Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I'm not carping mom. Call me skeptical dad who'd be leaving if we had a better option. PP above sugarcoats the situation. Rude and dismissive "apologist" parents are the ones with nothing to add to the conversation. What they do is slam anybody with the gall to call out a self-serving administration (new one, last one), and not just here on DCUM. They're grasping at straws on PARCC scores. It's not even PARCC anymore, it's CAPE and many high performing high school students don't take the useless test seriously. Why should they? What's it in for them? Some top students do leave for Walls.

No, BASIS students aren't "as good" as Walls' students overall because they aren't supported in building impressive CVs in the same way. Strong ECs can make all the difference in college admissions.

The point about BASIS' inability to replace high-fliers is a fair one, but I'm not sure that things are set in stone as all that. Some of us think that BASIS could and should try to rework their DC charter, like other DC charters have done. But our opinion counts for zilch. Parents have no say at BASIS, none, teachers, too. This is the franchise that bans PTAs.

+1. High school CAPE scores don't matter and the new BASIS HoS isn't an improvement.

Anonymous wrote:Ah yes, another Walls warrior here to huff and puff while carefully sidestepping, you know… data. Since we're apparently doing feelings over facts, let me bring a little STEM-based reality into your CAPS LOCK circle of trust. BASIS DC students outperform Walls in math and science proficiency — the actual subjects that matter in, say, the real world. You know, the one beyond this forum. 64% in math and 55% in science at BASIS vs. Walls' 57% and an anemic 33%. But sure, tell me again how BASIS kids aren’t 'as good.'

Let’s also chat college readiness, because unlike your emotionally charged anecdotal crusade, the numbers aren't on your side. BASIS boasts a 100/100 college readiness index and a perfect AP pass rate — not a fluke, but the result of actual academic rigor. Meanwhile, Walls — for all its 'prestige' and DCPS polish — clocks in slightly behind. It's cute that you think college admissions committees are swayed by a few overhyped extracurriculars when BASIS students are rolling up with 31 ACTs, 1340 SATs, and a STEM foundation that actually holds weight in selective programs.

So while you're here throwing shade about ‘franchises’ and 'grasping at straws,’ just know that BASIS students are out here grasping AP medals and college acceptance letters. Maybe if the energy spent whining here were redirected into data literacy, you'd realize that excellence isn’t about your nostalgic attachment to Walls — it's about outcomes. And on that front, BASIS doesn’t just compete. It dominates.

Anonymous wrote:My above average with words and below average with numbers child was pretty stressed and wanted better sports and extracurriculars. It seemed the path to joy was narrow for them at BASIS. We are moving away so our child has more room to breath, stretch out and to have a broader path forward.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we also stop with the narrative that it's just one or two parents "endlessly carping" about the school on these threads? Sounds to me like we haven't heard from Stockholm Syndrome mom before. Fact is, BASIS DC always loses more than half the families who started in 5th grade by 9th, and at least 60% by 12th. Please stop telling the BASIS families who point out glaring problems with the program on DCUM to shut up and go away. No DC taxpayer needs to listen to an obnoxious jerk advising them to send their kid to a crappy neighborhood school if a poorly run charter hasn't worked out. Pipe down, particularly middle school parents waxing enthusiastic about a "highly rated" high school they haven't used yet.

All you do is endlessly sh*t on BASIS and then complain when people call you out. What is your goal here? Do you have a kid at the school and just want to vent? Did your kid drop out and you want to get revenge? What is the point of your posts? So, yeah, I have zero problem labeling you the Carping Mom and dismissing your completely unhelpful rants. You have added absolutely nothing constructive to this conversation.

Given the Basis charter, advanced curriculum, inability to do do placement tests, and no-social-promotion policy, the school has to follow an attrition model. As kids drop out (for whatever reason), they aren’t replaced. Most of the kids who drop out are struggling academically; some drop out because they move out of the area or go overseas; and some go to other schools such as Walls, Duke, Coolidge, or private. I’m sure Basis would love to replace the kids who leave with high-fliers but they can’t under their charter. Plenty of top kids stay at Basis and the ones who go to Walls, Duke, or private are not necessarily the top ones. I would say that the handful of students who decamp to Walls every year are generally good students but they are hardly all at the top of the class. Similarly, kids who go to Duke are often not top students and go to Duke for non-academic reasons. Finally, kids that go private are not necessarily top students either--some of them are talented athletes who who rather go to a school where they shine in that area.

For example, here are last year’s high school 4+ PARCC scores for Walls and BASIS:

Walls

ELA 94.07
Math 67.44

BASIS

ELA 92.06
Math 66.12

In other words, BASIS a 100% lottery school, basically has the same PARCC results as Walls, which supposedly selects the top students in the city for the school. So, you are absolutely wrong to think that the best students leave for Walls. Those that remain for high school are just as good as Walls.

Lastly, you really think Basis is poorly run compared to, say, Walls? You have no clue.

