basis woes
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Anonymous
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13:54, since you asked:
Do not send your child to this school. They are not what they pretend to be. They are getting grant money from the government and not using it on the children. Their way of helping the children that are in need is by putting them all in one room and isolating them from the rest. —Submitted by a parent I wish I could take my child out of this school. Its just not the place for my child. Its too far in the school year to transfer out. —Submitted by a parent Since teachers are given a lot of freedom to use any method they want, quality of instruction varies greatly from class to class and from one teacher to another. Even in math, skipping chapters, rushing through the book and barely allowing a day for each new concept is becoming overwhelming. These are not refresher courses at the university level. It is taking its toll even on children with an aptitude for math. —Submitted by a parent My son was excited to leave this school and so was the rest of the family. My son was being pushed way too hard! My son stayed after school every day. He even went to school on Saturday s. But to no avail. he received almost all F s in every class. If you expect the teachers to communicate with you...forget it! My son self-esteem was broken. He didn t even get a D for showing up and participating. When I removed my son from the school no-one did not ask why nor did anyone come out to speak with me. I was one of almost 20 parents that removed their children from the school. If I kept my son in this school he would have repeated the same grade twice. My son is struggling at this school and I have heard many parents have been transferring out of Basis. They do have a good curriculum, but the level of independence that is expected of students at 11 and 12 is ridiculous.There is no teacher parent conference, so if your child is struggling, you have to manage all contact with teachers via email and phone, practically everyday. So that is 8 extra emails, a day to eight different teachers. There is also constant testing and they never tell the parents when the testing occurs. I had a two hour meeting with the school and have repeatedly asked for a schedule of tests, so that I could keep my son on track and received nothing. My son is miserable and has told me he has seen lots of children crying in the bathrooms and in the stairwell. The adults there need to be more supportive and help students manage their workload. If there are weekly tests then parents need to see this on a monthly time-table or schedule, so we can help our child's prepare. Its not rocket science, its management of a child's academic workload. —Submitted by a parent Pretty amazing amount of negative stuff for a school that's only been open since August. Of course I've heard even worse things about BASIS from families who've fled, which I find very troubling. |
Anonymous
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FWIW St. Anselm's made the top school on the Jay Mathew's challenge index.
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/local/highschoolchallenge/schools/2013/list/local/ |
Anonymous
This. Privates can do what they want because they are private. Basis can't. While they don't have to folllow DCPS rules exactly, they are still a public school using public dollars so they are still beholden to access to education laws. Even if their charter says they can do something it doesn't mean that by law they can. |
Anonymous
| Basis' rent is doubling. Yikes! Not a great plan. |
Anonymous
How is that possible? Don't they own the building and if not wouldn't they have signed a long term lease? |
Anonymous
This is a very misleading post and the 10% number is being treated as gospel in other posts. On October 5, the enrollment at BASIS was 443. According to the Examiner article, the enrollment was 417 recently. Since (443 - 417) / 443 = 26 / 443 = 0.059, the attrition rate at BASIS 6%. (Dictionary.com: attrition rate: the rate of shrinkage in size or number.) According to the Post, 43 of the 443 students enrolled on October 5 have left. However, 17 new students have enrolled since October 5. The Post's failure to note that 40% of the departing students were replaced is particularly troubling, since the article goes on to assert the following:
BASIS received no additional funding for the 17 students who enrolled after October 5. A more balanced presentation of the facts would have note that, by taking on 17 kids who left other charters (or DCPS) after October 5, BASIS itself is one of the schools who received students but got no additional money. |
Anonymous
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They don't get additional money because they already were paid for students which weren't attending the school any longer.
If you are a net down after count day (which they are) you have still received money for children you aren't educating even if you replaced some of them. |
Anonymous
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I'm waiting to see who turns up for 6th grade. Are they letting kids in for 6th who didn't do 5th or what?
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Anonymous
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It was the second review of St. Anselm's that I found very troubling. I have yet to hear of that sort of behavior at BASIS DC and I see no similar posts on Great Schools.
Of course, you should feel free to read through the reviews of BASIS DC on Great Schools and post those which you think are germane to the discussion. PP looking at St. Anselm's. At least we have a really good idea what to expect. Kid is enrolled in martial arts as anti-bullying measure in case we're in store for that. No school for bright kids is perfect or course, but at least he would have some grass to run around on there, and a stage to play music on. Nobody at BASIS could tell me where they're planning to put a few hundred HS kids, or if they're planning to replace kids who drop out with new kids, and at which junctures. Too much uncertainty in the mix for this risk averse parent. We're saving our pennies for now. I'd be surprised if under-enrollment becomes a problem for BASIS in a city where parents of advanced learners without money to burn tend to be desperate for a decent MS (at least if they're not in the Deal District). |
Anonymous
You missed the point of my post. BASIS is only down 26 students (or 6%) since count day, a fact which should have been obvious to the Post reporter, who worded his article so that it appeared that BASIS was down 43 students (or 10%) since count day. If my business plan called for pushing kids out the door after count day to keep their funding, I certainly wouldn't invite 17 more to enroll in my school after count day. BASIS tried hard to recruit students after count day and succeeded in attracting 17 new students, an accomplishment for which the school never receives credit. It's unfair to suggest that BASIS is gaming the system. It is the PCSB (or DC government) that establishes the procedures for funding charter schools. The problem here is not BASIS, but the ridiculous method they've chosen. There should be a count day every 5th of the month, and charters should receive monthly checks that reflect the enrollment on the most recent count day. |
Anonymous
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^ Seriously, boosters, why is the school so short on info about high school? It will only be four years before the 8th graders who survive graduate. They're really going to add floors to the building? Or find the space internally for, what, 200-300 more kids?
