Reply to Lack of Social Promotion at BASIS?

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Reply to "Lack of Social Promotion at BASIS?"

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[quote=Anonymous][/quote]

I think it is insulting to the population to say that a school with high standards will not thrive.  Students switch schools all the time.  So long as a school has an interested student body and a majority of the students are succeeding and thriving (as evidenced on the DCCAS tests) why on earth would it be shut down?  Not all kids are a good fit for all schools, sometimes because it is more work than the students and families realized when they registered.  What is KIPP's attrition rate?  Not every kid in the city applies to magnets, if it becomes clear what kind of program BASIS provides (and it lives up to the hype), why do you think kids that are not capable of handling it will apply?

I have heard through friends of a couple of kids that are registered and doing the prep courses now and are very happy with how things look.  I realize there will be growing pains and bumps along the road, but my children are a few years out.  My DD is at a JKLMM elementary that feeds into Deal, but I am not certain that my DD's needs are adequately met academically so we may well explore BASIS in a couple of years.[/quote]

I'm the OP--  I am just reacting to those BASIS defenders stating that BASIS will hold back children.  What I am concerned by is the fact that there may be many kids held back and that the classes will then squew older.  My daughter is already on the young side for her class-- I fear that she would be overwhelmed starting 5th grade with several kids in the class old enough to be in 6th.

But maybe I misunderstand the seemingly blithe statements elsewhere about BASIS "just have those kids repeat a grade"-- maybe instead of having kids repeat a grade, those kids could get a seperate class with more intensive one-on-one teaching (with other peers that weren't promoted to 6th grade math), and then as soon as the child does seem to "get" 5th grade math and are caught up with your 6th grade peers in math, she can rejoin her 6th grade peers?   Is this what BASIS is planning?  I would feel so much better if this were the plan. That would be better not only for the student who didn't pass one particular test, but ALSO for the kids in 5th grade that won't be sitting next to an older child that is pissed off, embarrassed and bored because they are having to repeat a grade.

You ask why would a kid that is "not capable of handling" BASIS apply?  First, how can a parent or child know whether or not they are capable of BASIS?  Isn't BASIS saying that they are capable of taking in every child that gets in to the school?  So if kids and parents actually believe THAT message and apply, can you really fault them?  Second, BASIS has a very convenient location and seems to have a great track record-- why not give it a shot?  Third, although a child may struggle to excel in one subject, they may excel in onthers.  What if your math genius needs the accelerated learning, but can't unpack a metaphor to save their life?

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