BASIS DC will seek to expand to include K to 4th grade

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:As the PP mentioned, students with special needs are indeed becoming a focus at BASIS because the school has recognized that it is this group of students which has the highest attrition (as opposed to a group based on race or low SES as people on DCUM seem to assume)

No, attrition of students with special needs is exactly what people assume is going on. Attrition on purpose.

Or attrition by choice. IDEA does not guarantee As in an accelerated curriculum. If a child’s SN makes it very hard for them to be successful in a rigorous environment then it’s normal that they would switch schools. Plenty of NT kids dislike the demands as well. Basis has to support the kids it has and implement the IEP, but does not have to water down the curriculm.

This is the money phrase. It is in the end what the argument is about. People who complain about high standards don't understand the difference between affording more time, and deciding that the material is too hard. Not the same thing.

No. It's because more time (which is a nice way of saying retention and forcing them into a classroom of younger kids even if not developmentally appropriate) doesn't necessarily solve anything, and it dramatically increases the long-term chances of the kid dropping out. The answer is more services, not more time.

You misunderstood. My reference to "more time" was to untimed testing vs watering down the material covered on the test. The former is a reasonable accommodation. The latter is how DCUM and lots of SJW misinterpret IDEA and other requirements.

You also keep using "developmentally appropriate" as if that's meaningful to anyone but you and your hardened opinion. Why do you care so much about the developmental appropriateness of the kids held back and not about them in classes 2-4 grades above their skills? I find that strange.

Because we're talking about an elementary school where the developmental and physical gaps can be really big. If a kid is held back more than once, that's a lot. If it were your kid, would you think this is a good plan? Or would you think the school is unwilling to meet their needs in a manner you consider appropriate? It's fine to say "BASIS isn't to everyone's taste" but to offer parents a choice of leaving or accepting an inappropriate class year placement is effectively pushing them out

I'll play. If my kid was to be held back 2x before 4th grade I would realize that the traditional school my kid was in was not going to prepare them to ever be independent or functioning members of society. I would want my kid in a school dedicated to getting them back on track.

But BASIS has an obligation to serve the needs of it's students in good faith. Public charters are not allowed to counsel out.

Regardless of whether this is legally true, it’s what the PCSB believes. They want to prove that charter schools can replace traditional public schools. Basis supporters love to hate DCPS, but Basis needs DCPS to take the students that Basis can’t or won’t educate.

Nope. But nice to know WTU has entered the chat!

What would BASIS be like if all schools had to take a proportionate share of students who move into DC from out of state? What would BASIS be like if all schools had to educate a proportionate share of students with high-level IEPs? Methinks BASIS' wonderful "success" wouldn't shine so bright.

What would DCPS be like if it offered magnet and gifted programs in MS and accelerated academic tracks, and had entrance exams and failed kids who couldn’t meet the standards? Then DCPS parents would not be flocking to Basis.

so what?

BASIS' "model" is premised on doing the easy parts, and avoiding the hard parts. As if my "model" at work was that I only do the tasks that are easy for me and blow off the rest, and I can only be rated on the easy tasks. If BASIS wasn't allowed to avoid the harder work, it wouldn't be as appealing to parents or look as successful. It's all premised on avoiding a fair share of the hardest parts of education.

You sound like an elementary school parent. When kids get into MS and beyond, it is acceptable and appropriate for them to be sorted into groups by academic ability. This is normal and good. Arguing that we have to get rid of acceleration programs because all schools (and classes) have to “do the hard part” is crazy and destructive. What really seems to irk you is that Basis can filter for students who can be accelerated because you apparently think it is unfair that DCPS has to take all comers. But the sensible response to that is not “destroy acceleration at charters because DCPD cannot do that.” The sensible response is “provide more acceleration at DCPS.”

Really though you just hate charters.

