BASIS DC shut down/abolished the school list serve

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS is not a good fit for DC and tenor of parents vs parents on display is the beginning of it's unraveling. Too pretentious for words, the whole concept--any thing that sounds too good to be true usually is. And the OP has my sympathy.

OP here, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your post and the post of one other who pointed out we lost $250k just this year due to our mismanagement of our 6th grade wait list, and that ultimately that loss might add up to a cool million, so for our survival it is not something to be ignored, the question has never been both asked and answered, and it matters.

Because at a certain point, no matter how politically incorrect it might appear, the Blocks are going to give up on Basis DC. Will they have a PC explanation? NO. Do they care? No! Maybe for the next couple of years while they are continuing to expand their empire, but after that, if a DCPS charter school folds while they have numerous other public and private schools succeeding, they will basically blame it on us. And they will not be wrong in one sense - every post everyone makes here, as with the "Why did you leave" threads, and "why did the Dean of Students threaten the grades of an entire element over the misconduct of one student", is tearing us apart.

Thank you both for trying to penetrate the brain membranes of these BOOSTERS and blockheads, because I have 4 kids (2 already there) and graduating from Basis well would be their golden ticket to college. So to me it matters. Enormously.


But of course according to the BOOSTERS we should not dwell on (read learn from) our mistakes. Have any single one of you learned the SELA lesson, or do you think it does not apply?

IMO you have a lot to apologize for citing AZ stats implying that they would automatically be relevant to DC, and your initial arrogance, and your subsequent refusal to admit that there are problems in paradise, justifies all the stones that are being thrown your way. I would never say it in any other arena, but you asked for it.

That being said, Basis DC was third our first year on the DC CAS (Deal and Latin ahead), and last year they beat everyone but Deal, hardly having studied for it. They beat Latin in their Certamen (Latin contests) with consistency, and have achieved national recognition for a number of things (remember the student from Eritrea who won some writing contest and got a hug from Obama?)

So by many metrics Basis DC is doing well, and I would not let anything in this thread or the others dissuade you from listing it as your first choice in the 5th grade lottery, if and only if, your kid likes and seems to have a knack for math and science.

If they get in, I would strongly urge you to do everything in your power to prepare them for Algebra I their first year. This year there is more than half an Element in Algebra I, and it makes the critical difference to their educational experience. sets the tone, keeps the focus. They have to put all the academically advanced (in maths) kids together in the same section. Our first year there were four. Last year maybe there was one? This year is a banner year and if parents of kids who are capable get the message it will alter their entire Basis experience for those particular children, whom by default will be attracted strongly to Basis in the first place. THEY would not be making a mistake.

As another poster said on a previous thread, whether we have the [public school] population to weather the financial storm is an issue, and not one that should be ignored. But these kids are treated so well that if we could get the kids from privates who have the same talents to come to Basis, we would be set. Thanks to the lot of you, I feel you have set us back at least a year.

Tl;dr (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tl%3Bdr)

[Anonymous]

Wow. This thread is a scary mess. All I can say is, we're in our second year at BASIS, and very happy with our choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS is not a good fit for DC and tenor of parents vs parents on display is the beginning of it's unraveling. Too pretentious for words, the whole concept--any thing that sounds too good to be true usually is. And the OP has my sympathy.

OP here, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your post and the post of one other who pointed out we lost $250k just this year due to our mismanagement of our 6th grade wait list, and that ultimately that loss might add up to a cool million, so for our survival it is not something to be ignored, the question has never been both asked and answered, and it matters.

Because at a certain point, no matter how politically incorrect it might appear, the Blocks are going to give up on Basis DC. Will they have a PC explanation? NO. Do they care? No! Maybe for the next couple of years while they are continuing to expand their empire, but after that, if a DCPS charter school folds while they have numerous other public and private schools succeeding, they will basically blame it on us. And they will not be wrong in one sense - every post everyone makes here, as with the "Why did you leave" threads, and "why did the Dean of Students threaten the grades of an entire element over the misconduct of one student", is tearing us apart.

Thank you both for trying to penetrate the brain membranes of these BOOSTERS and blockheads, because I have 4 kids (2 already there) and graduating from Basis well would be their golden ticket to college. So to me it matters. Enormously.


