BASIS Elementary Expansion - What's the latest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They haven't applied yet-- it's not the time of year for doing that.

There was some talk of a building on I St NE (kind of near JO Wilson) but I'm not sure how serious that was.

I live in this neighborhood and can't really think of a building near JOW that would be big enough. Would it be a pretty small school?

Also, how obnoxious would that be just as JOW is getting a renovation and might finally build steam with IB families, especially with TR4th in declining favor, for BASIS to come in with an elementary. My kids are no longer in elementary grades and we didn't even lottery for BASIS for MS because it's not a good fit for our family, but I'm just envisioning what that would feel like in the neighborhood and I am not enthusiastic about it. If they do it, go put it somewhere central and near public transportation, like the middle school.

100%. The proposed location is also only a 5-minute walk from both L-T and CHML. It's basically the most congested ES area in the city already.

[Anonymous]

Could someone link to the proposal that has the location? I don't understand where it is -- is there a part of I St NE that is in Ward 5? Isn't that basically Trinidad? Trinidad has school issues but I don't think a BASIS elementary would fix them, as it's unlikely most Trinidad families would get a spot and would not address their MS issue or the fact that they feed to a HS that is really annoying to get to.

Anyway, still trying to figure out where this proposed school is supposed to be.

[Anonymous]

I think the proposed location was in NOMA which may be the northern part of Ward 6. The proposed location and perceived absence of real need in that area is not likely to be a positive for their application. Sure TR 4th is located nearby but it was approved years and years ago.

[Anonymous]

yes Ward 5 is basically Brookland down into Trinidad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They haven't applied yet-- it's not the time of year for doing that.

There was some talk of a building on I St NE (kind of near JO Wilson) but I'm not sure how serious that was.

I live in this neighborhood and can't really think of a building near JOW that would be big enough. Would it be a pretty small school?

Also, how obnoxious would that be just as JOW is getting a renovation and might finally build steam with IB families, especially with TR4th in declining favor, for BASIS to come in with an elementary. My kids are no longer in elementary grades and we didn't even lottery for BASIS for MS because it's not a good fit for our family, but I'm just envisioning what that would feel like in the neighborhood and I am not enthusiastic about it. If they do it, go put it somewhere central and near public transportation, like the middle school.

I might be remembering wrong and spreading baseless rumors, but just for fun-- I believe it was this building, which is 56,000 square feet-- that's about as big as Cleveland Elementary, or Dorothy Height, or Ludlow-Taylor, but smaller than a lot of DCPS elementaries. Bigger than Ross and Maury, though. So choosing this location means choosing to operate a smallish elementary school, I guess there would be room for two classrooms per grade most likely. No outdoor space, which will put people off. I suppose they could walk to that big climby thing on L St but even that isn't much.

https://www.commercialcafe.com/commercial-property/us/dc/washington/300-i-street-ne/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could someone link to the proposal that has the location? I don't understand where it is -- is there a part of I St NE that is in Ward 5? Isn't that basically Trinidad? Trinidad has school issues but I don't think a BASIS elementary would fix them, as it's unlikely most Trinidad families would get a spot and would not address their MS issue or the fact that they feed to a HS that is really annoying to get to.

Anyway, still trying to figure out where this proposed school is supposed to be.

I believe it was 300 I St NE, so like 5 blocks from the Whole Foods on H St. That's in Ward 6, barely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They haven't applied yet-- it's not the time of year for doing that.

There was some talk of a building on I St NE (kind of near JO Wilson) but I'm not sure how serious that was.

I live in this neighborhood and can't really think of a building near JOW that would be big enough. Would it be a pretty small school?

Also, how obnoxious would that be just as JOW is getting a renovation and might finally build steam with IB families, especially with TR4th in declining favor, for BASIS to come in with an elementary. My kids are no longer in elementary grades and we didn't even lottery for BASIS for MS because it's not a good fit for our family, but I'm just envisioning what that would feel like in the neighborhood and I am not enthusiastic about it. If they do it, go put it somewhere central and near public transportation, like the middle school.

I might be remembering wrong and spreading baseless rumors, but just for fun-- I believe it was this building, which is 56,000 square feet-- that's about as big as Cleveland Elementary, or Dorothy Height, or Ludlow-Taylor, but smaller than a lot of DCPS elementaries. Bigger than Ross and Maury, though. So choosing this location means choosing to operate a smallish elementary school, I guess there would be room for two classrooms per grade most likely. No outdoor space, which will put people off. I suppose they could walk to that big climby thing on L St but even that isn't much.

https://www.commercialcafe.com/commercial-property/us/dc/washington/300-i-street-ne/

And I should say, those stats comparing square footage are from the 2018 MFP which is now pretty old, I'm not sure a more up to date version is available that lists square feet.

[Anonymous]

In the May board meeting they both passed a resolution to include PK grades in the new campus and authorize the ED to secure a location:
https://bdcschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Minutes-5.25.23-Draft-for-posting.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the May board meeting they both passed a resolution to include PK grades in the new campus and authorize the ED to secure a location:
https://bdcschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Minutes-5.25.23-Draft-for-posting.pdf

Ooh thanks. Unclear how they're going to "secure" a location for a school they haven't been authorized to operate...

Does anyone know how this will be different from their last proposal, which they withdrew?

[Anonymous]

I have a child at the BASIS middle school and there is no way in hell I would give BASIS my elementary school kids.

[Anonymous]

elementary school children really need recess and some form of playground (even one that is on a roof or something)

[Anonymous]

The downtown real estate market is weak. So it is smart for them to try to secure a property now.

[Anonymous]

300 I street NE…the old World Vision building? Are you kidding me…there are SO many (perhaps too many) elementary charter and DCPS school choices in this neighborhood that it makes it so difficult to build a sense of community. On my block alone, we have Two Rivers, SWS, JO Wilson, Ludlow, CHML, Mundo, Stokes, Yu Ying, etc families. That’s not even including MS, HS or private schools. It’s already bananas! There is no need for this here!

[Anonymous]

Then you guys need to organize!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:300 I street NE…the old World Vision building? Are you kidding me…there are SO many (perhaps too many) elementary charter and DCPS school choices in this neighborhood that it makes it so difficult to build a sense of community. On my block alone, we have Two Rivers, SWS, JO Wilson, Ludlow, CHML, Mundo, Stokes, Yu Ying, etc families. That’s not even including MS, HS or private schools. It’s already bananas! There is no need for this here!

+1, I had heard about BASIS doing an elementary and didn't really pay attention because I have no interest. But knowing it's in my neighborhood? No. This makes no sense and could be hugely disruptive to an already crowded elementary landscape.

Also, it's already problematic that TR4 has a very minimal playground on their campus. Adding ANOTHER charter without enough outdoor space makes no sense. I'm not anti-charter but stuff like this really shows how sometimes shortsighted some charters can be. It really looks like they are putting the cart before the horse here (is anyone clamoring for a BASIS-style elementary? Is this a neighborhood with need of elementary options? Is the a building well suited for a school?). And the reason why seems to be financial motivation. Not a great look.