BASIS DC is Looking to Expand to K-4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ALL THEY ARE GOING TO DO IS 'CREAM' ALL OF THE BEST STUDENTS OUT OF WARDS 1, 4, 5, and 6. Stop it.

Doubtful. They don't even want to do ECE. Most families are settled by K someplace. Only those who really dislike their current options will lottery/enroll there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment ceiling increase policy has explicit criteria on subgroup performance and exclusionary discipline. I am not sure this would apply, but can Basis meet the criteria? It seems like their high ratings stem from avoiding serving the more challenging students.

+

See above for subgroup performance and below for discipline from 2017-18 annual reports plus other metrics for BASIS / DCI / Latin (for context and comparison)

Suspension rate DCI/BASIS/Latin
9.3/7/8

Expulsion
.75/0/0

Teacher attrition percentage
26/36/12

Student Promotion rate
98.8/97/99.8

Mid-year student withdrawal percentage
2.7/2.3/1.6

Average teacher salary
58,385/59,760/56,967

NP I think it is the homework that puts lower-performing kids off even trying to attend. What will be the result in elementary if they don't have that as a method of deterrence?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was interested in this the last time they tried it. What are they doing differently this time around to ensure success?

You'd have to go to their info session to find out. Their proposal isn't before the PCSB yet - and there is no clear date when they intend to submit it.

[Anonymous]

The BASIS private school in McLean is accepting 2 year olds. I don’t think they know what they are getting into nor do they care about getting things right. It’s pathetic.

[Anonymous]

They have always intended to bring their elementary program to DC and have been working on it consistently for years. It's laughable to think they don't know what they are getting into or getting things right. Just communicate with them rather than speculating. They've been open about their plans and responsive to inquiries.

Anonymous wrote:The BASIS private school in McLean is accepting 2 year olds. I don’t think they know what they are getting into nor do they care about getting things right. It’s pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have always intended to bring their elementary program to DC and have been working on it consistently for years. It's laughable to think they don't know what they are getting into or getting things right. Just communicate with them rather than speculating. They've been open about their plans and responsive to inquiries.

Anonymous wrote:The BASIS private school in McLean is accepting 2 year olds. I don’t think they know what they are getting into nor do they care about getting things right. It’s pathetic.

Agree. BASIS DC is the only school in its charter network that doesn't have K-4 now.

The one advantage of that, from the perspective of DC, is that some of the kinks of the program should be worked out by now.

[Anonymous]

Parent with a child with a 504 here. Basis said they would not support child's accommodations in high school.

I am not the only one - but I do not have the time to fight it. I moved my child as opposed to fighting them that they needed to support accommodations.

Do not believe the story that they are supportive of children with IEPs and 504s. BASIS is supportive of children and families that fit in the BASIS mold. They will support children if they want to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent with a child with a 504 here. Basis said they would not support child's accommodations in high school.

I am not the only one - but I do not have the time to fight it. I moved my child as opposed to fighting them that they needed to support accommodations.

Do not believe the story that they are supportive of children with IEPs and 504s. BASIS is supportive of children and families that fit in the BASIS mold. They will support children if they want to.

NP.

That sounds frustrating, although no school is required to support or continue accommodations indefinitely, particularly if they can show evidence that they are no longer needed (NOT saying this is what happened in your case). And legally parents aren't required to be included in the 504 process the way they are with IEPs, although it is a good idea to do so.

Our kid, at another DC school (not BASIS), had a 504 in MS. But mid-year of 8th grade, DC refused to use his accommodations and with no difference in grades. The new school would not agree to a 504, even though we wanted one in case HS work became too much.

Hope your child is doing well wherever they ended up.

[Anonymous]

My child is at Basis. I love Basis for my child.

That said, I don't want Basis to focus on K-4. We've got enough schools in the city that do a good job at those grades. It's a low hanging fruit that Basis wants to pick -- it would make some easy money for the company.

I would much rather them focus on why so many rising 9th graders decamp for Walls or privates instead of staying at Basis for high school. Yes, the classes are growing slowly & the high school program is good. But it could be great with more focus on the older kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment ceiling increase policy has explicit criteria on subgroup performance and exclusionary discipline. I am not sure this would apply, but can Basis meet the criteria? It seems like their high ratings stem from avoiding serving the more challenging students.

yes you are right. From the minutes that were shared in the link above:

Mr. Bumbaugh expressed concern about the school’s demographics.
Specifically, across the charter sector, 79% of students are economically
disadvantaged, but that number is only 17% at BASIS DC PCS. Across the
city, 15% of charter students have IEPs, but that number is less than 5% at
BASIS DC PCS. Across the city, 51% of charter students are at risk, but that
number is under 10% at BASIS DC PCS. Across the charter sector about 7%
of students are English Language Learners, that number is statistically zero at
BASIS DC PCS. Mr. Bumbaugh asked whether BASIS DC PCS intends to
create a clear and measurable plan to close these gaps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment ceiling increase policy has explicit criteria on subgroup performance and exclusionary discipline. I am not sure this would apply, but can Basis meet the criteria? It seems like their high ratings stem from avoiding serving the more challenging students.

