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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Anonymous wrote: 
But again, 21:33, they don't have a track record in DC.

I'm not sure why you have such a hard time acknowledging this very simple fact.

DC BASIS is still an experiment here.

So in essence, you are saying that the children of DC, of whom a great many are low SS AA, will not be able to make it at Basis and therefore Basis will fail. Honestly, this is an outrageous assumption.

Um, no, I didn't say that. Not in essence and not in fact. In fact, I didn't mention the children of DC at all in that three line post. I didn't talk about SES or AA students either. I didn't even talk about BASIS students. I made no assumptions, outrageous or otherwise.

I stated a FACT.

BASIS doesn't have a track record in DC. That's all I said.

Their reputation in Arizona is well earned, but this is the first year BASIS has been open and it doesn't have a track record in DC. In a few years, there will be some data that shows whether the BASIS model works in DC the way it works in AZ.

I can't figure out why such a simple fact makes some boosters go crazy with the accusations about what was never said.

I'm not the previous poster but have been in similar threads on this before - The question has been asked repeatedly of why, given their established track record in Arizona, there is this deep skepticism repeatedly expressed by posters that they can't replicate the same kind of success here. What is it that makes DC so special? Maybe you personally didn't suggest it, but other anti-Basis cynics have repeatedly suggested that DC is very different, primarily because of its large number of low-SES AA students (which basically suggests low-SES AA students are fundamentally incapable of more solid academics - something I don't necessarily agree with). But certainly this is your opportunity to explain what is driving your own cynicism and reservations, rather than just saying "no, no, no" to everything - which doesn't really say anything useful.[/quote]

OK, I'll try to answer this. But first, I'm not a poster saying "no, no, no, to everything." Really, besides asserting, correctly, that BASIS has no track record here, I have not gone into any detail about my reservations. (I think it is fair that you call them skepticisms, but I think it's unfair to call them cynicisms.)

So, to your question, in response, I have a question. Why do you think that their track record in Arizona means anything here? Why are you assuming that anyone with doubts, or are skeptics, to use your words, is out of line? Why are we, who recognize that this school is brand new, the odd ones? Why would you (maybe not you personally, but the BASIS boosters, for sure) simply assume success with no proof whatsoever?

You're illogical when you ask what is unusual about DC that makes replication of Arizona success questionable. The better question is why would you assume success in one place would automatically translate to success somewhere else?

Frankly, the people who assume that BASIS is an awesome school because it is successful somewhere else worry me. Our kids need us to be vigilant. Our kids need us to be advocates. Our kids need us to be educated. Our kids need us to refuse to rest until we have found the best educational opportunities for them. Maybe BASIS is that. But we don't know. And if we buy into the booster press that BASIS is already one of the best schools in DC, then we are lazy parents. We need to wait and expect BASIS to prove itself. It hasn't proved itself. We may hope it does, but it hasn't yet.

Honestly, I don't know if you are the same poster who keeps trying to link anyone with reservations about BASIS with implying that low SES AA students can't succeed, but if you are, you need to drop that sack right now. I can't find any post (and I challenge you to find one) that explicitly states that low SES AA students can't succeed at a school with BASIS's profile in any thread here.

I get it. I get wanting to link people with doubts about BASIS to some backwards, racist notion about achievement. It sure would make the boostering easier. But that isn't the situation with my posts (that I have easily owned up to). I have simply stated that BASIS has no track record for a pretty simple reason: I want to do best by my child. I want BASIS to be accountable and to show me that they are as great as I want them to be. I want all parents to reserve judgment so we keep BASIS on notice that they need to prove themselves to us, DC parents. The PR machine isn't enough to convince me. I can be patient. I can wait for a track record. But I require a track record. My DD deserves one.[/quote]

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