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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]^^ Phew! That was quite a post! Just a few (final) thoughts from the Tucson teacher...

- I hope you find good place for your kids wherever you end up! 
- On the anonymous posting thing I just meant we should sign in with "usernames" like bunnymuffin23 so it is easier to follow postings by multiple people, follow the conversation better. You ain't getting my real name, and not just because it could get me fired!!! ;-)
- The corporate / for profit structure of the BASIS system is potentially not relevant to the question of whether BASIS  delivers a winning product, and I certainly don't begrudge the Block's reaping financial gains from their creation. However, I do think the facts need to be on the table. All BASIS schools are basically shell entities virtually entirely controlled by the parent for-profit corporation BASIS.ed (http://www.basiseducation.net/schools-we-manage). Not that for-profit status matters for executive compensation of course - the CEO of Goodwill is doing just fine. The big problem with for profit management corporations is the lack of transparency. All money from all campuses flows into BASIS.ed. Teachers and facilities and everything else are leased from the parent to the non-profits. I worry about this assuming BASIS.ed is motivated by profit and/or the desire to expand, then resources for each campus are going to be minimized. In particular I am upset that wages have been essentially frozen for teachers for about 5 years, jeopardizing their ability to retain talent (although to be fair we are a pretty desperate bunch in this economy), but also that class sizes are increasing (growing over the years from about 24 to the standard now of 30 per class).  Raising academic standards while increasing class sizes is a very problematic proposition - it greatly increases the odds that kids to fall through the cracks. Could BASIS.ed afford to lower class sizes or give pay raises if it weren't expanding so rapidly? Impossible to tell without financial transparency. But again, this is perhaps a diversion from the central question: What are the pros and cons of "the BASIS model" and how does it stack up to alternatives? As one PP noted, criticizing is all well and good but ultimately parents have to make a decision.

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DEAR BASIS TUCSON TEACHER:
please don't go just yet.  We have really learned a lot from you.  Truly. Sorry I slammed you so hard.  And I still have some crucial questions I want your answers to if it is at all possible.

You have to understand that we have a tween daughter at BASIS right now who is excited about algebra, learning more than she ever has in her life, actually getting some sleep every night, and making new friends. BASIS is her third school in three years.  She had a terrible time her last year at our local elementary school (silly us for assuming that because we had never even heard of a bad teacher before (we have a few kids), the school was so good, and so was our daughter, that we didn't really have to worry).  Had it not been for a nasty comment the teacher made on our daughter's last report card we would never have known that our poor child had spent her entire year sad and confused because she could not please this woman no matter how hard she tried. She is not a complainer, thought it was her own fault, and could tell that we were grappling with some fairly serious issues of our own.  So she decided to keep it to herself and cope as best she could. But it absolutely shattered her self confidence and we had no idea she was so miserable until the year was basically over.  My husband practically had to restrain me at our final parent teacher "conference" because all I wanted to do was get in her face and say how DARE you make my daughter feel like shit and doubt herself at this critical transition time in her educational career.  The following fall the teacher did not return to the school.

Fortunately for all of us, last year she had the good fortune to attend Washington Latin, where all of the teachers recognized her intelligence, nurtured her intellectual curiosity, applauded her work ethic, rewarded her academic performance, and wrote such sweet comments on her report cards that I will keep them forever.  When we went to Parent Teacher conferences last fall all the teachers wanted to talk to us to tell us how much they loved our daughter, what a great kid we had, and the enormous potential they saw in her.  She was always excited to go to school, and the positive reinforcement she got from them and from us provided the critical boost she needed to her self esteem before she went on to BASIS and went a long way towards preparing her academically for such a rigorous environment.

As other parents have noted, Latin and Basis are completely different types of schools.  At BASIS our daughter gets evaluated through tests and quizzes weekly in almost every subject, and whether she has difficulty with the homework determines how much time she needs to spend studying for tests and quizzes.  Her CJ alerts us to any potential areas in which she might be struggling way before it becomes a crisis.  On the other hand, we cannot just turn on a computer and find out when her tests are and what her homework is for the night the way parents can at Washington Latin.  If she is not sufficiently organized, we cannot easily pick up the pieces and bail her out.  30 Algebra problems each night is a lot more work than I imagined/remembered, and I think it is excessive because some of the problems are basically redundant, and when they are covering new concepts sometimes it seems like they go too fast.

