BASIS proposal to expand to K-4--PCSB hearing today
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Anonymous
That is an article abotu US news and world report rankings... it's not anything I would point to as serious. But does it refute any of the earlier reporting? And did you check the 990? How much debt DOES BASIS have? |
Anonymous
You can get a lot out of this data if you try. It does seem like there's not much attrition after the transition from 8th to 9th, but a lot before then. Retention from 5th into 6th isn't great-- most recently 116 out of 135 5th graders stayed for 6th. That's 86% of the class-- not so good. The prior year was 115. It's possible to trace cohort progress over time by changing the year setting, although it's super easy to get confused. Just for example, in SY 19-20, 124 5th graders moved up to 6th grade at BASIS for SY 20-21. At the end of SY 20-21, 98 BASIS 6th graders moved up to become BASIS 7th graders for SY 21-22. At the end of SY 21-22, 85 BASIS 7th graders moved up to become BASIS 8th graders for SY 22-23. And then at the end of SY 22-23, 60 BASIS 8th graders moved up to become BASIS 9th graders for the year that just ended, SY 23-24. So a group of 135 5th graders became a group of 60 9th graders. Doing the same thing for the current 12th grade cohort (63 students stayed from 11th to become 12th graders in SY 23-24), 63 stayed in 10th to become 11th for SY 22-23, 65 stayed from 9th to become 10th graders for SY 21-22, and 71 stayed from 8th to become 9th graders in SY 20-21. So a 9th grade class of 71 became a senior class of 63. 89%, not great but not terrible. The really small class recent of 42 seniors shrunk from 48 in 9th, again not great but consistent upper 80s. Edscape also shows where students go from BASIS, but the N<10 rule makes it hard to say much. Clearly a lot of people leave the DC public system entirely. Others go to what I assume are their IBs, and BASIS does send some 8th graders to selective high schools. I suspect that some kids truly can't handle it and don't want to struggle or repeat grades, others are academically capable but for any number of reasons they choose another school. It's also worth noting that the Edscape data shows BASIS does, on occasion, add students after 5th grade. I'm not sure why, but clearly they're capable of doing it when they decide they want to. Edscape data is year-to-year change, but you can also look at within-year change. On DC School Report Card, BASIS shows a loss of 1.8 percent of its population during the year displayed. https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/168/school/3068/report#measure-107 |
Anonymous
Thanks for clarifying. I see from the 990 that they pay a little more than $2 million for "occupancy." I have no knowledge of commercial real estate so don't know if that's fair or not Some more background: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2018/05/11/basis-arizona-charter-school-tax-public-money-funding-expand-texas-dc/401516002/ |
Anonymous
The parent BASIS nonprofit has hundreds of millions in outstanding commercial loans on properties around the country. Local taxpayers pay fees to a local nonprofit which helps pay the debt AND pays an additional management fee and materials etc to the for-profit. The for-profit needs more locations to make more money, the non-profit takes on the debt. Once a school is set up, the local taxpayers are on the hook for trying to help pay down the nonprofits debt—or face teh school's closure. Management keeps getting paid. It's a very clever business plan—just not necessarily a good educational plan. |
Anonymous
| The attrition from 8 to 9 is expected. The attrition from 5 to 6 might scare some potential and incoming families, but it mostly makes sense too. Those are families/kids who try the school, decide that it is not the best fit, and leave in time for the normal entry year at another middle school. You may not see precisely the same type of attrition at either Latin school, but it still makes sense for Basis. But what is causing the large exodus between before 7th and 8th grade and where do those students go? |
Anonymous
That is a mystery and the data doesn't tell you much. So much depends on each family's situation, location, and lottery number, and if they moved away that doesn't mean they liked or didn't like BASIS. "Not in audit" is a popular destination, but that could mean MD, VA, any other state or country, or any private school, or homeschooling. The destination schools seem to be a real mix of different types of DCPS, and charters of all types. There are some to Deal, I assume they're IB and decided to give BASIS a try but liked Deal better. Some to DCI which usually requires a good lottery number. Hard to say how many people would have liked to leave but didn't have the ability to do it. I am a bit surprised there weren't more kids headed to Latin Cooper in that initial year when Cooper was filling its new, empty 6th grade class. |
Anonymous
Making the 5th grade statistics school-wide will not be a boon to a lot of these schools. Lower-performing earlier grades will threaten the progress a lot of these schools have made (and in turn the progress they have made/hope to make at schools like SH, EH, and Jefferson). DC shouldn't allow a Basis elementary — it is a huge threat to progress in DCPS. |
Anonymous
Except for the schools immediately adjacent to this future BASIS elementary, I don't think any one DCPS school would lose enough kids to BASIS to make a big difference. It's going to require both a good lottery number and an enthusiasm for BASIS, and many people don't have both of those things. |
Anonymous
Families fleeing to FCPS could explain attrition between 6th and 7th grade — middle school starts at 7th in FCPS. |
Anonymous
Ooh good point. |
Anonymous
BASIS and Latin make a huge dent in a lot of schools for 5th grade. The impact here will fall somewhat short of that (because the Latins won't be taking elementary students), but I think it might be more than just the BASIS 5th grade numbers. A not inconsiderable number of families go through these elementaries on the theory that they'll take their chances in the BASIS/Latin lottery for 5th, but the Latins are approaching impossible for non-siblings, and BASIS will approach impossible if its spots are taken by its elementary students. It might push more families out of DCPS earlier if they don't see any light at the end of the elementary tunnel. |
Anonymous
Lol. The percent who passed an AP at TJ is 100% too. Did they “game the system”? |
Anonymous
Exactly. No problem with a GT program — in fact it would be a huge improvement on what DC currently offers!! You need schools/programs that take the highest achieving kids and give them material at the level/pace they can handle. |
Anonymous
Trolling. Take off your tin foil hat and quote and cite the reporting. No one has any idea what you are taking about. |
Anonymous
Is TJ a standalone LEA that prides itself on taking all comers? |