BASIS charter expansion is up for public comment

[Anonymous]

Not sure why parents don’t hold DCPS accountable for not providing decent MS options outside of Deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. I’m the PP and I’ve lived on the Hill since the 90s. We’ve only stayed because grandparents offered to pay for a private. Otherwise, we’d have moved to VA by now. We turned down a BASIS spot after much deliberation.

So you're in the BASIS thread but your kid never went to BASIS?

This thread is about whether BASIS should be allowed to hoover up more taxpayer dollars for its shareholders by expanding its program. If we're going to trying to say who should and shouldn't be bothering with this, current BASIS parents should take a walk, because you're already there.

Current parents can love BASIS all they want, the question is do we want more of this profiteering in our public school system?

Some of us also have younger kids who might benefit from having a BASIS model elementary option, so, I’m not going to take a walk, thank you very much. The school model is absolutely wrong for many, probably most, kids, but it’s a huge help to some kids, and having it as an option for those kids is really great, which is exactly what the charter school system is designed to do. The for-profit corporation issue is important, but it doesn’t make sense to write off the school or potential elementary expansion because of that.

That's not what's going to happen though. If BASIS wanted to put together an ES that didn't feed to it's MS, I think it would be reasonably unpopular. You're right, there are some kids for whom it would be perfect and, for those kids, it would likely be reasomably easy to get into, because few parents would want to commute for a BASIS ES model. However, because MSes in DC suck, it will instead be quite popular & seen as the only chance to secure BASIS' MS, wreaking havoc on non-Deal-feeding ESes and populated largely by kids who would rather be at those ESes but are stuck at BASIS. This will benefit no one particularly. Maybe the 10 kids who should be going there for ES and happen to get in? Oh, and BASIS' corporate overlords.

But none of that is the fault of BASIS?

But it's a reason to oppose the school. Why do I want an ES that might benefit a small number of kids to the detriment of IB ESes which have a much, much larger number of kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. I’m the PP and I’ve lived on the Hill since the 90s. We’ve only stayed because grandparents offered to pay for a private. Otherwise, we’d have moved to VA by now. We turned down a BASIS spot after much deliberation.

So you're in the BASIS thread but your kid never went to BASIS?

This thread is about whether BASIS should be allowed to hoover up more taxpayer dollars for its shareholders by expanding its program. If we're going to trying to say who should and shouldn't be bothering with this, current BASIS parents should take a walk, because you're already there.

Current parents can love BASIS all they want, the question is do we want more of this profiteering in our public school system?

Some of us also have younger kids who might benefit from having a BASIS model elementary option, so, I’m not going to take a walk, thank you very much. The school model is absolutely wrong for many, probably most, kids, but it’s a huge help to some kids, and having it as an option for those kids is really great, which is exactly what the charter school system is designed to do. The for-profit corporation issue is important, but it doesn’t make sense to write off the school or potential elementary expansion because of that.

That's not what's going to happen though. If BASIS wanted to put together an ES that didn't feed to it's MS, I think it would be reasonably unpopular. You're right, there are some kids for whom it would be perfect and, for those kids, it would likely be reasomably easy to get into, because few parents would want to commute for a BASIS ES model. However, because MSes in DC suck, it will instead be quite popular & seen as the only chance to secure BASIS' MS, wreaking havoc on non-Deal-feeding ESes and populated largely by kids who would rather be at those ESes but are stuck at BASIS. This will benefit no one particularly. Maybe the 10 kids who should be going there for ES and happen to get in? Oh, and BASIS' corporate overlords.

But none of that is the fault of BASIS?

Does every ES deserve to exist if it's not "at fault" for problems it creates? No. I don't think BASIS ES is needed in DC and I think it will, on balance, be bad for the city. That's more than enough reason to oppose it. BASIS isn't entitled to an ES just because it wants one for profit reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why parents don’t hold DCPS accountable for not providing decent MS options outside of Deal.

How, exactly? I'm already not sending my kid there, but I don't think they care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, what would your grounds for writing the BASIS elementary school off be? I have concerns about the way that Ward 6 relies on BASIS as a viable middle school more than any other ward. Awkward question, but if young Ward 6 families don't jump on the BASIS elementary school at K en masse, won't they largely be shut out of the middle school? Won't their exodus from Maury, Brent, LT, SWS etc. after PreK4 hurt the Capitol Hill elementary schools? I haven't seen any real discussion along these lines on this thread.

It's an interesting question.

Hard to say how the proposed 112 per grade would be distributed out from the individual schools. How much are people in high-performing elementaries thinking forward to middle school? How much do people in middling and low-performing elementaries want out?

In any case, 112 per grade is low enough that I think the high-performing elementaries would still easily fill seats with students from less desirable Hill elementaries. (Across all the Eastern feeders there were anywhere from 738 to 792 students enrolled in each grade K-4th last year. 5th grade had 575.)

