basis woes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Before anyone gets confused given PP's explanations, which are otherwise interesting and on point: attrition throughout the year is obviously not the same as re-enrollment figures, which are not yet known for Basis.

You're correct. However, I cannot find any mid-year attrition figures for Latin MS or other DC MS charters. Re-enrollment figures are the closest I can get.

Keep in mind, though, that because of the pre-comps at BASIS, the post-"pre-comp" attrition rate at BASIS might well track the re-enrollment rate pretty well. That is, many of the people who might otherwise have held out through the end of the year and not returned might choose to leave mid-year because of the pre-comps.

Again, only time will tell what the final re-enrollment rate will be at BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Again, only time will tell what the final re-enrollment rate will be at BASIS.

Sorry. I meant to say what the actual re-enrollment rate will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop with the 40% attrition number.

You can't compare the average of an entire school system to one charter school. Apples and oranges.

A better comparison would be Latin to Basis.

It's not apples and oranges, because the typical DCPS school is losing that many. And no, it's not just dropout rates, they are losing thousands each year to charters because they are not meeting those childrens' needs. Again, the number is over 40%. If you don't like hearing it, then stop talking about attrition.

I take it you are delusional?
You can't compare an entire school system (pre-k to 12th) to ONE school without as many grades. How that doesn't make sense to you is beyond me. If you want to compare my 5th grader's DCPS class to the Basis 5th grade class I can tell you that there has been zero attrition -- in fact, the class has increased by 3 since the beginning of the year. Get it?

[Anonymous]

BASIS parent here. My DC loves the academics, but had a hard time adjusting to the bad behaviors that were tolerated in some of the "lower" groups (yes, they do track kids). IMO, one of the schools biggest challenges is the different standards of behavior that children come to the school with. Many of the groups had a disproportionate number of rowdy, disrespectful kids. Only kids in the more advanced groups escaped this.

I think BASIS has a plan to mix the kids up more going forward this fall. This only begs the question, though, of whether the rowdy kids will now disrupt ALL the groups (rather than just the lower ones). I wish BASIS would have expelled the kids who were violent, verbally-abusive, and poorly-behaved much earlier in the year. They have a fantastic academic program, and shouldn't let discipline issues get in the way of that.

DC kids should ALL be exposed to the high academic standards this school offers. That said, children who are hostile, disrespectful and get in the way of other kids' learning should be expelled. I think in some cases, parents need to wake up and recognize that their child is not showing respect to the teachers and other BASIS students. Hence, they are demonstrating that they do not belong at the school. I guess the truth is that BASIS should not have to expel these students, because it should not even come to that; their parents should realize they need a different environment.

[Anonymous]

^^ agree with this and am holding out hope that this will be resolved as soon as the rowdy kids hit pre-comps in 6th.

[Anonymous]

I think BASIS has a plan to mix the kids up more going forward this fall. This only begs the question, though, of whether the rowdy kids will now disrupt ALL the groups (rather than just the lower ones). I wish BASIS would have expelled the kids who were violent, verbally-abusive, and poorly-behaved much earlier in the year. They have a fantastic academic program, and shouldn't let discipline issues get in the way of that.

If discipline issues are getting in the way, then BASiS needs to address this, like any other school. It isn't a private school that can just use expulsion to skirt their responsibility to educate all students in the district. It is a PUBLIC charter school and should step up and meet their responsibilities.

Sorry, BASIS, but if you can't educate the students as you promised, then you don't deserve your charter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS parent here. My DC loves the academics, but had a hard time adjusting to the bad behaviors that were tolerated in some of the "lower" groups (yes, they do track kids). IMO, one of the schools biggest challenges is the different standards of behavior that children come to the school with. Many of the groups had a disproportionate number of rowdy, disrespectful kids. Only kids in the more advanced groups escaped this.

I think BASIS has a plan to mix the kids up more going forward this fall. This only begs the question, though, of whether the rowdy kids will now disrupt ALL the groups (rather than just the lower ones). I wish BASIS would have expelled the kids who were violent, verbally-abusive, and poorly-behaved much earlier in the year. They have a fantastic academic program, and shouldn't let discipline issues get in the way of that.

DC kids should ALL be exposed to the high academic standards this school offers. That said, children who are hostile, disrespectful and get in the way of other kids' learning should be expelled. I think in some cases, parents need to wake up and recognize that their child is not showing respect to the teachers and other BASIS students. Hence, they are demonstrating that they do not belong at the school. I guess the truth is that BASIS should not have to expel these students, because it should not even come to that; their parents should realize they need a different environment.

