Basis fills a gap that shouldn’t exist.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Isn’t it obvious? Because they can’t choose and pick who they get and are unwilling to do the work all other schools do to help integrate and support new kids.

It is very easy to have better numbers when you weed out low performers and refuse to roll the dice in taking new students. Basis is doing nothing special and no really heavy lifting at all.

There’s no real debate at this point: BASIS doesn’t backfill. But what’s often missed in these discussions is just how structurally dependent the school’s academic model is on that fact. If BASIS did backfill, it likely couldn’t deliver the program it’s known for—or at least not in the way families currently experience it.

Backfilling is manageable at most schools because it doesn’t fundamentally alter what those schools are offering in the first place. The academic pace and expectations are often modest, and the gaps between entering and existing students, while real, don’t dramatically shift classroom dynamics or outcomes. In some cases, schools aren’t doing much to bring backfilled students up to speed, but because the bar is already low or inconsistent, the disruption is minimal.

At BASIS, it’s different. The curriculum is aggressive, the pace is rapid, and the cohort model is central. Students who enter in later grades without prior exposure to the system are far more likely to struggle—not because they lack ability, but because they’re uninitiated. The burden on teachers to differentiate skyrockets. The pressure on classroom cohesion intensifies. And the students who’ve been there all along suddenly find their academic environment altered in ways that feel material. If BASIS were required to backfill meaningfully and regularly, it simply wouldn’t be BASIS anymore—at least not in the form that draws families to it.

And that, really, is the underlying policy dilemma. The question isn’t just should BASIS be forced to backfill? The more fundamental question is: should schools like BASIS be allowed to exist at all within public systems, on the public dime (?). Because demanding full backfilling from BASIS is effectively asking it to become a different kind of school—more comprehensive, more catch-all, less specialized.

There are reasonable people on both sides of that debate. But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what the tradeoffs actually are. The stakes aren’t limited to one admissions policy—they go to the heart of what kind of public education ecosystem a city like D.C. wants to have.

I would argue that the underlying problem is that Basis doesn’t offer a comprehensive, flexible curriculum or the support.

They could take kids and support and integrate them. If kids are unable to do the work, they get held back like they do when they take new 5th graders and all thru middle school.

It’s not hard.

Actually, they do do that.

Typical DCUM pontificating by people that know nothing about that school.

They seriously have dedicated office hours that students can sign up for — and many students avail themselves of it, especially in math. What other “supports” or “flexibility” do folks want?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Isn’t it obvious? Because they can’t choose and pick who they get and are unwilling to do the work all other schools do to help integrate and support new kids.

It is very easy to have better numbers when you weed out low performers and refuse to roll the dice in taking new students. Basis is doing nothing special and no really heavy lifting at all.

There’s no real debate at this point: BASIS doesn’t backfill. But what’s often missed in these discussions is just how structurally dependent the school’s academic model is on that fact. If BASIS did backfill, it likely couldn’t deliver the program it’s known for—or at least not in the way families currently experience it.

Backfilling is manageable at most schools because it doesn’t fundamentally alter what those schools are offering in the first place. The academic pace and expectations are often modest, and the gaps between entering and existing students, while real, don’t dramatically shift classroom dynamics or outcomes. In some cases, schools aren’t doing much to bring backfilled students up to speed, but because the bar is already low or inconsistent, the disruption is minimal.

At BASIS, it’s different. The curriculum is aggressive, the pace is rapid, and the cohort model is central. Students who enter in later grades without prior exposure to the system are far more likely to struggle—not because they lack ability, but because they’re uninitiated. The burden on teachers to differentiate skyrockets. The pressure on classroom cohesion intensifies. And the students who’ve been there all along suddenly find their academic environment altered in ways that feel material. If BASIS were required to backfill meaningfully and regularly, it simply wouldn’t be BASIS anymore—at least not in the form that draws families to it.

And that, really, is the underlying policy dilemma. The question isn’t just should BASIS be forced to backfill? The more fundamental question is: should schools like BASIS be allowed to exist at all within public systems, on the public dime (?). Because demanding full backfilling from BASIS is effectively asking it to become a different kind of school—more comprehensive, more catch-all, less specialized.

There are reasonable people on both sides of that debate. But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what the tradeoffs actually are. The stakes aren’t limited to one admissions policy—they go to the heart of what kind of public education ecosystem a city like D.C. wants to have.

I would argue that the underlying problem is that Basis doesn’t offer a comprehensive, flexible curriculum or the support.

They could take kids and support and integrate them. If kids are unable to do the work, they get held back like they do when they take new 5th graders and all thru middle school.

It’s not hard.

Oh yes - it would be quite hard to integrate them absent an admissions exam which is not (and would never be) allowed.

And robust supports and remediation just isn’t a Basis thing as it pulls from their already lean operation.