My guess is the impact would be that all schools will lose neighborhood buy in. High-performing schools will fill seats from the lottery with little change to overall demographics. Middling and low-performing schools might still fill seats from the lottery or might lose enrollment, likely with a some degree of change to overall demographics.

I read through the report, and the survey results from current parents. The big takeaway I had was that current parents enjoyed their neighborhood DCPS experiences and don't see a need for a BASIS elementary for the area, and would rather that BASIS focus on solving the problems (teacher quality and retention) with the middle school before expanding.

Sure. But the question is how much will increased middle school uncertainty sway otherwise uninterested families toward BASIS elementary?

No, the question is why anyone would oppose additional options for DC residents who face poor in-bounds public school options.

Because it's a predatory for-profit that for the majority of students is not a good option? And our tax dollars are being wasted. Spend the money on expanding the other non-profit charters that get everyone to graduation...

You again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...More would crack the most highly competitive colleges. A few of the most ambitious students wind up taking AP exams in subjects that BASIS doesn't teach at other schools..

BASIS kids this year (and in years past) have done very well in terms of college acceptance - especially when you consider the small class size.

Right, no room for improvement at BASIS. None.

Every school has room for improvement, but for a class of ~60, from a non-application, free high school, they have great results (Yale, Penn, UVA, JHU, McGill, Tufts, W&M, UCLA, UMD, VT, etc.)

You seem to have an axe to grind. Maybe your kid didn't like it, or couldn't deal with the workload. That's OK.

Different PP here. My kid is a senior heading to a college admitting in the single digits in the fall.

You might be surprised to hear that I couldn't agree more that, with better support for students with unusual interests & backgrounds, greater scope for hands-on learning & more flexibility in the curriculum, BASIS DC could get even better college results without a bigger budget. Significantly better.

Frankly, half a dozen current seniors might have cracked Ivies if they'd been treated more intelligently by the franchise from start to finish (particularly re how senior year is used). It's no joke that BASIS wastes the strong language backgrounds of dozens of DC 5th graders by preventing them from studying languages they come in with at the advanced level prior to sophomore or junior year. BASIS does this because they can, not because it's smart. I say this as a former DCI feeder parent whose kid wasn't remotely challenged in language classes at BASIS.

We're glad to be at the finish line with a program that could and should aim higher. In a nutshell, BASIS is stuck in an earlier decade in its planning for elite college admissions, with parents like me picking up the slack by providing essential (and none too cheap) ginputs for years before acceptance notices go out.

Sounds like your kid did fine.

You really think your kid would have received a better education at another DC public school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, what would your grounds for writing the BASIS elementary school off be? I have concerns about the way that Ward 6 relies on BASIS as a viable middle school more than any other ward. Awkward question, but if young Ward 6 families don't jump on the BASIS elementary school at K en masse, won't they largely be shut out of the middle school? Won't their exodus from Maury, Brent, LT, SWS etc. after PreK4 hurt the Capitol Hill elementary schools? I haven't seen any real discussion along these lines on this thread.

It's an interesting question.

Hard to say how the proposed 112 per grade would be distributed out from the individual schools. How much are people in high-performing elementaries thinking forward to middle school? How much do people in middling and low-performing elementaries want out?

In any case, 112 per grade is low enough that I think the high-performing elementaries would still easily fill seats with students from less desirable Hill elementaries. (Across all the Eastern feeders there were anywhere from 738 to 792 students enrolled in each grade K-4th last year. 5th grade had 575.)

My guess is the impact would be that all schools will lose neighborhood buy in. High-performing schools will fill seats from the lottery with little change to overall demographics. Middling and low-performing schools might still fill seats from the lottery or might lose enrollment, likely with a some degree of change to overall demographics.

I read through the report, and the survey results from current parents. The big takeaway I had was that current parents enjoyed their neighborhood DCPS experiences and don't see a need for a BASIS elementary for the area, and would rather that BASIS focus on solving the problems (teacher quality and retention) with the middle school before expanding.

Sure. But the question is how much will increased middle school uncertainty sway otherwise uninterested families toward BASIS elementary?

No, the question is why anyone would oppose additional options for DC residents who face poor in-bounds public school options.

Because it's a predatory for-profit that for the majority of students is not a good option? And our tax dollars are being wasted. Spend the money on expanding the other non-profit charters that get everyone to graduation...

No one cares what you think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why parents don’t hold DCPS accountable for not providing decent MS options outside of Deal.

Hardy is fine.

[Anonymous]

We are eagerly awaiting the BASIS elementary school. My guess is that it will quickly become one of the top choices in DC.