yes you are right. From the minutes that were shared in the link above:

Mr. Bumbaugh expressed concern about the school’s demographics.
Specifically, across the charter sector, 79% of students are economically
disadvantaged, but that number is only 17% at BASIS DC PCS. Across the
city, 15% of charter students have IEPs, but that number is less than 5% at
BASIS DC PCS. Across the city, 51% of charter students are at risk, but that
number is under 10% at BASIS DC PCS. Across the charter sector about 7%
of students are English Language Learners, that number is statistically zero at
BASIS DC PCS. Mr. Bumbaugh asked whether BASIS DC PCS intends to
create a clear and measurable plan to close these gaps.

The quote you pulled, from the hearing re BASIS' 2016 proposal (which was withdrawn by BASIS), is actually not responsive to the PP's question.

The PCSB has stated criteria re subgroup performance, not enrollment demographics, that must be met before a ceiling can increase. The BASIS performance data is quite strong for all subgroups, compared to the city and the charter sector. It is inconceivable that if BASIS did not meet those explicit criteria its board would consider seeking this change. Whether that will be enough, time will tell.

The BASIS enrollment does not 'look like the city,' (at least as of 2017-18). But if that's a new criterion being applied to all expansions than the other HRC in the works (Washington Latin, w/2% ELL, 7% at-risk in its MS) won't be able to replicate either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment ceiling increase policy has explicit criteria on subgroup performance and exclusionary discipline. I am not sure this would apply, but can Basis meet the criteria? It seems like their high ratings stem from avoiding serving the more challenging students.

yes you are right. From the minutes that were shared in the link above:

Mr. Bumbaugh expressed concern about the school’s demographics.
Specifically, across the charter sector, 79% of students are economically
disadvantaged, but that number is only 17% at BASIS DC PCS. Across the
city, 15% of charter students have IEPs, but that number is less than 5% at
BASIS DC PCS. Across the city, 51% of charter students are at risk, but that
number is under 10% at BASIS DC PCS. Across the charter sector about 7%
of students are English Language Learners, that number is statistically zero at
BASIS DC PCS. Mr. Bumbaugh asked whether BASIS DC PCS intends to
create a clear and measurable plan to close these gaps.

The quote you pulled, from the hearing re BASIS' 2016 proposal (which was withdrawn by BASIS), is actually not responsive to the PP's question.

The PCSB has stated criteria re subgroup performance, not enrollment demographics, that must be met before a ceiling can increase. The BASIS performance data is quite strong for all subgroups, compared to the city and the charter sector. It is inconceivable that if BASIS did not meet those explicit criteria its board would consider seeking this change. Whether that will be enough, time will tell.

The BASIS enrollment does not 'look like the city,' (at least as of 2017-18). But if that's a new criterion being applied to all expansions than the other HRC in the works (Washington Latin, w/2% ELL, 7% at-risk in its MS) won't be able to replicate either.

I don't think they need to "look like the city" but I think it's fair to ask, when a school has a really low proportion of at-risk kids, if that is one of the reasons for its seemingly high performance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, charging for a summer program, ew. So the wealthy classmates get to do something together while the poorer ones fall further behind?

What charter middle or high school offers a free summer program?

Latin

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment ceiling increase policy has explicit criteria on subgroup performance and exclusionary discipline. I am not sure this would apply, but can Basis meet the criteria? It seems like their high ratings stem from avoiding serving the more challenging students.

yes you are right. From the minutes that were shared in the link above:

Mr. Bumbaugh expressed concern about the school’s demographics.
Specifically, across the charter sector, 79% of students are economically
disadvantaged, but that number is only 17% at BASIS DC PCS. Across the
city, 15% of charter students have IEPs, but that number is less than 5% at
BASIS DC PCS. Across the city, 51% of charter students are at risk, but that
number is under 10% at BASIS DC PCS. Across the charter sector about 7%
of students are English Language Learners, that number is statistically zero at
BASIS DC PCS. Mr. Bumbaugh asked whether BASIS DC PCS intends to
create a clear and measurable plan to close these gaps.

The quote you pulled, from the hearing re BASIS' 2016 proposal (which was withdrawn by BASIS), is actually not responsive to the PP's question.

The PCSB has stated criteria re subgroup performance, not enrollment demographics, that must be met before a ceiling can increase. The BASIS performance data is quite strong for all subgroups, compared to the city and the charter sector. It is inconceivable that if BASIS did not meet those explicit criteria its board would consider seeking this change. Whether that will be enough, time will tell.

The BASIS enrollment does not 'look like the city,' (at least as of 2017-18). But if that's a new criterion being applied to all expansions than the other HRC in the works (Washington Latin, w/2% ELL, 7% at-risk in its MS) won't be able to replicate either.

Latin is opening a second campus.

[Anonymous]

Awesome news re Latin.

When did the PCSB approve an enrollment ceiling increase for Latin? Link? I would love to find see the new enrollment matrix.