Of course, many/most DC middle schools are remedial in the main and see their primary mission as closing achievement gaps —- that just isn’t the Basis MO, nor should it be.

Then again, we the tax payers aren’t obligated to fund a niche school like Basis. Either let Basis be Basis or yank its charter. There isn’t a credible middle ground here.

Again, you don’t need an admission exam. Test the kids when they start. It is not rocket science.

At least you agree that Basis does not offer support.

BTW it’s not a lean operation. Data is public and it’s a for profit and lots money going elsewhere. Just do a search.

BASIS DC is nonprofit. And go read the BASIS charter instead of spouting nonsense.

+1. Just exhausting dealing with people that just regurgitate the same tired old banalities.

No, not really. Basis is run by Basis Ed which is a for profit based in AZ. Money flows there.

https://basised.com/dc/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Isn’t it obvious? Because they can’t choose and pick who they get and are unwilling to do the work all other schools do to help integrate and support new kids.

It is very easy to have better numbers when you weed out low performers and refuse to roll the dice in taking new students. Basis is doing nothing special and no really heavy lifting at all.

There’s no real debate at this point: BASIS doesn’t backfill. But what’s often missed in these discussions is just how structurally dependent the school’s academic model is on that fact. If BASIS did backfill, it likely couldn’t deliver the program it’s known for—or at least not in the way families currently experience it.

Backfilling is manageable at most schools because it doesn’t fundamentally alter what those schools are offering in the first place. The academic pace and expectations are often modest, and the gaps between entering and existing students, while real, don’t dramatically shift classroom dynamics or outcomes. In some cases, schools aren’t doing much to bring backfilled students up to speed, but because the bar is already low or inconsistent, the disruption is minimal.

At BASIS, it’s different. The curriculum is aggressive, the pace is rapid, and the cohort model is central. Students who enter in later grades without prior exposure to the system are far more likely to struggle—not because they lack ability, but because they’re uninitiated. The burden on teachers to differentiate skyrockets. The pressure on classroom cohesion intensifies. And the students who’ve been there all along suddenly find their academic environment altered in ways that feel material. If BASIS were required to backfill meaningfully and regularly, it simply wouldn’t be BASIS anymore—at least not in the form that draws families to it.

And that, really, is the underlying policy dilemma. The question isn’t just should BASIS be forced to backfill? The more fundamental question is: should schools like BASIS be allowed to exist at all within public systems, on the public dime (?). Because demanding full backfilling from BASIS is effectively asking it to become a different kind of school—more comprehensive, more catch-all, less specialized.

There are reasonable people on both sides of that debate. But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what the tradeoffs actually are. The stakes aren’t limited to one admissions policy—they go to the heart of what kind of public education ecosystem a city like D.C. wants to have.

I would argue that the underlying problem is that Basis doesn’t offer a comprehensive, flexible curriculum or the support.

They could take kids and support and integrate them. If kids are unable to do the work, they get held back like they do when they take new 5th graders and all thru middle school.

It’s not hard.

Oh yes - it would be quite hard to integrate them absent an admissions exam which is not (and would never be) allowed.

And robust supports and remediation just isn’t a Basis thing as it pulls from their already lean operation.

Of course, many/most DC middle schools are remedial in the main and see their primary mission as closing achievement gaps —- that just isn’t the Basis MO, nor should it be.

Then again, we the tax payers aren’t obligated to fund a niche school like Basis. Either let Basis be Basis or yank its charter. There isn’t a credible middle ground here.

Again, you don’t need an admission exam. Test the kids when they start. It is not rocket science.

At least you agree that Basis does not offer support.

BTW it’s not a lean operation. Data is public and it’s a for profit and lots money going elsewhere. Just do a search.

BASIS DC is nonprofit. And go read the BASIS charter instead of spouting nonsense.

+1. Just exhausting dealing with people that just regurgitate the same tired old banalities.

No, not really. Basis is run by Basis Ed which is a for profit based in AZ. Money flows there.

https://basised.com/dc/

That wasn’t what you said, and you don’t seem to understand how the system works.

All the Basis charter schools are nonprofit.

Basis.ed, which is for-profit but makes relatively little profit, only provides support for the Basis schools. If it didn't exist, money would just go to other for-profit entities, which wouldn't necessarily understand the Basis system and provide the most effective and efficient support.

The model works great, which is why Basis has 11 of the 100 top public schools in the United States: https://enrollbasis.com/2025-us-news-rankings/.

For comparison, let’s look at a nonprofit charter network such as KIPP.

KIPP is nonprofit but relies heavily on lots of for-profit entities for their schools. So, plenty of public money flows to those for-profit entities.