We do not have that much contact with her teachers, and her report cards usually contain only grades and no comments. She gets public positive reinforcement for good academic performance at the awards ceremonies each grading period, and she appears to like most of her teachers and to feel comfortable asking them questions when she is confused.  The organization required to do well on the precomprehensive and comprehensive exams varies from class to class.  Some teachers really do a fantastic job of clearly stating exactly what you need to know in order to do well.  Others either do not want to make the effort or feel the kids should be able to figure it out on their own. These exams have definitely caused even my high performing daughter some anxiety, but we try to remind her that in 6th grade her grades do not really matter, and that this is a marathon not a sprint.  The key in these early years is to learn how to effectively study for these tests and how to have your performance accurately reflect your knowledge of the subject matter.  I think it would be amazing if she started high school or even college no longer being afraid of midterms or finals.  Imagine how freeing that would be.  But obviously that takes dedication to studying how to effectively study in each class, which sometimes there is just no time for.

Most of the tests are multiple choice, class participation is usually not required and does not really play a role in your final grade, and homework seems to matter only if you do not do it.  If your child is not willing to work hard and stay organized, BASIS would definitely not be a good fit.  Similarly there are basically no brownie points.  I think my daughter feels that she knows and likes her teachers, and that the feeling is mutual.  She definitely benefited from taking the classes that were offered to everyone during the spring after she was admitted, especially because it helped her get ahead in math.  She also got to know some of the teachers before school started. The BOSS program, which is offered in the summer before the year starts, is really essential to figuring out how the school works, especially for someone who is not naturally completely organized.  My assumption is that as more and more kids leave and the school becomes smaller, and it will feel less like an assembly line.  But I definitely understand what the Tucson teacher is talking about in terms of the dangers of rapid expansion and becoming a brand rather than an individual school.  However, if I am correct that DC is the only inner city school so far for BASIS, as Fagin says in Oliver Twist, "I think they're going to have to think it out again."  I am NOT suggesting that they not try.  Just that if the populations of the schools are different, educating that population may require a different approach.

So here are my questions for BASIS TUCSON TEACHER:

In the "about us" you posted the link to, I see BASIS Corp but the Board is headed by Barret (the former head of Intel) etc and I find no evidence of a for- profit management company - what am I missing and where can I find it?  Most of these big wigs don't need to be extraordinarily compensated because they were successes in their previous lives, Stanford lawyers and then profs (the kind as I said above could always walk away.)  Seems like a great group who could not possibly still be grubbing for money.

As I said, if the Blocks make out like Beltway Bandits (the worthless wealthy K Street lobbyist lawyer slugs here who send their kids to private school) after slogging it out and perhaps slugging it out in the trenches for so long, THEY above anyone else have earned it.  The kudos, the admiration AND the money because they took all the risks.  In terms of your salaries and retaining good teachers, Olga said last year that most of you all only stay about 5 years and then go off to grad school.  They seem to like your young enthusiasm kind of like Teach for America except you seem to have better teaching on actual teaching, and depending on what grades and classes you instruct you have the chance of actually teaching SOME kids who actually want to and can learn.  And everyone who works for the federal government has not gotten a raise in three years - Obama has frozen our salaries too.

Perhaps more importantly Michelle Rhee's new book is not your Bible (she is our former DC school superintendent who REALLY disappointed a lot of people) and the present one aint doin much better IMO but that is business as usual here - DC is different.  When I went off to college I was the kid from the city where the mayor was a known coke addict who had just gotten caught on videotape smoking crack and banging a prostitute, and GUESS what Mr. Barry is doing now?  He is back on the DC City council.  I kid you not.  We reelected our convicted felon because he redeemed himself somehow.  You really have to try hard to find a more dysfunctional city and public school system.

