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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]"Who knows what the story is"?

Lots of people.  BASIS has a model and a system, they are using the same model and system for every school they open, and so far it has worked for every school they have opened, regardless of the demographic or SES situation (which varies widely from school to school that BASIS runs in Arizona).

There's far less left to speculation and guesswork than the doubters here would want you to believe.[/quote]

So the doubters lack reason to doubt?  What about the fundamental problem of most of the high-SES/white parents bailing from every DCPS and DCP Charter middle school their children have ever attend?  That happens in the Arizona communities where Basis operates?

In DC, no public high school gets, or keeps, more than one-quarter of the white/high-SES kids living in its district (see Wilson and Deal enrollment stats), and most attract a far lower percentage than that.  Moreover, Latin has failed to draw more than a third of the upper-middle-class kids starting in 5th grade to its 9th grade let alone its 12th grade.  Attrition of whites is particularly high between 5th and 6th grades, and 8th and 9th grades everywhere, including Upper NW and at Latin.

My kid attend Watkins on Capitol Hill where we lose at least 75% of the white families who enroll in 1st grade before middle school despite a quarter-century of efforts by the Cluster School to keep these kids.  So now, magically, Basis will keep most high SES families through the AP level simply by offering a better curriculum and instruction, and more one-on-one support, than other schools?

I don't doubt that Basis will offer a much high quality education than other DC middle schools, and probably high schools.  I do doubt that Basis will keep most of its white middle school kids to 12th grade just the same because no DC public school has ever pulled that one off.  As long as schools, education reform leaders and, yes, parents in this city aren't willing to take the "social issues" that promote broad attrition of white kids head on, the problem will vanish simply because the Basis boosters wish it to?  Basis can wish the no-selective-admissions issue away?

Boosters, do you disagree?  Or care?  On what basis (no pun intended)?

[/quote]

Take Two:

First of all, I reject your shorthand and concern about retaining "white students". I am equally concerned about retaining middle class students of all races and backgrounds. Why do African American families never get mentioned as leaving the schools by middle school? Certainly African American, Hispanic and Asian families with high educational standards and goals for their kids who have an option to leave dcps are doing so in great numbers, to the detriment of the school system and the city. Forget about white students for a minute. Who cares?

Second, the Cluster school has failed to retain its original families through middle and high school over two decades mostly because they are hamstrung by DCPS Central Ofiice chaos and "false equality" attitudes and by silly parents who subscribe to the same view. Charters in the district do NOT have these problems and will, in my estimation, succeed in retaining middle class families through high school. Just sit back now and watch Latin take off with its new facilities/campus and well-rounded student-athlete-artist-citizen goals. And the BASIS rigorous math/science curriculum that is not even available at many private schools in the area will pull them through, with policies that make sure only the most motivated students matriculate to high school. Watch for more charters to take root here and thrive through high school. Meanwhile, let's all hope that DCPS gets a clue on how to structure their own programs to compete. It's up to them. The $$$$ is there [/quote]

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