KIPP also has a lot of terrible schools in DC. In fact, at every KIPP school in DC 80-95 percent of the kids are BELOW grade level in reading and math, and many are illiterate and innumerate. Yet KIPP takes over $200 million in money each year from DC taxpayers to educate these kids. And, in spite of of this lackluster track record, the CEO of KIPP makes around $800,000 a year in salary and benefits.

This whole fake criticism about Basis being “for profit” is just dumb. We should be pushing PCSB to encourage other charters to follow the BASIS model, by the far the most successful one in the whole country.

[Anonymous]

the people who founded basis have become very wealthy in a way that is not true of anyone who works in the non-charter public school system. is that bad, maybe not. but its a discussion point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Isn’t it obvious? Because they can’t choose and pick who they get and are unwilling to do the work all other schools do to help integrate and support new kids.

It is very easy to have better numbers when you weed out low performers and refuse to roll the dice in taking new students. Basis is doing nothing special and no really heavy lifting at all.

There’s no real debate at this point: BASIS doesn’t backfill. But what’s often missed in these discussions is just how structurally dependent the school’s academic model is on that fact. If BASIS did backfill, it likely couldn’t deliver the program it’s known for—or at least not in the way families currently experience it.

Backfilling is manageable at most schools because it doesn’t fundamentally alter what those schools are offering in the first place. The academic pace and expectations are often modest, and the gaps between entering and existing students, while real, don’t dramatically shift classroom dynamics or outcomes. In some cases, schools aren’t doing much to bring backfilled students up to speed, but because the bar is already low or inconsistent, the disruption is minimal.

At BASIS, it’s different. The curriculum is aggressive, the pace is rapid, and the cohort model is central. Students who enter in later grades without prior exposure to the system are far more likely to struggle—not because they lack ability, but because they’re uninitiated. The burden on teachers to differentiate skyrockets. The pressure on classroom cohesion intensifies. And the students who’ve been there all along suddenly find their academic environment altered in ways that feel material. If BASIS were required to backfill meaningfully and regularly, it simply wouldn’t be BASIS anymore—at least not in the form that draws families to it.

And that, really, is the underlying policy dilemma. The question isn’t just should BASIS be forced to backfill? The more fundamental question is: should schools like BASIS be allowed to exist at all within public systems, on the public dime (?). Because demanding full backfilling from BASIS is effectively asking it to become a different kind of school—more comprehensive, more catch-all, less specialized.

There are reasonable people on both sides of that debate. But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what the tradeoffs actually are. The stakes aren’t limited to one admissions policy—they go to the heart of what kind of public education ecosystem a city like D.C. wants to have.

I would argue that the underlying problem is that Basis doesn’t offer a comprehensive, flexible curriculum or the support.

They could take kids and support and integrate them. If kids are unable to do the work, they get held back like they do when they take new 5th graders and all thru middle school.

It’s not hard.

Oh yes - it would be quite hard to integrate them absent an admissions exam which is not (and would never be) allowed.

And robust supports and remediation just isn’t a Basis thing as it pulls from their already lean operation.

Of course, many/most DC middle schools are remedial in the main and see their primary mission as closing achievement gaps —- that just isn’t the Basis MO, nor should it be.

Then again, we the tax payers aren’t obligated to fund a niche school like Basis. Either let Basis be Basis or yank its charter. There isn’t a credible middle ground here.

Again, you don’t need an admission exam. Test the kids when they start. It is not rocket science.

At least you agree that Basis does not offer support.

BTW it’s not a lean operation. Data is public and it’s a for profit and lots money going elsewhere. Just do a search.

BASIS DC is nonprofit. And go read the BASIS charter instead of spouting nonsense.

+1. Just exhausting dealing with people that just regurgitate the same tired old banalities.

No, not really. Basis is run by Basis Ed which is a for profit based in AZ. Money flows there.

https://basised.com/dc/

That wasn’t what you said, and you don’t seem to understand how the system works.

All the Basis charter schools are nonprofit.

Basis.ed, which is for-profit but makes relatively little profit, only provides support for the Basis schools. If it didn't exist, money would just go to other for-profit entities, which wouldn't necessarily understand the Basis system and provide the most effective and efficient support.

The model works great, which is why Basis has 11 of the 100 top public schools in the United States: https://enrollbasis.com/2025-us-news-rankings/.

For comparison, let’s look at a nonprofit charter network such as KIPP.

KIPP is nonprofit but relies heavily on lots of for-profit entities for their schools. So, plenty of public money flows to those for-profit entities.

KIPP also has a lot of terrible schools in DC. In fact, at every KIPP school in DC 80-95 percent of the kids are BELOW grade level in reading and math, and many are illiterate and innumerate. Yet KIPP takes over $200 million in money each year from DC taxpayers to educate these kids. And, in spite of of this lackluster track record, the CEO of KIPP makes around $800,000 a year in salary and benefits.

This whole fake criticism about Basis being “for profit” is just dumb. We should be pushing PCSB to encourage other charters to follow the BASIS model, by the far the most successful one in the whole country.

