Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion

[Anonymous]

I'm a Basis parent who wishes it had had started in 6th so our kids could have finished up at their elementary. But the reasoning is that for kids who are behind, whether it's because of a struggling elementary, lack of family support, or some combination, starting at 5th gives them a year to do some catch up, and for kids who struggle with organization/executive functioning, it gives them a year to focus on that while the academics are less demanding than they get in later years. Basis is clearly not representative of the DC school population, with a very low share of at-risk kids compared to the overall population, but my guess is that it would be even lower if they started at 6th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a Basis parent who wishes it had had started in 6th so our kids could have finished up at their elementary. But the reasoning is that for kids who are behind, whether it's because of a struggling elementary, lack of family support, or some combination, starting at 5th gives them a year to do some catch up, and for kids who struggle with organization/executive functioning, it gives them a year to focus on that while the academics are less demanding than they get in later years. Basis is clearly not representative of the DC school population, with a very low share of at-risk kids compared to the overall population, but my guess is that it would be even lower if they started at 6th.

Disagree with this. There are a lot of families that start thinking about middle school when their kid is in 5th grade, reasonably enough, and have therefore missed the boat for BASIS and Latin. The schools want the families who are sufficiently together to lottery in for 5th.

[Anonymous]

This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

Or they would wash out sooner and BASIS wouldn't have to deal with them in 5th at all. That's the real reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

Yes!

We need a Basis elementary school.

Hopefully, PCSB didn’t mess everything up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

Yes!

We need a Basis elementary school.

Hopefully, PCSB didn’t mess everything up.

More like BASIS messed it up by presenting a scenario they were unwilling to carry out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a Basis parent who wishes it had had started in 6th so our kids could have finished up at their elementary. But the reasoning is that for kids who are behind, whether it's because of a struggling elementary, lack of family support, or some combination, starting at 5th gives them a year to do some catch up, and for kids who struggle with organization/executive functioning, it gives them a year to focus on that while the academics are less demanding than they get in later years. Basis is clearly not representative of the DC school population, with a very low share of at-risk kids compared to the overall population, but my guess is that it would be even lower if they started at 6th.

Disagree with this. There are a lot of families that start thinking about middle school when their kid is in 5th grade, reasonably enough, and have therefore missed the boat for BASIS and Latin. The schools want the families who are sufficiently together to lottery in for 5th.

+1. We are at a demographically diverse school on the Hill. Every UMC family lotteries in 5th at least for Latin(s). I would say 50%+ of the at risk families don't realize they can't do the same after 5th. ZERO CHANCE a post-5th grade lottery for BASIS would make it lower risk and, in fact, I think BASIS knows that and it's part of its strategy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

Yes!

We need a Basis elementary school.

Hopefully, PCSB didn’t mess everything up.

More like BASIS messed it up by presenting a scenario they were unwilling to carry out.

Messed up? No.

The PCSB approved the Basis expansion. Basis is now just trying to negotiate the details to see if they can add additional grades faster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

Yes!

We need a Basis elementary school.

Hopefully, PCSB didn’t mess everything up.

More like BASIS messed it up by presenting a scenario they were unwilling to carry out.

Messed up? No.

The PCSB approved the Basis expansion. Basis is now just trying to negotiate the details to see if they can add additional grades faster.

It feels like BASIS wants this but the PCSB doesn't really care if it happens or not. And BASIS parent opinion is from what I can tell, a mixed bag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

Yes!

We need a Basis elementary school.

Hopefully, PCSB didn’t mess everything up.

More like BASIS messed it up by presenting a scenario they were unwilling to carry out.

Messed up? No.

The PCSB approved the Basis expansion. Basis is now just trying to negotiate the details to see if they can add additional grades faster.

It feels like BASIS wants this but the PCSB doesn't really care if it happens or not. And BASIS parent opinion is from what I can tell, a mixed bag.

