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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PP isn't wrong, but more explanation needed.

Walter Washington, Sharon Pratt and Barry ran DCPS into the ground during the first 20 years of home rule. By his own admission, Williams mostly left DCPS alone - he had bigger fish to fry in making the city function. No secret that Congress opened the door for charters in the nation’s capital when it passed the DC School Reform Act of 1995. Setting up the DC Public Charter School Board as an independent body governed by the School Reform Act was really Fenty's baby, but the most successful charters we see today mainly came in under Gray. He had the worst relationship with the WTU of the mayors and let the charter sector explode to get back at the union. Bowser has continued in this vein pretty relentlessly. Something is obviously rotten to the core in a jurisdiction where almost half of public-school students attend charters. A complete mess, really. The fact that VA and MD essentially don't bother with charters is probably all we really need to know. BASIS came out of Arizona, one of the several states with the least regulation of the charter sector.[/quote]

I love how you glossed over white flight, population decline and recession of the late 70s and 80s that decimated DC and many other cities. I'm guessing you are aware that DC was the epicenter of the crack epidemic in the US? It is disingenuous to suggest that DCPS was floundering and failing without examining in context of what was happening to DC as a whole. It is also just revisionist history and nonsense to suggest that Fenty was responsible for the charter setup. It ignores the text of the law and the pressure that DC was under to comply or risk losing congressional funding. Some of what you typed is delusional and (again) ignores how, why and in what manner the Charter system came to be.

What does it even mean to say, "[i]He had the worst relationship with the WTU of the mayors and let the charter sector explode to get back at the union[/i]"? As you would know if you understood the text of the law, the Mayor cannot control how many charters there are.

What does it mean to say, "[i]Something is obviously rotten to the core in a jurisdiction where almost half of public-school students attend charters[/i]"? This is a supply demand issue. If more kids chose DCPS then there would be fewer charters. We know that good DCPS schools attract students.

You are repeating the same nonsense that was stated earlier, "[i]The fact that VA and MD essentially don't bother with charters is probably all we really need to know.[/i]" There is no federal law requiring independent charters in those states. Why is that so hard for you to understand? It would be like concluding that DC is backwards because we (mostly) pump our own gas and in New Jersey all stations are full service. It ignores the laws that create that outcome.

You conclude with this nonsense: "[i]BASIS came out of Arizona, one of the several states with the least regulation of the charter sector.[/i]" Arizona did not create the DC charter system, CONGRESS DID. Charters are permitted in DC. The fact that an operator from Arizona opened one makes perfect sense since, as you say, Arizona is Charter friendly. It stands to reason that AZ is a state where charters would incubate. That's not an indictment of anything. You are employing a silly WTU talking point that seeks to discredit something with a tangential fact because the actual facts (high test scores, successful academic outcomes as measured by college acceptances, high demand) are not on your side.
 
You lay out some sort of conspiracy theory that suggests that the charter movement and parents choosing charters is a conspiracy against the WTU. Parents choose charters because they aren't happy with the DCPS options. It is a CHOICE, not a mandate. I think the one thing that most parents on this forum can agree on is that we want good and better options and we are all doing our best for our kids. We often disagree on how to achieve the desired outcomes but I think it is only the WTU crazies who sit around and view all of these issues through some warped prism of a conspiracy to destroy teachers.
 [/quote]

Get a life. OP asked how her child could succeed at BASIS.  Please start your own thread entitled "I love the DC charter school sector, yes, I do, how bout you?"  Hint: it works as a cheer.[/quote]

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