Why are kids dropping out of BASIS DC starting in 7/8th grade?

[Anonymous]

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My take is that if you want to give your kid a somewhat chance at an Ivy then you probably ARE condemning him/her to 4 hours homework a night in high school, anywhere you send the child. Personally, I would gut-check the goal of an Ivy before you send them down that path. These days, many of those Ivy-going kids are not close to being "whole person" developmentally when they get in, and then they are on the HabiTrail grind once more, when they get out. Again, personally, not the kind of life I pray my kid experiences. The better bet is to encourage them to develop their gifts when they are young, get them a decent post-high school education somewhere, then they do their thing in young adulthood. They'll figure it all out eventually. I don't have the same confidence in the maturation & development of Ivy school kids, not post-millenium, not at all.

plus 1,000

PS sorry but what does "the HabiTrail grind" mean??????????????
What does HabiTrail mean????????????????

clueless but hopeful longterm DCUM member and poster (although I have yet to identify "Chipotle Mom")

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:.

My take is that if you want to give your kid a somewhat chance at an Ivy then you probably ARE condemning him/her to 4 hours homework a night in high school, anywhere you send the child. Personally, I would gut-check the goal of an Ivy before you send them down that path. These days, many of those Ivy-going kids are not close to being "whole person" developmentally when they get in, and then they are on the HabiTrail grind once more, when they get out. Again, personally, not the kind of life I pray my kid experiences. The better bet is to encourage them to develop their gifts when they are young, get them a decent post-high school education somewhere, then they do their thing in young adulthood. They'll figure it all out eventually. I don't have the same confidence in the maturation & development of Ivy school kids, not post-millenium, not at all.

plus 1,000

PS sorry but what does "the HabiTrail grind" mean??????????????
What does HabiTrail mean????????????????

clueless but hopeful longterm DCUM member and poster (although I have yet to identify "Chipotle Mom")

No PP = but think they mean "habittrail" (the things hambsters live in). Perhaps she should have said 'hamster wheel"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG OP, we couldn't ALL get into Latin like your DC! And for whatever anyone says about the obnoxious BASIS booster and basher parents, I'm up.to.here with the smugness of the Latin families. Please, please write more about balancing the whole child.

Whether or not we stay at BASIS through high school, I cannot wait to compare where the first graduating seniors will be accepted in comparison to Latin.

Latin has graduated three classes already, and some people on this board decried what they viewed as on the whole shoddy college admissions, completely failing to realize that many of those kids decided where to go based on financial aid packages or merit awards. The first kids who graduate from BASIS DC will have started in 8th grade, so they hardly got the benefit of the BASIS middle school experience and their high school experience will be unlike subsequent graduating classes........... and economically many of them are in the same position as the Latin kids, so tread carefully.

BASIS graduating class will be very small compared to Latin graduating class.
They started with 87 8th graders, were 46 at the end of the year, 30 9th graders, 25 10th graders and this year's 11th grade will probably be less than 20.
Latin does not get rid of students the way BASIS does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suggestion: go take the Thomas Jefferson HS tour to get your answer.

That's ridiculous. Just because TJ offers extracurriculars, it doesn't mean that they are all college application worthy, nor does it mean that your child would want to be involved.

You are trying to compare a 3-year-old DC charter to a long-established test-in school funded by state and local money?

You asked what I thought college-application-worthy extra curriculars look like. I suggested TJ's as a model. What's ridiculous is the belief held by many BASIS parents that, as a general rule, highly competitive colleges will give their high SES kids a break for having gone to a struggling newish DC charter school. I'm not buying it and, at this rate, won't stay for HS. Good luck if you do.

We were at BASIS for the past three years. We applied to 4 competitive schools and did not get in. So much for BASIS being an prestigious institution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG OP, we couldn't ALL get into Latin like your DC! And for whatever anyone says about the obnoxious BASIS booster and basher parents, I'm up.to.here with the smugness of the Latin families. Please, please write more about balancing the whole child.

Whether or not we stay at BASIS through high school, I cannot wait to compare where the first graduating seniors will be accepted in comparison to Latin.

Latin has graduated three classes already, and some people on this board decried what they viewed as on the whole shoddy college admissions, completely failing to realize that many of those kids decided where to go based on financial aid packages or merit awards. The first kids who graduate from BASIS DC will have started in 8th grade, so they hardly got the benefit of the BASIS middle school experience and their high school experience will be unlike subsequent graduating classes........... and economically many of them are in the same position as the Latin kids, so tread carefully.

