BASIS board meeting minutes: I Street elementary Location meets obstacles

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, let's change the narrative. My BASIS student earned straight As for 5 years but we left anyway, fed up with teacher "experts" without scant background in the subjects they teach due. We also hit the wall with poor leadership, very limited elective and HS EC choices, the bad building, and the seriously stressful high school curriculum featuring few choices (10th grade, AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, AP Cal, want something different, shut up).

If you can afford better or are willing to move to Upper NW or the burbs, you get out of BASIS. Last year, a large parent pressure group formed to monitor board meetings and push for change. The group seems to be getting some results but their campaign has been little too late for us.

Wait, kids at Basis are not taking AP Bio, AP Chem and AP Physics all together in 10th grade, are they?
My kid could definitely not handle that.

No!

I believe the standard sequence is:
9th: one regular HS science (because they have two English classes, so don't have time for a second science)
10: AP version of what they took in 9th, plus one other HS science
11: AP version of what they took in 10th, and the final HS science.

So they end up taking regular HS bio, chem, and physics, plus AP version of two of those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, let's change the narrative. My BASIS student earned straight As for 5 years but we left anyway, fed up with teacher "experts" without scant background in the subjects they teach due. We also hit the wall with poor leadership, very limited elective and HS EC choices, the bad building, and the seriously stressful high school curriculum featuring few choices (10th grade, AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, AP Cal, want something different, shut up).

If you can afford better or are willing to move to Upper NW or the burbs, you get out of BASIS. Last year, a large parent pressure group formed to monitor board meetings and push for change. The group seems to be getting some results but their campaign has been little too late for us.

Good point. I mean, we all know that DCPS is teeming with science teachers who gave up careers at NASA and former AU professors who left their dig sites in Egypt to teach history. And PhDs in Chemistry from JHU.

FFS, what does the bolded mean?

“Subject Expert Teacher” is Basis jargon. The PP is mocking the term.

I would rather have a chemistry teacher with 10 years of experience teaching middle/high school chemistry than one with a PhD and 20 years of non-teaching work experience. No question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, let's change the narrative. My BASIS student earned straight As for 5 years but we left anyway, fed up with teacher "experts" without scant background in the subjects they teach due. We also hit the wall with poor leadership, very limited elective and HS EC choices, the bad building, and the seriously stressful high school curriculum featuring few choices (10th grade, AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, AP Cal, want something different, shut up).

If you can afford better or are willing to move to Upper NW or the burbs, you get out of BASIS. Last year, a large parent pressure group formed to monitor board meetings and push for change. The group seems to be getting some results but their campaign has been little too late for us.

Good point. I mean, we all know that DCPS is teeming with science teachers who gave up careers at NASA and former AU professors who left their dig sites in Egypt to teach history. And PhDs in Chemistry from JHU.

FFS, what does the bolded mean?

“Subject Expert Teacher” is Basis jargon. The PP is mocking the term.

I would rather have a chemistry teacher with 10 years of experience teaching middle/high school chemistry than one with a PhD and 20 years of non-teaching work experience. No question.

LOL that you're gonna get 10 years of experience at BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Ha, more like 1-2 years of teaching subject experience for HS and possibly zero for middle school humanities subjects, e.g. US history. Parents have started demanding to see CVs for teacher applicants, even doing the research to get names and dig up their own. They've been turning up at Board meetings in packs to make noise about poorly qualified teachers in the last year, meaning that there's effectively an unauthorized PTA now. Too many of the MS teachers have knowledge that seems to go no further than the "content packets" they're expected to teach from. Strong STEM teachers have a way of running off to Walls, J-R or the burbs. Don't believe the hype that this almost never happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha, more like 1-2 years of teaching subject experience for HS and possibly zero for middle school humanities subjects, e.g. US history. Parents have started demanding to see CVs for teacher applicants, even doing the research to get names and dig up their own. They've been turning up at Board meetings in packs to make noise about poorly qualified teachers in the last year, meaning that there's effectively an unauthorized PTA now. Too many of the MS teachers have knowledge that seems to go no further than the "content packets" they're expected to teach from. Strong STEM teachers have a way of running off to Walls, J-R or the burbs. Don't believe the hype that this almost never happens.

This is actually great. glad to hear that parents are demanding more!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, let's change the narrative. My BASIS student earned straight As for 5 years but we left anyway, fed up with teacher "experts" without scant background in the subjects they teach due. We also hit the wall with poor leadership, very limited elective and HS EC choices, the bad building, and the seriously stressful high school curriculum featuring few choices (10th grade, AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, AP Cal, want something different, shut up).

If you can afford better or are willing to move to Upper NW or the burbs, you get out of BASIS. Last year, a large parent pressure group formed to monitor board meetings and push for change. The group seems to be getting some results but their campaign has been little too late for us.

Good point. I mean, we all know that DCPS is teeming with science teachers who gave up careers at NASA and former AU professors who left their dig sites in Egypt to teach history. And PhDs in Chemistry from JHU.

FFS, what does the bolded mean?

“Subject Expert Teacher” is Basis jargon. The PP is mocking the term.

I would rather have a chemistry teacher with 10 years of experience teaching middle/high school chemistry than one with a PhD and 20 years of non-teaching work experience. No question.

