Anonymous wrote:From what I have seen, BASIS goes above and beyond, where it comes to meeting the needs of kids. They offered STARS tutoring, they are offering extra reading and math labs, they are bending over backwards to bring kids up to speed. I believe they also have specialists for special needs, a behavioral specialist, and a psychologist.

Let's remember the PCSB unanimously rejected BASIS for expansion and for reasons like not meeting the needs of all kids. How can an entire board miss the "fact" that BASIS goes above and beyond ...and bends over backwards? Unless of course the school is really not doing that, which they are not.

BASIS had a lot of support Day 1 and even before. I can't remember a school generating so much enthusiasm as BASIS did in DC. But they really weren't what they appeared to be....and we're all now realizing this. They're at most a mediocre school who's been clever enough to cherry pick students to maintain their stats. In some respects they're amongst the worst in DC or else the board would not have granted expansion requests to so many other schools. I give BASIS DC a (D-). I would not recommend this school to anyone.

No one mentions that signing up for Basis is done by the parent, the child may not be up for all the work. So it's not like anyone missed the memo about the demands of Basis curriculum, more like the parents hoped the kid would step up but kid doesn't step up. It's lucky for such families that there is a public school available to them to switch into.

Anonymous wrote:PP: I have worked in a number of charter schools, both start-up charters, established charters, highly-regarded schools and not so highly-regarded schools. I have never seen or heard of (and I keep fairly abreast with DC Education News) that level of mid-year attrition. It does make me wonder why so many students are leaving?

I would argue that any student/family that signed up for BASIS was well aware of what they were getting themselves into. It is clear to anyone who does even the slightest bit of research that they do not socially promote students, are seeking to offer a "gifted" option for DC students, etc. If they weren't willing to do the work why would they enroll?

I can't say with certainty that they are not meeting the needs of all of their students because I am not there every day seeing the work of their teachers. However, I do know when they decided to open a charter school in DC that they committed to doing so. Hopefully they are actively seeking out information as to why students are leaving and working to mend those problems. I would love to see DC add another high quality school to the mix- I just don't think that high quality school should be reserved for only a select group of students.

On the contrary. Basis seems to be a high quality school that is OPEN to everyone who cares to sign up and do the work. This.is completely opposed to other high quality schools in the city where the barriers are enormous a) must own expensive real estate b) must pay tuition c) must test in or d) must be extremely lucky in a lottery. At the moment Basis is a wide open, free, high quality education available to all kids in this city. I believe there are still slots available for 5th grade next year. In my mind, as a parent of kids in schools other than basis, basis is a huge asset to our city. Especially to lower income families for whom private school or moving would be a stretch and they live in a neighborhood with a disastrous public school. It is a godsend to many motivated families and students.

From what I have seen, BASIS goes above and beyond, where it comes to meeting the needs of kids. They offered STARS tutoring, they are offering extra reading and math labs, they are bending over backwards to bring kids up to speed. I believe they also have specialists for special needs, a behavioral specialist, and a psychologist.

While they offer an accelerated "leap" track, I would not characterize them as "gifted".

As for attrition, I think there were some who didn't take BASIS seriously, didn't investigate, and who didn't expect the curriculum to be as challenging as it is. A lot of students coming from other DCPS schools just coasted through without ever having to work hard. From talking to some parents, they say their kids got easy 'A's at their prior DCPS schools without even trying - at BASIS they found they had to work a lot harder for those 'A's.

Many parents I know express shock and surprise at the basic knowledge deficit from DCPS schooling that they didn't realize their kids had prior to coming to BASIS, for example extremely weak math skills, and are amazed at how much more their kids are learning at BASIS.

PP: I have worked in a number of charter schools, both start-up charters, established charters, highly-regarded schools and not so highly-regarded schools. I have never seen or heard of (and I keep fairly abreast with DC Education News) that level of mid-year attrition. It does make me wonder why so many students are leaving?

I would argue that any student/family that signed up for BASIS was well aware of what they were getting themselves into. It is clear to anyone who does even the slightest bit of research that they do not socially promote students, are seeking to offer a "gifted" option for DC students, etc. If they weren't willing to do the work why would they enroll?

I can't say with certainty that they are not meeting the needs of all of their students because I am not there every day seeing the work of their teachers. However, I do know when they decided to open a charter school in DC that they committed to doing so. Hopefully they are actively seeking out information as to why students are leaving and working to mend those problems. I would love to see DC add another high quality school to the mix- I just don't think that high quality school should be reserved for only a select group of students.

Anonymous wrote:PP: Having an alternative focus (like Ellington) does not exempt a school from meeting the needs of all children. Any child who elects and gets in to a school, deserves for their teachers, administrators, and specialists to provide the appropriate interventions to make that school work for them. Sure, different students learn better in different ways (some through art, some through Expeditionary Learning, etc.); however that does not exempt the school from trying their best to serve the children in their building.

Additionally- Ellington is a high school where students audition to be accepted based on the merit of their artistic ability. This is allowed in DC High Schools- BASIS is not this way and therefor should not accept students that they do not have the intention of serving fully.

If we make the excuse that "specialized" schools only need to meet the needs of the students that fit into that niche upon entrance, we are opening a can of excuses that we will never see the end of.

I am a teacher at a "specialized" charter and work every day to make sure all of my students are receiving a rich, rigorous, and meaningful education.

PP: I am not a basis booster, but I have seen no evidence that Basis does not do exactly what you describe in your first paragraph.I.e. do everything in its power to support, provide interventions , and fully educate each student enrolled in the school. In fact, what I have seen is evidence that Basis does all of the above to a high degree.

You seem intelligent enough to understand that the attrition at the school is from children who are offered all the support but do not want to do what it takes to keep up with the rigorous curriculum that was never a secret. To me, it is like kids leaving Ellingtom because it turns out that they really aren't that into.the arts program and don't want to put in the hours of rehearsals and practice.

Public money goes to the schools even though all children may not be a perfect fit for that school.

What is your evidence that Basis teachers and administration are not doing EXACTLY what you are doing at your "specialized" charter but it is a bigger stretch than some students WANT to make. Seems to me that the lack of social promotion at basis is an insurance policy to MAKE SURE that the school is meeting the needs of every child in the building. Teacher and student will keep at it until they get it right.

PP: Having an alternative focus (like Ellington) does not exempt a school from meeting the needs of all children. Any child who elects and gets in to a school, deserves for their teachers, administrators, and specialists to provide the appropriate interventions to make that school work for them. Sure, different students learn better in different ways (some through art, some through Expeditionary Learning, etc.); however that does not exempt the school from trying their best to serve the children in their building.

Additionally- Ellington is a high school where students audition to be accepted based on the merit of their artistic ability. This is allowed in DC High Schools- BASIS is not this way and therefor should not accept students that they do not have the intention of serving fully.

If we make the excuse that "specialized" schools only need to meet the needs of the students that fit into that niche upon entrance, we are opening a can of excuses that we will never see the end of.

I am a teacher at a "specialized" charter and work every day to make sure all of my students are receiving a rich, rigorous, and meaningful education.