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Anonymous
These comments break my heart, but, as a parent of a student who is succeeding at BASIS, I have to say that while the school technically has only been open since August, the STARS program started last year as soon as everyone was admitted and had done the diagnostic testing. That was a solid couple of hours of instruction either on Monday or Wednesday beginning in February. And they had summer school. And they had the BOSS program for everyone to get acclimated. So saying that the school has only been open since August is not really accurate, since they started helping and preparing their future students starting in FEBRUARY, FOR FREE. So I have to ask: did these kids do the STARS program that was offered free of charge Mon or Wed afternoons starting last year once students were admitted? That would have avoided a lot of grief for these parents because the students would have gotten a clear sense they were not up to the challenge, and presumably told their parents that they did not want to go on to school there in the fall. The STARS program gave my child a great experience and a way to make an informed decision about whether or not to leave the school he was at early instead of staying for fifth and going to the IB middle school. It also allowed my child to get to know some of his teachers beforehand. Did they go to the summer school that was offered? That also would have given them a heads up that maybe they should stay at their school or look at other options. Did they attend the BOSS program, recommended for all students? I think my child would have been absolutely lost without the basic organization and systems that were introduced there, like the proper use of the CJ. We know that our kid has tests in two subjects one day a week, and the day of the week does not vary. We also know that our child gets quizzed on a regular basis so he must stay on top of the subject matter in every class at all times. There are unfortunately kids who were unprepared, and parents who did not put them in the STARS program or summer school. The lowest level of math offered is pre-algebra. Again, STARS and summer school would have helped a lot. But I guess, assuming that the parents did STARS and summer school, and did not get a clear message that their child was not up to the challenge, that is a failure of communication on the part of BASIS. And if that is the case, BASIS should definitely have done a better job of telling parents BEFORE school begins that they should seriously consider other options for their child, and I hope they do so in the future. The unfortunate fact is that some children maybe cannot be caught up and be ready for fifth grade, despite STARS and summer school, which is a pathetic reflection on the school those kids came from, because BASIS really does in my experience try to do everything they can for kids who are trying, but sometimes it will never be enough. BASIS accepted children after count day, and did not receive any money for them. I think that, and all the remedial help they offered during the last school year and the summer and once school began, says a lot about how committed they are to children who are profoundly behind but are ready to work hard to try to catch up and have the potential to do so. I think any parent whose child did not do well on the diagnostic testing last fall who did not send their kid to STARS and summer school and the BOSS program were setting their kids up for potentially the kind of experiences that were described above. They were setting their kids up for failure. And I think if BASIS really thought after STARS and summer school that some kids no matter how hard they tried would not succeed and did not communicate that to the kids and the parents BASIS was also at fault. But I have a hard time believing that BASIS did this. They are not into child cruelty. What they are into and do expect is that 11 or 12 year olds are capable of rising to the challenge. And many have. If BASIS knew that a child just could not cut it after STARS and summer school, I have a hard time believing that they would have led the child and the parents on by encouraging them to come in the fall. Not all kids are cut out for BASIS, and if the parents did what they needed to do so that they and their child could get an accurate sense, starting with STARS and summer school, whether they were not cut out for BASIS and feel that they were misled, they are definitely owed an apology and I feel really sorry for the kids in question. |
Anonymous
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"Not all kids are cut out for BASIS"
Then perhaps BASIS should be a private school? In the meantime, I'd like my tax dollars back. |
Anonymous
You missed my point-- that Basis is UP money, not down. Unlike DCPS that has to accept students after count day, Basis doesn't. You don't get credit for sneaking away with some money instead of a lot of money. For the record, I am a huge supporter of Charters. I think how Charters get less funding is ridiculous. But it doesn't mean that Basis (or any Charter or DCPS school) should get away with this. Just leavese with a bad feeling. |
Anonymous
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Wow you really don't get it do you. It doesn't matter if a child is "cut out" for Basis. you take the cash, you take the kid. Whether the kid has parents or not. Whether the student can make an informed decision or not. You're blaming the students and parents and previous schools.
Meanwhile, the head of your school that actually started in February, somehow failed to realize you were short on staff and services. Then asked the board for more money for financial rather than academic reasons. Seriously? Check the twitter feed of the board. A school shouldn't expect to be allowed to grow just because it has a good reputation. Hopefully Basis staff are quick learners. Looks like the accelerated curriculum of DC charter operations is beyond them. Maybe they're just not cutout for DC? |