BASIS graduating class will be very small compared to Latin graduating class.
They started with 87 8th graders, were 46 at the end of the year, 30 9th graders, 25 10th graders and this year's 11th grade will probably be less than 20.
Latin does not get rid of students the way BASIS does.

I don't think after 9th grade (when kids take their first APs - which are factored into grades) any attrition is due to "weeding out." The kids who started in 8th grade the first year (at least some of them) were too far behind to catch up, since BASIS schools usually start in 5th grade. Many who applied to BASIS did it because they were desperate to find their kids a decent MS. BASIS DC accepted everyone that first year. At that a large number of parents and kids did not know what they were getting into. Here, when people talk about a "rigorous education" in a public school, especially one just starting up, most people laugh and figure that DC kids, parents, and the system will wear them down. No one really thought they would fail students.

I am not sure BASIS had any idea what they were getting into by starting a school here, and that was their fault. But to their credit they did not change their standards for the kids who were starting in 5th grade. And it is a tough school. And DC kids are, in general, behind all states and many urban cities educationally. So the first year a lot of kids left because of the work load, because they realized they could not pass the comps, or after failing the comps. I think over 70 kids repeated the year and then were promoted the second year - that was what it took to compensate for DC's wonderful public schools.

BASIS DC did have to change their graduation standards for the first few classes, which they do in all start up schools, and if you cannot do one of the two things BASIS schools are famous for - leave after 11th grade and go to college or do something else with a gap year, or in your senior year only have one graded Trimester and then do a pass fail senior project for the rest of the year, your kids aren't getting the BASIS reward so why stay?

But again, BASIS is not for everyone. Especially continuing the same amount of work in high school when you know you don't have to, or risking graduating from a start up school with no rep except its national one. Our DC CAS scores were doing pretty well there - another couple of years and we might even have beaten Deal. But that is the DC CAS. Not getting into college. I really think it is going to take a long time for even the average number of students to stay.

Ironically 20 is not that far off for the average number for graduating seniors. I just think people will continue to leave for high school if they get into Walls or are zoned for Wilson for a long time. The average attrition between MS and HS at BASIS schools is 40%, and parents are very risk averse when it comes to high school. I say all this and we are staying... at least for 9th grade. But I think everyone is still taking it a year at a time....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We were at BASIS for the past three years. We applied to 4 competitive schools and did not get in. So much for BASIS being an prestigious institution.

I don't think that has been the typical experience.
And we get kids into Walls like nobody's business. Not that I see the attraction there, just saying that the math here helps us score high on the placement test, and I don't think anyone failed the interviews this year... How many will actually leave is still an open question - but Walls and BASIS know. We know quite a few kids who applied to and got into private schools for high school. If your kid did well, I don't know what went wrong. Maybe 4 schools was not casting a wide enough net? If you had no safety? Maybe the SSATs? Although after 3 years at BASIS the only weakness you might have there depending on the English teacher would be verbal - and that can be prepped for...... so sorry. Go for Walls in 10th. You will still probably get in if you want to leave BASIS so badly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The kids that have left are so much happier and well-adjusted, have tons of friends, and are doing well academically in their new schools. They find school to be a fun and balanced place to learn, as well as to grow physically and socially without the dreaded surprise of failing a class during the last week of school.

Very revealing -- you have no clue. My child is one of the 7th graders who left despite all was going very well and learning was exciting and fast-paced. None of those things are true where my child is now, and I rue the day we left for private. Basis will not take back students who have left.

Thank you so much for your post.

As a parent at BASIS who is constantly wondering if we are doing our children a disservice by not enrolling them in private school, it is wonderful to hear from someone who actually made the move. We have had some kids come from private school and who are happy here, including top privates like GDS.

But the grass is always greener and the pull of an established private school (especially because some of our peers with kids in private think we are batshit crazy and parents are offering to pay) is hard to resist. Like you, we have kids who are doing well and excited by the fast paced rate of learning and the opportunities for acceleration in math, which they have taken full advantage of............

