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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes if either of 2 things happen: 1) the expansion spreads the school thin for awhile (administration focused on staffing and building out new school to detriment of current school) leading to a bloom is off the rose effect where families hear negative things and choose to stay in their current elementary school feeder pattern because more classmates are etc.; or 2) the elementary school kids take spaces at the middle school leading to fewer open spaces available in lottery (but that is a very long-term effect because new elementary schools typically dont open K-4 day 1). This was all addressed above.

Funniest post today! Perish the thought, BASIS being spoken of negatively on DCUM. Can you imagine.

[Anonymous]

Right now, mortgage rates are pretty high and inventory rather low. While everyone is different and lots of families moved away the past few pandemic years, I predict fewer families on average end up moving away this summer purely for school reasons. They will instead rationalize that they can always move later. Will it mean some degree of influx both at Basis and the neighborhood middle schools? I do not know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right now, mortgage rates are pretty high and inventory rather low. While everyone is different and lots of families moved away the past few pandemic years, I predict fewer families on average end up moving away this summer purely for school reasons. They will instead rationalize that they can always move later. Will it mean some degree of influx both at Basis and the neighborhood middle schools? I do not know.

No one is moving now as a consequence of a PCSB application for a K-4 school that won't open until 2024-5 and will fill a few grades at a time. Even in best case, the rising 5th graders won't hit until 2030 or so. There are people who haven't even met their spouse yet who will have to make these decision.

[Anonymous]

Link?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I skipped through the Basis debates. Any more perspectives on what this means for Capitol Hill? We are in Watkins and have been interested to see more and more neighbors heading to Stuart Hobson (the enrollment data that someone posted in another thread backs this up). Given the number of Cap Hill kids that head to Basis for middle school, Basis adding a primary school seems like it would reduce middle school slots for Cap Hill kids and drive them to SH or Eliot Hine, right? SH in particular seems to be becoming a viable option quickly and I’ve heard Maury parents are increasingly sending to EH. Seems like this move by Basis will only help Cap Hill schools improve, yes? Am I understanding this correctly?

I don't think so? Most of the families I know that chose BASIS would never have sent their kids to SH or EH. The families I know that would have considered SH or EH all tried to get into Latin. BASIS is totally different from an IB middle school, and if you want that type of experience, you will be extremely unhappy at BASIS, no matter what grade you start at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I skipped through the Basis debates. Any more perspectives on what this means for Capitol Hill? We are in Watkins and have been interested to see more and more neighbors heading to Stuart Hobson (the enrollment data that someone posted in another thread backs this up). Given the number of Cap Hill kids that head to Basis for middle school, Basis adding a primary school seems like it would reduce middle school slots for Cap Hill kids and drive them to SH or Eliot Hine, right? SH in particular seems to be becoming a viable option quickly and I’ve heard Maury parents are increasingly sending to EH. Seems like this move by Basis will only help Cap Hill schools improve, yes? Am I understanding this correctly?

I don't think so? Most of the families I know that chose BASIS would never have sent their kids to SH or EH. The families I know that would have considered SH or EH all tried to get into Latin. BASIS is totally different from an IB middle school, and if you want that type of experience, you will be extremely unhappy at BASIS, no matter what grade you start at.

This isn’t true in my experience. Loads of kids off to SH from my kids’ ES tried for Latin & Basis, struck out and decide to give SH a chance. If Basis becomes harder to get into, more people will be in that position.

[Anonymous]

Latin and Basis are so wildly different that I'm not understanding how parents could think both schools could be a great fit for their kid.

[Anonymous]

BASIS has confirmed the plan to expand from K to 4th:

"BASIS DC has experienced significant academic and social growth in the decade since its inception, bolstering our confidence in this expansion.

We have always been committed to serving students in grades K-12. In fact, BASIS DC is the only BASIS campus without a K-4 feeder campus, and it is time we bridged this gap. The last time we applied for charter expansion, one of the fundamental impediments was access to appropriate facilities. The current financial climate and the availability of commercial real estate have created an opportune moment for us to extend our enriching curriculum to younger learners.

An expanded campus(es) would leverage economies of scale, enhancing resources and outcomes for all members of the BASIS DC community. Opening doors of possibility aligned to feedback from current parents, such as access to outdoor/athletic space, enrollment options for siblings, a more consistent ‘BASIS’ culture within the school, and even the chance for more middle school and high school seats for students.

Moreover, BASIS DC has consistently achieved its growth targets, particularly in increasing our Special Education enrollment and reducing student attrition. Our latest PARCC scores post-COVID have underscored BASIS DC's exceptional performance, surpassing citywide outcomes across all student demographics."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS has confirmed the plan to expand from K to 4th:

"BASIS DC has experienced significant academic and social growth in the decade since its inception, bolstering our confidence in this expansion.

We have always been committed to serving students in grades K-12. In fact, BASIS DC is the only BASIS campus without a K-4 feeder campus, and it is time we bridged this gap. The last time we applied for charter expansion, one of the fundamental impediments was access to appropriate facilities. The current financial climate and the availability of commercial real estate have created an opportune moment for us to extend our enriching curriculum to younger learners.

An expanded campus(es) would leverage economies of scale, enhancing resources and outcomes for all members of the BASIS DC community. Opening doors of possibility aligned to feedback from current parents, such as access to outdoor/athletic space, enrollment options for siblings, a more consistent ‘BASIS’ culture within the school, and even the chance for more middle school and high school seats for students.

Moreover, BASIS DC has consistently achieved its growth targets, particularly in increasing our Special Education enrollment and reducing student attrition. Our latest PARCC scores post-COVID have underscored BASIS DC's exceptional performance, surpassing citywide outcomes across all student demographics."

