Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM needs to slow down. The person who posted this did BASIS a disservice.

Allow the school to discuss their plans with the school community first.

We don’t know the details yet. Endless speculation without facts is unhelpful.

+1
We don't even know if the city will approve it. It was denied the last time that Basis tried.

Anonymous wrote:DCUM needs to slow down. The person who posted this did BASIS a disservice.

Allow the school to discuss their plans with the school community first.

We don’t know the details yet. Endless speculation without facts is unhelpful.

Anonymous wrote:This is a vanity project! Not filling a gap. There are plenty of high quality elementary seats. If they cared about the educational landscape they should double the seats at the middle and high school level.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a vanity project! Not filling a gap. There are plenty of high quality elementary seats. If they cared about the educational landscape they should double the seats at the middle and high school level.

Someone in the Brent catchment decides to weigh in. The bolded is not true. BASIS isn't "Brent's" school, much as many of you seem to think. There are not nearly enough high quality ES school seats. What you mean to say here is that you like having a guaranteed seat at Brent and then having a path to BASIS in 5th. If people have to send their kids to JOW or a bunch of other W5, W7 and W8 ES that you wouldn't even drive by, that is a sacrifice they should be willing to make so you get to keep what you want.

After all these years reading DCUM I can still be surprised by the self-centered words of the entitled. Seriously, PP. re-read the bolded and consider whether people who don't live adjacent to your house think there are plenty of high quality ES seats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a BASIS parent, I don’t like this because I’ve seen the chaos that results when DCPCSB takes a solid school and has it replicate/expand. Mundo Verde was an amazing, highly sought after school and then it opened a second campus (that current parents fought and delayed because they knew what would happen) and now it’s a total mess. Two Rivers - same thing - second campus. People are bailing because it’s too much to manage and it’s a chaotic disaster. LAMB: opened new campuses and realized it was a shitshow after the school basically fell apart - then consolidated.

There is no denying that this elementary school project is going to draw time and resources away from the current school. It seems wholly unnecessary given that we have a wealth of solid elementary DCPS and charter school options already in the city. BASIS really should not get cocky, given that much of their success is based on being able to draw kids who have the resources and support to keep up with the BASIS model, and those folks are unlikely to leave their elementary schools (but are willing to leave for middle).

I think this is a bad call, and it makes me second guess choosing BASIS.

Apples and oranges. I too suffered from another charter school that tried to replicate and instead destroyed what they had and created something not nearly as good as the original. That is not what is happening here. BASIS isn't duplicating or replicating anything. They are not expanding the current classes or replicating the school. They are creating K-4, which logically comes before 5-12. The teachers who teach 7th grade aren't going to be also teaching 1st. This is also (unlike MV, TR) not an experiment in the unknown. BASIS has @40 other K-12 charter schools; they know how to do this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the BASIS mantra is literally “getting your student into the college of their dreams.” We want to see how good it is in achieving that goal.

That’s why it’s hard to grasp that none of the 42 seniors were even accepted to an ivy this year. Other DC publics had multiple ivy commits so one would presume the number of acceptances would be even greater. I completely understand committing to a different school because it offers better merit but they have worked so hard and crammed so much into 3 years. I hope they all believe it was worth it but prior threads about the BASIS high school indicate more focus is still needed at this level.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/135/1103719.page

Anonymous wrote:Because the BASIS mantra is literally “getting your student into the college of their dreams.” We want to see how good it is in achieving that goal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a vanity project! Not filling a gap. There are plenty of high quality elementary seats. If they cared about the educational landscape they should double the seats at the middle and high school level.

Someone in the Brent catchment decides to weigh in. The bolded is not true. BASIS isn't "Brent's" school, much as many of you seem to think. There are not nearly enough high quality ES school seats. What you mean to say here is that you like having a guaranteed seat at Brent and then having a path to BASIS in 5th. If people have to send their kids to JOW or a bunch of other W5, W7 and W8 ES that you wouldn't even drive by, that is a sacrifice they should be willing to make so you get to keep what you want.

After all these years reading DCUM I can still be surprised by the self-centered words of the entitled. Seriously, PP. re-read the bolded and consider whether people who don't live adjacent to your house think there are plenty of high quality ES seats.

Anonymous wrote:Because the BASIS mantra is literally “getting your student into the college of their dreams.” We want to see how good it is in achieving that goal.

Anonymous wrote:Where are they planning to house the new k-4? The current building cannot accommodate them, nor is it an adequate space for children that age (or in middle school for that matter). Will the current grades stay in the current building, or are there plans to consolidate and move to a new building?

Anonymous wrote:This is a vanity project! Not filling a gap. There are plenty of high quality elementary seats. If they cared about the educational landscape they should double the seats at the middle and high school level.

Anonymous wrote:As a BASIS parent, I don’t like this because I’ve seen the chaos that results when DCPCSB takes a solid school and has it replicate/expand. Mundo Verde was an amazing, highly sought after school and then it opened a second campus (that current parents fought and delayed because they knew what would happen) and now it’s a total mess. Two Rivers - same thing - second campus. People are bailing because it’s too much to manage and it’s a chaotic disaster. LAMB: opened new campuses and realized it was a shitshow after the school basically fell apart - then consolidated.