It takes a great deal of courage to come onto a thread like this and reassure those of us who have refused to make the leap to private despite peer and parental pressure. We still think the quality of the education in an increasingly small environment is what is causing our older kid to thrive. Younger child so still in a large cohort, but obsessed with Distinguished Honor Roll and has not yet failed to make the cut. Will hate it when she doesn't, but know that it happens to almost every student and since grades are cumulative sometimes the climb back up is difficult....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The kids that have left are so much happier and well-adjusted, have tons of friends, and are doing well academically in their new schools. They find school to be a fun and balanced place to learn, as well as to grow physically and socially without the dreaded surprise of failing a class during the last week of school.

Very revealing -- you have no clue. My child is one of the 7th graders who left despite all was going very well and learning was exciting and fast-paced. None of those things are true where my child is now, and I rue the day we left for private. Basis will not take back students who have left.

Thank you so much for your post.

As a parent at BASIS who is constantly wondering if we are doing our children a disservice by not enrolling them in private school, it is wonderful to hear from someone who actually made the move. We have had some kids come from private school and who are happy here, including top privates like GDS.

But the grass is always greener and the pull of an established private school (especially because some of our peers with kids in private think we are batshit crazy and parents are offering to pay) is hard to resist. Like you, we have kids who are doing well and excited by the fast paced rate of learning and the opportunities for acceleration in math, which they have taken full advantage of............

It takes a great deal of courage to come onto a thread like this and reassure those of us who have refused to make the leap to private despite peer and parental pressure. We still think the quality of the education in an increasingly small environment is what is causing our older kid to thrive. Younger child so still in a large cohort, but obsessed with Distinguished Honor Roll and has not yet failed to make the cut. Will hate it when she doesn't, but know that it happens to almost every student and since grades are cumulative sometimes the climb back up is difficult....

thanks

[Anonymous]

My child is a current 10th grader at Basis DC. I am more than pleased with the academic program at Basis. Let's face it Dc doesn't give many options. Wilson is tracked if you don't test into the special programs you don't have the same opportunities. Walls just won't accept you if your child's resume isn't impressive. Dc high schools are the lowest performing in the nation many students that go to college have to take remedial classes that should have been taught in high school. Honestly, the peer pressure is much lower bc by this time kids have formed a community with like minded peers. They enjoy studying and learning and realize this is their ticket out. True they may not have all the whistles and bells with extra activities but you have rec centers and any Dc student can join sports team for their neighborhood school. It's unfortunate that Dc schools don't see the need to push kids with the same rigor as Basis. The elite private schools do it for 40,000 a yr. reality is students that are prepared in hS have greater success and get a real feel for college. Also, all kids don't take the same classes. Some are more accelerated than others. At Walls kids are just taking college courses at GW (at least the more advanced students). aP classes give students a reality check on what college is about. Study skills and time management are forced to be practiced. Like I tell my child if you really want to become a Sergeon get use to what it will take to be that now!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is a current 10th grader at Basis DC. I am more than pleased with the academic program at Basis. Let's face it Dc doesn't give many options. Wilson is tracked if you don't test into the special programs you don't have the same opportunities. Walls just won't accept you if your child's resume isn't impressive. Dc high schools are the lowest performing in the nation many students that go to college have to take remedial classes that should have been taught in high school. Honestly, the peer pressure is much lower bc by this time kids have formed a community with like minded peers. They enjoy studying and learning and realize this is their ticket out. True they may not have all the whistles and bells with extra activities but you have rec centers and any Dc student can join sports team for their neighborhood school. It's unfortunate that Dc schools don't see the need to push kids with the same rigor as Basis. The elite private schools do it for 40,000 a yr. reality is students that are prepared in hS have greater success and get a real feel for college. Also, all kids don't take the same classes. Some are more accelerated than others. At Walls kids are just taking college courses at GW (at least the more advanced students). aP classes give students a reality check on what college is about. Study skills and time management are forced to be practiced. Like I tell my child if you really want to become a Sergeon get use to what it will take to be that now!

It is great that your kids are doing well at their school.

You have misstated information on other schools though (particularly Wilson and Walls).

[Anonymous]

Happy BASIS parent here!

I plan to pull my DD out for private high school at 9th too.

I think it's because I'll want my daughter to experience something different for high school but am very happy with BASIS for middle (and considering that we were going to do private of she didn't get in, BASIS saved our family about $100k for college!).