I really don't just hate charters, and I'm not against ability grouping. But I hate when people compare BASIS to other schools that have to do things that BASIS refuses to do. It isn't an accurate comparison and it misleads people into thinking BASIS is a better school than it actually is.

BASIS can offer accelerated classes while also providing other classes to other students who are below grade level. It's a very normal thing that many schools routinely do. But it's just sooooooooooo hard for BASIS, they just can't handle it I guess.

Basis does better academically because it is an academically focused charter. Your hypothetical seems to be that unless Basis replicates a failing DCPS it is unfair. You’re missing the entire point.

No, you're missing the point. My argument is that if BASIS had to play by the same rules as JR (or really any by-right school), taking new kids in all grades all year long and meeting all IEPs, it wouldn't look as good as it currently does. And it's misleading to compare BASIS to other schools without accounting for that.

If you think the difference is because BASIS is "academically focused", then do you think it would do just as well if it took new kids in all grades?

No charters have to do that, and Basis still outshines the other charters.

But some of them choose to do it. Choosing the easiest path of all charters does not make BASIS better.

It absolutely makes it better because it can focus on academics. Check the waitlists. Latin takes vanishly few. Walls doesn’t. I don’t think Banneker does. and of course Basis would still fail the late entrants as appropriate. And how many new kids enroll in JR every year anyway?

I’ll say it again - you resent selective academic programs and want to destroy them.

Walls backfills if students leave. JR has new kids enroll regularly as it is a neighborhood school. So kids move into the catchment all the time.

[Anonymous]

This is a vanity project! Not filling a gap. There are plenty of high quality elementary seats. If they cared about the educational landscape they should double the seats at the middle and high school level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a BASIS parent, I don’t like this because I’ve seen the chaos that results when DCPCSB takes a solid school and has it replicate/expand. Mundo Verde was an amazing, highly sought after school and then it opened a second campus (that current parents fought and delayed because they knew what would happen) and now it’s a total mess. Two Rivers - same thing - second campus. People are bailing because it’s too much to manage and it’s a chaotic disaster. LAMB: opened new campuses and realized it was a shitshow after the school basically fell apart - then consolidated.

There is no denying that this elementary school project is going to draw time and resources away from the current school. It seems wholly unnecessary given that we have a wealth of solid elementary DCPS and charter school options already in the city. BASIS really should not get cocky, given that much of their success is based on being able to draw kids who have the resources and support to keep up with the BASIS model, and those folks are unlikely to leave their elementary schools (but are willing to leave for middle).

I think this is a bad call, and it makes me second guess choosing BASIS.

Apples and oranges. I too suffered from another charter school that tried to replicate and instead destroyed what they had and created something not nearly as good as the original. That is not what is happening here. BASIS isn't duplicating or replicating anything. They are not expanding the current classes or replicating the school. They are creating K-4, which logically comes before 5-12. The teachers who teach 7th grade aren't going to be also teaching 1st. This is also (unlike MV, TR) not an experiment in the unknown. BASIS has @40 other K-12 charter schools; they know how to do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a vanity project! Not filling a gap. There are plenty of high quality elementary seats. If they cared about the educational landscape they should double the seats at the middle and high school level.

Someone in the Brent catchment decides to weigh in. The bolded is not true. BASIS isn't "Brent's" school, much as many of you seem to think. There are not nearly enough high quality ES school seats. What you mean to say here is that you like having a guaranteed seat at Brent and then having a path to BASIS in 5th. If people have to send their kids to JOW or a bunch of other W5, W7 and W8 ES that you wouldn't even drive by, that is a sacrifice they should be willing to make so you get to keep what you want.

After all these years reading DCUM I can still be surprised by the self-centered words of the entitled. Seriously, PP. re-read the bolded and consider whether people who don't live adjacent to your house think there are plenty of high quality ES seats.

