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

[Anonymous]

Regarding open slots, when I asked, I heard from BASIS staff that they are *NOT* worried about their numbers, and are in good shape for the year.

Also, remember that their model and intent is to recruit 5th graders (which is full) and work cohorts up through the ranks from there, not to recruit in 6th and other upper grades. It's also normal and expected for them to have some students switch out to other schools in those upper grades.

Remember, this is not their first foray into spinning up a new charter, they've done this over a half dozen times before.

So relax. The sky is *NOT* falling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding open slots, when I asked, I heard from BASIS staff that they are *NOT* worried about their numbers, and are in good shape for the year.

Also, remember that their model and intent is to recruit 5th graders (which is full) and work cohorts up through the ranks from there, not to recruit in 6th and other upper grades. It's also normal and expected for them to have some students switch out to other schools in those upper grades.

Remember, this is not their first foray into spinning up a new charter, they've done this over a half dozen times before.

So relax. The sky is *NOT* falling.

Also, as a newish school they already are one of the largest public middle schools in DC. And they have among the highest test scores, and their diverse student body is attracting all types of students from all around the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lady-stop hijacking every Basis discussion on boosters or the forum to tell us about the 25 open slots in 6th-we are sick of hearing about it and you were already told it was announced SEVERAl times in several mediums, not just once in September, and the slots are no longer available! Move on and be quiet please unles you have something ELSe to say!

In all fairness to the we-have-25-open-6th-grade-slots poster, the issue was discussed at the meeting with the administration last week. It's not really fair to say that she is hijacking this thread.

Furthermore, those 25 slots point to larger issues : BASIS is having a hard time attracting and retaining students in DC. I think the administration was operating under the theory that "if we build it, they will come" and "if they come, they will stay."

Should I be quiet because the fact that we are 25 down for 6th upsets you? It should. Or that this is about what happened at the meeting, where the HOS chose not to answer the question of how it happened? Or how he would prevent it from happening in the future? Is HIS lack of response why you want ME to be quiet?

We are having some problems that were not acknowledged at the meeting. The pyramid model provides for attrition in the upper grades, not 5th and 6th. At one point we had a long wait list for 6th. It is a tragedy for a charter school that is funded on a per pupil basis not to have been able to fill those spaces, because since we do not, as others have clarified, accept students in 7th, this was our last chance to fill those seats and get the funding, and at one point, there were children who wanted to come and fill those vacancies. It is also a tragedy for them, because now they will never get to go to BASIS DC.

In addition, my child has had someone leave their class already. That child, and the others who are leaving now in the lower grades will not "count" for "count day." We did not have this initial attrition last year, or the vacant 6th grade slots. And the pyramid continues to crumble if the kids in 5th who are leaving now cannot be replaced next year. Do you see what I am getting at? Maybe we both need some Saxon math, but this is not adding up well to me.

Finally, please remember that the HOS himself said we lost some of our "top" students in the upper grades, which is not the way the model is supposed to work either. So clearly we have some work to do.

[Anonymous]

While this was not acknowledged at the meeting, I will just add to another poster's pithy phrase:

BASIS is having a hard time attracting and retaining students in DC. I think the administration was operating under the theory that "if we build it, they will come" and "if they come, they will stay."


And I think it is becoming obvious from the answers about why kids left or intend to leave that while they may come, they will not stay, unless they are treated well. [b]And THAT also came up at the meeting, and was also not addressed by the HOS.

While I will not go into details, something happened last week that should not have happened, an intemperate and improper threat was made, and then it was compounded by the fact that the administration decided to ignore that it happened, while in such a small community most everyone knew it had happened. And it was bad. And they are still maintaining their silence, while a bunch of students wonder about their academic future, and the rest of us wonder about the competence of our leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lady-stop hijacking every Basis discussion on boosters or the forum to tell us about the 25 open slots in 6th-we are sick of hearing about it and you were already told it was announced SEVERAl times in several mediums, not just once in September, and the slots are no longer available! Move on and be quiet please unles you have something ELSe to say!

In all fairness to the we-have-25-open-6th-grade-slots poster, the issue was discussed at the meeting with the administration last week. It's not really fair to say that she is hijacking this thread.

Furthermore, those 25 slots point to larger issues : BASIS is having a hard time attracting and retaining students in DC. I think the administration was operating under the theory that "if we build it, they will come" and "if they come, they will stay."