[Anonymous]

+1 if she was OK with BASIS; that's a lot of dough saved. Good for you guys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are several of my friends whose kids were the first to attend the school when it first opened, and now I know none that will be attending 9th or 10th grade there. All of their kids were doing well in 7th and started falling behind in 8th. The end-of-year comps and the stress of taking on AP classes before they're ready and the lack of a traditional high school feel has sent them running for "safety" elsewhere. Most of these kids were bright, and interested in learning and at the top of their respective schools upon entering BASIS. There was a large group who knew each other -- we even ran into several kids that we'd seen in pre-K at the testing day three years ago.

I'm very glad I didn't send my son there. He would have been miserable! He would have ended up leaving for Walls, Wilson, Latin, etc. for high school where there's not so much pressure to make the school look good but more emphasis on the student actually absorbing what they're learning. I don't knock BASIS for the few kids who enjoy the fast pace of learning, but I don't think it's necessarily a good thing or necessary for anyone to be successful in life to be that stressed out in school. School is about so much more than retaining tons of new facts that are heaped upon you constantly and pulled out of you at comps time. Any parent who carefully considers their child's well-being would seriously second-guess a school like this. This is not the best way to learn - it's the best way for kids to become anxious, depressed, and worse from what I hear from so many parents.

The kids that have left are so much happier and well-adjusted, have tons of friends, and are doing well academically in their new schools. They find school to be a fun and balanced place to learn, as well as to grow physically and socially without the dreaded surprise of failing a class during the last week of school. BASIS probably wants to open an elementary school because they know the high school model will not survive much longer. The graduation rate if actually calculated from the cohort of ALL the kids that started in 5th grade would be depressingly low. And the founders should be ashamed of that.

- parent of future biomedical engineer and current 10th-grade honors and athlete-student at a non-BASIS charter school

Your DC is 15 and already planning his career as a bio-medical engineer. No doubt he arrived on that life course completely independently? of you.

Basis is to be blamed for being too intense though.

Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are several of my friends whose kids were the first to attend the school when it first opened, and now I know none that will be attending 9th or 10th grade there. All of their kids were doing well in 7th and started falling behind in 8th. The end-of-year comps and the stress of taking on AP classes before they're ready and the lack of a traditional high school feel has sent them running for "safety" elsewhere. Most of these kids were bright, and interested in learning and at the top of their respective schools upon entering BASIS. There was a large group who knew each other -- we even ran into several kids that we'd seen in pre-K at the testing day three years ago.

I'm very glad I didn't send my son there. He would have been miserable! He would have ended up leaving for Walls, Wilson, Latin, etc. for high school where there's not so much pressure to make the school look good but more emphasis on the student actually absorbing what they're learning. I don't knock BASIS for the few kids who enjoy the fast pace of learning, but I don't think it's necessarily a good thing or necessary for anyone to be successful in life to be that stressed out in school. School is about so much more than retaining tons of new facts that are heaped upon you constantly and pulled out of you at comps time. Any parent who carefully considers their child's well-being would seriously second-guess a school like this. This is not the best way to learn - it's the best way for kids to become anxious, depressed, and worse from what I hear from so many parents.

The kids that have left are so much happier and well-adjusted, have tons of friends, and are doing well academically in their new schools. They find school to be a fun and balanced place to learn, as well as to grow physically and socially without the dreaded surprise of failing a class during the last week of school. BASIS probably wants to open an elementary school because they know the high school model will not survive much longer. The graduation rate if actually calculated from the cohort of ALL the kids that started in 5th grade would be depressingly low. And the founders should be ashamed of that.

- parent of future biomedical engineer and current 10th-grade honors and athlete-student at a non-BASIS charter school

Your DC is 15 and already planning his career as a bio-medical engineer. No doubt he arrived on that life course completely independently? of you.

Basis is to be blamed for being too intense though.

Got it.

You're responding to a 2 year old post. Hopefully that child is on their way to college and is happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The entire thread makes me want to home school my kid. If I were made to go through this crap, I'd be a truant, too. Kids aren't allowed to have fun anymore.

Maybe it's a point of pride for Basis kids but it always strikes me that Basis kids unabashedly volunteer "I hate school". As a parent of two academically thriving boys, who have never uttered such words, I have a hard time understanding how parents can think that hating school can be a good thing. Don't get me wrong, it's not like they always love everything about school and they sure occasionally complain about work. But hearing "oh, how I hate school" is just a whole different level of dislike. It's not healthy and it shouldn't be considered normal.

There are schools that make it a mission for kids to "also have fun". Inquire about and look for that.