BASIS board meeting minutes are up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"He then asked Damon Norris whether it was possible to move forward with a primary school expansion in FY26 and DeAnna Rowe explained that even if a perfect facility is found and is within budget, the challenge the school would still face is approval from DC PCSB which would require them to expedite their timelines and processes. Staff was encouraged to do what can be done to open as soon as possible."

Sounds like BASIS DC is looking for a location and once they find they will move forward quickly.

The BASIS DC K-4 expansion is going to happen. The only questions are where the school will be and how quickly BASIS DC can open it.

But Rowe's answer explains that the answer to can they open for next year is... no. The DC PCSB is not going to bend over backwards to accommodate BASIS (literally expediting their usual timelines and processes by BASIS' own admission) because BASIS came in unprepared to the last meeting re: no good answer on the phased opening the PCSB approved and still hasn't sorted out a building. Rowe is basically acknowledging that while seeking to put the blame elsewhere. These minutes tell you the best case scenario for BASIS is really 26-27.

[Anonymous]

Not really. You seem to be reading a lot in to a few summary lines.

The fact that they don’t even have a building yet tells you that 26-27 will be the earliest the school could open.

[Anonymous]

I don't see how they have time before August 2025 if they haven't even acquired (or I guess leased) a building. They've been trying for at least a year, maybe two, and so far have very little to show for it.

[Anonymous]

They should really stick to torturing middle and high school students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should really stick to torturing middle and high school students.

Translation: “I am a troll who knows nothing about the school.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should really stick to torturing middle and high school students.

Please stop. I'm a current BASIS parent and the details of this decision are really important, because our younger child is an elementary schooler and we would be open to moving them to BASIS sooner (to get stronger math and science instruction in late elementary compared for their DCPS), if the elementary school opened in time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should really stick to torturing middle and high school students.

Please stop. I'm a current BASIS parent and the details of this decision are really important, because our younger child is an elementary schooler and we would be open to moving them to BASIS sooner (to get stronger math and science instruction in late elementary compared for their DCPS), if the elementary school opened in time.

I am current DCPS parent who lives super near the current middle/high building. On the one hand, I love the idea of my kid going to school a few blocks away and getting access to a super accelerated curriculum in middle/high, if that's right for them.

On the other...we love our well-run DCPS elementary. It is zoned for Francis middle, which families at our school seem to really like. Many families from our school have kids at Basis and I hear mixed reviews. But our high school is Cardozo which I don't think is on any sort of improvement path. Plus, both are further away than Basis' current campus. Francis is A LOT further away, actually.

I feel like any brand new elementary school will have growing pains, even if it is run by a national network. And I'm not sold (at all!) on Basis' approach for my particular kid, though I'm also not a Basis hater. I believe the Basis parents who have posted here saying it can be a good fit for a certain kind of student. I think it would have worked very well for my sister (now a doctor) who got straight A's without breaking a sweat, found our well-regarded public school boring and yearned for a challenge. I have anxiety and it would have been too much of a pressure cooker for me, even if I could have handled the rigor in STEM.

My child is just too young at this point for me to be able to say with any real confidence if they are the kind of kid who would thrive at Basis long-term. And the elementary is an especially unknown quantity for me...but maybe someone here has experience with the model elsewhere in the country?

So...advice? I know we have the option of trying Basis elementary for a year or so if it opens and if we get in through the lottery. We can always go back to our in-bound if it isn't working for us. But that seems needlessly disruptive for my kid, who likes their school.

I'm inclined to stick with our DCPS until I have a better idea what the elementary is like and what kind of learner my kid is, even if that means we lose the option of Basis lottery-wise. But it's a tough call.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should really stick to torturing middle and high school students.

Please stop. I'm a current BASIS parent and the details of this decision are really important, because our younger child is an elementary schooler and we would be open to moving them to BASIS sooner (to get stronger math and science instruction in late elementary compared for their DCPS), if the elementary school opened in time.

I am current DCPS parent who lives super near the current middle/high building. On the one hand, I love the idea of my kid going to school a few blocks away and getting access to a super accelerated curriculum in middle/high, if that's right for them.