There is no denying that this elementary school project is going to draw time and resources away from the current school. It seems wholly unnecessary given that we have a wealth of solid elementary DCPS and charter school options already in the city. BASIS really should not get cocky, given that much of their success is based on being able to draw kids who have the resources and support to keep up with the BASIS model, and those folks are unlikely to leave their elementary schools (but are willing to leave for middle).

I think this is a bad call, and it makes me second guess choosing BASIS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the PP mentioned, students with special needs are indeed becoming a focus at BASIS because the school has recognized that it is this group of students which has the highest attrition (as opposed to a group based on race or low SES as people on DCUM seem to assume)

No, attrition of students with special needs is exactly what people assume is going on. Attrition on purpose.

Or attrition by choice. IDEA does not guarantee As in an accelerated curriculum. If a child’s SN makes it very hard for them to be successful in a rigorous environment then it’s normal that they would switch schools. Plenty of NT kids dislike the demands as well. Basis has to support the kids it has and implement the IEP, but does not have to water down the curriculm.

This is the money phrase. It is in the end what the argument is about. People who complain about high standards don't understand the difference between affording more time, and deciding that the material is too hard. Not the same thing.

No. It's because more time (which is a nice way of saying retention and forcing them into a classroom of younger kids even if not developmentally appropriate) doesn't necessarily solve anything, and it dramatically increases the long-term chances of the kid dropping out. The answer is more services, not more time.

You misunderstood. My reference to "more time" was to untimed testing vs watering down the material covered on the test. The former is a reasonable accommodation. The latter is how DCUM and lots of SJW misinterpret IDEA and other requirements.

You also keep using "developmentally appropriate" as if that's meaningful to anyone but you and your hardened opinion. Why do you care so much about the developmental appropriateness of the kids held back and not about them in classes 2-4 grades above their skills? I find that strange.

Because we're talking about an elementary school where the developmental and physical gaps can be really big. If a kid is held back more than once, that's a lot. If it were your kid, would you think this is a good plan? Or would you think the school is unwilling to meet their needs in a manner you consider appropriate? It's fine to say "BASIS isn't to everyone's taste" but to offer parents a choice of leaving or accepting an inappropriate class year placement is effectively pushing them out

I'll play. If my kid was to be held back 2x before 4th grade I would realize that the traditional school my kid was in was not going to prepare them to ever be independent or functioning members of society. I would want my kid in a school dedicated to getting them back on track.

But BASIS has an obligation to serve the needs of it's students in good faith. Public charters are not allowed to counsel out.

Regardless of whether this is legally true, it’s what the PCSB believes. They want to prove that charter schools can replace traditional public schools. Basis supporters love to hate DCPS, but Basis needs DCPS to take the students that Basis can’t or won’t educate.

Nope. But nice to know WTU has entered the chat!

What would BASIS be like if all schools had to take a proportionate share of students who move into DC from out of state? What would BASIS be like if all schools had to educate a proportionate share of students with high-level IEPs? Methinks BASIS' wonderful "success" wouldn't shine so bright.

What would DCPS be like if it offered magnet and gifted programs in MS and accelerated academic tracks, and had entrance exams and failed kids who couldn’t meet the standards? Then DCPS parents would not be flocking to Basis.

so what?

BASIS' "model" is premised on doing the easy parts, and avoiding the hard parts. As if my "model" at work was that I only do the tasks that are easy for me and blow off the rest, and I can only be rated on the easy tasks. If BASIS wasn't allowed to avoid the harder work, it wouldn't be as appealing to parents or look as successful. It's all premised on avoiding a fair share of the hardest parts of education.

You sound like an elementary school parent. When kids get into MS and beyond, it is acceptable and appropriate for them to be sorted into groups by academic ability. This is normal and good. Arguing that we have to get rid of acceleration programs because all schools (and classes) have to “do the hard part” is crazy and destructive. What really seems to irk you is that Basis can filter for students who can be accelerated because you apparently think it is unfair that DCPS has to take all comers. But the sensible response to that is not “destroy acceleration at charters because DCPD cannot do that.” The sensible response is “provide more acceleration at DCPS.”

Really though you just hate charters.

I really don't just hate charters, and I'm not against ability grouping. But I hate when people compare BASIS to other schools that have to do things that BASIS refuses to do. It isn't an accurate comparison and it misleads people into thinking BASIS is a better school than it actually is.

BASIS can offer accelerated classes while also providing other classes to other students who are below grade level. It's a very normal thing that many schools routinely do. But it's just sooooooooooo hard for BASIS, they just can't handle it I guess.

Basis does better academically because it is an academically focused charter. Your hypothetical seems to be that unless Basis replicates a failing DCPS it is unfair. You’re missing the entire point.

No, you're missing the point. My argument is that if BASIS had to play by the same rules as JR (or really any by-right school), taking new kids in all grades all year long and meeting all IEPs, it wouldn't look as good as it currently does. And it's misleading to compare BASIS to other schools without accounting for that.

If you think the difference is because BASIS is "academically focused", then do you think it would do just as well if it took new kids in all grades?

No charters have to do that, and Basis still outshines the other charters.

But some of them choose to do it. Choosing the easiest path of all charters does not make BASIS better.

It absolutely makes it better because it can focus on academics. Check the waitlists. Latin takes vanishly few. Walls doesn’t. I don’t think Banneker does. and of course Basis would still fail the late entrants as appropriate. And how many new kids enroll in JR every year anyway?

I’ll say it again - you resent selective academic programs and want to destroy them.