But of course according to the BOOSTERS we should not dwell on (read learn from) our mistakes. Have any single one of you learned the SELA lesson, or do you think it does not apply?

IMO you have a lot to apologize for citing AZ stats implying that they would automatically be relevant to DC, and your initial arrogance, and your subsequent refusal to admit that there are problems in paradise, justifies all the stones that are being thrown your way. I would never say it in any other arena, but you asked for it.

That being said, Basis DC was third our first year on the DC CAS (Deal and Latin ahead), and last year they beat everyone but Deal, hardly having studied for it. They beat Latin in their Certamen (Latin contests) with consistency, and have achieved national recognition for a number of things (remember the student from Eritrea who won some writing contest and got a hug from Obama?)

So by many metrics Basis DC is doing well, and I would not let anything in this thread or the others dissuade you from listing it as your first choice in the 5th grade lottery, if and only if, your kid likes and seems to have a knack for math and science.

If they get in, I would strongly urge you to do everything in your power to prepare them for Algebra I their first year. This year there is more than half an Element in Algebra I, and it makes the critical difference to their educational experience. sets the tone, keeps the focus. They have to put all the academically advanced (in maths) kids together in the same section. Our first year there were four. Last year maybe there was one? This year is a banner year and if parents of kids who are capable get the message it will alter their entire Basis experience for those particular children, whom by default will be attracted strongly to Basis in the first place. THEY would not be making a mistake.

As another poster said on a previous thread, whether we have the [public school] population to weather the financial storm is an issue, and not one that should be ignored. But these kids are treated so well that if we could get the kids from privates who have the same talents to come to Basis, we would be set. Thanks to the lot of you, I feel you have set us back at least a year.

Tl;dr (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tl%3Bdr)

Tl;Dr; Thank God. May many more of you tune out this nonsense but lest we forget, BASIS DC no longer has a list serve..............

[Anonymous]

To the poster who suggested the (maybe) 25 slots will keep adding up in coming years, have you actually read the charter, and factored that into your assumptions? I doubt you have - because their approved charter is for a total of up to 400 students 5th through 8th - it DOES NOT specify a maximum number of slots for any particular grade. They can simply add more 5th and 6th grade slots in coming cycles, to aim for populating that approved 400 total for grades 5-8. So OF COURSE they can make up their numbers in coming years, within scope of the approved charter language.

I suspect the only reason they didn't add more 5th grade slots this year is because they already had their resources, staffing and structure set up for the current number of 5th grade students - and that it wasn't that big of a crisis for them to have a few slots go unfilled. It's ultimately just a one-year 6% variance for that grade 5-8 approved allotment.

So no, it's not ongoing, and it's most definitely not the end of the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who suggested the (maybe) 25 slots will keep adding up in coming years, have you actually read the charter, and factored that into your assumptions? I doubt you have - because their approved charter is for a total of up to 400 students 5th through 8th - it DOES NOT specify a maximum number of slots for any particular grade. They can simply add more 5th and 6th grade slots in coming cycles, to aim for populating that approved 400 total for grades 5-8. So OF COURSE they can make up their numbers in coming years, within scope of the approved charter language.

I suspect the only reason they didn't add more 5th grade slots this year is because they already had their resources, staffing and structure set up for the current number of 5th grade students - and that it wasn't that big of a crisis for them to have a few slots go unfilled. It's ultimately just a one-year 6% variance for that grade 5-8 approved allotment.

So no, it's not ongoing, and it's most definitely not the end of the world.

5th through 8th? When we don't accept kids after 6th, and now have 10th graders? Reread the Charter please, and consider the fact that they made a $250k mistake this year, are they going to now make a different assumption and screw it up next year? It was a big deal, and fixing it is a big deal and the solution you are positing will not work - I don't think.

But why don't you ask at the coffee? The numbers have to be even in terms of Elements, because having a stray 13 kids in any grade is economically inefficient. So the real question is what is the model in Arizona? It certainly cannot be to expand in this hodgepodge manner.

They are only allowed to offer a certain number of slots based on what they see before them. They have to do that before they can predict how many kids will be retained in 6th, etc. I do not think they can count on 25 kids who committed not showing up for 5th or 6th.

So I do not think what you are proposing is the way they handle things at other schools, or that it is permitted.

