Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at BASIS now, and another one at a Montessori elementary school. I cannot imagine having an elementary school experience that is as rigid as BASIS. I think that would suck all the joy out of learning far too early.

Do your research.

They don’t run their ES like they do MS and HS.

Who is "they" - BASIS corporate? Because I am familiar with how the DC BASIS administration runs its MS/HS. There's nothing wrong with the BASIS model. There are, however, distinct downsides to how the BASIS model is implemented in DC (weak admin, inexperienced teachers, crappy building, etc.). There are some very real consequences to those weaknesses, like poor quality teaching (at times), lack of extracurriculars, arbitrary decision-making and an overly harsh atmosphere.

It is because I have seen how BASIS DC runs its MS/HS that I would not send an elementary school kid to BASIS.

You are “familiar” with the Basis model? How so?

By having multiple children attending their school over a period of years.

You have had multiple children attend a Basis elementary school over a period of years?

You understand that teaching at an elementary school is different than middle school and high school, right?

You are clearly either stupid or have no kids at BASIS.

Like we suspected: you are full of sh*t.

Why don’t you try re-reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question to me isn't "What would make BASIS middle and high school even better?" Or "What would be easiest for BASIS (cookie cutter schools I guess)?" The question is what does DC most need, for our limited supply of school buildings and our limited number of kids to attend those schools. And I would say DC has pretty decent elementary schools in the areas BASIS is willing to locate, to the point where another elementary school is not a pressing need. If BASIS were willing to make a firm commitment to opening in a Ward 7 or 8 location that would be different. Or if BASIS were looking for a building to expand the enrollment of their existing program, that would be different, because we certainly do need more quality middle and high school seats. The idea of an elementary school to rescue those poor children who are currently attending.. Ross and Brent and Maury... just doesn't move me.

Kids leaving Ross, Brent, and Maury would mean more open seats for kids who want to actually want to attend Ross, Brent, and Maury. That’s not a bad thing.

Unfortunately it wouldn’t (except maybe at post renovation Brent). Maury and Ross are both considered overcrowded. A handful of kids leaving in each grade typically won’t open lottery spots. It will realistically mean each class has one fewer student.

Not true, Ross takes kids through the lottery every year. I know because we got in that way, and now that we are in we know plenty of over out of bounds families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question to me isn't "What would make BASIS middle and high school even better?" Or "What would be easiest for BASIS (cookie cutter schools I guess)?" The question is what does DC most need, for our limited supply of school buildings and our limited number of kids to attend those schools. And I would say DC has pretty decent elementary schools in the areas BASIS is willing to locate, to the point where another elementary school is not a pressing need. If BASIS were willing to make a firm commitment to opening in a Ward 7 or 8 location that would be different. Or if BASIS were looking for a building to expand the enrollment of their existing program, that would be different, because we certainly do need more quality middle and high school seats. The idea of an elementary school to rescue those poor children who are currently attending.. Ross and Brent and Maury... just doesn't move me.

Kids leaving Ross, Brent, and Maury would mean more open seats for kids who want to actually want to attend Ross, Brent, and Maury. That’s not a bad thing.

Unfortunately it wouldn’t (except maybe at post renovation Brent). Maury and Ross are both considered overcrowded. A handful of kids leaving in each grade typically won’t open lottery spots. It will realistically mean each class has one fewer student.

Not true, Ross takes kids through the lottery every year. I know because we got in that way, and now that we are in we know plenty of over out of bounds families.

(I also don't think there will be any Ross parents who would choose BASIS elementary over Ross.)

[Anonymous]

Disagree because Ross parents are just as desperate for an appealing path to 12th grade in DC public schools as Maury, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor etc. parents in Ward 6. You can bet that a bunch of in-boundary Ross parents who want to stay where they are, near Dupont, would jump on the BASIS K-4 school if they could. After all, they and the Thomson parents will be the closest to the BASIS ES building if it's located near the original building. Looks like it will be if the project launches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disagree because Ross parents are just as desperate for an appealing path to 12th grade in DC public schools as Maury, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor etc. parents in Ward 6. You can bet that a bunch of in-boundary Ross parents who want to stay where they are, near Dupont, would jump on the BASIS K-4 school if they could. After all, they and the Thomson parents will be the closest to the BASIS ES building if it's located near the original building. Looks like it will be if the project launches.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question to me isn't "What would make BASIS middle and high school even better?" Or "What would be easiest for BASIS (cookie cutter schools I guess)?" The question is what does DC most need, for our limited supply of school buildings and our limited number of kids to attend those schools. And I would say DC has pretty decent elementary schools in the areas BASIS is willing to locate, to the point where another elementary school is not a pressing need. If BASIS were willing to make a firm commitment to opening in a Ward 7 or 8 location that would be different. Or if BASIS were looking for a building to expand the enrollment of their existing program, that would be different, because we certainly do need more quality middle and high school seats. The idea of an elementary school to rescue those poor children who are currently attending.. Ross and Brent and Maury... just doesn't move me.

