Anonymous wrote:How are they not following the law? They aren't excluding anyone. But,, they are setting an expectation of achievement and mastery of the material. If you don't master the material, they make tutoring available, and if you still don't master it, you repeat it. That's not excluding anyone. If you don't want kids to master the material, there are other worthless DC schools that make that their expertise. No need to turn Basis into another worthless DC school.

You evidently think schools should be sued for having the audacity to actually try and educate and actually try and get students to master the content. That's pretty far out of kilter. You need to go back and learn what the purpose of a school is.

+1

school ? ?[skool]
(noun)
1. an institution where instruction is given, especially to persons under college age: The children are at school.
2. an institution for instruction in a particular skill or field.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/school?s=t

Suit-happy "vim and vigor" needs go back and study that definition repeatedly until he or she finally gets the fact that schools exist to instruct, not to coddle and babysit.

Anonymous wrote:"Vim and vigor" is quite misguided, totally on the wrong track. It's parents like me who should be doing the suing. The DC school system does not meet the needs of talented young achievers. As such, those talented and hardworking students are being "excluded" and the DC school system is therefore "not following the law" unless those needs are met. All the more reason why a school like Basis IS needed - to meet the unmet needs elsewhere in the DC system. The DC school system should be required to support those needs, by law.

I think it's very irresponsible of you not to have sued already. If you care about DC's children, you'll start calling lawyers first thing on Monday.

Anonymous wrote:"Vim and vigor" is quite misguided, totally on the wrong track. It's parents like me who should be doing the suing. The DC school system does not meet the needs of talented young achievers. As such, those talented and hardworking students are being "excluded" and the DC school system is therefore "not following the law" unless those needs are met. All the more reason why a school like Basis IS needed - to meet the unmet needs elsewhere in the DC system. The DC school system should be required to support those needs, by law.

Totally agree

"Vim and vigor" is quite misguided, totally on the wrong track. It's parents like me who should be doing the suing. The DC school system does not meet the needs of talented young achievers. As such, those talented and hardworking students are being "excluded" and the DC school system is therefore "not following the law" unless those needs are met. All the more reason why a school like Basis IS needed - to meet the unmet needs elsewhere in the DC system. The DC school system should be required to support those needs, by law.

How are they not following the law? They aren't excluding anyone. But,, they are setting an expectation of achievement and mastery of the material. If you don't master the material, they make tutoring available, and if you still don't master it, you repeat it. That's not excluding anyone. If you don't want kids to master the material, there are other worthless DC schools that make that their expertise. No need to turn Basis into another worthless DC school.

You evidently think schools should be sued for having the audacity to actually try and educate and actually try and get students to master the content. That's pretty far out of kilter. You need to go back and learn what the purpose of a school is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak for the PP. I intend to make sure that Basis follows the law, which means NOT being exclusive. It will be a school for EVERY DC middle schooler who wants to attend. Period. More than happy to file lawsuits to make sure it happens!

Your vim and vigor, while perhaps admirable, might be better applied towards actually helping the disadvantaged kids you speak about. Maybe you should plan on spending less time attending meetings and organizing lawsuits, and use that time working with kids who need help. The odds are that you will be more effective as a tutor/mentor than as a vigilante ombudsman.

Maybe? Maybe not.

Maybe you should plan on spending your time on working with kids who need help. The odds are that you will be more effective as a tutor/mentor to them, than as an anon who hopes to persuade me.

Believe me, I know exactly how to employ my vim and vigor: ensuring that Basis follows the law.

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak for the PP. I intend to make sure that Basis follows the law, which means NOT being exclusive. It will be a school for EVERY DC middle schooler who wants to attend. Period. More than happy to file lawsuits to make sure it happens!

Your vim and vigor, while perhaps admirable, might be better applied towards actually helping the disadvantaged kids you speak about. Maybe you should plan on spending less time attending meetings and organizing lawsuits, and use that time working with kids who need help. The odds are that you will be more effective as a tutor/mentor than as a vigilante ombudsman.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Now, now. Be fair. PP is probably in a gentrifying neighborhood with crappy DCPS schools. She'd like for those schools to be an option for her DC(s) but the pressure from charters is too intense. It is hardly a difficult position to imagine or understand.

What would the intent of such negativity about Basis be then? Maybe the PP is hoping that Basis would water down their curriculum and make it easier and less rigorous? I'm not sure why Basis would or should do that. There are already other options out there that fill that need.

Can't speak for the PP. I intend to make sure that Basis follows the law, which means NOT being exclusive. It will be a school for EVERY DC middle schooler who wants to attend. Period. More than happy to file lawsuits to make sure it happens!

