How to help child succeed at BASIS

[Anonymous]

Kids in Fairfax can start languages much earlier than 8th grade, but on a voluntary basis. Same in MoCo and Arlington. DC is a redneck school system, mediocre or weak at teaching almost everything but math and science at BASIS. Period.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

This is the regressive posture that keeps most Americans monolingual. To somebody from another part of the world, studying a language seriously from the upper elementary grades is as routine as studying math.
Educators around the world follow the science behind learning languages young, since it's much easier to teach a child to speak a language than an older teen or an adult. Viewing middle school language learning as a liability in college admissions wouldn't make sense elsewhere. What BASIS does is let the 5th grade immersion graduates' language skills slide, only to endeavor to teach them languages from scratch from 8th grade, without providing anything like appropriate challenge. The result is that 5s on AP language exams aren't nearly as common as they could be at BASIS DC.

What BASIS DC parents don't know is that some of the BASIS Arizona campuses allow modern languages to be learned in middle school, including at the advanced level, but on a voluntary basis. They also offer serious instrumental music programs. BASIS Scottsdale certainly does. BASIS DC is hardly the jewel in the BASIS crown, for several reasons. The building isn't among the worst and the franchise, admins and parents aren't raising money for enrichment as they do elsewhere, and the school's leadership has changed repeatedly (what is it now, 8 Heads of School in 10 years?). Parent contributions in DC go only to top up teachers' salaries.

If you want language immersion in DC, you should look elsewhere.

No kids at Basis but why not demand better with the school with languages especially since other sites offer it? Improve the overall curriculum instead the status quo

No other public school in DC has the equivalent academics.

You want your kid to be a polyglot, send them to boarding school in Switzerland.

You are settling for less and don’t even know it. All the schools in the suburbs of DC offer languages and academic challenge

So why are you in a DC Public School board? Go away.

Because I’m a DC parent and want the city to offer adequate curriculum instead of selling for less.

The way to make change is to advocate, not to make excuses. Parents shouldn’t settle for the status quo

Typo settling

So you live in DC, and send your kids to an MD school? And then come on the DC board to argue about a tiny charter school?

All your assumptions are completely wrong. My kid goes to school in DC at the elementary level. He is a high performing kid, and I’m looking at all options for middle/high school in DC and the burbs.

The offerings in DC are subpar to the burbs. Language offerings is just one example.

The basis curriculum is lacking in it and could be enriched by adding it. It’s not hard to do. Change doesn’t happen unless there is an impetus such as parents advocating.

Sorry, couldn't hear you over the wall of sound created by all of us with MS and HS kids laughing at your absolute certainty in what you know. Go on then...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

This is the regressive posture that keeps most Americans monolingual. To somebody from another part of the world, studying a language seriously from the upper elementary grades is as routine as studying math.
Educators around the world follow the science behind learning languages young, since it's much easier to teach a child to speak a language than an older teen or an adult. Viewing middle school language learning as a liability in college admissions wouldn't make sense elsewhere. What BASIS does is let the 5th grade immersion graduates' language skills slide, only to endeavor to teach them languages from scratch from 8th grade, without providing anything like appropriate challenge. The result is that 5s on AP language exams aren't nearly as common as they could be at BASIS DC.

What BASIS DC parents don't know is that some of the BASIS Arizona campuses allow modern languages to be learned in middle school, including at the advanced level, but on a voluntary basis. They also offer serious instrumental music programs. BASIS Scottsdale certainly does. BASIS DC is hardly the jewel in the BASIS crown, for several reasons. The building isn't among the worst and the franchise, admins and parents aren't raising money for enrichment as they do elsewhere, and the school's leadership has changed repeatedly (what is it now, 8 Heads of School in 10 years?). Parent contributions in DC go only to top up teachers' salaries.

If you want language immersion in DC, you should look elsewhere.

No kids at Basis but why not demand better with the school with languages especially since other sites offer it? Improve the overall curriculum instead the status quo

No other public school in DC has the equivalent academics.

You want your kid to be a polyglot, send them to boarding school in Switzerland.

You are settling for less and don’t even know it. All the schools in the suburbs of DC offer languages and academic challenge

So why are you in a DC Public School board? Go away.

