BASIS charter expansion is up for public comment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

I doubt this. Many parents know that BASIS isn’t a good fit for their kid, and it’s not worth toughing out MS if the end result is poor grades that trap you into staying at BASIS for HS. So if you wouldn’t go for the MS, then why would you go for the ES?

Agree. I don’t think the Basis elementary school will significantly detract from any of the W6 DCPS elementaries.

There are plenty of W6 families who would jump as a BASIS elementary. Maybe you mean W3?

And there are lots of W3 families at BASIS—namely, those that didn’t want the J-R pyramid.

Not that many that I know of. Some but not enough to make the elementary schools “suffer” especially since its a lottery. Most W6 parents are not seeking a “rigorous” ECE/early elementary experience. It’s more likely to be the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

I doubt this. Many parents know that BASIS isn’t a good fit for their kid, and it’s not worth toughing out MS if the end result is poor grades that trap you into staying at BASIS for HS. So if you wouldn’t go for the MS, then why would you go for the ES?

Agree. I don’t think the Basis elementary school will significantly detract from any of the W6 DCPS elementaries.

There are plenty of W6 families who would jump as a BASIS elementary. Maybe you mean W3?

And there are lots of W3 families at BASIS—namely, those that didn’t want the J-R pyramid.

Not that many that I know of. Some but not enough to make the elementary schools “suffer” especially since its a lottery. Most W6 parents are not seeking a “rigorous” ECE/early elementary experience. It’s more likely to be the opposite.

If you think W6 families will not jump at the chance at a guaranteed middle/high school option, you clearly know nothing about the W6 school situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

I doubt this. Many parents know that BASIS isn’t a good fit for their kid, and it’s not worth toughing out MS if the end result is poor grades that trap you into staying at BASIS for HS. So if you wouldn’t go for the MS, then why would you go for the ES?

Agree. I don’t think the Basis elementary school will significantly detract from any of the W6 DCPS elementaries.

There are plenty of W6 families who would jump as a BASIS elementary. Maybe you mean W3?

And there are lots of W3 families at BASIS—namely, those that didn’t want the J-R pyramid.

Not that many that I know of. Some but not enough to make the elementary schools “suffer” especially since its a lottery. Most W6 parents are not seeking a “rigorous” ECE/early elementary experience. It’s more likely to be the opposite.

The problem is that W6 middle schools are not great, and the high school options terrible. Most parents on the Hill don't want to send their kids to Eastern.

For many families, the options are a charter (BASIS, Latin, or DCI), move to the burbs, or private.

For an academically motivated kid (or, at least during the elementary years, academically motivated parents), the best public option in DC is BASIS, and the best way to get that option would be to lottery into a BASIS elementary school (if and when it is opened). So, its seem obvious that any BASIS elementary will draw away a lot of top kids from W6 elementaries such as Brent, Maury, and Watkins. Indeed, right now many lottery in right now get a 5th grade slot. And, if and when a BASIS elementary school opens, a lot of those slots will go away and be held for BASIS elementary students continuing on from elementary.

Also, FWIW, the BASIS proposal doesn't make the elementary school very rigorous. You see the same thing at Big 3 private schools. Lower school is easy and the rigor doesn't start until upper school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

I doubt this. Many parents know that BASIS isn’t a good fit for their kid, and it’s not worth toughing out MS if the end result is poor grades that trap you into staying at BASIS for HS. So if you wouldn’t go for the MS, then why would you go for the ES?

Agree. I don’t think the Basis elementary school will significantly detract from any of the W6 DCPS elementaries.

There are plenty of W6 families who would jump as a BASIS elementary. Maybe you mean W3?

And there are lots of W3 families at BASIS—namely, those that didn’t want the J-R pyramid.

Not that many that I know of. Some but not enough to make the elementary schools “suffer” especially since its a lottery. Most W6 parents are not seeking a “rigorous” ECE/early elementary experience. It’s more likely to be the opposite.

The problem is that W6 middle schools are not great, and the high school options terrible. Most parents on the Hill don't want to send their kids to Eastern.

For many families, the options are a charter (BASIS, Latin, or DCI), move to the burbs, or private.