Kids leaving Ross, Brent, and Maury would mean more open seats for kids who want to actually want to attend Ross, Brent, and Maury. That’s not a bad thing.

That's not the point. The point is BASIS is intending to locate in an area that already has pretty good elementary schools.

That is intentional. BASIS is successful in DC in large part because it draws in families with the resources to support the BASIS model. A large part of its ability to do this is its central location.

The children of families who do not have the resources to support the BASIS model are largely weeded out by 7th grade. This is also intentional. The BASIS franchise cares a lot about their own stats. They’re not going to locate an elementary school east of the river where they would have to deal with a high needs population.

+1000

Well said. And this is why I don’t think they should be allowed to expand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disagree because Ross parents are just as desperate for an appealing path to 12th grade in DC public schools as Maury, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor etc. parents in Ward 6. You can bet that a bunch of in-boundary Ross parents who want to stay where they are, near Dupont, would jump on the BASIS K-4 school if they could. After all, they and the Thomson parents will be the closest to the BASIS ES building if it's located near the original building. Looks like it will be if the project launches.

+1

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question to me isn't "What would make BASIS middle and high school even better?" Or "What would be easiest for BASIS (cookie cutter schools I guess)?" The question is what does DC most need, for our limited supply of school buildings and our limited number of kids to attend those schools. And I would say DC has pretty decent elementary schools in the areas BASIS is willing to locate, to the point where another elementary school is not a pressing need. If BASIS were willing to make a firm commitment to opening in a Ward 7 or 8 location that would be different. Or if BASIS were looking for a building to expand the enrollment of their existing program, that would be different, because we certainly do need more quality middle and high school seats. The idea of an elementary school to rescue those poor children who are currently attending.. Ross and Brent and Maury... just doesn't move me.

This. Good post summing up this state of affairs up. There's no sound logic here, no smart planning with a bird's eye view of what DC most needs. Everybody who criticizes the bad idea of a BASIS elementary school not far from the original building isn't in fact a parent without children at BASIS DC, or a sock puppet either. No, these are people following a logic that holds up under scrutiny, unlike our ed powers that be or BASIS higher-ups in Arizona with self-serving expansionist dreams.

There are 135 charter schools already in DC. Chose one.

Don’t pin this on BASIS.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disagree because Ross parents are just as desperate for an appealing path to 12th grade in DC public schools as Maury, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor etc. parents in Ward 6. You can bet that a bunch of in-boundary Ross parents who want to stay where they are, near Dupont, would jump on the BASIS K-4 school if they could. After all, they and the Thomson parents will be the closest to the BASIS ES building if it's located near the original building. Looks like it will be if the project launches.

Based solely on housing prices, I'd guess Ross parents are more likely than Capitol Hill parents to have the income to go private if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disagree because Ross parents are just as desperate for an appealing path to 12th grade in DC public schools as Maury, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor etc. parents in Ward 6. You can bet that a bunch of in-boundary Ross parents who want to stay where they are, near Dupont, would jump on the BASIS K-4 school if they could. After all, they and the Thomson parents will be the closest to the BASIS ES building if it's located near the original building. Looks like it will be if the project launches.

Based solely on housing prices, I'd guess Ross parents are more likely than Capitol Hill parents to have the income to go private if needed.

Totally depends on the part of the Hill. Brent is very comparable with Ross housing-wise. Maury much less (so you’re definitely right). L-T kind of in the middle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disagree because Ross parents are just as desperate for an appealing path to 12th grade in DC public schools as Maury, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor etc. parents in Ward 6. You can bet that a bunch of in-boundary Ross parents who want to stay where they are, near Dupont, would jump on the BASIS K-4 school if they could. After all, they and the Thomson parents will be the closest to the BASIS ES building if it's located near the original building. Looks like it will be if the project launches.

Based solely on housing prices, I'd guess Ross parents are more likely than Capitol Hill parents to have the income to go private if needed.

