Anonymous wrote:The board book is up. This will be the death knell to TR

What is the board book?

Wow, this will be really interesting to follow and see how it affects the Hill middle school pattern. Though it seems it won’t have an affect at the middle school level for several years (assuming once it reaches k-5, less spots for non-BASIS 5th grade).

Anonymous wrote:The board book is up. This will be the death knell to TR

I don't think so-- people who fall for the expeditionary fake curriculum aren't the same types as people who want BASIS for elementary. And there's no location yet so who knows if it will be anywhere near TR.

Recommended to open but only with grades k and 1, adding grades each year. Year one, 150 students

The board book is up. This will be the death knell to TR

PCSB is voting tonight. BASIS kids are mostly white and not at-risk. The parents know how to play politics. So this should be an easy vote. The opposite of Eagle. A bunch of those students have basically disappeared after their school was closed at the last minute. This is the way PCSB does business I guess.

Anonymous wrote:Any idea of when a decision about Basis ES will be made? This school year? Next school year? When would it open?

The vote is scheduled for Sept 16, but of course it's possible to delay or reschedule any vote.

It would open when it has a building and staff. Best-case is fall 2025, later if not. And it remains to be seen how many grades in the first year.

Also, the move from 5th to 6th as a MS entry year would work better for BASIS if they really move 5th to the new ES. Makes way more sense for new kids to enter straight into the MS campus. More disruptive for everyone if kids are trying to figure out a random one year commute to a different building.

Anonymous wrote:false. the current 5th grade entry year disproportionally does not attract higher needs students who for a variety of reasons tend to stay at their established elementary school for 5th and then lottery for 6th. its part of why the 5th grade at risk seats at basis and latin were not super popular.

+1. On top of that, the claim that higher needs kids MUST enter BASIS earlier than 6th and therefore in 5th is very much mitigated by BASIS having seats starting in K. At some point, the handful of high needs students who would now enter in 6th vs 5th get outweighed by the good of the entire system (there would be substantially less churn in a large number of non-JR-zoned ESes if the MS entry years between DCPS and charters lined up; that churn is bad for all students).

Any idea of when a decision about Basis ES will be made? This school year? Next school year? When would it open?

nothing about the proposed basis expansion is really about equity

false. the current 5th grade entry year disproportionally does not attract higher needs students who for a variety of reasons tend to stay at their established elementary school for 5th and then lottery for 6th. its part of why the 5th grade at risk seats at basis and latin were not super popular.

Anonymous wrote:Above is not a bad idea - make any approval contingent on 6th (not 5th) grade being the expansion year in an effort to systemwide better align the middle school lottery year.

This only benefits kids coming from otherwise strong elementary schools so would be anti-equity and so not going to happen.

Above is not a bad idea - make any approval contingent on 6th (not 5th) grade being the expansion year in an effort to systemwide better align the middle school lottery year.

I am a Brent parent and I would support an expansion of the middle school. But I think a K-4 expansion is not a good thing for Brent and other Hill elementaries even if it’s probably a good thing for the city.