Reply to Basis DC just withdrew its request to amend their charter and add elementary school

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Reply to "Basis DC just withdrew its request to amend their charter and add elementary school"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
The Board asked hard questions about whether they are truly committed and capable of serving any and all students in the city who would get in through the lottery. The proposal didn't suggest that they were and they were told to shore up their application in the month between the hearing and the vote.

From a political and optics perspective BASIS didn't do itself any favors by saying in the application that they were only interested in locating in Wards 1-6 or by having only 1 of the BASIS DC Board members in attendance for the p public hearing (there were 5 or 6 BASIS.ed staff from Arizona there). The local Board member who went was unfortunately unable to answer many questions about the plans (solely because she was pretty new to the Board and wasn't privy to the discussion about deciding to pursue an elementary school).

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I watched the entire hearing.  The board seems to place an unreasonable emphasis on issues like school location and the ability to serve special needs students.  If Basis wants to open a charter in ward 2, near their current school, let them.  If someone else wants to open a charter in ward 8, let them.  If Basis wants to open a charter emphasizing rigorous academic achievement or have a grading system that is final exam heavy, great.  If someone else wants to open a charter focused on remedial education, also great.  Does the charter board criticize Yu Ying because it only caters to students and parents who want Mandarin  immersion?  I have no issue with the charter board ensuring schools adhere to fair and open access through the lottery, meet reasonable educational benchmarks, provide an acceptable physical environment and otherwise ensure students aren't being mistreated, but it was clear from the hearing that they go well above and beyond this to impose their own preconceptions and are limiting the ability for parents to decide which school is best for their child.

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