Yes, let's just expel the kids. Don't make BASIS deal with them and figure out how to work with the kids and their families. Someone else will do it. The 10 year old kids will just get better on their own once they're expelled. Just remember, though, that these kids will be wiping your butt in the nursing home. I hope they treat you as well as you'd like to see them treated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS parent here. My DC loves the academics, but had a hard time adjusting to the bad behaviors that were tolerated in some of the "lower" groups (yes, they do track kids). IMO, one of the schools biggest challenges is the different standards of behavior that children come to the school with. Many of the groups had a disproportionate number of rowdy, disrespectful kids. Only kids in the more advanced groups escaped this.

I think BASIS has a plan to mix the kids up more going forward this fall. This only begs the question, though, of whether the rowdy kids will now disrupt ALL the groups (rather than just the lower ones). I wish BASIS would have expelled the kids who were violent, verbally-abusive, and poorly-behaved much earlier in the year. They have a fantastic academic program, and shouldn't let discipline issues get in the way of that.

DC kids should ALL be exposed to the high academic standards this school offers. That said, children who are hostile, disrespectful and get in the way of other kids' learning should be expelled. I think in some cases, parents need to wake up and recognize that their child is not showing respect to the teachers and other BASIS students. Hence, they are demonstrating that they do not belong at the school. I guess the truth is that BASIS should not have to expel these students, because it should not even come to that; their parents should realize they need a different environment.

Expelled to where? Why should students in other schools who follow the letter and spirit of the charter school law, be exposed to disproportionately more disruptive kids because Basis doesn't take responsibility for the students they enrolled?

If students need a "different environment" then Basis has the responsibility to create that environment.

[Anonymous]

"Rowdy" can mean so many things, but the bottom line is that you are judging a 10 yr old as totally responsible for his/her behavior. As a parent of a child with special needs myself, I know that even kids with two parents and a stable loving home can still be "rowdy." There are lots of reasons for these behaviors in children-- do you really want to blame the kids themselves? BASIS needs to do what other schools and institutions do -- meet the kids where they are and give them structure, services, and unconditionally kindness until they get it together. 10 year old kids who are "rowdy" are not axe murderers, they are kids with needs that should be met by BASIS.

And Miss Judgmental PP, if your child is smart, organized, kind, hard-working, successful and specifically not "rowdy," well, you are blessed. I hope you know how LUCKY you are. It's not your parenting or your genes; you just won the child temperament lottery. So far, that is; time will tell. And let's see how the sibling does. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS parent here. My DC loves the academics, but had a hard time adjusting to the bad behaviors that were tolerated in some of the "lower" groups (yes, they do track kids). IMO, one of the schools biggest challenges is the different standards of behavior that children come to the school with. Many of the groups had a disproportionate number of rowdy, disrespectful kids. Only kids in the more advanced groups escaped this.

I think BASIS has a plan to mix the kids up more going forward this fall. This only begs the question, though, of whether the rowdy kids will now disrupt ALL the groups (rather than just the lower ones). I wish BASIS would have expelled the kids who were violent, verbally-abusive, and poorly-behaved much earlier in the year. They have a fantastic academic program, and shouldn't let discipline issues get in the way of that.

DC kids should ALL be exposed to the high academic standards this school offers. That said, children who are hostile, disrespectful and get in the way of other kids' learning should be expelled. I think in some cases, parents need to wake up and recognize that their child is not showing respect to the teachers and other BASIS students. Hence, they are demonstrating that they do not belong at the school. I guess the truth is that BASIS should not have to expel these students, because it should not even come to that; their parents should realize they need a different environment.

Yes, let's just expel the kids. Don't make BASIS deal with them and figure out how to work with the kids and their families. Someone else will do it. The 10 year old kids will just get better on their own once they're expelled. Just remember, though, that these kids will be wiping your butt in the nursing home. I hope they treat you as well as you'd like to see them treated.

I agree. This is really not ok to expel kids for misbehavior like this. A school is supposed to be forming a whole child and citizen, not just filling the brains that arrive ready to be filled. Perhaps more needed is an effective and developmentally age appropriate discipline/character education program like every other school needs to implement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Rowdy" can mean so many things, but the bottom line is that you are judging a 10 yr old as totally responsible for his/her behavior. As a parent of a child with special needs myself, I know that even kids with two parents and a stable loving home can still be "rowdy." There are lots of reasons for these behaviors in children-- do you really want to blame the kids themselves? BASIS needs to do what other schools and institutions do -- meet the kids where they are and give them structure, services, and unconditionally kindness until they get it together. 10 year old kids who are "rowdy" are not axe murderers, they are kids with needs that should be met by BASIS.