So, maybe you should pipe down Carping Mom. We are tired of your constant BS.

First, you are talking to more than one person. I’m not the PP you are complaining about. Second, you sound like someone whose kid either didn’t get into Walls or who did and chose to stay for friends and regrets it. It’s bizarre that you need to so aggressively defend BASIS against legitimate concerns. Get a life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I'm not carping mom. Call me skeptical dad who'd be leaving if we had a better option. PP above sugarcoats the situation. Rude and dismissive "apologist" parents are the ones with nothing to add to the conversation. What they do is slam anybody with the gall to call out a self-serving administration (new one, last one), and not just here on DCUM. They're grasping at straws on PARCC scores. It's not even PARCC anymore, it's CAPE and many high performing high school students don't take the useless test seriously. Why should they? What's it in for them? Some top students do leave for Walls.

No, BASIS students aren't "as good" as Walls' students overall because they aren't supported in building impressive CVs in the same way. Strong ECs can make all the difference in college admissions.

The point about BASIS' inability to replace high-fliers is a fair one, but I'm not sure that things are set in stone as all that. Some of us think that BASIS could and should try to rework their DC charter, like other DC charters have done. But our opinion counts for zilch. Parents have no say at BASIS, none, teachers, too. This is the franchise that bans PTAs.

+1. High school CAPE scores don't matter and the new BASIS HoS isn't an improvement.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t kid yourselves. BASIS stinks in other ways. Many.

Anonymous wrote:Well I'm not carping mom. Call me skeptical dad who'd be leaving if we had a better option. PP above sugarcoats the situation. Rude and dismissive "apologist" parents are the ones with nothing to add to the conversation. What they do is slam anybody with the gall to call out a self-serving administration (new one, last one), and not just here on DCUM. They're grasping at straws on PARCC scores. It's not even PARCC anymore, it's CAPE and many high performing high school students don't take the useless test seriously. Why should they? What's it in for them? Some top students do leave for Walls.

No, BASIS students aren't "as good" as Walls' students overall because they aren't supported in building impressive CVs in the same way. Strong ECs can make all the difference in college admissions.

The point about BASIS' inability to replace high-fliers is a fair one, but I'm not sure that things are set in stone as all that. Some of us think that BASIS could and should try to rework their DC charter, like other DC charters have done. But our opinion counts for zilch. Parents have no say at BASIS, none, teachers, too. This is the franchise that bans PTAs.

Anonymous wrote:Why 6th graders? Where would they go? 7th isn’t a standard entry year anywhere in this area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we also stop with the narrative that it's just one or two parents "endlessly carping" about the school on these threads? Sounds to me like we haven't heard from Stockholm Syndrome mom before. Fact is, BASIS DC always loses more than half the families who started in 5th grade by 9th, and at least 60% by 12th. Please stop telling the BASIS families who point out glaring problems with the program on DCUM to shut up and go away. No DC taxpayer needs to listen to an obnoxious jerk advising them to send their kid to a crappy neighborhood school if a poorly run charter hasn't worked out. Pipe down, particularly middle school parents waxing enthusiastic about a "highly rated" high school they haven't used yet.

All you do is endlessly sh*t on BASIS and then complain when people call you out. What is your goal here? Do you have a kid at the school and just want to vent? Did your kid drop out and you want to get revenge? What is the point of your posts? So, yeah, I have zero problem labeling you the Carping Mom and dismissing your completely unhelpful rants. You have added absolutely nothing constructive to this conversation.

Given the Basis charter, advanced curriculum, inability to do do placement tests, and no-social-promotion policy, the school has to follow an attrition model. As kids drop out (for whatever reason), they aren’t replaced. Most of the kids who drop out are struggling academically; some drop out because they move out of the area or go overseas; and some go to other schools such as Walls, Duke, Coolidge, or private. I’m sure Basis would love to replace the kids who leave with high-fliers but they can’t under their charter. Plenty of top kids stay at Basis and the ones who go to Walls, Duke, or private are not necessarily the top ones. I would say that the handful of students who decamp to Walls every year are generally good students but they are hardly all at the top of the class. Similarly, kids who go to Duke are often not top students and go to Duke for non-academic reasons. Finally, kids that go private are not necessarily top students either--some of them are talented athletes who who rather go to a school where they shine in that area.

For example, here are last year’s high school 4+ PARCC scores for Walls and BASIS:

Walls

ELA 94.07
Math 67.44

BASIS

ELA 92.06
Math 66.12

In other words, BASIS a 100% lottery school, basically has the same PARCC results as Walls, which supposedly selects the top students in the city for the school. So, you are absolutely wrong to think that the best students leave for Walls. Those that remain for high school are just as good as Walls.

Lastly, you really think Basis is poorly run compared to, say, Walls? You have no clue.

So, maybe you should pipe down Carping Mom. We are tired of your constant BS.