Oh please. Basis Ed is running all the Basis schools.

“ BASIS Ed is responsible for the curriculum, assessments, and training processes”. The HOS is not dictating the curriculum, testing or what not. He is hired to be a figurehead for them.

The school says they are non-profit and lots of money goes to Basis Ed.

Say what you will but AZ is running the show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Isn’t it obvious? Because they can’t choose and pick who they get and are unwilling to do the work all other schools do to help integrate and support new kids.

It is very easy to have better numbers when you weed out low performers and refuse to roll the dice in taking new students. Basis is doing nothing special and no really heavy lifting at all.

There’s no real debate at this point: BASIS doesn’t backfill. But what’s often missed in these discussions is just how structurally dependent the school’s academic model is on that fact. If BASIS did backfill, it likely couldn’t deliver the program it’s known for—or at least not in the way families currently experience it.

Backfilling is manageable at most schools because it doesn’t fundamentally alter what those schools are offering in the first place. The academic pace and expectations are often modest, and the gaps between entering and existing students, while real, don’t dramatically shift classroom dynamics or outcomes. In some cases, schools aren’t doing much to bring backfilled students up to speed, but because the bar is already low or inconsistent, the disruption is minimal.

At BASIS, it’s different. The curriculum is aggressive, the pace is rapid, and the cohort model is central. Students who enter in later grades without prior exposure to the system are far more likely to struggle—not because they lack ability, but because they’re uninitiated. The burden on teachers to differentiate skyrockets. The pressure on classroom cohesion intensifies. And the students who’ve been there all along suddenly find their academic environment altered in ways that feel material. If BASIS were required to backfill meaningfully and regularly, it simply wouldn’t be BASIS anymore—at least not in the form that draws families to it.

And that, really, is the underlying policy dilemma. The question isn’t just should BASIS be forced to backfill? The more fundamental question is: should schools like BASIS be allowed to exist at all within public systems, on the public dime (?). Because demanding full backfilling from BASIS is effectively asking it to become a different kind of school—more comprehensive, more catch-all, less specialized.

There are reasonable people on both sides of that debate. But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what the tradeoffs actually are. The stakes aren’t limited to one admissions policy—they go to the heart of what kind of public education ecosystem a city like D.C. wants to have.

I would argue that the underlying problem is that Basis doesn’t offer a comprehensive, flexible curriculum or the support.

They could take kids and support and integrate them. If kids are unable to do the work, they get held back like they do when they take new 5th graders and all thru middle school.

It’s not hard.

Oh yes - it would be quite hard to integrate them absent an admissions exam which is not (and would never be) allowed.

And robust supports and remediation just isn’t a Basis thing as it pulls from their already lean operation.

Of course, many/most DC middle schools are remedial in the main and see their primary mission as closing achievement gaps —- that just isn’t the Basis MO, nor should it be.

Then again, we the tax payers aren’t obligated to fund a niche school like Basis. Either let Basis be Basis or yank its charter. There isn’t a credible middle ground here.

Again, you don’t need an admission exam. Test the kids when they start. It is not rocket science.

At least you agree that Basis does not offer support.

BTW it’s not a lean operation. Data is public and it’s a for profit and lots money going elsewhere. Just do a search.

BASIS DC is nonprofit. And go read the BASIS charter instead of spouting nonsense.

+1. Just exhausting dealing with people that just regurgitate the same tired old banalities.

No, not really. Basis is run by Basis Ed which is a for profit based in AZ. Money flows there.

https://basised.com/dc/

That wasn’t what you said, and you don’t seem to understand how the system works.

All the Basis charter schools are nonprofit.

Basis.ed, which is for-profit but makes relatively little profit, only provides support for the Basis schools. If it didn't exist, money would just go to other for-profit entities, which wouldn't necessarily understand the Basis system and provide the most effective and efficient support.

The model works great, which is why Basis has 11 of the 100 top public schools in the United States: https://enrollbasis.com/2025-us-news-rankings/.

For comparison, let’s look at a nonprofit charter network such as KIPP.

KIPP is nonprofit but relies heavily on lots of for-profit entities for their schools. So, plenty of public money flows to those for-profit entities.

KIPP also has a lot of terrible schools in DC. In fact, at every KIPP school in DC 80-95 percent of the kids are BELOW grade level in reading and math, and many are illiterate and innumerate. Yet KIPP takes over $200 million in money each year from DC taxpayers to educate these kids. And, in spite of of this lackluster track record, the CEO of KIPP makes around $800,000 a year in salary and benefits.

This whole fake criticism about Basis being “for profit” is just dumb. We should be pushing PCSB to encourage other charters to follow the BASIS model, by the far the most successful one in the whole country.