And Miss Judgmental PP, if your child is smart, organized, kind, hard-working, successful and specifically not "rowdy," well, you are blessed. I hope you know how LUCKY you are. It's not your parenting or your genes; you just won the child temperament lottery. So far, that is; time will tell. And let's see how the sibling does. Good luck.

You sound like such a lousy, LAZY parent.

How can you justify your child's poor behavior and honestly feel good about calling yourself a parent. Teaching your child how to behave is one of the very first things we teach them. At age 10 your child knows right from wrong and should've been taught how to behave, have self-respect, and show respect for others by not being disruptive, violent, unkind, well....'rowdy'.

Did you not teach your child appropriate behaviors for different settings? Really? How can you hold a SCHOOL (that came in at the age of TEN) responsible for "meeting your child where he's at" and dealing with his behavior when you GAVE BIRTH to the child and "raised" him for 10 years but FAILED miserably at doing so????? Basis has how many children on its roster? And you have how many in your dysfunctional home?

As for PP, if her child is smart, organized, kind, hard-working, successful, and specifically "not rowdy" it's not because of a luck of the draw or some sort of parental lottery. Her child gave into the world a blank slate just like yours did. The difference is that she put in the time and work teaching her child social skills. I should know. My child is described as all of those things and I know for a fact it's because of what his home-training and upbringing.

You are one lazy, classless, excuse-laden poor excuse of a parent. You AND your husband.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS parent here. My DC loves the academics, but had a hard time adjusting to the bad behaviors that were tolerated in some of the "lower" groups (yes, they do track kids). IMO, one of the schools biggest challenges is the different standards of behavior that children come to the school with. Many of the groups had a disproportionate number of rowdy, disrespectful kids. Only kids in the more advanced groups escaped this.

I think BASIS has a plan to mix the kids up more going forward this fall. This only begs the question, though, of whether the rowdy kids will now disrupt ALL the groups (rather than just the lower ones). I wish BASIS would have expelled the kids who were violent, verbally-abusive, and poorly-behaved much earlier in the year. They have a fantastic academic program, and shouldn't let discipline issues get in the way of that.

DC kids should ALL be exposed to the high academic standards this school offers. That said, children who are hostile, disrespectful and get in the way of other kids' learning should be expelled. I think in some cases, parents need to wake up and recognize that their child is not showing respect to the teachers and other BASIS students. Hence, they are demonstrating that they do not belong at the school. I guess the truth is that BASIS should not have to expel these students, because it should not even come to that; their parents should realize they need a different environment.

Yes, let's just expel the kids. Don't make BASIS deal with them and figure out how to work with the kids and their families. Someone else will do it. The 10 year old kids will just get better on their own once they're expelled. Just remember, though, that these kids will be wiping your butt in the nursing home. I hope they treat you as well as you'd like to see them treated.

I agree. This is really not ok to expel kids for misbehavior like this. A school is supposed to be forming a whole child and citizen, not just filling the brains that arrive ready to be filled. Perhaps more needed is an effective and developmentally age appropriate discipline/character education program like every other school needs to implement.

Ummmm...NO! The parents who bring the child into the world has the responsibility of grooming and educating the whole child. The school's role is to teach your child the fundamentals of reading, writing, science, etc. It's because of lazy "parents" like YOU that they've been expected to act as surrogates.

You think Basis has an obligation to work with your child but you aren't willing to????? And you have obviously NEVER been willing as your child is showing up at Basis not knowing how to behave, respect the learning environment (and other people's right to learn). Maybe some parenting classes are needed so that YOU can learn more effective ways of parenting your child. After all, they've got...what...2? 3? maybe 4 years at Basis? That's not much compared to the amount of time they've BEEN and will be floating through the world without the ability to behave like a decent human being.

[Anonymous]

So far we have learned Basis has:

1.)dismissed children from IEPs (more than one poster posted perhaps?) within months of starting at a new school- not only new for student but within months of starting the actual school

2.)dismissed kids with behavioral problems

Yikes! At least we know the PCSB has taken notice of some of this.

[Anonymous]

There is a difference between kids who, say, need special help in certain subjects and/or require learning accommodations, and kids who are gyrating on top of the desks during class time and threatening other kids in the hallways. I agree that, OF COURSE, BASIS needs to make every attempt to meet children with special learning needs "where they are" and provide tutoring, special help, resources, and reasonable accommodations. I also know that some special needs (ADHD being only one example) come out behaviorally, and that schools need to find ways to educate all children with disabilities to the extent possible within the standard classroom.