But we still don't know what went wrong, so why don't we figure out the problem before proposing ridiculous solutions.

But post a link to the copy of the charter and let's see whether we can figure this out together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent who received a call about one of those 6th grade spots (at nearly 100 on waitlist) and turned it down, four words: totally dodged a bullet.

Indeed you did. And so did those who were able to get into Latin for their middle school for 6th, 7th and 8th grades during BASIS' inaugural year.

Basis parent here who, DCUM notwithstanding, left Latin for Basis its inaugural year and has never looked back ..................academically

Could you please tell us when you got that call? I don't want to be financing their financial missteps or risking it destroying our school, so could you please help a fellow parent out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPCSB (or, better yet, OSSE) should develop a unified web based data management system and framework where schools can easily update and maintain that info if you want it at a click. Hardly seems like a worthwhile investment of school time and taxpayer money to have dozens and dozens of schools all doing it independently.

If you have a problem with making all these poor schools do all this work then take it up with the DCPSCB. But they require (and for the most part get) enough information from each DC Public Charter school to evaluate their financial health, which is a critical part of their job in terms of evaluating each schools' financial health, trying to help those that are flailing, and revoking the charters of those that are not financially viable.

Basis does not open its books. Until it does, no expansion plans will be approved. That is my prediction.

You seem to realize the data all the other schools enter, and what Basis does not. The difference is significant, and was one of the reasons their initial request to expand "for financial reasons" was denied.

[Anonymous]

And so much for abolishing social promotion. There will be zero incentive for

[Anonymous]

And so much for abolishing social promotion. There will be zero incentive for a school to hold kids back if slots need to be filled in the upper grades for financial reasons but can only be filled with kids moving from lower grades...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who suggested the (maybe) 25 slots will keep adding up in coming years, have you actually read the charter, and factored that into your assumptions? I doubt you have - because their approved charter is for a total of up to 400 students 5th through 8th - it DOES NOT specify a maximum number of slots for any particular grade. They can simply add more 5th and 6th grade slots in coming cycles, to aim for populating that approved 400 total for grades 5-8. So OF COURSE they can make up their numbers in coming years, within scope of the approved charter language.

I suspect the only reason they didn't add more 5th grade slots this year is because they already had their resources, staffing and structure set up for the current number of 5th grade students - and that it wasn't that big of a crisis for them to have a few slots go unfilled. It's ultimately just a one-year 6% variance for that grade 5-8 approved allotment.

So no, it's not ongoing, and it's most definitely not the end of the world.

so in your infinite wisdom, what do you suggest they set up re resources, staffing, and structure next year to avoid an (over $250k) loss? Each student is worth about 12k per year. How should do it so that there aren't 25 empty spaces next year in either 5th or 6th?

[Anonymous]

OMG! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who suggested the (maybe) 25 slots will keep adding up in coming years, have you actually read the charter, and factored that into your assumptions? I doubt you have - because their approved charter is for a total of up to 400 students 5th through 8th - it DOES NOT specify a maximum number of slots for any particular grade. They can simply add more 5th and 6th grade slots in coming cycles, to aim for populating that approved 400 total for grades 5-8. So OF COURSE they can make up their numbers in coming years, within scope of the approved charter language.

I suspect the only reason they didn't add more 5th grade slots this year is because they already had their resources, staffing and structure set up for the current number of 5th grade students - and that it wasn't that big of a crisis for them to have a few slots go unfilled. It's ultimately just a one-year 6% variance for that grade 5-8 approved allotment.

So no, it's not ongoing, and it's most definitely not the end of the world.

Please just allow me to repeat the only intelligent and intelligible contribution to this conversation:

NP here, and not a Basis parent so I'm not invested in your outcome here. You people ignore the frustrated parent above at your own peril. The UPSFF (per-pupil funding formula) indicates that your school lost out on about a quarter of a million dollars by not filling those 25 seats. And that's just THIS YEAR. You can't back-fill them, so now your loss is compounded to $250K per year for that class all the way through HS. Wow - somebody should be fired for that kind of fiscal malpractice. DCI just opened, doesn't have their permanent facility, and is already eating your lunch. You need to get on the ball and address your problems, quickly. Shutting down and/or berating the one person who is actually trying to force the school and its sycophants to face the music will be your downfall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who suggested the (maybe) 25 slots will keep adding up in coming years, have you actually read the charter, and factored that into your assumptions? I doubt you have - because their approved charter is for a total of up to 400 students 5th through 8th - it DOES NOT specify a maximum number of slots for any particular grade. They can simply add more 5th and 6th grade slots in coming cycles, to aim for populating that approved 400 total for grades 5-8. So OF COURSE they can make up their numbers in coming years, within scope of the approved charter language.