Anonymous wrote:Why not Two Rivers or Cap. City M.S? It seems most people are equating "rigor" with just covering more content. What about teaching students conceptual understanding rather than having them go through a series of worksheets in a book? Progressing through a Saxon Math workbook sounds very little like rigor to me. Students at Two Rivers and Cap. City get a different kind of rigor, they are challenged to think on their own and problem solve- 2 areas of growth that seem much more useful in college and beyond. I certainly didn't have a workbook with lessons at my Ivy.

I can ony speak from our experience. My kid, who was in the first class at Two Rivers, was very happy there until around the middle of third grade. After that, we only hung on mainly for lack of funds for a private, and not seeing the point of shuffling him off to Watkins. A school that had embraced experiential learning in a big way shifted gears and focused on DC-CAS prep and remediation for struggling students. The pace of learning slowed to the point that he became really bored in the absence of an accelerated program. When only a handful of the middle class kids in 5th grade seemed on track to stay, we saw the writing on the wall. The MS facilities were poor and we had no reason to believe that he'd be challenged or happy again. We switched to St. Peter mainly because we couldn't afford other privates, wanted to stay on the Hill and Latin seemed too far. He was quickly turned onto school again. I don't know about Cap. City, but the Two Rivers MS really struggles. The leadership seems a lot more interested in helping mainly low-SES kids keep up than in challenging kids who need challenge. Not necessarily different from SH or EH. Two Rivers has a new PTA, so maybe things will look up, but I doubt it.

Why not Two Rivers or Cap. City M.S? It seems most people are equating "rigor" with just covering more content. What about teaching students conceptual understanding rather than having them go through a series of worksheets in a book? Progressing through a Saxon Math workbook sounds very little like rigor to me. Students at Two Rivers and Cap. City get a different kind of rigor, they are challenged to think on their own and problem solve- 2 areas of growth that seem much more useful in college and beyond. I certainly didn't have a workbook with lessons at my Ivy.

+1. It's a no-brainer.

Exactly - the charters are succeeding and thriving because DCPS dropped the ball, not the other way around.

As for the other comments here, everyone is entitled to their opinion of the reviews. If you think Basis is not a fit for your student, then there are plenty of other options. So why go through so much energy to find fault with it if you are not sending your student there? What dog do you have in the hunt?

What makes you so sure that charters are in fact succeeding and thriving? Even at Latin, the MS population is more than 40% white and Asian, while last year's HS population was only around 10%. Stunning success for the middle-class families involved? Latin parents love to argue that the HS demographics are changing at warp speed, but the jury is out on that one with charters barred by law from selective admissions, no gifted and talented elementary programs feeding top students to charters, and Latin doing little tracking (just for Latin and 8th grade algebra). We left after 8th for our eldest and probably won't go MS charter for our youngest.

And where these "other options" outside of Upper NW? Stuart Hobson, where few middle class parents stay after 6th? Hardy, where one leadership crisis after another drives parents away? Deal, where OOB admissions are practically a closed door? Where? You put energy into finding out what Basis is planning, registering concern if you have your doubts, precisely because there aren't other options (unless you consider moving to the burbs or paying for privates good options). You have a dog in the hunt if you need a MS to stay in the city.

Anonymous wrote:
Now, now. Be fair. PP is probably in a gentrifying neighborhood with crappy DCPS schools. She'd like for those schools to be an option for her DC(s) but the pressure from charters is too intense. It is hardly a difficult position to imagine or understand.

What would the intent of such negativity about Basis be then? Maybe the PP is hoping that Basis would water down their curriculum and make it easier and less rigorous? I'm not sure why Basis would or should do that. There are already other options out there that fill that need.

Anonymous wrote:I am PP 18:59 and am neither DC operative nor gentrifier. I simply read the news. I suggest that others do the same and find indications that Gray or Henderson are against charters or that charters as a whole are superior to DCPS.

No one is saying that Geray or Henderson are against Charters. Read carefully. But DCPS officials will most certainly use charter school "brain drain" to explain awful neighborhood schools. Nevermind that neighborhood schools were largely awful before Charters arrived on the scene.

Anonymous wrote:I am PP 18:59 and am neither DC operative nor gentrifier. I simply read the news. I suggest that others do the same and find indications that Gray or Henderson are against charters or that charters as a whole are superior to DCPS.

I don't think anyone has said that Gray or Henderson have specifically said anything against charters, and I'm not sure where that suggestion came from, but it's well known that some in the system view charters as unwelcome competition. It stands to reason that any new disruptor is a threat to the status quo, even to existing charters and private schools.