Should I be quiet because the fact that we are 25 down for 6th upsets you? It should. Or that this is about what happened at the meeting, where the HOS chose not to answer the question of how it happened? Or how he would prevent it from happening in the future? Is HIS lack of response why you want ME to be quiet?

We are having some problems that were not acknowledged at the meeting. The pyramid model provides for attrition in the upper grades, not 5th and 6th. At one point we had a long wait list for 6th. It is a tragedy for a charter school that is funded on a per pupil basis not to have been able to fill those spaces, because since we do not, as others have clarified, accept students in 7th, this was our last chance to fill those seats and get the funding, and at one point, there were children who wanted to come and fill those vacancies. It is also a tragedy for them, because now they will never get to go to BASIS DC.

In addition, my child has had someone leave their class already. That child, and the others who are leaving now in the lower grades will not "count" for "count day." We did not have this initial attrition last year, or the vacant 6th grade slots. And the pyramid continues to crumble if the kids in 5th who are leaving now cannot be replaced next year. Do you see what I am getting at? Maybe we both need some Saxon math, but this is not adding up well to me.

Finally, please remember that the HOS himself said we lost some of our "top" students in the upper grades, which is not the way the model is supposed to work either. So clearly we have some work to do.

I sincerely think you need to relax and take a deep breath. I think you are way over-reacting here. I know how that it since just this week I way over-reacted to something silly not related to schools. I truly am not worried at all about the school's finances or the number of students. Perhaps you should discuss you concerns directly in a one on one meeting with administration. As for the HOS not addressing the supposed issue of 25 students, I did not see it that way at all. The person who brought up their concern about 25 students also brought up a whole litany of their concerns over 15 minutes which would make it difficult for anyone to address all of their questions. I felt the administration was very responsive and stayed over an hour longer than originally scheduled so as to let everyone get a chance to talk.

As for attrition in the upper level, again I think it is a non-issue. The current uppermost levels started off with a lesser amount of students plus the school is new. This may have led to some attrition. Also, in all of the BASIS schools there are always some kids who decide to leave after 8th grade so this is nothing new and I am not concerned at all. Every kid is different and has different desires when it comes to education. More importantly are your kids happy? Are they getting an good education for the most part? My kid is pretty happy and the education seems pretty good. Is it perfect? No, it is not,but I do not know of any school that is perfect at all.

[Anonymous]

I forgot to add that I recall that there was some attrition last schol year in the lower grades early in the year as well. So again instead of just speculating with other parents, why not get your info in a one one one meeting with HOS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While this was not acknowledged at the meeting, I will just add to another poster's pithy phrase:

BASIS is having a hard time attracting and retaining students in DC. I think the administration was operating under the theory that "if we build it, they will come" and "if they come, they will stay."

And I think it is becoming obvious from the answers about why kids left or intend to leave that while they may come, they will not stay, unless they are treated well. [b]And THAT also came up at the meeting, and was also not addressed by the HOS.

While I will not go into details, something happened last week that should not have happened, an intemperate and improper threat was made, and then it was compounded by the fact that the administration decided to ignore that it happened, while in such a small community most everyone knew it had happened. And it was bad. And they are still maintaining their silence, while a bunch of students wonder about their academic future, and the rest of us wonder about the competence of our leadership.


Thanks for trashing BASIS with unfounded rumors. I think it is really unprofessional.

[Anonymous]

BASIS already has an enrollment of over 400 students, in just it's third year of operation, it's rapidly become the second largest charter middle school in DC, after Paul. As such, I can't particularly agree with the perspective stated above that the school is "having difficulty attracting students."

Seems to me there are some massive overstatements, distortions, rumors and misperceptions being continually repeated here - and regardless of whether I agree with them or not, and regardless of whether or not other parents may or may not have concerns, I'm also not seeing how any of this has been in any way productive or helpful to anyone.

[Anonymous]

^ closer to 500...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS already has an enrollment of over 400 students, in just it's third year of operation, it's rapidly become the second largest charter middle school in DC, after Paul. As such, I can't particularly agree with the perspective stated above that the school is "having difficulty attracting students."

