story -- Basis Independent Corporate has a lot of their staff in their Brooklyn Campus.

[Anonymous]

closest to a ray of sunshine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Must be past their bedtime!

No, they work their tails off around the clock!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many folks have talked about how teachers should make more money and athletes and movie stars and the like less money.

That's true.

But now that a lifelong educator has come up with a curriculum that's said to be among the world's best, and proves it with student results year after year, is making money from a school network that's educating tens of thousands of children -- he shouldn't make a few hundred thousand dollars?

Why in the world not?

Better him than any number of folks in any number of industries! I wish there were more people like the Blocks, not less!

At least we who send our kids to BASIS schools are getting something for the money we're paying!

-SP (child applying to McLean next year)

It's funny anyone would think this was actually a child thinking this. "A few hundred thousand dollars". Oh, that we all can't start for-profit schools!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many folks have talked about how teachers should make more money and athletes and movie stars and the like less money.

That's true.

But now that a lifelong educator has come up with a curriculum that's said to be among the world's best, and proves it with student results year after year, is making money from a school network that's educating tens of thousands of children -- he shouldn't make a few hundred thousand dollars?

Why in the world not?

Better him than any number of folks in any number of industries! I wish there were more people like the Blocks, not less!

At least we who send our kids to BASIS schools are getting something for the money we're paying!

-SP (child applying to McLean next year)

It's funny anyone would think this was actually a child thinking this. "A few hundred thousand dollars". Oh, that we all can't start for-profit schools!

I think they meant their child is applying next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many folks have talked about how teachers should make more money and athletes and movie stars and the like less money.

That's true.

But now that a lifelong educator has come up with a curriculum that's said to be among the world's best, and proves it with student results year after year, is making money from a school network that's educating tens of thousands of children -- he shouldn't make a few hundred thousand dollars?

Why in the world not?

Better him than any number of folks in any number of industries! I wish there were more people like the Blocks, not less!

At least we who send our kids to BASIS schools are getting something for the money we're paying!

-SP (child applying to McLean next year)

It's funny anyone would think this was actually a child thinking this. "A few hundred thousand dollars". Oh, that we all can't start for-profit schools!

I think they meant their child is applying next year.

Read previous posts. They were outed as a troll from New York City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many folks have talked about how teachers should make more money and athletes and movie stars and the like less money.

That's true.

But now that a lifelong educator has come up with a curriculum that's said to be among the world's best, and proves it with student results year after year, is making money from a school network that's educating tens of thousands of children -- he shouldn't make a few hundred thousand dollars?

Why in the world not?

Better him than any number of folks in any number of industries! I wish there were more people like the Blocks, not less!

At least we who send our kids to BASIS schools are getting something for the money we're paying!

-SP (child applying to McLean next year)

It's funny anyone would think this was actually a child thinking this. "A few hundred thousand dollars". Oh, that we all can't start for-profit schools!

I think they meant their child is applying next year.

Read previous posts. They were outed as a troll from New York City.

Basis has a campus in New York City. Wonder if that had something to do with it?