Because I’m a DC parent and want the city to offer adequate curriculum instead of selling for less.

The way to make change is to advocate, not to make excuses. Parents shouldn’t settle for the status quo

Typo settling

So you live in DC, and send your kids to an MD school? And then come on the DC board to argue about a tiny charter school?

All your assumptions are completely wrong. My kid goes to school in DC at the elementary level. He is a high performing kid, and I’m looking at all options for middle/high school in DC and the burbs.

The offerings in DC are subpar to the burbs. Language offerings is just one example.

The basis curriculum is lacking in it and could be enriched by adding it. It’s not hard to do. Change doesn’t happen unless there is an impetus such as parents advocating.

Sorry, couldn't hear you over the wall of sound created by all of us with MS and HS kids laughing at your absolute certainty in what you know. Go on then...

Your post adds nothing to the thread and sounds ridiculous. I’m laughing at that….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids in Fairfax can start languages much earlier than 8th grade, but on a voluntary basis. Same in MoCo and Arlington. DC is a redneck school system, mediocre or weak at teaching almost everything but math and science at BASIS. Period.

What I don’t understand is why DC parents settle for much less, make excuses, and get pulled down by the low standards in the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

This is the regressive posture that keeps most Americans monolingual. To somebody from another part of the world, studying a language seriously from the upper elementary grades is as routine as studying math.
Educators around the world follow the science behind learning languages young, since it's much easier to teach a child to speak a language than an older teen or an adult. Viewing middle school language learning as a liability in college admissions wouldn't make sense elsewhere. What BASIS does is let the 5th grade immersion graduates' language skills slide, only to endeavor to teach them languages from scratch from 8th grade, without providing anything like appropriate challenge. The result is that 5s on AP language exams aren't nearly as common as they could be at BASIS DC.

What BASIS DC parents don't know is that some of the BASIS Arizona campuses allow modern languages to be learned in middle school, including at the advanced level, but on a voluntary basis. They also offer serious instrumental music programs. BASIS Scottsdale certainly does. BASIS DC is hardly the jewel in the BASIS crown, for several reasons. The building isn't among the worst and the franchise, admins and parents aren't raising money for enrichment as they do elsewhere, and the school's leadership has changed repeatedly (what is it now, 8 Heads of School in 10 years?). Parent contributions in DC go only to top up teachers' salaries.

If you want language immersion in DC, you should look elsewhere.

No kids at Basis but why not demand better with the school with languages especially since other sites offer it? Improve the overall curriculum instead the status quo

No other public school in DC has the equivalent academics.

You want your kid to be a polyglot, send them to boarding school in Switzerland.

You are settling for less and don’t even know it. All the schools in the suburbs of DC offer languages and academic challenge

So why are you in a DC Public School board? Go away.

Because I’m a DC parent and want the city to offer adequate curriculum instead of selling for less.

The way to make change is to advocate, not to make excuses. Parents shouldn’t settle for the status quo

Typo settling

So you live in DC, and send your kids to an MD school? And then come on the DC board to argue about a tiny charter school?

All your assumptions are completely wrong. My kid goes to school in DC at the elementary level. He is a high performing kid, and I’m looking at all options for middle/high school in DC and the burbs.

The offerings in DC are subpar to the burbs. Language offerings is just one example.

The basis curriculum is lacking in it and could be enriched by adding it. It’s not hard to do. Change doesn’t happen unless there is an impetus such as parents advocating.

So you have zero experience not only with DC middle and high schools, but with ANY middle and high schools, and we’re supposed to listen to you … why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids in Fairfax can start languages much earlier than 8th grade, but on a voluntary basis. Same in MoCo and Arlington. DC is a redneck school system, mediocre or weak at teaching almost everything but math and science at BASIS. Period.

The crux of the problem, which those posting about language instruction at BASIS have been dancing around, is how screwed up the DC public school system is as whole.

There are only 7 or 8 charter schools in the entire state of VA, none in Fairfax or Arlington. While almost half of the students in DC public schools are enrolled in charters, most families in the VA burbs and MoCo embrace their by-right schools.