They don’t care about KIPP because they don’t want their kids at schools with the population KIPP serves. No, they want a “kinder, gentler” Basis that demands very little of them, but with an UMC-friendly vibe.

[Anonymous]

HOS is currently a woman

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Other BASIS schools backfill -- the incoming kids take a placement exam and are then placed in an appropriate grade level (which might be lower than they were before, if they were coming from an easy school).

The DC Charter Board does not allow BASIS to do that. So, that's why BASIS DC doesn't backfill. It's not a huge conspiracy.

Can’t they use other standardized test results? Surely there are the rare superspecial unicorn children who could join without dragging down the whole school and ruining the experience for everyone.

BASIS would absolutely do it if they were allowed to (as evidenced by the fact that other schools in the network do.) of course there are kids who are capable of fitting in.

Again, the DC Charter Board is who is stopping this. They don't want placement exams, and they don't want kids placed below their year bc DC is very pro social promotion.

Take it up with the charter board if you want this changed.

Convenient.

You are absolutely wrong. DCI uses standardized testing scores as part of placement of kids.

Excuses, excuses….

But they wouldn't, for example, take a 13 year old and place them in 5th grade. Which is what the other BASIS schools do if they need to. That's what the charter board won't allow.

The charter board has no rule or authority that restricts BASIS or any other charter from doing this. BASIS works fine as it is. It fills a need for many families (or at least for the families that make it in via the lottery). The model works as it is without backfilling.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Other BASIS schools backfill -- the incoming kids take a placement exam and are then placed in an appropriate grade level (which might be lower than they were before, if they were coming from an easy school).

The DC Charter Board does not allow BASIS to do that. So, that's why BASIS DC doesn't backfill. It's not a huge conspiracy.

Can’t they use other standardized test results? Surely there are the rare superspecial unicorn children who could join without dragging down the whole school and ruining the experience for everyone.

BASIS would absolutely do it if they were allowed to (as evidenced by the fact that other schools in the network do.) of course there are kids who are capable of fitting in.

Again, the DC Charter Board is who is stopping this. They don't want placement exams, and they don't want kids placed below their year bc DC is very pro social promotion.

Take it up with the charter board if you want this changed.

Convenient.

You are absolutely wrong. DCI uses standardized testing scores as part of placement of kids.

Excuses, excuses….

But they wouldn't, for example, take a 13 year old and place them in 5th grade. Which is what the other BASIS schools do if they need to. That's what the charter board won't allow.

The charter board has no rule or authority that restricts BASIS or any other charter from doing this. BASIS works fine as it is. It fills a need for many families (or at least for the families that make it in via the lottery). The model works as it is without backfilling.

Yes — the education system writ large is failing many, but that’s not a Basis problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HOS is currently a woman

Really so the young slick fake used car salesman like HOS guy last too long at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HOS is currently a woman

Really so the young slick fake used car salesman like HOS guy last too long at all.

typo didn’t last

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Isn’t it obvious? Because they can’t choose and pick who they get and are unwilling to do the work all other schools do to help integrate and support new kids.

It is very easy to have better numbers when you weed out low performers and refuse to roll the dice in taking new students. Basis is doing nothing special and no really heavy lifting at all.

There’s no real debate at this point: BASIS doesn’t backfill. But what’s often missed in these discussions is just how structurally dependent the school’s academic model is on that fact. If BASIS did backfill, it likely couldn’t deliver the program it’s known for—or at least not in the way families currently experience it.

Backfilling is manageable at most schools because it doesn’t fundamentally alter what those schools are offering in the first place. The academic pace and expectations are often modest, and the gaps between entering and existing students, while real, don’t dramatically shift classroom dynamics or outcomes. In some cases, schools aren’t doing much to bring backfilled students up to speed, but because the bar is already low or inconsistent, the disruption is minimal.

At BASIS, it’s different. The curriculum is aggressive, the pace is rapid, and the cohort model is central. Students who enter in later grades without prior exposure to the system are far more likely to struggle—not because they lack ability, but because they’re uninitiated. The burden on teachers to differentiate skyrockets. The pressure on classroom cohesion intensifies. And the students who’ve been there all along suddenly find their academic environment altered in ways that feel material. If BASIS were required to backfill meaningfully and regularly, it simply wouldn’t be BASIS anymore—at least not in the form that draws families to it.

And that, really, is the underlying policy dilemma. The question isn’t just should BASIS be forced to backfill? The more fundamental question is: should schools like BASIS be allowed to exist at all within public systems, on the public dime (?). Because demanding full backfilling from BASIS is effectively asking it to become a different kind of school—more comprehensive, more catch-all, less specialized.

There are reasonable people on both sides of that debate. But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what the tradeoffs actually are. The stakes aren’t limited to one admissions policy—they go to the heart of what kind of public education ecosystem a city like D.C. wants to have.