However, sometimes classroom management, accommodations and learning support are either not enough to remedy the issue, or are actually beside the point because the child has a conduct disorder or some other type of behavioral issue that renders the standard school environment inappropriate. It is only common sense to realize that children must not be allowed to hurt, harass, or intimidate teachers or their classmates. If the special needs are coming out behaviorally to the point that no student in the class (including the "disruptive" child) is able to concentrate, learn or remain safe, then the child needs to be placed in another environment. If the behavior is being caused by a special learning need that cannot be accommodated in the charter (or public) school, then the parent should seek out an option that does work for their child. S/he may need to be in a much smaller class, and/or attend a specialized school, and we all need to demand more from DCPS by the way of providing specialized programs for any number of special needs b/c DCPS is woefully inadequate in this regard.

I think it is important for parents to ask themselves how much of the child's behavior the child CAN be expected to control. If the public or charter school system is not currently providing any options that work for your child, then bring a suit and demand that those services your child requires to learn be provided. If more parents did this -- accepted that their child needs a different environment and demanded that DCPS provide it in any number of specializing settings, much like Montgomery or some of the other surrounding counties does -- we would have many more options for special needs children and our educational system would be enriched.

My original post was making a different point, though. Not all children who are disrespectful, hostile and badly behaved have special needs per se. In some cases, parents seem to be blaming the school when (as was the case this year) a child literally cursed out a teacher in the middle of class and received in-school suspension. I say, good for BASIS for addressing the problem in this way. My point was the school actually should have gone even further and, after this incident was repeated, removed that particular student from the school. In another delightful example, a child intimated to another child they may have a weapon, and my thought is that this child should have been expelled as well, or at the very least, the parents should have supported the SCHOOL in disciplining the child. Parents need to say to their kids, you know, it is unacceptable to threaten, hit, bully, or treat another person with hostility or disrespect. If you continue to act in this way, you will lose privileges at home and I will have to take you out of BASIS and find another place to send you. A school cannot be all things to all people, and some kids are not a good fit for an environment where most of the kids or their families have self-selected the school on the basis of its high academic expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Rowdy" can mean so many things, but the bottom line is that you are judging a 10 yr old as totally responsible for his/her behavior. As a parent of a child with special needs myself, I know that even kids with two parents and a stable loving home can still be "rowdy." There are lots of reasons for these behaviors in children-- do you really want to blame the kids themselves? BASIS needs to do what other schools and institutions do -- meet the kids where they are and give them structure, services, and unconditionally kindness until they get it together. 10 year old kids who are "rowdy" are not axe murderers, they are kids with needs that should be met by BASIS.

And Miss Judgmental PP, if your child is smart, organized, kind, hard-working, successful and specifically not "rowdy," well, you are blessed. I hope you know how LUCKY you are. It's not your parenting or your genes; you just won the child temperament lottery. So far, that is; time will tell. And let's see how the sibling does. Good luck.

You sound like such a lousy, LAZY parent.

How can you justify your child's poor behavior and honestly feel good about calling yourself a parent. Teaching your child how to behave is one of the very first things we teach them. At age 10 your child knows right from wrong and should've been taught how to behave, have self-respect, and show respect for others by not being disruptive, violent, unkind, well....'rowdy'.

Did you not teach your child appropriate behaviors for different settings? Really? How can you hold a SCHOOL (that came in at the age of TEN) responsible for "meeting your child where he's at" and dealing with his behavior when you GAVE BIRTH to the child and "raised" him for 10 years but FAILED miserably at doing so????? Basis has how many children on its roster? And you have how many in your dysfunctional home?

As for PP, if her child is smart, organized, kind, hard-working, successful, and specifically "not rowdy" it's not because of a luck of the draw or some sort of parental lottery. Her child gave into the world a blank slate just like yours did. The difference is that she put in the time and work teaching her child social skills. I should know. My child is described as all of those things and I know for a fact it's because of what his home-training and upbringing.

You are one lazy, classless, excuse-laden poor excuse of a parent. You AND your husband.

I knew parents like you, who thought their "perfect angel(s)" was due to their expert parenting. Then they had another child. And found out the hard way.

I hope you don't treat your children the way you did the PP and call them "lazy, classless, excuse laden poor excuse of a child of mine." Although, actuons due speak louder than words.