For an academically motivated kid (or, at least during the elementary years, academically motivated parents), the best public option in DC is BASIS, and the best way to get that option would be to lottery into a BASIS elementary school (if and when it is opened). So, its seem obvious that any BASIS elementary will draw away a lot of top kids from W6 elementaries such as Brent, Maury, and Watkins. Indeed, right now many lottery in right now get a 5th grade slot. And, if and when a BASIS elementary school opens, a lot of those slots will go away and be held for BASIS elementary students continuing on from elementary.

Also, FWIW, the BASIS proposal doesn't make the elementary school very rigorous. You see the same thing at Big 3 private schools. Lower school is easy and the rigor doesn't start until upper school.

+1. With Maury merging with Miner, boundaries changing for Brent, and other DCPS changes etc., there is all the more reason for parents to jump to a BASIS elementary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

I doubt this. Many parents know that BASIS isn’t a good fit for their kid, and it’s not worth toughing out MS if the end result is poor grades that trap you into staying at BASIS for HS. So if you wouldn’t go for the MS, then why would you go for the ES?

Agree. I don’t think the Basis elementary school will significantly detract from any of the W6 DCPS elementaries.

There are plenty of W6 families who would jump as a BASIS elementary. Maybe you mean W3?

And there are lots of W3 families at BASIS—namely, those that didn’t want the J-R pyramid.

Not that many that I know of. Some but not enough to make the elementary schools “suffer” especially since its a lottery. Most W6 parents are not seeking a “rigorous” ECE/early elementary experience. It’s more likely to be the opposite.

If you think W6 families will not jump at the chance at a guaranteed middle/high school option, you clearly know nothing about the W6 school situation.

i know the W6 school situation very well. What most people would jump for is another Latin MS/HS.

If you think people would join BASIS just to get a guaranteed MS/HS option, I don't think you know the W6 situation very well. Most people going through the lottery during 4th grade do their research and many realize that BASIS is not for their kid. If they have no other immediate option, they might join to buy time to figure out Plan B, but most of these people leave after 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

I doubt this. Many parents know that BASIS isn’t a good fit for their kid, and it’s not worth toughing out MS if the end result is poor grades that trap you into staying at BASIS for HS. So if you wouldn’t go for the MS, then why would you go for the ES?

Agree. I don’t think the Basis elementary school will significantly detract from any of the W6 DCPS elementaries.

There are plenty of W6 families who would jump as a BASIS elementary. Maybe you mean W3?

And there are lots of W3 families at BASIS—namely, those that didn’t want the J-R pyramid.

Not that many that I know of. Some but not enough to make the elementary schools “suffer” especially since its a lottery. Most W6 parents are not seeking a “rigorous” ECE/early elementary experience. It’s more likely to be the opposite.

If you think W6 families will not jump at the chance at a guaranteed middle/high school option, you clearly know nothing about the W6 school situation.

i know the W6 school situation very well. What most people would jump for is another Latin MS/HS.

If you think people would join BASIS just to get a guaranteed MS/HS option, I don't think you know the W6 situation very well. Most people going through the lottery during 4th grade do their research and many realize that BASIS is not for their kid. If they have no other immediate option, they might join to buy time to figure out Plan B, but most of these people leave after 6th grade.

I live in Ward 6 and have two kids at BASIS. This is an ignorant take. Capitol Hill in particular will pull out of elementary for a guaranteed middle and high school feed. The DCPS options are universally bad.

[Anonymous]

Clearly a clueless poster....have they ever seen the financials of a private "nonprofit" such as Sidwell? If they did, they would see enormous bloated salaries.

Do they know about the huge salaries of employees at the DCPS central office or the charter school board? That money does not filter down to where it would make a difference: the teachers.

Public, private, non profit or for profit schools all pay hefty compensation to administration....they just differ in their tax structures and methods of payment.....wages or profits or management fees...it does not matter, there is huge "waste" in education. That is part of the reason that throwing more money at school districts has failed over and over again.

Anonymous wrote:. Opposition to for-profit education is not a "weird troll" or "ignorant" position to take—you wouldn't send your kid to a for-profit college, why would you send them to a for-profit high school, middle school or even, and this is truly mind-boggling, an elementary school. Profit has no place in education. End of story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clearly a clueless poster....have they ever seen the financials of a private "nonprofit" such as Sidwell? If they did, they would see enormous bloated salaries.