Seems to me there are some massive overstatements, distortions, rumors and misperceptions being continually repeated here - and regardless of whether I agree with them or not, and regardless of whether or not other parents may or may not have concerns, I'm also not seeing how any of this has been in any way productive or helpful to anyone.

maybe, just maybe, if people were not so scared of getting slammed on the actual list serve, they would have asked the question there which is certainly a much more appropriate forum

but I don't know how anyone would describe the part

"we have, without announcing it to parents or putting it in the student handbook, instituted new policies after a certain number of tardies, that may seem draconian, but I have the stats to show it is working, even though I cannot tell you which tardies your child received the punishment for - oh I always tell the child - oh I will tell the child if you want to - all this while people are disputing the validity of some of the tardies in the first place. So 3 = silent lunch, 6= Friday Reflection, and 9 = Saturday detention, and we are not much concerned about due process here AT ALL because everything here is going SO WELL............" that people are voting with their feet in a way that didn't happen last year

All this the day after the Dean threatened an entire 8th grade Chemistry class with the wonderful quote "you mess with her stuff, I'll mess with your grades" over some stolen candy, but that was all fine as well - so fine that we in our infinite wisdom have decided not to clarify the matter..........while all the kids are scared and confused....

More kids are voting with their feet so early in the year, that did not happen last year at all so what is the difference?
a new admin, new policies, new enforcement, new...........everything. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Oh no, we are going to change EVERYTHING.

To the person who called the other person out as chicken little: how many years have you been at Basis? You sound a lot like the new administration, maybe you came in with them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While this was not acknowledged at the meeting, I will just add to another poster's pithy phrase:

BASIS is having a hard time attracting and retaining students in DC. I think the administration was operating under the theory that "if we build it, they will come" and "if they come, they will stay."

And I think it is becoming obvious from the answers about why kids left or intend to leave that while they may come, they will not stay, unless they are treated well. [b]And THAT also came up at the meeting, and was also not addressed by the HOS.

While I will not go into details, something happened last week that should not have happened, an intemperate and improper threat was made, and then it was compounded by the fact that the administration decided to ignore that it happened, while in such a small community most everyone knew it had happened. And it was bad. And they are still maintaining their silence, while a bunch of students wonder about their academic future, and the rest of us wonder about the competence of our leadership.

Thanks for trashing BASIS with unfounded rumors. I think it is really unprofessional.

well, we have the actual witnesses to the confrontation...........would you like to hear from an entire class of terrified 8th graders? Or stick your head in the sand as well...... Who are you to say they are "unfounded?" Please come up with one person who will say this did not happen....... because everyone in the entire school including you knows it did and knows how wrong it was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again no mention of the make it or break administrator, still flying under the radar and acting as a mere teacher.

what is this about? I hesitate to ask.......

now that this thread has already descended into worse than usual behavior,
PLEASE answer my question..........

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding open slots, when I asked, I heard from BASIS staff that they are *NOT* worried about their numbers, and are in good shape for the year.

Also, remember that their model and intent is to recruit 5th graders (which is full) and work cohorts up through the ranks from there, not to recruit in 6th and other upper grades. It's also normal and expected for them to have some students switch out to other schools in those upper grades.

Remember, this is not their first foray into spinning up a new charter, they've done this over a half dozen times before.

So relax. The sky is *NOT* falling.

Do you remember the final meeting last year, and the error that the HOS admitted by assuming that DC was just like Arizona? They have encountered problems and possibilities from having OSSE and being Title I. They have been found guilty by OCR of violating IDEA and ADA and forced to offer (expensive) compensatory services.

We do not fit their mold - white, upper middle class, no special needs or special ed, and arriving completely prepared to a school that has been well established.

Do you like the fact that we have a 27 year old kid running our school into the ground while the only responsible person left in the building is constantly in Red Hook putting out fires for a school where the parents are paying tuition?

[Anonymous]

Everyone in the entire school? PP, no parent was a witness to that event, to "know" it happened exactly as you say it happened. And neither do you "know" it for a fact.

I bet if one were to actually ask the students individually what happened, you would get a differing version from every kid you ask. There was an incident last year that we asked DC and his friends about, and got widely divergent versions of it, not necessarily that kids are intentionally being deceitful, more that there are filters of perception and they don't always get it right. Even honest, well-intentioned adults don't always get it right - even sworn eyewitness testimony is often proven wrong in courts of law. I've no doubt that he tried to get kids to come forward and get to the bottom of the theft, but in absence of concrete evidence on details and specifics, I don't think anyone can be touting anything as "fact" and it's not fair or appropriate to launch into defaming someone based solely on second hand hearsay.

As for the tardy policies, they were posted back in August, and they sent home hard copies to us parents, and in fact we had to sign and return an acknowledgment of them. Last year they had issues with some kids roaming the halls and causing trouble, and I know some parents expressed concern then - which is what they are trying to resolve this year by tightening up the tardy policies.