I would argue that the underlying problem is that Basis doesn’t offer a comprehensive, flexible curriculum or the support.

They could take kids and support and integrate them. If kids are unable to do the work, they get held back like they do when they take new 5th graders and all thru middle school.

It’s not hard.

Actually, they do do that.

Typical DCUM pontificating by people that know nothing about that school.

They seriously have dedicated office hours that students can sign up for — and many students avail themselves of it, especially in math. What other “supports” or “flexibility” do folks want?

Really? You think having office hours which is standard in middle and up enough and adequate support?

No it is not what most people call support. Support is push in or pull out for kids who need it. Support is offering extra support classes for kids who need it. Support is having a sped team dedicated to providing in house services to kids who qualify. Support is having social worker or someone to that effect help students with non-academic issues (psych/mental, family, housing, etc..)

I could go on but office hours is not what most people call support services in schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Isn’t it obvious? Because they can’t choose and pick who they get and are unwilling to do the work all other schools do to help integrate and support new kids.

It is very easy to have better numbers when you weed out low performers and refuse to roll the dice in taking new students. Basis is doing nothing special and no really heavy lifting at all.

There’s no real debate at this point: BASIS doesn’t backfill. But what’s often missed in these discussions is just how structurally dependent the school’s academic model is on that fact. If BASIS did backfill, it likely couldn’t deliver the program it’s known for—or at least not in the way families currently experience it.

Backfilling is manageable at most schools because it doesn’t fundamentally alter what those schools are offering in the first place. The academic pace and expectations are often modest, and the gaps between entering and existing students, while real, don’t dramatically shift classroom dynamics or outcomes. In some cases, schools aren’t doing much to bring backfilled students up to speed, but because the bar is already low or inconsistent, the disruption is minimal.

At BASIS, it’s different. The curriculum is aggressive, the pace is rapid, and the cohort model is central. Students who enter in later grades without prior exposure to the system are far more likely to struggle—not because they lack ability, but because they’re uninitiated. The burden on teachers to differentiate skyrockets. The pressure on classroom cohesion intensifies. And the students who’ve been there all along suddenly find their academic environment altered in ways that feel material. If BASIS were required to backfill meaningfully and regularly, it simply wouldn’t be BASIS anymore—at least not in the form that draws families to it.

And that, really, is the underlying policy dilemma. The question isn’t just should BASIS be forced to backfill? The more fundamental question is: should schools like BASIS be allowed to exist at all within public systems, on the public dime (?). Because demanding full backfilling from BASIS is effectively asking it to become a different kind of school—more comprehensive, more catch-all, less specialized.

There are reasonable people on both sides of that debate. But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what the tradeoffs actually are. The stakes aren’t limited to one admissions policy—they go to the heart of what kind of public education ecosystem a city like D.C. wants to have.

I would argue that the underlying problem is that Basis doesn’t offer a comprehensive, flexible curriculum or the support.

They could take kids and support and integrate them. If kids are unable to do the work, they get held back like they do when they take new 5th graders and all thru middle school.

It’s not hard.

Actually, they do do that.

Typical DCUM pontificating by people that know nothing about that school.

They seriously have dedicated office hours that students can sign up for — and many students avail themselves of it, especially in math. What other “supports” or “flexibility” do folks want?

As to flexibility, that is understanding that not all kids perform at the same level. Acknowledging that different kids will go different speeds and learn at different paces. You don’t box them all into 1 level or fixed curriculum. Also some kids might be strong in one area but weak in another.

Once you acknowledge that, then you provide flexibility in curriculum offerings to meet all different types of students. Different level classes with robust offerings of courses, robust offerings of electives, fluidity for kids to move up and down levels, etc…

Basis offers none of that. They box all kids into the one curriculum and why they have such a high attrition rate. The lack of facilities, EC, and sports also does not help since there is little outlet for these kids from the grind and too much focus on testing.

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Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Isn’t it obvious? Because they can’t choose and pick who they get and are unwilling to do the work all other schools do to help integrate and support new kids.

It is very easy to have better numbers when you weed out low performers and refuse to roll the dice in taking new students. Basis is doing nothing special and no really heavy lifting at all.

There’s no real debate at this point: BASIS doesn’t backfill. But what’s often missed in these discussions is just how structurally dependent the school’s academic model is on that fact. If BASIS did backfill, it likely couldn’t deliver the program it’s known for—or at least not in the way families currently experience it.

Backfilling is manageable at most schools because it doesn’t fundamentally alter what those schools are offering in the first place. The academic pace and expectations are often modest, and the gaps between entering and existing students, while real, don’t dramatically shift classroom dynamics or outcomes. In some cases, schools aren’t doing much to bring backfilled students up to speed, but because the bar is already low or inconsistent, the disruption is minimal.

