BASIS charter expansion is up for public comment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seeing that almost 1/3 of the respondents were Brent parents, I'm not sure their data represents the totality of the landscape that they claim it does

Yeah, I noted that and was also surprised that they thought this was representative of the city. It also wasn't really clear to me why the opinions of existing BASIS parents should be so heavily weighted, especially when only 1/3rd of them even reported having siblings that would be eligible to enroll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some other takeaways:

• 43% of people listing Basis in the lottery ranked it first

• At full capacity, Basis will admit 100 for K, 112 for 1st-4th, and 135 for 5th. That means that they will add kids for 1st and 5th but not in 2nd through 4th. Assuming some attrition (which would presumably be lower for families for young kids as opposed to families with older kids), figure maybe 15-25 available slots for 1st and and 30-40 available slots for 5th grade. That means it will be a lot harder for families to get into Basis if they wait until after K. In fact, many of the slots will go to families with sibling or high-risk preference.

• Mandarin will be mandatory for all kids from K to 3.

• Basis’ preferred new location for the school would be Dupont Circle (which would be convenient for north-central DC) and Penn Quarter (convenient for Capitol Hill). However, they haven’t identified specific sites yet. Note that many Basis schools in urban areas have 2 campuses--one for lower school and one for middle/upper school.

I also think joining BASIS in middle will be a much worse experience if it's essentially just a tack on amount of kids. Even setting aside the access to middle school issue, that seems like a negative. I wish DC would take this opportunity to force them to have 6th grade be the MS entry year if they're going to expand. To me, that would slightly offset the damage this is going to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am all for this, and if they do open I hope I can get my 3rd grader in from the lottery.

Genuine question to this group, especially those who oppose this. If I have an elementary-age kid who is very advanced, and is struggling with boredom at our DCPS school, where do you think I should send them?

I have asked around and don't get the sense that charter schools are any more advanced, so I haven't really bothered to go that route. It feels like maybe our only option is to move to a Wilson feeder, where it sounds like maybe the classes are a bit more advanced just due to the socio-economics of the students. But I'd love to not have to buy a $2 million house just to give my kid a little extra challenge in elementary school. A BASIS elementary feels like a great alternative, and it offers something new for EOTP families. Happy to be told I'm wrong though! Please do tell me what kind of options you'd recommend.

The honest answer is that if you have a go-getter of a kid, DCPS can provide challenges on the elementary school level. My 4th grader is at a Title 1 DCPS and his teachers have supported him in working 3 grades up in ELA and 1 grade up in Math (this is all quantifiable on their various assessments.) then he comes home and reads encyclopedias for fun. He has peers whose parents tell me they are "bored," but what the teachers tell me is that "most of the upper level kids stop pushing themselves." At the elementary level, some of this is on the kid. Guide them to ask for more challenges.


For middle and high school, the stakes are much higher and there are schools that actually can't provide the opportunity to work harder. we are switching to Basis for that.

[Anonymous]

If BASIS takes on new students at 5th grade, it’s better to make that year the first intro to middle school to get them acclimated. Students need that 5th grade bridge to be prepared for the higher rigors of true middle school at 6th grade, especially if they are new to BASIS and haven’t been attending the elementary school.

[Anonymous]

It's always shocking to me that we allow for-profit education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If BASIS takes on new students at 5th grade, it’s better to make that year the first intro to middle school to get them acclimated. Students need that 5th grade bridge to be prepared for the higher rigors of true middle school at 6th grade, especially if they are new to BASIS and haven’t been attending the elementary school.

I don't think you need to disrupt all neighborhood schools on the Hill so 25 kids can get better acclimated. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for this, and if they do open I hope I can get my 3rd grader in from the lottery.

Genuine question to this group, especially those who oppose this. If I have an elementary-age kid who is very advanced, and is struggling with boredom at our DCPS school, where do you think I should send them?

I have asked around and don't get the sense that charter schools are any more advanced, so I haven't really bothered to go that route. It feels like maybe our only option is to move to a Wilson feeder, where it sounds like maybe the classes are a bit more advanced just due to the socio-economics of the students. But I'd love to not have to buy a $2 million house just to give my kid a little extra challenge in elementary school. A BASIS elementary feels like a great alternative, and it offers something new for EOTP families. Happy to be told I'm wrong though! Please do tell me what kind of options you'd recommend.

Honest response is to move to Fairfax. If you want to stay in DC and don't want to move to W3, then you need to supplement on your own.

Never happening. This is why I support a BASIS elementary school. I shouldn't have to move my entire family just to get a little extra challenge in upper elementary + middle schools. The city has great school options for early childhood through 2nd grade; and great high school options. There's a huge hole in the middle that needs to be filled. BASIS elementary would be just the start.