BASIS parent opinion is a mixed bag because some parents don’t want to risk their sibling preference for their younger children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

Yes!

We need a Basis elementary school.

Hopefully, PCSB didn’t mess everything up.

More like BASIS messed it up by presenting a scenario they were unwilling to carry out.

Messed up? No.

The PCSB approved the Basis expansion. Basis is now just trying to negotiate the details to see if they can add additional grades faster.

It feels like BASIS wants this but the PCSB doesn't really care if it happens or not. And BASIS parent opinion is from what I can tell, a mixed bag.

BASIS parent opinion is a mixed bag because some parents don’t want to risk their sibling preference for their younger children.

And also because some parents don't have younger children so they don't benefit-- if anything, they don't want the BASIS administration spread thin after the cautionary tales of Mundo and Two Rivers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

Yes!

We need a Basis elementary school.

Hopefully, PCSB didn’t mess everything up.

More like BASIS messed it up by presenting a scenario they were unwilling to carry out.

Messed up? No.

The PCSB approved the Basis expansion. Basis is now just trying to negotiate the details to see if they can add additional grades faster.

It feels like BASIS wants this but the PCSB doesn't really care if it happens or not. And BASIS parent opinion is from what I can tell, a mixed bag.

BASIS parent opinion is a mixed bag because some parents don’t want to risk their sibling preference for their younger children.

ya. I'm a BASIS parent with a younger kid in DCPS and I am counting on the younger one having sibling preference. And, we had a perfectly fine DCPS elementary experience, so the need doesn't feel like it is there? However, I completely understand why BASIS wants to do it (literally off of their other schools are K-12 and their model works best that way.) So I wouldn't mind if it all goes through. True ambivalence here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post finally came full circle: if BASIS had an elementary school, at-risk students who would otherwise miss the 5th grade lottery or struggle to catch up would have a better chance at not only getting in but also succeeding. 5th grade is currently a nice way to more gradually acclimate to the demands of middle school. So many students come into the school without good foundations and BASIS has to catch them up. There would be far less catch up in middle school if the students had mostly uniform preparation going into middle school. Certainly some DCPS elementary schools prepare their students but many do not.

Yes!

We need a Basis elementary school.

Hopefully, PCSB didn’t mess everything up.

More like BASIS messed it up by presenting a scenario they were unwilling to carry out.

Messed up? No.

The PCSB approved the Basis expansion. Basis is now just trying to negotiate the details to see if they can add additional grades faster.

It feels like BASIS wants this but the PCSB doesn't really care if it happens or not. And BASIS parent opinion is from what I can tell, a mixed bag.

BASIS parent opinion is a mixed bag because some parents don’t want to risk their sibling preference for their younger children.

Since the school will most likely have to start at the younger grades and build up, the sibling issue would only impact families if they have a very large gap in ages of their children, bc I assume the school won't even open for a few years at least (assuming it opens) and then it will be just young grades, so the kids currently in elementary will get in at 5th grade just fine. I used to work at KIPP, and they all started with middle school (also in 5th) and when they went down to elementary they had the same 'start young and add a grade each year'. I think it actually helps ease into the bigger school.

[Anonymous]

I don't really think anyone would lose sibling preference. In this year's data, only 30 kids matched to BASIS as siblings. So if there's 75 kids per class in BASIS elementary, plus 30 siblings, that's only 105 kids. BASIS tends to offer 150-ish seats (adding regular and EA together here), so it seems like all siblings could easily get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't really think anyone would lose sibling preference. In this year's data, only 30 kids matched to BASIS as siblings. So if there's 75 kids per class in BASIS elementary, plus 30 siblings, that's only 105 kids. BASIS tends to offer 150-ish seats (adding regular and EA together here), so it seems like all siblings could easily get in.

Actually, revise that, if BASIS elementary kids can confer preference on older siblings to get into BASIS at 5th, I might feel differently. I suppose it depends. But still, not all siblings will accept.