Anonymous wrote:All I know is that if you have any inkling of having your child attend Basis and they are currently 5th through 8th grade then I would send them now. I know of at least 2 new admitted students this week from what I understand. I was also told not to wait till next school year since it will be much more difficult to get in next school year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what are the entrance grades for Basis?

For example, I know that Latin starts at 5th, admits by attrition for 6th, 7th, 8th, and I think adds a few slots in 9th. But at Latin, I believe that 9th is the last grade new students are allowed in.

what is the last year a student can start at Basis? what years are there increased number of slots?

The entrance year for BASIS is 5th grade.

My understanding is that they will admit a small number into higher grades in order to bring the number in the grade up to a multiple of the section size, but they will not grow the grades significantly. For example, if they have only 71 8th graders next year and plan to have 3 sections of 8th graders with up to 25 kids per section, they might admit 4 8th graders. However, they will not add a section of incoming 8th graders just because there is demand. Furthermore, those new 8th graders will have to demonstrate mastery of the material that was taught in the 7th grade. In particular, they would have to have taken and done well in Algebra I. A prospective 8th grader who has not mastered Algebra I will be placed in a lower grade.

Of course, since BASIS DC is new, it is possible that it will experience higher than expected attrition and have to admit more kid to grades higher than 5th next year. I certainly would not bank on that possibility, though. I took a look at the enrollment numbers at an Arizona BASIS school a few months ago, and after growing a little in the 6th grade class sizes shrink all the way to graduation, with a retention rate in the mid 80%.

Anonymous wrote:what are the entrance grades for Basis?

For example, I know that Latin starts at 5th, admits by attrition for 6th, 7th, 8th, and I think adds a few slots in 9th. But at Latin, I believe that 9th is the last grade new students are allowed in.

what is the last year a student can start at Basis? what years are there increased number of slots?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a bit more than horseplay otherwise the head of school didn't have to step in. But the problems are apparently not pervasive. I agree with poster about choosy parents having to put up with this for a while and maybe Basis will turn some of the disruptive kids around more effectively than another school with less autonomy.

I have been intrigued by Basis (which is why I read this board), but opted not to take a chance on it this year. I do find it interesting that the every single one of the kids who left my child's class for Basis were those who had the greatest discipline issues. I think that this is one of the issues with first year charters -- that there is a huge range of reasons that people send their children to an unestablished school, one of the biggest is that parents are running away from something, not necessarily choosing the school for what it offers or to what they think it is a good fit. I don't envy any first year school this problem and how the school handles it will speak volumes to the success of the school, especially in retaining those children in its inaugural classes.