Great news! More options are always good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS has confirmed the plan to expand from K to 4th:

"BASIS DC has experienced significant academic and social growth in the decade since its inception, bolstering our confidence in this expansion.

We have always been committed to serving students in grades K-12. In fact, BASIS DC is the only BASIS campus without a K-4 feeder campus, and it is time we bridged this gap. The last time we applied for charter expansion, one of the fundamental impediments was access to appropriate facilities. The current financial climate and the availability of commercial real estate have created an opportune moment for us to extend our enriching curriculum to younger learners.

An expanded campus(es) would leverage economies of scale, enhancing resources and outcomes for all members of the BASIS DC community. Opening doors of possibility aligned to feedback from current parents, such as access to outdoor/athletic space, enrollment options for siblings, a more consistent ‘BASIS’ culture within the school, and even the chance for more middle school and high school seats for students.

Moreover, BASIS DC has consistently achieved its growth targets, particularly in increasing our Special Education enrollment and reducing student attrition. Our latest PARCC scores post-COVID have underscored BASIS DC's exceptional performance, surpassing citywide outcomes across all student demographics."

Expected to open in fall of 2025.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I skipped through the Basis debates. Any more perspectives on what this means for Capitol Hill? We are in Watkins and have been interested to see more and more neighbors heading to Stuart Hobson (the enrollment data that someone posted in another thread backs this up). Given the number of Cap Hill kids that head to Basis for middle school, Basis adding a primary school seems like it would reduce middle school slots for Cap Hill kids and drive them to SH or Eliot Hine, right? SH in particular seems to be becoming a viable option quickly and I’ve heard Maury parents are increasingly sending to EH. Seems like this move by Basis will only help Cap Hill schools improve, yes? Am I understanding this correctly?

This is likely bad news for Watkins and neutral news for SH. People will lottery out of Watkins for BASIS for the guaranteed middle/high school path.

Also BASIS has stated that they intend to make sure there is a path to BASIS in 5th. It's possible they would, for example, just have a couple classes.

SH will struggle until Eastern gets its act together, which will probably happen never, due to charter schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I skipped through the Basis debates. Any more perspectives on what this means for Capitol Hill? We are in Watkins and have been interested to see more and more neighbors heading to Stuart Hobson (the enrollment data that someone posted in another thread backs this up). Given the number of Cap Hill kids that head to Basis for middle school, Basis adding a primary school seems like it would reduce middle school slots for Cap Hill kids and drive them to SH or Eliot Hine, right? SH in particular seems to be becoming a viable option quickly and I’ve heard Maury parents are increasingly sending to EH. Seems like this move by Basis will only help Cap Hill schools improve, yes? Am I understanding this correctly?

This is likely bad news for Watkins and neutral news for SH. People will lottery out of Watkins for BASIS for the guaranteed middle/high school path.

Also BASIS has stated that they intend to make sure there is a path to BASIS in 5th. It's possible they would, for example, just have a couple classes.

SH will struggle until Eastern gets its act together, which will probably happen never, due to charter schools.

Yes, due to charter schools. That’s the only reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I skipped through the Basis debates. Any more perspectives on what this means for Capitol Hill? We are in Watkins and have been interested to see more and more neighbors heading to Stuart Hobson (the enrollment data that someone posted in another thread backs this up). Given the number of Cap Hill kids that head to Basis for middle school, Basis adding a primary school seems like it would reduce middle school slots for Cap Hill kids and drive them to SH or Eliot Hine, right? SH in particular seems to be becoming a viable option quickly and I’ve heard Maury parents are increasingly sending to EH. Seems like this move by Basis will only help Cap Hill schools improve, yes? Am I understanding this correctly?

This is likely bad news for Watkins and neutral news for SH. People will lottery out of Watkins for BASIS for the guaranteed middle/high school path.

Also BASIS has stated that they intend to make sure there is a path to BASIS in 5th. It's possible they would, for example, just have a couple classes.

SH will struggle until Eastern gets its act together, which will probably happen never, due to charter schools.

Yes, due to charter schools. That’s the only reason.

It's obviously not the only reason, but it's a big impediment. Our kids go to BASIS. If we didn't have so many charter options, we might have tried SH. Same with elementary. If we didn't lottery into a charter (that we entered on a whim), we would have gone to Peabody, and probably would have ended up at Watkins, and probably would have stayed. You get enough of that, and suddenly the schools are majority UMC and therefore "good" schools.

[Anonymous]

The reason my kids are at BASIS and not SH is because SH does not offer adequate tracking across subjects, plus the lack of a high school path.

And the primary reason my kids will stay at BASIS and not attend Walls is because Walls does not offer strong enough academics (my kid got in but did not want to repeat Algebra II or a variety of science classes, among others).

If DCPS offered genuine tracking and a truly accelerated curriculum at an actual test-in magnet school, we'd have likely stayed in DCPS for middle school and high school respectively.

This is not a matter of "charter school drain." Rather, it's a failure of DCPS to serve its most advanced students, particularly in upper levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Latin and Basis are so wildly different that I'm not understanding how parents could think both schools could be a great fit for their kid.

Come on, most parents who enroll don't think these schools are a "great fit" for their kids. BASIS has crappy facilities and high teacher turnover and Latin's facilities aren't great. Neither school has the dough to offer first-rate extra curriculars/enrichment, especially for 5th graders. Neither school tracks for humanities subjects in middle school, other than Latin for kids who start Latin after 5th grade.

Kids go to Latin and BASIS not so much because either is a "great fit," but because middle-class Hill families East of Rock Creek lack viable middle school options. Plenty of BASIS families would have sent their children to the original Latin if they could have. It works the other way, too, but not to the same extent.