I suspect the only reason they didn't add more 5th grade slots this year is because they already had their resources, staffing and structure set up for the current number of 5th grade students - and that it wasn't that big of a crisis for them to have a few slots go unfilled. It's ultimately just a one-year 6% variance for that grade 5-8 approved allotment.

So no, it's not ongoing, and it's most definitely not the end of the world.

Please just allow me to repeat the only intelligent and intelligible contribution to this conversation:

NP here, and not a Basis parent so I'm not invested in your outcome here. You people ignore the frustrated parent above at your own peril. The UPSFF (per-pupil funding formula) indicates that your school lost out on about a quarter of a million dollars by not filling those 25 seats. And that's just THIS YEAR. You can't back-fill them, so now your loss is compounded to $250K per year for that class all the way through HS. Wow - somebody should be fired for that kind of fiscal malpractice. DCI just opened, doesn't have their permanent facility, and is already eating your lunch. You need to get on the ball and address your problems, quickly. Shutting down and/or berating the one person who is actually trying to force the school and its sycophants to face the music will be your downfall.

A not insignificant part of the sky fell this fall, not to mention the 5th grade departures before count day. Hide your heads in the sand at your own risk (and unfortunately at the risk of all of our children).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who suggested the (maybe) 25 slots will keep adding up in coming years, have you actually read the charter, and factored that into your assumptions? I doubt you have - because their approved charter is for a total of up to 400 students 5th through 8th - it DOES NOT specify a maximum number of slots for any particular grade. They can simply add more 5th and 6th grade slots in coming cycles, to aim for populating that approved 400 total for grades 5-8. So OF COURSE they can make up their numbers in coming years, within scope of the approved charter language.

I suspect the only reason they didn't add more 5th grade slots this year is because they already had their resources, staffing and structure set up for the current number of 5th grade students - and that it wasn't that big of a crisis for them to have a few slots go unfilled. It's ultimately just a one-year 6% variance for that grade 5-8 approved allotment.

So no, it's not ongoing, and it's most definitely not the end of the world.

Please just allow me to repeat the only intelligent and intelligible contribution to this conversation:

NP here, and not a Basis parent so I'm not invested in your outcome here. You people ignore the frustrated parent above at your own peril. The UPSFF (per-pupil funding formula) indicates that your school lost out on about a quarter of a million dollars by not filling those 25 seats. And that's just THIS YEAR. You can't back-fill them, so now your loss is compounded to $250K per year for that class all the way through HS. Wow - somebody should be fired for that kind of fiscal malpractice. DCI just opened, doesn't have their permanent facility, and is already eating your lunch. You need to get on the ball and address your problems, quickly. Shutting down and/or berating the one person who is actually trying to force the school and its sycophants to face the music will be your downfall.

Re-read the previous post that you are attempting to respond to, but failing to respond to. They don't have a target number of 7th graders or 8th graders that they need to hit in order to avoid losing money. They do that with 5th and 6th grade classes, and the only number that matters is the funded TOTAL within their charter, it doesn't matter what grade. They are used to attrition, that is factored into their model. It *DOES NOT* compound, they ADD SLOTS IN 5th and 6th. So, to insist they can't make it up suggests a fundamental lack of understanding on your part in how BASIS is structured.

That *IS* how it works. The only reason anyone is "shutting down" the argument is because you have a fundamental lack of understanding about how the school works.

[Anonymous]

A hypothetical:

Year 1, they have a goal of 115 5th graders, 105 6th graders, 95 7th graders, and 85 8th graders for a total of 400. Suppose they fall short by 25 6th graders.

The following year they can simply bump their number of 5th and 6th grade slots up, for example 125 5th graders, 115 6th graders and adjust for that target of 400 slots. No compounding happens.