00:51 and 08:56 - it still doesn't answer the question of why one would go out of their way to slam Basis. There are other charters to pick from.

I am PP 18:59 and am neither DC operative nor gentrifier. I simply read the news. I suggest that others do the same and find indications that Gray or Henderson are against charters or that charters as a whole are superior to DCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well said. Dcps has had ample opportunity to do something about its middle schools. Now that appealing middle school charter options appear, Dcps officials and parents who are against charters will cry that the Charter schools are the problem because they are attracting the best students. Dcps could have, too. But they dropped the proverbial ball big time.

DC officials are not against charters. I haven't heard Henderson or Gray speak out against charters. Henderson has had charter operators run neighborhood high schools (unsuccessfully) and by the way, charters so far have not done better than traditional public schools overall.

LOL! PP might as well come out and admit he/she is a DCPS operative.

Now, now. Be fair. PP is probably in a gentrifying neighborhood with crappy DCPS schools. She'd like for those schools to be an option for her DC(s) but the pressure from charters is too intense. It is hardly a difficult position to imagine or understand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well said. Dcps has had ample opportunity to do something about its middle schools. Now that appealing middle school charter options appear, Dcps officials and parents who are against charters will cry that the Charter schools are the problem because they are attracting the best students. Dcps could have, too. But they dropped the proverbial ball big time.

DC officials are not against charters. I haven't heard Henderson or Gray speak out against charters. Henderson has had charter operators run neighborhood high schools (unsuccessfully) and by the way, charters so far have not done better than traditional public schools overall.

LOL! PP might as well come out and admit he/she is a DCPS operative.

Anonymous wrote:Well said. Dcps has had ample opportunity to do something about its middle schools. Now that appealing middle school charter options appear, Dcps officials and parents who are against charters will cry that the Charter schools are the problem because they are attracting the best students. Dcps could have, too. But they dropped the proverbial ball big time.

DC officials are not against charters. I haven't heard Henderson or Gray speak out against charters. Henderson has had charter operators run neighborhood high schools (unsuccessfully) and by the way, charters so far have not done better than traditional public schools overall.

Anonymous wrote:Well said. Dcps has had ample opportunity to do something about its middle schools. Now that appealing middle school charter options appear, Dcps officials and parents who are against charters will cry that the Charter schools are the problem because they are attracting the best students. Dcps could have, too. But they dropped the proverbial ball big time.

Exactly - the charters are succeeding and thriving because DCPS dropped the ball, not the other way around.

As for the other comments here, everyone is entitled to their opinion of the reviews. If you think Basis is not a fit for your student, then there are plenty of other options. So why go through so much energy to find fault with it if you are not sending your student there? What dog do you have in the hunt?

Well said. Dcps has had ample opportunity to do something about its middle schools. Now that appealing middle school charter options appear, Dcps officials and parents who are against charters will cry that the Charter schools are the problem because they are attracting the best students. Dcps could have, too. But they dropped the proverbial ball big time.

It may be worth remembering that a great many parents are getting hot under the collar about what Basis DC is planning (half a dozen DCUMD threads in the month of May alone) only because the "middle school problem," as Bill Turque terms it, looms so large outside of Upper NW.

I have Capitol Hill and Ward 5 friends who seem to be pinning most of their hopes on staying downtown on Basis working out for their children. Tempers flare, passions run high, strong opinions are formed, all because of the dearth of appealing alternatives. That's the crux of the problem, not the lack of social promotion, or outdoor space, or an overly rigid curriculum in the eyes of some, or whatever else.

+1. I'm a Chinese immigrant who perused the greatschools.com comments months ago, helping convince me not to sign my kid up. Too many of them evoked memories of my elite exam factory middle school back home.

How ironic that, at a time when Chinese provincial governments are taking a hard look at how to move beyond rote learning and memorization in schools, and the newly wealthy seek out "American style" privates emphasizing experiential learning, Basis enters the picture locally. Maybe you need to be East Asian to fully appreciate the fact that hard work can't replace inspiration and joy of learning in predicting future success. If I want to send my kid to a cram school with subpar facilities, no shortage in Asia.

But what struck me is that it didn't sound like some of the unhappy parents in fact had lazy or unmotivated kids, the opposite. The impression I got was that their kids were not only very bright but on the creative and imaginative side of the gifted spectrum, so they didn't fit in. Is that a good thing?

