Issues at start up charter

Inexperienced teachers who had never taught the grade before teaching a grade the school had never had before

Social interactions in the class, and no social curriculum to support learning how to get along. No counselor to support.

Favoritism to students of founders and administrators

Curriculum that included units on watching videos on line (see inexperiencd above)

Has the principal of Basis run a school before? I'd want an experienced hand in there without a personal agenda.

Anonymous wrote:I don't care how much experience BASIS has elsewhere; a D.C. charter start-up is rocky no matter what. Having been there, done that, no way would I do it again. I was younger, more idealistic and I put my whole heart and soul into that previous charter. I love it like you might love a dysfunctional sibling -- you keep forgiving it because it pulls at you but you keep having to say "wtf?!?". Anyway, now that we've moved on to private middle school where o.m.g.! the communications are fantastic, the program well thought out, the curriculum actually planned and rich, the calendar printed a year in advance, no WAY is this working mom going back to building the airplane while flying it.

Would you mind sharing what some of the issues were/are with a start-up charter? I am somewhat ignorant to what issues I should be looking for. Thanks for sharing from your previous experience and insight.

PP thanks for that. I am the OP, my child is more like a "smart but scattered" type and I am genuinely not sure how she'd do in a bigger setting than she is in currently. But probably by high school BASIS will have an impossible lottery like all the other charters, so I am considering being one of the brave souls who get it all started.

It has been helpful to read the other posts from BTDT parents as well. And to the first grade mom, you are so lucky! I feel like we have just-missed so many times...lottery got popular just when my DD was a K student so we missed out on OOB as many before us had benefited and now the MS renaissance is happening right as we would be the "bleeding edge" as another poster put it.

I have registered my child for Basis. I decided to register for a number of reasons but mainly because of the curriculum. The classes they will provide are way beyond what DC public schools offer and many of the good privates.

I have an affinity for math and science and was impressed that they will have 9 classes of science a week (by my understanding). I was also impressed with the liberal arts curriculum, including courses in Latin, and AP history early on. I was even more impressed by the detailed road map for the courses. It shows all the options depending on a specific child's progress and interests. This is a big deal as often a school rigidly moves student together with minimal differentiation. This can be bad for a child with varied talents. More importantly they have thought the curriculum through tested it in an open enrollment school and will not have to make it all up as they go.

Another thing I like is that the charter focus is on high achievement. This may seem like a none focus as we all want our children to achieve. However, I have found that in our current DC public school (a JKLM) this is not always the case. In some ways its like how one person may think a language class is important, but someone else prefers language immersion. I believe my child should be challenged. They don't have to get all As but they should stretch.

As for the question about what my child is like, I would say she is one that likes challenges and peers that like to be challenged. She likes to learn new things and is good in math and reads almost to much. But she is not a genius anything like that. Again I like the fact that if she wants to move ahead in math she will be able to. At her current school she is not really learning much in math class. She is getting better by doing things she already knows and likes working with her classmates to solve problems but she is bored every day. This is not the end of the world but I would like to see that change in middle school.

Beyond the curriculum, poster 20:31 said it well. The school is organized, seemingly well funded and has some key things they plan to do differently. One thing is the Basis Stars program to help get kids up to speed starting next month for the 2012-2013 school year. They also plan on having teachers with significant expertise in their respective subjects. I meet some of the staff and teachers and was impressed with their ability to answer my questions.

Overall, I am excited that this unique school will be opening in DC. I am realistic about the confusion that will occur with all new entities and the challenges with their downtown location, etc. But the big picture looks good to me.

Anonymous wrote:Well, I am hoping that somebody takes the leap and do it. I have a kid in first grade and was hoping that by fifth grade Basis would have all the kinks out. From a distance, I do understand the frustration of starter families. DC current charter is in it's fourth year. The charter class is a cluster rack in my opinion. Nothing is really planned in advance for this class. However, the classes that follow are totally the beneficiaries of the charter classes successes and failures.

It may not be e same for Basis because they have a proven model to follow. I do not see how operating in a different jurisdiction would impact the model.

The difference is that they don't know DC. Any new school doesn't really know what it's culture is going to be like until it opens the doors and see who comes in, but they're going to adjust to a new city as well. DC is not Tucson. It remains to be seen how much remediation they will need to do and how effective it is. I like the idea of an ambitious school, but until it's up and running with results it's all talk. There are not very many good schools in the system. BASIS may find out that before they can start teaching HS classes to 10 year olds, they're going to have to teach them to read at a 3rd grade level. What will the classroom management look like?