On the other...we love our well-run DCPS elementary. It is zoned for Francis middle, which families at our school seem to really like. Many families from our school have kids at Basis and I hear mixed reviews. But our high school is Cardozo which I don't think is on any sort of improvement path. Plus, both are further away than Basis' current campus. Francis is A LOT further away, actually.

I feel like any brand new elementary school will have growing pains, even if it is run by a national network. And I'm not sold (at all!) on Basis' approach for my particular kid, though I'm also not a Basis hater. I believe the Basis parents who have posted here saying it can be a good fit for a certain kind of student. I think it would have worked very well for my sister (now a doctor) who got straight A's without breaking a sweat, found our well-regarded public school boring and yearned for a challenge. I have anxiety and it would have been too much of a pressure cooker for me, even if I could have handled the rigor in STEM.

My child is just too young at this point for me to be able to say with any real confidence if they are the kind of kid who would thrive at Basis long-term. And the elementary is an especially unknown quantity for me...but maybe someone here has experience with the model elsewhere in the country?

So...advice? I know we have the option of trying Basis elementary for a year or so if it opens and if we get in through the lottery. We can always go back to our in-bound if it isn't working for us. But that seems needlessly disruptive for my kid, who likes their school.

I'm inclined to stick with our DCPS until I have a better idea what the elementary is like and what kind of learner my kid is, even if that means we lose the option of Basis lottery-wise. But it's a tough call.

I think if BASIS doesn't open it until fall 2026 and you're happy enough where you are, it might not be worth enduring the growing pains of a brand new school. And I caution you that the issues of inexperienced teachers and high turnover are BASIS are all too real. I would take it year by year and decide as you go along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should really stick to torturing middle and high school students.

Please stop. I'm a current BASIS parent and the details of this decision are really important, because our younger child is an elementary schooler and we would be open to moving them to BASIS sooner (to get stronger math and science instruction in late elementary compared for their DCPS), if the elementary school opened in time.

I am current DCPS parent who lives super near the current middle/high building. On the one hand, I love the idea of my kid going to school a few blocks away and getting access to a super accelerated curriculum in middle/high, if that's right for them.

On the other...we love our well-run DCPS elementary. It is zoned for Francis middle, which families at our school seem to really like. Many families from our school have kids at Basis and I hear mixed reviews. But our high school is Cardozo which I don't think is on any sort of improvement path. Plus, both are further away than Basis' current campus. Francis is A LOT further away, actually.

I feel like any brand new elementary school will have growing pains, even if it is run by a national network. And I'm not sold (at all!) on Basis' approach for my particular kid, though I'm also not a Basis hater. I believe the Basis parents who have posted here saying it can be a good fit for a certain kind of student. I think it would have worked very well for my sister (now a doctor) who got straight A's without breaking a sweat, found our well-regarded public school boring and yearned for a challenge. I have anxiety and it would have been too much of a pressure cooker for me, even if I could have handled the rigor in STEM.

My child is just too young at this point for me to be able to say with any real confidence if they are the kind of kid who would thrive at Basis long-term. And the elementary is an especially unknown quantity for me...but maybe someone here has experience with the model elsewhere in the country?

So...advice? I know we have the option of trying Basis elementary for a year or so if it opens and if we get in through the lottery. We can always go back to our in-bound if it isn't working for us. But that seems needlessly disruptive for my kid, who likes their school.

I'm inclined to stick with our DCPS until I have a better idea what the elementary is like and what kind of learner my kid is, even if that means we lose the option of Basis lottery-wise. But it's a tough call.

Tough call! I would consider it for later elementary, bc (in my experience) DCPS was really fun and happy but didn't offer enough learning, and in our experience with BASIS, they really do learn a TON. For kids who love to learn and are happy to dig in and memorize, it is a good fit. But I need to know more about early elementary.

I do have the sense that K-12 works better and people will have a better sense of whether or not their kids is a "BASIS" fit, and there will be less attrition. Right now it's full of people who came from DCPS and just were not happy with the feeder middle school option, but are not necessarily a great fit at the school and find it stressful.