I see a VERY ambitious expansion plan in the next few years in other parts of AZ, but right now DC is the only non AZ school, which means they cannot let it fail, and they define failure not only as packing up and leaving but as lowering their standards - so what are they going to do?

You said this for profit management company rents the building to the schools.  I thought the school bought the building in DC.  There is a big difference to us here because there are many charter schools, including Latin, that have been moving around for years and years trying to find permanent homes.  And if they could raise the rent they could squeeze us although I don't see why they would want to...

I see plans to open a school in San Antonio next year, which would make two outside of AZ, and I worry that San Antonio TX and DC are characterized as only "affiliated schools" instead of just additional BASIS schools on that website - any guess as to why?  And I do think DC is going to keep the Blocks and others hands and plates full, and so this new Texas school in 2013 might be a mistake but it is already up there, so it seems a done deal

I see a great idea that a k-4th will open in AZ soon, but don't want that to happen here right now - have you read about our pre 5th grade charter nightmares here?  The hottest charter accepted 6% - a lower acceptance rate than Harvard University for undergrad?  THAT is how desperate people are here for safe halfway decent schools

So yes, the first 2 flagship schools started in 98 and 03, and in 11-13 you all are opening a lot more IN AZ.  Are they in the same type of neighborhoods?

I am surprised that they are opening some where they are admitting thru 10th - maybe these ones have overflow from the flagships?  Are the lotteries for those 2 schools insane?  Do those two schools have to turn lots of folks away like Latin this year - 900 apps for 100 slots?  And remember, most of the Latin posters here state quite openly that they are not expecting or looking for Ivies.  You can take a look at their acceptance and scholarship list, how much does that resemble the flagship schools (we heard that University of Arizona is a gut, but a real university)

Are ANY of the AZ schools looking at a population like the DC public school population - primarily AA black, 2nd or 3rd or more generation who were stuck or stayed after the white flight after Brown v Board of Ed, major mortality, incarceration, pregnancy, permanent underclass?

My husband went to school in the South Bronx in NYC and, with the exception of one child from his elementary school, the kids who did not get in to his Gifted and Talented program in 3rd grade for minority students - none of the kids were white anyway - which was the first step out, are dead, in jail, in gangs, or moms who had to drop out before graduating high school.  He did not even try to guess who was not on drugs. We literally went thru his 3rd grade class picture this fall, and it was that bad.... Although a lot of those kids were Puerto Rican, which does not mean they weren't black as well, just not AA.  But mostly they were very poor, and had no home support, and the gangs etc.

Please tell me that you all are not in totally uncharted waters here, because if you were you would not be opening another school in Texas next year...

Please tell me what they intend to do with our 7th and 8th graders who have been screwed until now.  Someone talked to one teacher who said she had been reading one of his/her kids the questions in a science class all year out loud, and writing down the answers because the kid CANNOT READ.  I assume that child will not be around next year, but THAT I find tragic.  It is the 6th, but mostly 7th and 8th graders whose souls I worry about being crushed in this city.

That poor child may have an undiagnosed learning disability, but even so, I do not believe that child has a real chance at BASIS, or LATIN, or maybe even a decent life because they are already in 7th or 8th grade.  THAT is the kind of school I am talking about.  THAT is the kind of school some of these kids are coming from.  Social promotion and functional illiteracy and the TRAGEDY is that s/he was getting most of the science questions on the tests RIGHT because s/he was listening and understanding what was going on in class and could understand and remember it well enough to pass the tests and quizzes.

Are you all seriously admitting 10th graders to one of your new AZ schools next year who might be like that, or is that just not possible because either everyone in AZ knows what BASIS is like now and no mom would knowingly do that to her kid,

Finally, no matter how many kids initially get admitted, won't the attrition mean that you eventually end up with a small school that is not racially or economically at all like the city it is in?  Remember, when you talk about options here, every charter high school, even the test in ones, are majority AA.  That is also true for the best public high schools as well.  What do you think is going to happen here?

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