At BASIS, it’s different. The curriculum is aggressive, the pace is rapid, and the cohort model is central. Students who enter in later grades without prior exposure to the system are far more likely to struggle—not because they lack ability, but because they’re uninitiated. The burden on teachers to differentiate skyrockets. The pressure on classroom cohesion intensifies. And the students who’ve been there all along suddenly find their academic environment altered in ways that feel material. If BASIS were required to backfill meaningfully and regularly, it simply wouldn’t be BASIS anymore—at least not in the form that draws families to it.

And that, really, is the underlying policy dilemma. The question isn’t just should BASIS be forced to backfill? The more fundamental question is: should schools like BASIS be allowed to exist at all within public systems, on the public dime (?). Because demanding full backfilling from BASIS is effectively asking it to become a different kind of school—more comprehensive, more catch-all, less specialized.

There are reasonable people on both sides of that debate. But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what the tradeoffs actually are. The stakes aren’t limited to one admissions policy—they go to the heart of what kind of public education ecosystem a city like D.C. wants to have.

I would argue that the underlying problem is that Basis doesn’t offer a comprehensive, flexible curriculum or the support.

They could take kids and support and integrate them. If kids are unable to do the work, they get held back like they do when they take new 5th graders and all thru middle school.

It’s not hard.

Actually, they do do that.

Typical DCUM pontificating by people that know nothing about that school.

They seriously have dedicated office hours that students can sign up for — and many students avail themselves of it, especially in math. What other “supports” or “flexibility” do folks want?

As to flexibility, that is understanding that not all kids perform at the same level. Acknowledging that different kids will go different speeds and learn at different paces. You don’t box them all into 1 level or fixed curriculum. Also some kids might be strong in one area but weak in another.

Once you acknowledge that, then you provide flexibility in curriculum offerings to meet all different types of students. Different level classes with robust offerings of courses, robust offerings of electives, fluidity for kids to move up and down levels, etc…

Basis offers none of that. They box all kids into the one curriculum and why they have such a high attrition rate. The lack of facilities, EC, and sports also does not help since there is little outlet for these kids from the grind and too much focus on testing.

Let’s be clear about what’s being asked by this and the prior post.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with a school offering “pull-outs,” multiple academic tracks, on-site social workers, or the kind of flexibility described here. In fact, most public schools are already structured around those models. But BASIS is not — and never has been — that kind of school.

BASIS offers a highly accelerated, academically rigorous program with a specific pace, structure, and philosophy. It caters to a certain type of student and family — typically ones seeking an intense academic experience, often with parents who themselves hold advanced degrees. That’s not an accident. It’s the model.

So to say BASIS should “just” add SPED pull-outs, counseling staff, varied pacing, differentiated coursework, and so on — that’s not a request for supports within the BASIS model. It’s a request to dismantle the BASIS model and replace it with an entirely different one.

And that’s a perfectly valid position — if we’re honest about it. If you believe DC shouldn’t fund a school like BASIS at all, that’s a fair policy argument. But let’s not pretend these proposed changes would leave the school’s core academic structure intact. They wouldn’t. You can’t simultaneously demand a radically inclusive, flexible support structure and still expect the accelerated, uniform BASIS curriculum to survive. That’s not how it works.

Personally, I think BASIS has value — in the abstract — because it serves a real constituency of DC families. But given how much acrimony it generates, I also understand the argument that a model like this simply shouldn’t be publicly funded in a city where many students are two or more grade levels behind. That’s a broader policy debate.

But the idea that BASIS should serve “everyone,” regardless of readiness or need, while maintaining its current academic profile? That’s a contradiction. If you want to keep the program as it is, let it be what it is. If you don’t, say so — but understand that “reforming” BASIS in the way that you and others suggest is functionally equivalent to abolishing it. And maybe that’s the goal. Just be honest about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with BASIS is that it's not "really simple" as somebody claimed on the last page, not at all. Many 5th graders seem like a good fit for BASIS, so they are sent by their well-meaning parents. From what I've observed, few of these kids "wash out;" no mistake was made in sending them.

What happens is that the teaching proves to be so uneven, the leadership so prone to gaslighting families who encounter difficulties, the facility so lousy, the curriculum so rigid and narrowly focused on test taking, that most BASIS families get turned off the experience over time and leave.

Sure, you can always pull out, but it might be better to face the reality that BASIS is risky business compared to most DMV schools offering consistent rigor from the get-go. BASIS just not a very welcoming program offering a rich or happy educational experience to young people. There are a lot of sharp elbows at BASIS and not much of a community feel. When we left for a private, we were glad to feel included but dismayed to discover that our BASIS MS grad wasn't as well prepared as we'd hoped, other than for chemistry and biology.

Heading to BASIS is to roll the dice in a somewhat risky game of chance. Best to see it that way to hedge your bets, to avoid getting hurt. If you can afford a stronger program/school pyramid that's a better bet for both MS & HS or are willing to move for one, do it.