Do they know about the huge salaries of employees at the DCPS central office or the charter school board? That money does not filter down to where it would make a difference: the teachers.

Public, private, non profit or for profit schools all pay hefty compensation to administration....they just differ in their tax structures and methods of payment.....wages or profits or management fees...it does not matter, there is huge "waste" in education. That is part of the reason that throwing more money at school districts has failed over and over again.

Anonymous wrote:. Opposition to for-profit education is not a "weird troll" or "ignorant" position to take—you wouldn't send your kid to a for-profit college, why would you send them to a for-profit high school, middle school or even, and this is truly mind-boggling, an elementary school. Profit has no place in education. End of story.

+1. BASIS DC is non-profit as is Basis Charter Schools. Basis Charter Schools used a for-profit education management organization (that pays salaries similar to what non-profits pay). Lots of charters use for-profit entities to support their work (e.g., management, accounting, food, maintenance, etc.).

And it obviously works for BASIS--they have many of the top ranked public schools in the whole country.

Given how dismal public education is in DC, other charter networks with schools in DC should consider outsourcing tasks to more competent entities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

I doubt this. Many parents know that BASIS isn’t a good fit for their kid, and it’s not worth toughing out MS if the end result is poor grades that trap you into staying at BASIS for HS. So if you wouldn’t go for the MS, then why would you go for the ES?

Agree. I don’t think the Basis elementary school will significantly detract from any of the W6 DCPS elementaries.

There are plenty of W6 families who would jump as a BASIS elementary. Maybe you mean W3?

And there are lots of W3 families at BASIS—namely, those that didn’t want the J-R pyramid.

Not that many that I know of. Some but not enough to make the elementary schools “suffer” especially since its a lottery. Most W6 parents are not seeking a “rigorous” ECE/early elementary experience. It’s more likely to be the opposite.

If you think W6 families will not jump at the chance at a guaranteed middle/high school option, you clearly know nothing about the W6 school situation.

i know the W6 school situation very well. What most people would jump for is another Latin MS/HS.

If you think people would join BASIS just to get a guaranteed MS/HS option, I don't think you know the W6 situation very well. Most people going through the lottery during 4th grade do their research and many realize that BASIS is not for their kid. If they have no other immediate option, they might join to buy time to figure out Plan B, but most of these people leave after 6th grade.

I live in Ward 6 and have two kids at BASIS. This is an ignorant take. Capitol Hill in particular will pull out of elementary for a guaranteed middle and high school feed. The DCPS options are universally bad.

I live on the Hill also, and say your take is ignorant. Many people don't want to send their kid to a school where their kid has a chance of failing out of MS and never making it to the HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

lol

No one is going to choose BASIS over Mann or Key or Stoddert

Not true. Our family is actually at BASIS (a Cardozo feeder so an easy choice for us) and there are many families from Hardy feeders here.

The Hardy and Deal zoned families seem like some of the most "BASIS"-y (highly academic) kids, because they are actively choosing this over a great option for typical kids (as opposed to the rest of us in Shaw/Capitol Hill, where some families choose it just to have a decent middle/high path, but the kids find it a bad fit).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

I doubt this. Many parents know that BASIS isn’t a good fit for their kid, and it’s not worth toughing out MS if the end result is poor grades that trap you into staying at BASIS for HS. So if you wouldn’t go for the MS, then why would you go for the ES?

Agree. I don’t think the Basis elementary school will significantly detract from any of the W6 DCPS elementaries.

There are plenty of W6 families who would jump as a BASIS elementary. Maybe you mean W3?

And there are lots of W3 families at BASIS—namely, those that didn’t want the J-R pyramid.

Not that many that I know of. Some but not enough to make the elementary schools “suffer” especially since its a lottery. Most W6 parents are not seeking a “rigorous” ECE/early elementary experience. It’s more likely to be the opposite.

If you think W6 families will not jump at the chance at a guaranteed middle/high school option, you clearly know nothing about the W6 school situation.

i know the W6 school situation very well. What most people would jump for is another Latin MS/HS.

If you think people would join BASIS just to get a guaranteed MS/HS option, I don't think you know the W6 situation very well. Most people going through the lottery during 4th grade do their research and many realize that BASIS is not for their kid. If they have no other immediate option, they might join to buy time to figure out Plan B, but most of these people leave after 6th grade.