[Anonymous]

Because the BASIS mantra is literally “getting your student into the college of their dreams.” We want to see how good it is in achieving that goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where are they planning to house the new k-4? The current building cannot accommodate them, nor is it an adequate space for children that age (or in middle school for that matter). Will the current grades stay in the current building, or are there plans to consolidate and move to a new building?

The announcement was made at a parent open house 48 hours ago and they haven't even appeared before the PCSB, but you want to know where the school will be located?

The HOS said that they will seek to locate close to the current location. He also said their plan is a separate space where K-4 (and maybe also 5) will be located. And then he said, but that is all down the road. Because, who knows. If they find something that makes sense to build out for K-12 they will. They own their current building so that provides a lot of flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because the BASIS mantra is literally “getting your student into the college of their dreams.” We want to see how good it is in achieving that goal.

Their dreams, not yours. The mantra and marketing is also heavily focused on the amount of merit based aid kids earn. Sounds like money is no object for you, PP. How wonderful.

P.S. I Love when parents blame schools for their kids' failures to get into the college of their dreams. Nothing is ever Larla's fault, huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a vanity project! Not filling a gap. There are plenty of high quality elementary seats. If they cared about the educational landscape they should double the seats at the middle and high school level.

Someone in the Brent catchment decides to weigh in. The bolded is not true. BASIS isn't "Brent's" school, much as many of you seem to think. There are not nearly enough high quality ES school seats. What you mean to say here is that you like having a guaranteed seat at Brent and then having a path to BASIS in 5th. If people have to send their kids to JOW or a bunch of other W5, W7 and W8 ES that you wouldn't even drive by, that is a sacrifice they should be willing to make so you get to keep what you want.

After all these years reading DCUM I can still be surprised by the self-centered words of the entitled. Seriously, PP. re-read the bolded and consider whether people who don't live adjacent to your house think there are plenty of high quality ES seats.

+1 sheltered prick thinks we've solved elementary schools in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because the BASIS mantra is literally “getting your student into the college of their dreams.” We want to see how good it is in achieving that goal.

That’s why it’s hard to grasp that none of the 42 seniors were even accepted to an ivy this year. Other DC publics had multiple ivy commits so one would presume the number of acceptances would be even greater. I completely understand committing to a different school because it offers better merit but they have worked so hard and crammed so much into 3 years. I hope they all believe it was worth it but prior threads about the BASIS high school indicate more focus is still needed at this level.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/135/1103719.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the BASIS mantra is literally “getting your student into the college of their dreams.” We want to see how good it is in achieving that goal.

That’s why it’s hard to grasp that none of the 42 seniors were even accepted to an ivy this year. Other DC publics had multiple ivy commits so one would presume the number of acceptances would be even greater. I completely understand committing to a different school because it offers better merit but they have worked so hard and crammed so much into 3 years. I hope they all believe it was worth it but prior threads about the BASIS high school indicate more focus is still needed at this level.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/135/1103719.page

Serious question: Do you sit around all day and concern yourself with the matriculation lists of schools you don't send your kids to? I mean, I assume you are just a troll, but on the off chance you are serious, can you help me to understand what goes through your mind? Why are you so invested in where other kids or other schools send their kids? Seems like a super weird fixation. Are you so lacking in self-confidence that you must try and tear down other people to make yourself feel better? When someone gets a new car you can't afford, do you feel the need to tell them why it isn't as good as they think it is? Help me to understand how or why someone is the way you are. I am truly fascinated.

(I should note, this is usually the point where the person who was exposed comes back over the top with "I'm black" or "I send my kid to BASIS". Some sort of nonsense to insulate themselves. In the off chance PP decides to go that direction, may I preemptively suggest that maybe you should be asking your kid and your spouse and yourself why your kid didn't gain admission to any ivys?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a BASIS parent, I don’t like this because I’ve seen the chaos that results when DCPCSB takes a solid school and has it replicate/expand. Mundo Verde was an amazing, highly sought after school and then it opened a second campus (that current parents fought and delayed because they knew what would happen) and now it’s a total mess. Two Rivers - same thing - second campus. People are bailing because it’s too much to manage and it’s a chaotic disaster. LAMB: opened new campuses and realized it was a shitshow after the school basically fell apart - then consolidated.