It follows that the strongest STEM oriented MS & HS programs in the burbs offer far more than AP test prep. Their senior admins aren't 20-somethings, like most have been at BASIS DC. Suburban middle schools routinely provide students coming up through ES immersion programs with both appropriate language classes and challenging work in core subjects.

It seems pointless to blame DCI's leadership for failing to offer rigorous enough STEM classes to keep language immersion grads from running to BASIS when the real culprits have been District politicians ever since Home Rule began in the 70s. IMHO, the competition for academic outputs shouldn't be between DC charters. The game of one upmanship should be played between the best comprehensive middle and high schools in the District and the best in the burbs. We already have the demographics to start to compete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids in Fairfax can start languages much earlier than 8th grade, but on a voluntary basis. Same in MoCo and Arlington. DC is a redneck school system, mediocre or weak at teaching almost everything but math and science at BASIS. Period.

Most FCPS kids actually can't. If your child doesn't get picked for one of the limited immersion slots in K or 1st, or if you move into FCPS after 1st, you can't start language until 7th grade. At most middle schools, 7th grade language is only half of a year, such that 7th+8th = 1 year of high school language.

Even if FCPS had across the board better offerings, I would expect that a very large school district could offer more options than a small charter. They're not going to have the resources to offer classes only desired by a very small number of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in Fairfax can start languages much earlier than 8th grade, but on a voluntary basis. Same in MoCo and Arlington. DC is a redneck school system, mediocre or weak at teaching almost everything but math and science at BASIS. Period.

The crux of the problem, which those posting about language instruction at BASIS have been dancing around, is how screwed up the DC public school system is as whole.

There are only 7 or 8 charter schools in the entire state of VA, none in Fairfax or Arlington. While almost half of the students in DC public schools are enrolled in charters, most families in the VA burbs and MoCo embrace their by-right schools.

It follows that the strongest STEM oriented MS & HS programs in the burbs offer far more than AP test prep. Their senior admins aren't 20-somethings, like most have been at BASIS DC. Suburban middle schools routinely provide students coming up through ES immersion programs with both appropriate language classes and challenging work in core subjects.

It seems pointless to blame DCI's leadership for failing to offer rigorous enough STEM classes to keep language immersion grads from running to BASIS when the real culprits have been District politicians ever since Home Rule began in the 70s. IMHO, the competition for academic outputs shouldn't be between DC charters. The game of one upmanship should be played between the best comprehensive middle and high schools in the District and the best in the burbs. We already have the demographics to start to compete.

Like Basis but don’t disagree with any of this. As a Basis parent, I see scope for after school clubs for middle school language practice. Admins do not, which is a shame. Parents don’t have a say in which clubs are offered, or how serious they are. Basis’ management model is very top down/paternalistic but still much better than DCPS East of Rock Creek.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in Fairfax can start languages much earlier than 8th grade, but on a voluntary basis. Same in MoCo and Arlington. DC is a redneck school system, mediocre or weak at teaching almost everything but math and science at BASIS. Period.

Most FCPS kids actually can't. If your child doesn't get picked for one of the limited immersion slots in K or 1st, or if you move into FCPS after 1st, you can't start language until 7th grade. At most middle schools, 7th grade language is only half of a year, such that 7th+8th = 1 year of high school language.

Even if FCPS had across the board better offerings, I would expect that a very large school district could offer more options than a small charter. They're not going to have the resources to offer classes only desired by a very small number of kids.

. Arlington offers language from 6th grade as does MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

This is the regressive posture that keeps most Americans monolingual. To somebody from another part of the world, studying a language seriously from the upper elementary grades is as routine as studying math.
Educators around the world follow the science behind learning languages young, since it's much easier to teach a child to speak a language than an older teen or an adult. Viewing middle school language learning as a liability in college admissions wouldn't make sense elsewhere. What BASIS does is let the 5th grade immersion graduates' language skills slide, only to endeavor to teach them languages from scratch from 8th grade, without providing anything like appropriate challenge. The result is that 5s on AP language exams aren't nearly as common as they could be at BASIS DC.