I live in Ward 6 and have two kids at BASIS. This is an ignorant take. Capitol Hill in particular will pull out of elementary for a guaranteed middle and high school feed. The DCPS options are universally bad.

I live on the Hill also, and say your take is ignorant. Many people don't want to send their kid to a school where their kid has a chance of failing out of MS and never making it to the HS.

Most people will give BASIS a try over the failing middle and high school by-right options on the Hill. Very few Capitol Hill families are willing to send their kids to, for example, Elliot Hine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

lol

No one is going to choose BASIS over Mann or Key or Stoddert

Not true. Our family is actually at BASIS (a Cardozo feeder so an easy choice for us) and there are many families from Hardy feeders here.

The Hardy and Deal zoned families seem like some of the most "BASIS"-y (highly academic) kids, because they are actively choosing this over a great option for typical kids (as opposed to the rest of us in Shaw/Capitol Hill, where some families choose it just to have a decent middle/high path, but the kids find it a bad fit).

BASIS makes it very public who the top of the class is. Lots of Capitol Hill kids in that group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

lol

No one is going to choose BASIS over Mann or Key or Stoddert

Not true. Our family is actually at BASIS (a Cardozo feeder so an easy choice for us) and there are many families from Hardy feeders here.

The Hardy and Deal zoned families seem like some of the most "BASIS"-y (highly academic) kids, because they are actively choosing this over a great option for typical kids (as opposed to the rest of us in Shaw/Capitol Hill, where some families choose it just to have a decent middle/high path, but the kids find it a bad fit).

BASIS makes it very public who the top of the class is. Lots of Capitol Hill kids in that group.

.

Yes, that's not quite what I'm saying. Of the kids who come from Capitol Hill and other non-ward 3 neighborhoods , some are very BASISy, and some kids are not and hate it. But of the families actively choosing BASIS over Hardy and Deal, most of those kids are BASISy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC EotP, where the BASIS elementary school will take off in the next few years and the most gentrified Ward 6 elementary schools will suffer as a result. Nothing to be done: the pols won't give a hoot.

lol

No one is going to choose BASIS over Mann or Key or Stoddert

Not true. Our family is actually at BASIS (a Cardozo feeder so an easy choice for us) and there are many families from Hardy feeders here.

The Hardy and Deal zoned families seem like some of the most "BASIS"-y (highly academic) kids, because they are actively choosing this over a great option for typical kids (as opposed to the rest of us in Shaw/Capitol Hill, where some families choose it just to have a decent middle/high path, but the kids find it a bad fit).

BASIS makes it very public who the top of the class is. Lots of Capitol Hill kids in that group.

.

Yes, that's not quite what I'm saying. Of the kids who come from Capitol Hill and other non-ward 3 neighborhoods , some are very BASISy, and some kids are not and hate it. But of the families actively choosing BASIS over Hardy and Deal, most of those kids are BASISy.

Based on your survey of all BASIS students, their wards of residence, and in-bounds middle schools?

Sounds very reliable.

Also, do tell how you measure BASISyness?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clearly a clueless poster....have they ever seen the financials of a private "nonprofit" such as Sidwell? If they did, they would see enormous bloated salaries.

Do they know about the huge salaries of employees at the DCPS central office or the charter school board? That money does not filter down to where it would make a difference: the teachers.

Public, private, non profit or for profit schools all pay hefty compensation to administration....they just differ in their tax structures and methods of payment.....wages or profits or management fees...it does not matter, there is huge "waste" in education. That is part of the reason that throwing more money at school districts has failed over and over again.

Anonymous wrote:. Opposition to for-profit education is not a "weird troll" or "ignorant" position to take—you wouldn't send your kid to a for-profit college, why would you send them to a for-profit high school, middle school or even, and this is truly mind-boggling, an elementary school. Profit has no place in education. End of story.

So, your stance is it's okay to have waste in education as long as some guy in Arizona can buy a new car with that wasted money?

I don't give a shit about Sidwell, because my kids and my money don't go to Sidwell. I'm very interested in wasted money at DCPS because some of my kids and my money DO go there, and you don't need to sell me on how DCPS wastes money. But the fact DCPS wastes money is not a reason to give some guy in Arizona our tax dollars so he can buy a new car.