DCPS can hire people with minimal experience as well, it's pretty much just a function of if you have a detectable pulse, and hold a license - that being, you have a degree in education and passed a test. http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/About+DCPS/Career+Opportunities/Teach+in+Our+Schools/How+to+Apply#3. And, history tells us that the teaching license is no barometer of whether a teacher is a good teacher or not. In DCPS, you don't even have to have any subject matter expertise in the area that you are teaching.

So why is this experience question even being brought up as a "Basis" question, given it applies to every single school in the District?

Teachers not required to have licensure is not at all unique to BASIS. Guess what - the same pretty much applies to ALL of the charters and ALL of the private schools in DC - basically half of the schooling in DC is done in schools that don't require licensure. And ironically, guess who is getting the better results and who is graduating a higher percentage and who is putting more of their graduates into college and good jobs? It's the charters and privates.

Clearly, you don't know much about the school system here. Charters are not getting "better results" (what does this even mean?) and there is no longitudinal data that supports that charters are producing graduates who attend colleges or find 'good jobs' in greater percentages than DCPS students. Charters simply have not been around long enough to make this claim. Privates have been around long enough, but to lump private data in with charter school data (or lack of it) shows a shocking ignorance of charters, privates, and DCPS. Remember, BASIS is a PUBLIC charter school, not a private, and will have to serve the students of DC. The fact that its initial demographics fail to represent the city has more to do with it being an unknown, unproven school with a carefully strategic marketing plan than anything else. It hasn't opened yet. They may be promising a lot, and firing up boosters here (or at least one booster who responds to every thread with the if-you-don't-like-it-go-away ostrich stance at any hint that BASIS isn't already the best!thing!ever!) but all that means NOTHING. The school needs to open and we will all see if they can fulfill their mission.

As for hiring unlicensed teachers with little to no teaching experience or mismatched subject matter experience, yes, it's true that charters and privates are both allowed to do this, and BASIS can. Of course, whether or not they should participate in such bad practice is the question. Considering the task they have set for themselves, one would think they would seek out professional educators to help them meet their goals.

And if the inexperience teacher doesn't work out after a schoolyear, then the benefits are in whose favor?

15:03

Maybe these PhD's you are so worried about want to teach children. What a strange thing to say.

Also, inexperienced teachers benefit greatly from having a majority of experienced teachers around to show them the ropes.

It's not obvious that this is the case at Basis.

Ads I've seen for private schools require at least 3 years of experience.

"What's your point? I would note that other schools don't go into great detail on teaching staff experience either. Do you know exactly how much experience each and every one of your child's teachers had? I doubt most posters here do."

True. Most public school parents don't ask this question. But they should.

Most charters in this town use teachers with minimal to zero teaching experience. They also feature very high turn over and classroom management issues.

My oldest now attends private. The experience of the teachers is something that is featured at the school. Guess what, experienced faculty and a real curriculum make for a lovely educational experience.

I always ask teachers the experience question and I have learned that no matter how impressive their degree and how hard they try, a teacher's first 2 years are pretty much a waste of your child's time in terms of instruction.

Best of luck to all those who try the Basis experiment. I predict high turnover for both students and teachers the first few years. Luckily BASIS, like Latin, has attracted a largely affluent cohort that will test well, regardless of the lackluster instruction.

10:30- resulting to name calling. There's no excuse for you but I pity the fool.

The principal's credential in comparing to the faculty's is pale.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out the faculty profiles. Lots of PhD and MS folks. Also plenty of folks who have experience with the DC student population

https://www.basisdc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=395

Note that they mention teaching experience but not how much. Could be just a year or even just student teaching.

What's your point? I would note that other schools don't go into great detail on teaching staff experience either. Do you know exactly how much experience each and every one of your child's teachers had? I doubt most posters here do. They could have had just a year or student teaching prior. Or it could be 20 years. No valid assumptions to be made with the information given.

My point is that giving so much information about teachers without being specific about teaching experience in some cases is potentially misleading. It suggests to me that some teachers, though they've gone to good schools (all listed under each name), don't have much teaching experience.

Every teacher has to start somewhere, nothing wrong with that. I'd think parents would be interested to know what percentage of BASIS teachers are teaching full time for the first time at BASIS, and what percentage are seasoned teachers. Perhaps a parent could deduce that when length of time teaching is not mentioned, it means that the teacher has no or only student-teaching experience.

Of course, interested parents could easily request this information. It's hard to imagine that BASIS would actively withhold it if asked directly for it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh now we're making excuses for 5th graders having the ability to spell. Awww shucks, that is funny as hell.

Actually you meant to say "Oh now we're making excuses for 5th graders NOT having the ability to spell." If you are going to be a jerk, at least get it right.

LOL! And, it's not making excuses - it's pointing out the reason WHY - the failure in the prior DCPS and/or elementary level charters that the incoming 5th grade students are coming from.

You're correct, PP. Many of the previous schools will have failed the incoming kids. The BASIS strategy seems to be predicated on the notion that intervention starting in 5th grade is early enough to correct the problem. I'm optimistic about the incoming 5th graders, but not so optimistic about the incoming 8th graders.

I imagine that it will be close to 8 years before BASIS DC has a graduating class in which most of the students are bound for top-tier colleges, and I expect the vast majority of those kids to know how to spell "turquoise". I also imagine that the attrition rate for the first few years will be higher than usual.

Nevertheless, I am optimistic that BASIS DC will succeed in its mission of providing a publicly-funded college prep curriculum for bright and motivated kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out the faculty profiles. Lots of PhD and MS folks. Also plenty of folks who have experience with the DC student population

https://www.basisdc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=395

Note that they mention teaching experience but not how much. Could be just a year or even just student teaching.

What's your point? I would note that other schools don't go into great detail on teaching staff experience either. Do you know exactly how much experience each and every one of your child's teachers had? I doubt most posters here do. They could have had just a year or student teaching prior. Or it could be 20 years. No valid assumptions to be made with the information given.

Anonymous wrote:Check out the faculty profiles. Lots of PhD and MS folks. Also plenty of folks who have experience with the DC student population

https://www.basisdc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=395

Note that they mention teaching experience but not how much. Could be just a year or even just student teaching.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh now we're making excuses for 5th graders having the ability to spell. Awww shucks, that is funny as hell.

Actually you meant to say "Oh now we're making excuses for 5th graders NOT having the ability to spell." If you are going to be a jerk, at least get it right.

LOL! And, it's not making excuses - it's pointing out the reason WHY - the failure in the prior DCPS and/or elementary level charters that the incoming 5th grade students are coming from.

Anonymous wrote:Oh now we're making excuses for 5th graders having the ability to spell. Awww shucks, that is funny as hell.

Actually you meant to say "Oh now we're making excuses for 5th graders NOT having the ability to spell." If you are going to be a jerk, at least get it right.

Does anyone know how they plan to handle car drop-off and pick-up? Seems like a pretty limited space out front. But maybe most wil metro or bus?

All I know is that they only taught my DC spelling in 1st grade in her DCPS -- which is why, 4 years later, we are moving her to BASIS. Spelling isn't on the CAS . . .