What BASIS DC parents don't know is that some of the BASIS Arizona campuses allow modern languages to be learned in middle school, including at the advanced level, but on a voluntary basis. They also offer serious instrumental music programs. BASIS Scottsdale certainly does. BASIS DC is hardly the jewel in the BASIS crown, for several reasons. The building isn't among the worst and the franchise, admins and parents aren't raising money for enrichment as they do elsewhere, and the school's leadership has changed repeatedly (what is it now, 8 Heads of School in 10 years?). Parent contributions in DC go only to top up teachers' salaries.

If you want language immersion in DC, you should look elsewhere.

No kids at Basis but why not demand better with the school with languages especially since other sites offer it? Improve the overall curriculum instead the status quo

No other public school in DC has the equivalent academics.

You want your kid to be a polyglot, send them to boarding school in Switzerland.

You are settling for less and don’t even know it. All the schools in the suburbs of DC offer languages and academic challenge

So why are you in a DC Public School board? Go away.

Because I’m a DC parent and want the city to offer adequate curriculum instead of selling for less.

The way to make change is to advocate, not to make excuses. Parents shouldn’t settle for the status quo

Typo settling

So you live in DC, and send your kids to an MD school? And then come on the DC board to argue about a tiny charter school?

All your assumptions are completely wrong. My kid goes to school in DC at the elementary level. He is a high performing kid, and I’m looking at all options for middle/high school in DC and the burbs.

The offerings in DC are subpar to the burbs. Language offerings is just one example.

The basis curriculum is lacking in it and could be enriched by adding it. It’s not hard to do. Change doesn’t happen unless there is an impetus such as parents advocating.

So you have zero experience not only with DC middle and high schools, but with ANY middle and high schools, and we’re supposed to listen to you … why?

THIS is why we are all laughing at you, PPP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in Fairfax can start languages much earlier than 8th grade, but on a voluntary basis. Same in MoCo and Arlington. DC is a redneck school system, mediocre or weak at teaching almost everything but math and science at BASIS. Period.

Most FCPS kids actually can't. If your child doesn't get picked for one of the limited immersion slots in K or 1st, or if you move into FCPS after 1st, you can't start language until 7th grade. At most middle schools, 7th grade language is only half of a year, such that 7th+8th = 1 year of high school language.

Even if FCPS had across the board better offerings, I would expect that a very large school district could offer more options than a small charter. They're not going to have the resources to offer classes only desired by a very small number of kids.

Believe me, something better than beginning Spanish in 8th grade is desired by plenty of BASIS families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

This is the regressive posture that keeps most Americans monolingual. To somebody from another part of the world, studying a language seriously from the upper elementary grades is as routine as studying math.
Educators around the world follow the science behind learning languages young, since it's much easier to teach a child to speak a language than an older teen or an adult. Viewing middle school language learning as a liability in college admissions wouldn't make sense elsewhere. What BASIS does is let the 5th grade immersion graduates' language skills slide, only to endeavor to teach them languages from scratch from 8th grade, without providing anything like appropriate challenge. The result is that 5s on AP language exams aren't nearly as common as they could be at BASIS DC.

What BASIS DC parents don't know is that some of the BASIS Arizona campuses allow modern languages to be learned in middle school, including at the advanced level, but on a voluntary basis. They also offer serious instrumental music programs. BASIS Scottsdale certainly does. BASIS DC is hardly the jewel in the BASIS crown, for several reasons. The building isn't among the worst and the franchise, admins and parents aren't raising money for enrichment as they do elsewhere, and the school's leadership has changed repeatedly (what is it now, 8 Heads of School in 10 years?). Parent contributions in DC go only to top up teachers' salaries.

If you want language immersion in DC, you should look elsewhere.

No kids at Basis but why not demand better with the school with languages especially since other sites offer it? Improve the overall curriculum instead the status quo

No other public school in DC has the equivalent academics.

You want your kid to be a polyglot, send them to boarding school in Switzerland.

You are settling for less and don’t even know it. All the schools in the suburbs of DC offer languages and academic challenge

So why are you in a DC Public School board? Go away.

Because I’m a DC parent and want the city to offer adequate curriculum instead of selling for less.

The way to make change is to advocate, not to make excuses. Parents shouldn’t settle for the status quo

Typo settling

So you live in DC, and send your kids to an MD school? And then come on the DC board to argue about a tiny charter school?