Don’t send your kid to basis then because that is what they value in hiring teachers- PhD, not actual experience. I’ve known some basis teachers that had a rough time actually teaching outside of the basis model.

[Anonymous]

It's good, but great is stretching it. The BASIS franchise doesn't permit PTAs and certainly doesn't welcome scrutiny of its hiring practices, or any other parental involvement for that matter beyond raising funds that are turned over to admins to spend as they wish (read on teacher bonuses). Parent employers are also welcome to offer intern and research type gigs to seniors. You get to fill out yearly parent satisfaction surveys where questions are designed to make teacher and admins look good.

[Anonymous]

The DC BASIS elementary school is neither here nor there. If it materializes, I doubt that it will change the middle or high school experiences, wherever they put it.

[Anonymous]

My kid's 4th grade assistant teacher turned up the next year as an AP teacher at BASIS. Let's just say they didn't appear to have the credentials to teach composition.

[Anonymous]

This is BASIS DC's dirty little secret. They don't pay or offer good enough working conditions to attract and retain qualified teachers across the board, particularly at the middle school level. They burn teachers out - all those after-school office hours. It's particularly hard for BASIS to find teachers with experience teaching both ms and serious STEM subjects (full years of physics, chem, bio not normally taught at the ms level). What often happens is that they often hire either hs STEM teachers who don't last long teaching sciences at the ms level or hire ms teachers with weak subject backgrounds. This is why parents have started pushing for better teacher pay and started lobbying for hiring input. A group of at least 90 concerned parents formed and organized during SY 2022-2023. They send a group to each BASIS board meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is BASIS DC's dirty little secret. They don't pay or offer good enough working conditions to attract and retain qualified teachers across the board, particularly at the middle school level. They burn teachers out - all those after-school office hours. It's particularly hard for BASIS to find teachers with experience teaching both ms and serious STEM subjects (full years of physics, chem, bio not normally taught at the ms level). What often happens is that they often hire either hs STEM teachers who don't last long teaching sciences at the ms level or hire ms teachers with weak subject backgrounds. This is why parents have started pushing for better teacher pay and started lobbying for hiring input. A group of at least 90 concerned parents formed and organized during SY 2022-2023. They send a group to each BASIS board meeting.

A lot of those parents are high school parents. If I were in the middle school right now, I'd try to get as many middle school parents involved in that effort, so it doesn't go out the door when the high school cohort graduates. I'm sure the BASIS board can't wait until those families leave and they can go back to business as usual.

[Anonymous]

Yes, many of them are high school families but some are middle school families, maybe a third. Tough to get middle school families involved in pressuring the administration when few are sure they'll stay for high school. Parents wait until 8th grade to see if a kid is interested in staying, or at least willing to stay if they don't get into Walls, maybe Banneker, or a private the family can afford. At least the parents have organized themselves. The structures they've set up and the positions they've taken, list serv, roster for attending board meetings, demanding a small say in the running of the school etc. may outlive them at BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, many of them are high school families but some are middle school families, maybe a third. Tough to get middle school families involved in pressuring the administration when few are sure they'll stay for high school. Parents wait until 8th grade to see if a kid is interested in staying, or at least willing to stay if they don't get into Walls, maybe Banneker, or a private the family can afford. At least the parents have organized themselves. The structures they've set up and the positions they've taken, list serv, roster for attending board meetings, demanding a small say in the running of the school etc. may outlive them at BASIS.

Wow good for them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is BASIS DC's dirty little secret. They don't pay or offer good enough working conditions to attract and retain qualified teachers across the board, particularly at the middle school level. They burn teachers out - all those after-school office hours. It's particularly hard for BASIS to find teachers with experience teaching both ms and serious STEM subjects (full years of physics, chem, bio not normally taught at the ms level). What often happens is that they often hire either hs STEM teachers who don't last long teaching sciences at the ms level or hire ms teachers with weak subject backgrounds. This is why parents have started pushing for better teacher pay and started lobbying for hiring input. A group of at least 90 concerned parents formed and organized during SY 2022-2023. They send a group to each BASIS board meeting.

Tell me you aren't a BASIS parent without telling me. Were you one you'd know they are matching DCPS now. But go on, tell us more!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is BASIS DC's dirty little secret. They don't pay or offer good enough working conditions to attract and retain qualified teachers across the board, particularly at the middle school level. They burn teachers out - all those after-school office hours. It's particularly hard for BASIS to find teachers with experience teaching both ms and serious STEM subjects (full years of physics, chem, bio not normally taught at the ms level). What often happens is that they often hire either hs STEM teachers who don't last long teaching sciences at the ms level or hire ms teachers with weak subject backgrounds. This is why parents have started pushing for better teacher pay and started lobbying for hiring input. A group of at least 90 concerned parents formed and organized during SY 2022-2023. They send a group to each BASIS board meeting.

Tell me you aren't a BASIS parent without telling me. Were you one you'd know they are matching DCPS now. But go on, tell us more!

I'm not the PP, but I will say that "Matching DCPS" when you only hire the youngest and least qualified teachers still isn't a very good salary. And DCPS' Impact rating system, even though the teachers hate it, is capable of delivering pretty sizeable bonuses, plus a bump for working in Title I schools. Is BASIS matching that?

https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/WTU%20FY20-FY23.pdf