There is no denying that this elementary school project is going to draw time and resources away from the current school. It seems wholly unnecessary given that we have a wealth of solid elementary DCPS and charter school options already in the city. BASIS really should not get cocky, given that much of their success is based on being able to draw kids who have the resources and support to keep up with the BASIS model, and those folks are unlikely to leave their elementary schools (but are willing to leave for middle).

I think this is a bad call, and it makes me second guess choosing BASIS.

Apples and oranges. I too suffered from another charter school that tried to replicate and instead destroyed what they had and created something not nearly as good as the original. That is not what is happening here. BASIS isn't duplicating or replicating anything. They are not expanding the current classes or replicating the school. They are creating K-4, which logically comes before 5-12. The teachers who teach 7th grade aren't going to be also teaching 1st. This is also (unlike MV, TR) not an experiment in the unknown. BASIS has @40 other K-12 charter schools; they know how to do this.

Disagree. Here’s an apples to apples example: Cap Hill Mont at Logan. Highly sought after fairly strong program. Expanded into middle school. Now its a mess.

Anytime you’re taking existing resources and stretching them more thin, you risk f’ing up what you have. Standing up an entirely new school *AND* a new facility is a huge project, that is going to pull a ton of resources from the existing school. Resources that are already stretched very thin.

This isn’t good for the city and it isn’t good for BASIS families, faculty or staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a vanity project! Not filling a gap. There are plenty of high quality elementary seats. If they cared about the educational landscape they should double the seats at the middle and high school level.

Someone in the Brent catchment decides to weigh in. The bolded is not true. BASIS isn't "Brent's" school, much as many of you seem to think. There are not nearly enough high quality ES school seats. What you mean to say here is that you like having a guaranteed seat at Brent and then having a path to BASIS in 5th. If people have to send their kids to JOW or a bunch of other W5, W7 and W8 ES that you wouldn't even drive by, that is a sacrifice they should be willing to make so you get to keep what you want.

After all these years reading DCUM I can still be surprised by the self-centered words of the entitled. Seriously, PP. re-read the bolded and consider whether people who don't live adjacent to your house think there are plenty of high quality ES seats.

Not the poster you are responding to, but there actually are a ton of high quality elementary school seats in all of the wards surrounding where BASIS plans to locate this elementary school. There’s a reason they’re not going to plop this thing in Ward 8. BASIS is absolutely obsessed with their ranking and test scores, and they’re going to want to draw from Wards 1,2, 3, 5 and 6, which are the wards surrounding BASIS. Realistically those are the folks that can make it there given it’s location. Maybe the westernmost of Hill East/Ward 7, which also had solid elementary schools.

Are you IB for JOW? That’s a solid school too. Maybe you should take a hard look at your prejudices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a vanity project! Not filling a gap. There are plenty of high quality elementary seats. If they cared about the educational landscape they should double the seats at the middle and high school level.

+1
If they can't clear the waitlists for 5th, they should expand what they've got.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCUM needs to slow down. The person who posted this did BASIS a disservice.

Allow the school to discuss their plans with the school community first.

We don’t know the details yet. Endless speculation without facts is unhelpful.

+1
We don't even know if the city will approve it. It was denied the last time that Basis tried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM needs to slow down. The person who posted this did BASIS a disservice.

Allow the school to discuss their plans with the school community first.

We don’t know the details yet. Endless speculation without facts is unhelpful.

+1
We don't even know if the city will approve it. It was denied the last time that Basis tried.

What makes them think it will be approved this time? And how would it be different from many existing elementary schools, other than the feeder pattern and retention policy?

Will BASIS be offering the Equitable Action preference, like so many other schools do?