All your assumptions are completely wrong. My kid goes to school in DC at the elementary level. He is a high performing kid, and I’m looking at all options for middle/high school in DC and the burbs.

The offerings in DC are subpar to the burbs. Language offerings is just one example.

The basis curriculum is lacking in it and could be enriched by adding it. It’s not hard to do. Change doesn’t happen unless there is an impetus such as parents advocating.

Sorry, couldn't hear you over the wall of sound created by all of us with MS and HS kids laughing at your absolute certainty in what you know. Go on then...

Your post adds nothing to the thread and sounds ridiculous. I’m laughing at that….

All of your assumptions are completely wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in Fairfax can start languages much earlier than 8th grade, but on a voluntary basis. Same in MoCo and Arlington. DC is a redneck school system, mediocre or weak at teaching almost everything but math and science at BASIS. Period.

The crux of the problem, which those posting about language instruction at BASIS have been dancing around, is how screwed up the DC public school system is as whole.

There are only 7 or 8 charter schools in the entire state of VA, none in Fairfax or Arlington. While almost half of the students in DC public schools are enrolled in charters, most families in the VA burbs and MoCo embrace their by-right schools.

It follows that the strongest STEM oriented MS & HS programs in the burbs offer far more than AP test prep. Their senior admins aren't 20-somethings, like most have been at BASIS DC. Suburban middle schools routinely provide students coming up through ES immersion programs with both appropriate language classes and challenging work in core subjects.

It seems pointless to blame DCI's leadership for failing to offer rigorous enough STEM classes to keep language immersion grads from running to BASIS when the real culprits have been District politicians ever since Home Rule began in the 70s. IMHO, the competition for academic outputs shouldn't be between DC charters. The game of one upmanship should be played between the best comprehensive middle and high schools in the District and the best in the burbs. We already have the demographics to start to compete.

Many, many words. What they prove is that you have no idea WTF you are talking about. DC didn't create the charter system in DC, Congress did. The reason we have this system and VA does not (to use your example) is that the reps from VA and elsewhere imposed on DC a system they would never have federally required in their own states.

You are blaming Home Rule but the current system was created 25 years later. If you want to have even a basic idea pf what you are talking about try googling "The District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995" and start reading.

[Anonymous]

PP isn't wrong, but more explanation needed.

Walter Washington, Sharon Pratt and Barry ran DCPS into the ground during the first 20 years of home rule. By his own admission, Williams mostly left DCPS alone - he had bigger fish to fry in making the city function. No secret that Congress opened the door for charters in the nation’s capital when it passed the DC School Reform Act of 1995. Setting up the DC Public Charter School Board as an independent body governed by the School Reform Act was really Fenty's baby, but the most successful charters we see today mainly came in under Gray. He had the worst relationship with the WTU of the mayors and let the charter sector explode to get back at the union. Bowser has continued in this vein pretty relentlessly. Something is obviously rotten to the core in a jurisdiction where almost half of public-school students attend charters. A complete mess, really. The fact that VA and MD essentially don't bother with charters is probably all we really need to know. BASIS came out of Arizona, one of the several states with the least regulation of the charter sector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP isn't wrong, but more explanation needed.

Walter Washington, Sharon Pratt and Barry ran DCPS into the ground during the first 20 years of home rule. By his own admission, Williams mostly left DCPS alone - he had bigger fish to fry in making the city function. No secret that Congress opened the door for charters in the nation’s capital when it passed the DC School Reform Act of 1995. Setting up the DC Public Charter School Board as an independent body governed by the School Reform Act was really Fenty's baby, but the most successful charters we see today mainly came in under Gray. He had the worst relationship with the WTU of the mayors and let the charter sector explode to get back at the union. Bowser has continued in this vein pretty relentlessly. Something is obviously rotten to the core in a jurisdiction where almost half of public-school students attend charters. A complete mess, really. The fact that VA and MD essentially don't bother with charters is probably all we really need to know. BASIS came out of Arizona, one of the several states with the least regulation of the charter sector.

Bottom line for today is if DCPS middle and high school had tracking and offered multiple levels of each course, like our typical suburban neighbors, you wouldn’t have 1/2 the kids attending charters that have at least the majority of kids on grade level which is not even a high bar.