BASIS: PCSB staff recommends conditional continuance due to SWD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^PP, if you have a very smart kid with an IEP who you think would do well at BASIS then don’t be scared off by the angry comments in this thread, especially if your child seems academically motivated. Please keep in mind that accusations come from non-BASIS parents.

- Signed current BASIS mom of a smart kid with HFA who’s doing well at BASIS

The accusations speak for themselves - from the Charter Board and federal government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The accusations speak for themselves - from the Charter Board and federal government.

Out of curiosity, do you find it problematic that BASIS' niche is bright, motivated kids? If you look beyond special needs, is it a problem for any public charter to be aimed at kids who are Honors/AP track kids and not inclusive of a full range of academic abilities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The accusations speak for themselves - from the Charter Board and federal government.

Out of curiosity, do you find it problematic that BASIS' niche is bright, motivated kids? If you look beyond special needs, is it a problem for any public charter to be aimed at kids who are Honors/AP track kids and not inclusive of a full range of academic abilities?

Kids with special needs can be bright and motivated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The accusations speak for themselves - from the Charter Board and federal government.

Out of curiosity, do you find it problematic that BASIS' niche is bright, motivated kids? If you look beyond special needs, is it a problem for any public charter to be aimed at kids who are Honors/AP track kids and not inclusive of a full range of academic abilities?

Kids with special needs can be bright and motivated.

Well, of course. Bright, motivated kids with and without SN do well at BASIS. Kids with and without SN who are not bright enough or not motivated enough don't do particularly well at BASIS. Does the PP view it as problematic that BASIS is aimed only at bright, motivated kids and not at all kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^PP, if you have a very smart kid with an IEP who you think would do well at BASIS then don’t be scared off by the angry comments in this thread, especially if your child seems academically motivated. Please keep in mind that accusations come from non-BASIS parents.

- Signed current BASIS mom of a smart kid with HFA who’s doing well at BASIS

The accusations speak for themselves - from the Charter Board and federal government.

Neither of them said that BASIS can’t support special needs kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The accusations speak for themselves - from the Charter Board and federal government.

Neither of them said that BASIS can’t support special needs kids.

Yep. BASIS does quite well with bright, motivated SN kids. That's why I was wondering whether PP's vehement objection to BASIS is that it only provides advanced classes and not remedial ones.

I also wonder what PP thinks about conflicting SN? My DD with ADHD is served well at BASIS. She can't function in classes that are too slow or where the teacher gives the smart kids independent work/ignores them while tending to the kids below grade level. She just tunes out. She also can't function in classes with kids who have severe behavioral issues, since it greatly impacts her focus. So, whose rights are more important? The intellectually disabled kid who will need the lion's share of the teacher's attention and slow down the class for everyone else? The ED kid who will behave very disruptively and make it difficult for the other kids to focus? Or the ADHD kid who will be incapable of learning if either of the other two kids are in her classroom?

[Anonymous]

These replies only address a small select group of parents with SWD at Basis. Frankly, there should be a broader discussion open to more families and personal experiences. Basis does not cater to all intellectually advanced kids with disabilities in the least. Certainly isnt our experience there.
They do not meet all 504 accommodations either. They are a public school and must comply and be open to admittance for all. They are not. They need to improve a lot here. Hope they do.
FWIW, most if not all behavior problem students this school year were in the majority of the general education pool of kids. Previous case history very publicized- not good. "If you know better, you do better." BASIS needs to step up their game for sure.

[Anonymous]

Why do they need to step up their game? The franchise isn't seeking to expand to a bigger building or second campus in this city and isn't at risk of having their DC charter revoked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These replies only address a small select group of parents with SWD at Basis. Frankly, there should be a broader discussion open to more families and personal experiences. Basis does not cater to all intellectually advanced kids with disabilities in the least. Certainly isnt our experience there.
They do not meet all 504 accommodations either. They are a public school and must comply and be open to admittance for all. They are not. They need to improve a lot here. Hope they do.
FWIW, most if not all behavior problem students this school year were in the majority of the general education pool of kids. Previous case history very publicized- not good. "If you know better, you do better." BASIS needs to step up their game for sure.

What public/public charter school does a really good job with 504s? Middle or high school examples, please. Because I know a lot that don’t and would like a good example as a comparison. Not what a school SHOULD do but a school doing it right now.

[Anonymous]

i havent read the report and i am not an expert on this. charter schools are approved in 15-year intervals. basis is at 10 years right now. basis is not entirely beloved in educator circles. it has some reputation for siphoning off the high-achieving students. it uses an attrition model as a substitute for an application model. but my impression is basis is not just pushing out a couple of highly disruptive students here and there. for everyone that succeeds, i worry that there are also some perfectly nice and well-meaning kids who do not thrive at basis, quietly leave basis, and in the process may suffer a real, relatively long-term loss of confidence in their academic abilities.

i always previously assumed basis charter would likely exist in dc in perpetuity. but non-compliance with federal disability laws is a big deal. i am wondering if the charter board might actually be willing to suspend their charter at the 15-year mark. i personally think advanced cohorts at the dcps middle schools and/or charter application schools would both be better options than a high-performing but also very high-attrition charter school. as noted above, i worry about the kids on the attrition side of the equation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i havent read the report and i am not an expert on this. charter schools are approved in 15-year intervals. basis is at 10 years right now. basis is not entirely beloved in educator circles. it has some reputation for siphoning off the high-achieving students. it uses an attrition model as a substitute for an application model. but my impression is basis is not just pushing out a couple of highly disruptive students here and there. for everyone that succeeds, i worry that there are also some perfectly nice and well-meaning kids who do not thrive at basis, quietly leave basis, and in the process may suffer a real, relatively long-term loss of confidence in their academic abilities.

i always previously assumed basis charter would likely exist in dc in perpetuity. but non-compliance with federal disability laws is a big deal. i am wondering if the charter board might actually be willing to suspend their charter at the 15-year mark. i personally think advanced cohorts at the dcps middle schools and/or charter application schools would both be better options than a high-performing but also very high-attrition charter school. as noted above, i worry about the kids on the attrition side of the equation.

I worry about that too, which is why DC should establish a crop of test-in middle schools. Some folks won't like the "optics" of that, but it would be much more humane than the sink, swim, discard model at BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Well, in 2016 they applied to form two new elementary school campuses and then withdrew the application, I think to avoid being rejected. They're not pursuing an expansion right now, but they did at one time want it. And they definitely don't want to be constantly publicly scolded and saddled with extra reporting, which the PCSB can do if it wants to.

https://dcpcsb.org/notice-petition-amend-charter-grade-level-expansion-basis-dc-pcs-0

http://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/BASIS-DC-Notice-of-Withdrawal-of-Application.pdf

[Anonymous]

They put up a posting seeking a special education teacher yesterday https://jobs.basiscurriculumschools.com/special-education-teacher-2-000-sign-on-bonus/job/18269415

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They put up a posting seeking a special education teacher yesterday https://jobs.basiscurriculumschools.com/special-education-teacher-2-000-sign-on-bonus/job/18269415

That’s interesting to see, as I have an ASD kid at BASIS.

I haven’t been informed of any departures, so hopefully they’re just staffing up.