Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charter schools are public schools, and as such, they must comply with IDEA, which is federal law.

That's a separate issue from the rest of public school law. Nobody said charters didn't have to comply with IDEA. But the question I'd ask is if the charters are adequately supported where it comes to serving special needs students. I doubt charters receive the same amount of money per special needs student as DCPS does. Charters already get shortchanged everywhere else to begin with.

Doesn't matter. Compliance is compliance.

IEPs and accommodations can be a double-edged sword. They can help in many cases but they also need to be applied judiciously, reservedly and with a lot of objective assessment. If a student needs a large amount of extra help and a lot of extra accommodations in testing and other areas can give a skewed idea and incorrect expectations of where the student actually is at and what the student can do. And compounding this is the fact that less and less help is available later on - at colleges and universities, for example, workplaces and so on. The first rule is that people have to be realistic and objective - and when it comes to most parents, few are.

Anonymous wrote:Charter schools are public schools, and as such, they must comply with IDEA, which is federal law.

That's a separate issue from the rest of public school law. Nobody said charters didn't have to comply with IDEA. But the question I'd ask is if the charters are adequately supported where it comes to serving special needs students. I doubt charters receive the same amount of money per special needs student as DCPS does. Charters already get shortchanged everywhere else to begin with.

The laws concerning implementation of IEPs and 504s don't change due to curriculum or public/charter. Curriculums are indeed allowed to be modified to ensure proper implementation of IPEs.

Was there a result of the Basis fed investigation?

Basis may operate in different states but each state in fact has their own charter laws so it really doesn't matter if they are compliant with AZ laws at Basis in DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because super high teacher turnover is a fact of life in charters. You should get used to it. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/opinion/the-high-turnover-at-charter-schools.html?_r=0

Wow. Is it worth it?

Pretty broad generalization - and it's just letters to the editor and op-eds we're talking about here, not any kind of objective, meaningful or relevant study.

There are also public schools that have a lot of burnout and turnover - just as there are also a lot of charters that have very little turnover.

Charter schools are public schools, and as such, they must comply with IDEA, which is federal law.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every school has its niche. Why can't BASIS?

If it is a public school, it has to follow the rules for public schools.

Straight from the mouth of an anti-charter advocate. They have to follow the charter school rules, not the public school rules. And frankly, there are dozens and dozens of schools to pick from. Nobody is being forced to go to one particular school over another. As such, there's no longer any valid or legitimate reason to try and force all schools to fit a certain mold. You can pick the school that's the best fit.

Anonymous wrote:Because super high teacher turnover is a fact of life in charters. You should get used to it. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/opinion/the-high-turnover-at-charter-schools.html?_r=0

Wow. Is it worth it?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every school has its niche. Why can't BASIS?

If it is a public school, it has to follow the rules for public schools.

Is there any non-anecdotal evidence that BASIS is violating those rules? As far as I know, although I may be wrong, the investigation did not have results incriminating BASIS.

Anonymous wrote:Every school has its niche. Why can't BASIS?

If it is a public school, it has to follow the rules for public schools.

Every school has its niche. Why can't BASIS?

^ 16:55 again, also meant to add - that if the expectation is that Basis water down its model and curriculum or become less demanding, we as Basis parents would also pull up stakes and go elsewhere. We chose Basis precisely because it is challenging and demanding and offers acceleration that has been a good fit for DC. If any aspect of that were to change, we would probably leave, and I'm sure many other families would as well. We chose it for its existing approach and model, rather than choosing a school and then expecting to force our own ideas on it.

Basis has a model that is demanding and challenging for ANY child, whether with disabilities or no. But that's their model, like it or not - and I don't think it will change. They already have a half dozen or more other schools already operating on this model.

Our child has disabilities but is very bright and is very highly functioning so it hasn't been an issue for us, DC is thriving at Basis. I know of several other kids with disabilities who are also doing extremely well there, because they are bright and highly functioning. But, it entails hours of work after school and on weekends to keep up.

It's individual decisions but Basis isn't for everyone. Many kids without disabilities will wash out because it's too demanding and challenging - and it will be even more hard for some of the kids with disabilities. IEPs and 504s are fine and reasonable accommodations are fine but if the expectation is that the curriculum or model should change, or that it should be any less demanding, I don't think that will happen, since they already have a half dozen or more schools operating on this same model. I think Basis would sooner pick up stakes and move elsewhere. And sadly, that's what some would sooner have them do - and there would be nothing academically equivalent to replace it.

Anonymous wrote:
Left because of a health issue, I believe.

No, this teacher did not have any health issues.
It's a different one.

BASIS is all about acceleration.
I learned this last year during meetings.
When I asked about modification and differentiation, I was told point blank that "unfortunately BASIS is not this kind of school." IEP's are being written but not followed. I was told that a speech teacher was already hired in November, yet my child has to meet her.
Let BASIS become a test-in gifted and talented school and not promise parents they will serve all kids. It was so obvious to me that this year's " IEP results" had been cut and pasted from last year.
I am utterly disappointed and feel I am being lied to.