If your kid is legitimately advanced, it is not a trivial thing to provide them with an appropriate curriculum in a middle school where most kids are years behind grade level. And you could easily find yourself shut out of not just any middle school option with a significant group of at grade-level kids, but also shut out of the selective high schools because they're now a lottery among kids with good grades.

[Anonymous]

Something to note from the material. The current BASIS kids might get to enjoy the outdoor space, somehow!

"To effectively mitigate
challenges related to facilities, we are prioritizing locations that offer outdoor and
recreational spaces. This is important for K-4 students’ healthy development, but a
space that helps expand the overall offerings for current families doubles as resource
for the 5-12 campus."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Something to note from the material. The current BASIS kids might get to enjoy the outdoor space, somehow!

"To effectively mitigate
challenges related to facilities, we are prioritizing locations that offer outdoor and
recreational spaces. This is important for K-4 students’ healthy development, but a
space that helps expand the overall offerings for current families doubles as resource
for the 5-12 campus."

so weird that people are like, "oh maybe they'll allow children to have outdoor recess" and we still think this is a serious school to send our taxpayer dollars to

[Anonymous]

Many of our families raised concerns centered around our current facilities and its lack
of a gym, outdoor space, and classroom space for students. The concern was not just
centered in the current state of the building but their belief that our expansion efforts
would be better suited in finding a facility that is large enough for a K-12 or a location in
proximity for a shared recreational space.
This concern would be addressed with the expansion of the second location as we are
exploring facilities that can be used as a shared space between both campuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for this, and if they do open I hope I can get my 3rd grader in from the lottery.

Genuine question to this group, especially those who oppose this. If I have an elementary-age kid who is very advanced, and is struggling with boredom at our DCPS school, where do you think I should send them?

I have asked around and don't get the sense that charter schools are any more advanced, so I haven't really bothered to go that route. It feels like maybe our only option is to move to a Wilson feeder, where it sounds like maybe the classes are a bit more advanced just due to the socio-economics of the students. But I'd love to not have to buy a $2 million house just to give my kid a little extra challenge in elementary school. A BASIS elementary feels like a great alternative, and it offers something new for EOTP families. Happy to be told I'm wrong though! Please do tell me what kind of options you'd recommend.

Honest response is to move to Fairfax. If you want to stay in DC and don't want to move to W3, then you need to supplement on your own.

Never happening. This is why I support a BASIS elementary school. I shouldn't have to move my entire family just to get a little extra challenge in upper elementary + middle schools. The city has great school options for early childhood through 2nd grade; and great high school options. There's a huge hole in the middle that needs to be filled. BASIS elementary would be just the start.

Do you hate your kid? If so, send them to BASIS elementary.

Signed,
Current BASIS parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Something to note from the material. The current BASIS kids might get to enjoy the outdoor space, somehow!

"To effectively mitigate
challenges related to facilities, we are prioritizing locations that offer outdoor and
recreational spaces. This is important for K-4 students’ healthy development, but a
space that helps expand the overall offerings for current families doubles as resource
for the 5-12 campus."

They are lying to try to get BASIS families to support this proposal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for this, and if they do open I hope I can get my 3rd grader in from the lottery.

Genuine question to this group, especially those who oppose this. If I have an elementary-age kid who is very advanced, and is struggling with boredom at our DCPS school, where do you think I should send them?

I have asked around and don't get the sense that charter schools are any more advanced, so I haven't really bothered to go that route. It feels like maybe our only option is to move to a Wilson feeder, where it sounds like maybe the classes are a bit more advanced just due to the socio-economics of the students. But I'd love to not have to buy a $2 million house just to give my kid a little extra challenge in elementary school. A BASIS elementary feels like a great alternative, and it offers something new for EOTP families. Happy to be told I'm wrong though! Please do tell me what kind of options you'd recommend.

Honest response is to move to Fairfax. If you want to stay in DC and don't want to move to W3, then you need to supplement on your own.

Never happening. This is why I support a BASIS elementary school. I shouldn't have to move my entire family just to get a little extra challenge in upper elementary + middle schools. The city has great school options for early childhood through 2nd grade; and great high school options. There's a huge hole in the middle that needs to be filled. BASIS elementary would be just the start.

Do you hate your kid? If so, send them to BASIS elementary.

Signed,
Current BASIS parent

Say more. are you looking for an out? Do you think it's fine for middle, but bad for elementary?

[Anonymous]

How do we submit comments on this proposal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do we submit comments on this proposal?

Info is in the 5/9 document on the website linked in the OP.