Several parents mentioned that they were sticking with Basis not because they liked the place, but for lack of an affordable alternative. One frighteningly literate comment in particular got my attention "hierarchical, intolerant and often cruel undercurrent among the kids overlooked by teachers." I was surprised to read a good many complaints about teacher quality. Look, I was highly impressed with the Basis presentations myself, unprepared for the extent of the on-line venting. Draw your own conclusions by all means, but DC parents might want to go into Penn Quarter with their eyes wide open. If Ivy League admissions are your family's goal, I'm convinced (coming from a dying New England mill town and a cash-strapped family, with all three kids to Ivies) intellectual curiosity, and personal initiative, stands your kid in far greater stead in the admissions process than a stack of AP exams. I've interviewed more than a few DC private school kids for my Ivy who looked fantastic on paper, yet didn't seem able to think, explore, or even smile, to save their lives - rejected.

Anonymous wrote:If anybody wants greater insight into how Basis will run the show in DC, I have suggestion for you - go to GreatSchools.com, look up the original Tuscon branch (in Pima County) and flip through all 20 pages of comments. The exercise takes about 15 minutes.

More of the comments are critical than positive, posted by unhappy sounding parents complaining about a one-size-fits-all formula for teaching their kids, a school that doesn't value parental input (just fundraising efforts), a cold learning environment that promotes meaness, and, most remarkably, an outmoded approach to teaching and learning that shortchanges the most gifted kids. The comments are an eye opener to say the least.

I read through the comments as well, and took away a completely different set of conclusions. Firstly, the comments were more positive than negative, and more so than most schools, as reflected in their final rating on greatschools. Regarding negative ratings, when things are going as they should be, people are less apt to say anything, but I read quite a few positive comments, mainly from parents whose children were the motivated, and the gifted and talented achievers. Of those who did complain, they were typically complaining about the fact that their student had to work at it, that it wasn't just a matter of showing up as is the case in most public schools. Yes, some kids will not be a good fit for Basis. And, no, it's not a one-size-fits-all formula, it's a formula geared toward hard-working, motivated kids. If your kid's a slacker, just coasting by, or more in it for athletics or socialization, then no, it's not a good fit.

As for gifted kids, an option like Basis will be a whole lot better than DCPS (which frankly does little, and far too late for gifted and talented students) as well as many of the other charters. Basis might not meet their specific niche or passion (but then again, no school does) but it will challenge them, equip and gear them up with the learning and life skills that gifted and talented children will need to be able to go deep on their passions and pursuits.

As for "meanness"? Now that one's just pure fiction.

If anybody wants greater insight into how Basis will run the show in DC, I have suggestion for you - go to GreatSchools.com, look up the original Tuscon branch (in Pima County) and flip through all 20 pages of comments. The exercise takes about 15 minutes.

More of the comments are critical than positive, posted by unhappy sounding parents complaining about a one-size-fits-all formula for teaching their kids, a school that doesn't value parental input (just fundraising efforts), a cold learning environment that promotes meaness, and, most remarkably, an outmoded approach to teaching and learning that shortchanges the most gifted kids. The comments are an eye opener to say the least.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What do the children who mastered the material do while the teacher provides remedial instruction to those that did not? Twiddle their thumbs? Is that their reward for having studied hard the previous year?

Exactly. BASIS DC is not a magnet school. Anyone can be admitted there, so there will be all levels of students, anyone from below basic to advanced. I keep wondering how they are going to maintain their high achieving rate with under performing students. Somehow those parents think that their kids are not at the right school; if they move their kids to a high achieving school then their kids will do much better. While it may be true in some aspects, I don't think the school makes a student better achiever.

I wonder how BASIS is going to persuade you to leave if your student isn't up to speed.

Remediation will only be offered in the daily tutoring sessions before and after school and possibly in other ways but not in class from what I understand. There will be no twiddling of thumbs because Basis will not be watering down the material. I think offering daily tutoring sessions both before and after school as well as other supports is more than adequate.

Basis will not be persuading anyone to leave. Again they offer over the top tutoring and supports and the opportunity to repeat a grade if necessary.

That's great, that's how it should be. I agree, seems to me that Basis is bending over backward in offering help and remediation. They make all the resources available, but the students and families have to do their part also.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basis offers tutoring and extensive support, and if that doesn't work, the student repeats the grade if they still can't master it. As I understand it, that's entirely within the law, and parents and students are left to their own choices. Yes, they could keep their student at Basis and if they still don't want to or can't work at the material and master it, have their student keep being held behind year after year but just because you can do that doesn't mean it makes sense or that it's the right thing to do.

Is it the right thing to socially promote someone year after year until they graduate unable to read and do basic math??? I think that would be a gross injustice to said student.

+1

I AM REALLY FAT FINGERING WORDS TODAY. LOL