Families who are now in 1st can sit back and observe, and wish them luck. OP however, is talking about pulling out of private to join the bleeding edge. There is no middle school in Ward 5, if I were there, I'd pull my child out of an underperforming K-8 for a real option. What the real mix is going to look like remains to be seen.

Well, I am hoping that somebody takes the leap and do it. I have a kid in first grade and was hoping that by fifth grade Basis would have all the kinks out. From a distance, I do understand the frustration of starter families. DC current charter is in it's fourth year. The charter class is a cluster rack in my opinion. Nothing is really planned in advance for this class. However, the classes that follow are totally the beneficiaries of the charter classes successes and failures.

It may not be e same for Basis because they have a proven model to follow. I do not see how operating in a different jurisdiction would impact the model.

PPs, ITA. Parents may not have a choice and need to take a chance, but do you really want it to be your kid? Especially for MS. Think hard about your options.

8:48, I agree completely.

While I'm a huge supporter of public schools, the reality in DC, even at the best of schools, is a mess.

Just as one who has been there in the past, BASIS needs to have a solid classroom management plan in place and their instructors need to know how to implement it from day one.

Middle School isn't for amateurs.

I don't care how much experience BASIS has elsewhere; a D.C. charter start-up is rocky no matter what. Having been there, done that, no way would I do it again. I was younger, more idealistic and I put my whole heart and soul into that previous charter. I love it like you might love a dysfunctional sibling -- you keep forgiving it because it pulls at you but you keep having to say "wtf?!?". Anyway, now that we've moved on to private middle school where o.m.g.! the communications are fantastic, the program well thought out, the curriculum actually planned and rich, the calendar printed a year in advance, no WAY is this working mom going back to building the airplane while flying it.

With a child in fourth grade we are considering Basis and Latin and both seem like great options right now. With regard to Basis, here are some of the reasons we feel like Basis would work, and work well from day one. Basis has over ten years of history operating some of the most successful schools in the country. Their Tuscon school is ranked number two nationally, ahead of many selective admission programs including Thomas Jefferson in Fairfax. They are bringing in personnel from their other facilities to help staff the DC school. Plus, they are hiring staff right now - with a very thorough process. Most schools don't hire until the spring or summer. They are paying above market salaries to their staff. They have very deep pockets. They purchased a huge building ($7 million) in Penn Quarter and they will gut and rebuild it (more $) to their specifications. See other threads on DCUM for info about charters struggling to find space due to tight budgets. They have a board and a President (Craig Barrett former CEO of Intel) who are dedicated to the proposition that US schools can be world class, and that public schools without selective criteria and steep tuition costs can compete on the highest level. And again, it is not just that they are dedicated to it, they are actually doing it. We have participated in a few organizing meetings and we feel like the emerging community and cohort that is coalescing seems wonderful. It seems like a progressive and diverse group of parents from all parts of the city is ready to jump in and make it happen. I have been part of a parent group for seven years that helped in the renaissance of our current "tier one" school, and the parent group forming around Basis has a similar feel. My child has a diverse group of a dozen or so schoolmates who are also considering enrolling in Basis. These kids have had the benefit of a strong elementary experience, and some of them are very bright. The accelerated liberal arts curriculum and significant support Basis will offer its students have us leaning towards making Basis our top choice. We were ready to sell the house and move to MoCo this coming summer, but with the prospect of Basis and Latin, we plan on staying in DC.

17:29 makes a great point. The learning curve for a new school is very steep. At our school, the difference between the leading edge class and those just two years younger is profound. If you're happy where you are, I wouldn't risk it. Middle school is hard to get right.

If you really want to switch to a public, Latin would be a better bet. They know what they're doing and have actual results.

I did not register my child for BASIS because we (collectively the whole family) barely survived being in the leading grade cohort in another charter. I can't gamble with the child's education again, having had two years with marginal learning while the school got its act together. Now in a "tier 1" DCPS elementary school, headed for a "tier 2" DCPS middle school. I think Washington Latin has enough years under its belt that I'd give it a try, but the location uncertainty does not work for us.

I can't speak to the substance but would think that you should also take into account what it means to switch your child into a start-up. Of course, they have other schools elsewhere but what they're starting here is still a start-up. And it takes even the best of organizations at least two years to really be up to speed and work out all the kinks. So, especially when switching mid-way, you will pay a price without reaping the benefits.

what led you to do so? What kind of kid do you have (self-motivated, etc.)? I am considering switching my daughter from private school to BASIS but just can't get my head around whether it would be a good fit or how much turmoil it would cause to try it for a year or two.

Just curious what led others to register...or if you have switched your child to multiple schools at an older age, how did they do?