Disagree because many Ross parents like us rent. I would say more parents in the Brent district own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disagree because Ross parents are just as desperate for an appealing path to 12th grade in DC public schools as Maury, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor etc. parents in Ward 6. You can bet that a bunch of in-boundary Ross parents who want to stay where they are, near Dupont, would jump on the BASIS K-4 school if they could. After all, they and the Thomson parents will be the closest to the BASIS ES building if it's located near the original building. Looks like it will be if the project launches.

Based solely on housing prices, I'd guess Ross parents are more likely than Capitol Hill parents to have the income to go private if needed.

Disagree because many Ross parents like us rent. I would say more parents in the Brent district own.

Ross parents tend to be very, very happy with their elementary school (as are many other families at excellent neighborhood schools), I think it will be really interesting to see who would choose BASIS elementary. DCPS has so many good elementary options, that people can walk to and that connect them to their neighbors, and so few excellent middle schools, so it's just an entirely different choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disagree because Ross parents are just as desperate for an appealing path to 12th grade in DC public schools as Maury, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor etc. parents in Ward 6. You can bet that a bunch of in-boundary Ross parents who want to stay where they are, near Dupont, would jump on the BASIS K-4 school if they could. After all, they and the Thomson parents will be the closest to the BASIS ES building if it's located near the original building. Looks like it will be if the project launches.

Based solely on housing prices, I'd guess Ross parents are more likely than Capitol Hill parents to have the income to go private if needed.

Disagree because many Ross parents like us rent. I would say more parents in the Brent district own.

Ross parents tend to be very, very happy with their elementary school (as are many other families at excellent neighborhood schools), I think it will be really interesting to see who would choose BASIS elementary. DCPS has so many good elementary options, that people can walk to and that connect them to their neighbors, and so few excellent middle schools, so it's just an entirely different choice.

I think it would appeal primary to parents trying to lock in sibling status for a rising 5th grader. For the little tots at Ross I don't see much appeal-- seems like a major trade-off and middle school will feel far away to those parents.

I don't know how new Shaw middle, and Seaton getting Francis feeder rights, fits into this if at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disagree because Ross parents are just as desperate for an appealing path to 12th grade in DC public schools as Maury, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor etc. parents in Ward 6. You can bet that a bunch of in-boundary Ross parents who want to stay where they are, near Dupont, would jump on the BASIS K-4 school if they could. After all, they and the Thomson parents will be the closest to the BASIS ES building if it's located near the original building. Looks like it will be if the project launches.

Based solely on housing prices, I'd guess Ross parents are more likely than Capitol Hill parents to have the income to go private if needed.

Disagree because many Ross parents like us rent. I would say more parents in the Brent district own.

Ross parents tend to be very, very happy with their elementary school (as are many other families at excellent neighborhood schools), I think it will be really interesting to see who would choose BASIS elementary. DCPS has so many good elementary options, that people can walk to and that connect them to their neighbors, and so few excellent middle schools, so it's just an entirely different choice.

I think it would appeal primary to parents trying to lock in sibling status for a rising 5th grader. For the little tots at Ross I don't see much appeal-- seems like a major trade-off and middle school will feel far away to those parents.

I don't know how new Shaw middle, and Seaton getting Francis feeder rights, fits into this if at all.

My sense right now is that the 3rd and 4th grade families at Seaton are pretty happy about the Francis option, but 2nd and 1st grade families are a bit more nervous about the new Shaw middle (and younger families feel very far from it and are hoping it will work). It's just such an unknown. We don't even know what kind of classes will be offered there (Geometry? honors English? Will there be science labs? languages? etc). I really, really hope the city creates an appealing option there!

[Anonymous]

BASIS sucked the joy of learning out of my kid. They were bored bored by the robotic curriculum and multiple choice test. The stress for stress sake environment stressed them out too. The homework was a lot and rote at the same time. Very little creativity, problem solving, or writing. My kid did develop good skills keeping track of assignments.

Multiple teachers left mid year & at lest one who taught incorrect math material or acted inappropriately or didn’t show up to classes etc for the year. There were several very good teachers too. Even some of those seemed to have a crazy large # of students.

If that means my kid “washed out” as the BASIS dcum defenders call it well okay!

We moved to Montgomery County and their curiosity, innate joy of learning, confidence and spark is back! Getting straight As. Has high school paths that offer many electives, clubs, etc.