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/middle-schools/district-of-columbia

[Anonymous]

Yes, because our school system is deeply troubled in a toxic political environment, not because BASIS is all that great. What I hear in this thread is that more of the longtime BASIS parents who post on these threads aren’t singing the program’s praises.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are eagerly awaiting the BASIS elementary school. My guess is that it will quickly become one of the top choices in DC.

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/middle-schools/district-of-columbia

It's not going to happen. The money is needed here. Dudes in Arizona who get rich of skimping on kid's education will have to find another city to fleece.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...More would crack the most highly competitive colleges. A few of the most ambitious students wind up taking AP exams in subjects that BASIS doesn't teach at other schools..

BASIS kids this year (and in years past) have done very well in terms of college acceptance - especially when you consider the small class size.

Right, no room for improvement at BASIS. None.

Every school has room for improvement, but for a class of ~60, from a non-application, free high school, they have great results (Yale, Penn, UVA, JHU, McGill, Tufts, W&M, UCLA, UMD, VT, etc.)

You seem to have an axe to grind. Maybe your kid didn't like it, or couldn't deal with the workload. That's OK.

Different PP here. My kid is a senior heading to a college admitting in the single digits in the fall.

You might be surprised to hear that I couldn't agree more that, with better support for students with unusual interests & backgrounds, greater scope for hands-on learning & more flexibility in the curriculum, BASIS DC could get even better college results without a bigger budget. Significantly better.

Frankly, half a dozen current seniors might have cracked Ivies if they'd been treated more intelligently by the franchise from start to finish (particularly re how senior year is used). It's no joke that BASIS wastes the strong language backgrounds of dozens of DC 5th graders by preventing them from studying languages they come in with at the advanced level prior to sophomore or junior year. BASIS does this because they can, not because it's smart. I say this as a former DCI feeder parent whose kid wasn't remotely challenged in language classes at BASIS.

We're glad to be at the finish line with a program that could and should aim higher. In a nutshell, BASIS is stuck in an earlier decade in its planning for elite college admissions, with parents like me picking up the slack by providing essential (and none too cheap) inputs for years before acceptance notices go out.

Would love to hear more about the essential inputs you provided to help make BASIS work for your kid in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...More would crack the most highly competitive colleges. A few of the most ambitious students wind up taking AP exams in subjects that BASIS doesn't teach at other schools..

BASIS kids this year (and in years past) have done very well in terms of college acceptance - especially when you consider the small class size.

Right, no room for improvement at BASIS. None.

Every school has room for improvement, but for a class of ~60, from a non-application, free high school, they have great results (Yale, Penn, UVA, JHU, McGill, Tufts, W&M, UCLA, UMD, VT, etc.)

You seem to have an axe to grind. Maybe your kid didn't like it, or couldn't deal with the workload. That's OK.

Different PP here. My kid is a senior heading to a college admitting in the single digits in the fall.

You might be surprised to hear that I couldn't agree more that, with better support for students with unusual interests & backgrounds, greater scope for hands-on learning & more flexibility in the curriculum, BASIS DC could get even better college results without a bigger budget. Significantly better.

Frankly, half a dozen current seniors might have cracked Ivies if they'd been treated more intelligently by the franchise from start to finish (particularly re how senior year is used). It's no joke that BASIS wastes the strong language backgrounds of dozens of DC 5th graders by preventing them from studying languages they come in with at the advanced level prior to sophomore or junior year. BASIS does this because they can, not because it's smart. I say this as a former DCI feeder parent whose kid wasn't remotely challenged in language classes at BASIS.

We're glad to be at the finish line with a program that could and should aim higher. In a nutshell, BASIS is stuck in an earlier decade in its planning for elite college admissions, with parents like me picking up the slack by providing essential (and none too cheap) inputs for years before acceptance notices go out.

Would love to hear more about the essential inputs you provided to help make BASIS work for your kid in high school.

Kid prepped for AP Drawing and Art History independently by taking local drawing classes for adults and working with a tutor. They attended a 4-wk Concordia camp in MN after 10th. Kid took an AP language exam in 11th. They went abroad for language immersion after 11th as prep for a much harder Cambridge A-Level exam in Nov of sr year (taken at an intl school in another city). Kid is set on college pre-med, so attended the Tufts Mini Med School summer camp. In high school, kid built up to EMT training (to be completed this summer) by taking first aid courses at the Red Cross training center in Rosslyn. Kid volunteered as a patient services helper at two area hospitals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because our school system is deeply troubled in a toxic political environment, not because BASIS is all that great. What I hear in this thread is that more of the longtime BASIS parents who post on these threads aren’t singing the program’s praises.

What you are hearing is anonymous posts by a handful of posters, most of whom don’t even have kids at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are eagerly awaiting the BASIS elementary school. My guess is that it will quickly become one of the top choices in DC.

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/middle-schools/district-of-columbia

+1