We are dealing with people that stayed the course in DC until late elementary whereas a good deal of truly risk averse types would have never even consider it or decamped to the burbs or private early on. They’ve already rolled the dice so to speak.

If Basis bought a few free years before going private, any minor adjustment/catch-up seems immaterial, or at least a bet that paid off.

And I sort of trust private school admissions committees to assess whether a kid (coming from Basis or wherever) will be a good fit for their school.

This is precisely how we are using Basis - a way station before private — admittedly a bit easier for us because a sibling is already in that pipeline and we are quite confident that our Basis student will be more than fine upon the eventual transition — and we’ll be about $80K less out of pocket.

Assuming 2 kids at a Big 3 you are still paying around $400,000 more than the parents whose kids stay the course at Basis.

Given that Basis HS is definitely better than MS (better teachers, better classes, fewer students), someone might question that financial decision.

If the HS was so great,Basis would not lose 1/2 the kids after 8th. The retention rate is not very good.

To clarify, I think the HS class is a little more than 1/2 the size of the 5th grade class. A large majority of 8th graders return to 9th. I think maybe about 10-15 out of 80 or 90 have been leaving. That's a mix of moving to private and application schools, and moving out of DC.

You're trying to whitewash the attrition. What happens is that more than half of the intake class of 135-140 is gone by the first day of 9th grade. Moreover, by the start of 12th grade, the classes is down to 45-55 students, not more. We were surprised by how many students left after every high school grade, half a dozen each time. There's high and unrelenting attrition at BASIS DC, however you slice it. Claiming otherwise won't change that.

Other schools have attrition but also socially promote and backfill.

BASIS DC does not.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Why doesn’t BASIS backfill? It’s a public school. How do they avoid taking new students when there are so many who are initially shut out and would do just fine entering in late MS and for HS.

Isn’t it obvious? Because they can’t choose and pick who they get and are unwilling to do the work all other schools do to help integrate and support new kids.

It is very easy to have better numbers when you weed out low performers and refuse to roll the dice in taking new students. Basis is doing nothing special and no really heavy lifting at all.

There’s no real debate at this point: BASIS doesn’t backfill. But what’s often missed in these discussions is just how structurally dependent the school’s academic model is on that fact. If BASIS did backfill, it likely couldn’t deliver the program it’s known for—or at least not in the way families currently experience it.

Backfilling is manageable at most schools because it doesn’t fundamentally alter what those schools are offering in the first place. The academic pace and expectations are often modest, and the gaps between entering and existing students, while real, don’t dramatically shift classroom dynamics or outcomes. In some cases, schools aren’t doing much to bring backfilled students up to speed, but because the bar is already low or inconsistent, the disruption is minimal.

At BASIS, it’s different. The curriculum is aggressive, the pace is rapid, and the cohort model is central. Students who enter in later grades without prior exposure to the system are far more likely to struggle—not because they lack ability, but because they’re uninitiated. The burden on teachers to differentiate skyrockets. The pressure on classroom cohesion intensifies. And the students who’ve been there all along suddenly find their academic environment altered in ways that feel material. If BASIS were required to backfill meaningfully and regularly, it simply wouldn’t be BASIS anymore—at least not in the form that draws families to it.

And that, really, is the underlying policy dilemma. The question isn’t just should BASIS be forced to backfill? The more fundamental question is: should schools like BASIS be allowed to exist at all within public systems, on the public dime (?). Because demanding full backfilling from BASIS is effectively asking it to become a different kind of school—more comprehensive, more catch-all, less specialized.

There are reasonable people on both sides of that debate. But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what the tradeoffs actually are. The stakes aren’t limited to one admissions policy—they go to the heart of what kind of public education ecosystem a city like D.C. wants to have.

I would argue that the underlying problem is that Basis doesn’t offer a comprehensive, flexible curriculum or the support.

They could take kids and support and integrate them. If kids are unable to do the work, they get held back like they do when they take new 5th graders and all thru middle school.

It’s not hard.

Actually, they do do that.

Typical DCUM pontificating by people that know nothing about that school.

They seriously have dedicated office hours that students can sign up for — and many students avail themselves of it, especially in math. What other “supports” or “flexibility” do folks want?

Really? You think having office hours which is standard in middle and up enough and adequate support?

No it is not what most people call support. Support is push in or pull out for kids who need it. Support is offering extra support classes for kids who need it. Support is having a sped team dedicated to providing in house services to kids who qualify. Support is having social worker or someone to that effect help students with non-academic issues (psych/mental, family, housing, etc..)

I could go on but office hours is not what most people call support services in schools.

It’s not the place for kids with learning disabilities. And that’s ok. It’s also not a social worker. Also fine.

Children needing pull outs for their learning disability have a home school option. Same for emotional disorders