Please, I'd recommend you take these things up in a one-on-one meeting with the head of school - with an itemized list, going over one item at a time - I'd also suggest going back to verify some of the assumptions (i.e. tardy policy, which we WERE informed of). Throwing a commingled mass of concerns around everywhere, en masse, with some unverified and based on rumors or mistaken understanding of published policies - really doesn't help.

An appointment, one-on-one, with clearly stated issues, gone over item-by-item has been our approach to dealing with concerns, and we've found the school to be very responsive with that approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone in the entire school? PP, no parent was a witness to that event, to "know" it happened exactly as you say it happened. And neither do you "know" it for a fact.

I bet if one were to actually ask the students individually what happened, you would get a differing version from every kid you ask. There was an incident last year that we asked DC and his friends about, and got widely divergent versions of it, not necessarily that kids are intentionally being deceitful, more that there are filters of perception and they don't always get it right. Even honest, well-intentioned adults don't always get it right - even sworn eyewitness testimony is often proven wrong in courts of law. I've no doubt that he tried to get kids to come forward and get to the bottom of the theft, but in absence of concrete evidence on details and specifics, I don't think anyone can be touting anything as "fact" and it's not fair or appropriate to launch into defaming someone based solely on second hand hearsay.

I love how much you trust your children's ability to describe events. That is the kind of attitude that allows the school to treat our kids like shit.

I hope none of your children ever get molested.

I have no doubt you are a lawyer. But you would be asking "are you sure.......?"
All the things that make children stop talking.

Has it ever occurred to you that maybe your rapport with the kids the same age as your children leaves a bit to be desired? That your scepticism and condescension oozes out of every pore in your body?

Granted, emotional trauma can interfere with accuracy, and some of these kids were emotionally traumatized.

And yes eye witness testimony is not always reliable, but I somehow don't think cross racial identification is an issue here. No one is confused about who made the threat, or the nature of the threat. And that ought to be enough.

By your standards, NOTHING that ever happens to children without an adult eyewitness, and even then maybe, can be ascertained with sufficient certainty to hold any of the adults in the room responsible for their words or actions.

You are the perfect Basis parent, BASIS BOOSTER, and sir, you are insufferable.

They got the gist of the threat, they understood it was serious, they understood he meant that he was going to do it, and they understood how.......... by affecting them academically.

You mess with her stuff, I'll mess with your grades. Oh dear, perhaps he said "I will" instead. Game, set, match.

No the kids don't know exactly what is going to happen, because he did not say.
So there is MASS speculation -
will they fail the year, will they get a zero for the grading period, what exactly did he mean..........
Why hasn't anyone explained what he means.....
Since no one has explained, maybe they sent him in there to say it.
Maybe they know he said it and are ok with failing a whole section of kids over some stolen candy.

There is no divergent account I have heard about the nature of what he said, maybe not word for word, and it included MESSING WITH GRADES......... that is enough for me.

PS If everyone signed this oh so clear policy, then I guess the problem is the way it is being enforced. We were not here in August, so I guess it must have gotten lost in the shuffle. But I loved her tap dancing, she would make a great hostile witness - in fact she did....... against herself.

Why don't you help her with the concept of due process. Why don't you help her with her statistics to make sure they are accurate before they get subject to scrutiny.

Please, I'd recommend you take these things up in a one-on-one meeting with the head of school - with an itemized list, going over one item at a time - I'd also suggest going back to verify some of the assumptions (i.e. tardy policy, which we WERE informed of). Throwing a commingled mass of concerns around everywhere, en masse, with some unverified and based on rumors or mistaken understanding of published policies - really doesn't help.

An appointment, one-on-one, with clearly stated issues, gone over item-by-item has been our approach to dealing with concerns, and we've found the school to be very responsive with that approach.

I am very glad that you seem to have this wonderful connection with the head of school. Not all of us are that lucky.
And I am sure you would have already resolved that there will be no consequences for your child and let the rest of us hang.

Basis is perfect, or if it isn't, those imperfections don't really matter, silly for a bunch of kids to get so upset over a very scary dean coming in and threatening them. Really. I bet your kid is in LEAP chemistry, AP Calculus, and you think you are immune to everything because you have such a connection with the head of school..........

The good news? So far, your kids are not like you......

But you seem to have no sympathy for other kids at Basis. Especially the kids in 8La who have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting............. for someone to tell them what is going to happen to them.

This is what is known as a leadership opportunity. And leadership is sorely lacking.

Since you have such a good relationship with the head of school, why don't you go politely suggest that he do his job.