BASIS high school versus middle school

[Anonymous]

We have a kid currently in BASIS middle school. I have heard from other families that the high school is much different. My kid is doing well in the middle school and likes it, but we're not sure about staying there long-term. How does the high school compare to the middle school?

I'm aware this will probably turn into a BASIS-bashing post as most BASIS threads turn into. I won't bother reading the criticisms that we've already seen here a million times (and some I agree with) so save your breath. Truly looking for people who have experienced the high school. We know some high school families and have talked to them, but I'm curious to hear from people on this anonymous board as well who might offer a less biased view.

[Anonymous]

You're telling pps what they can and cannot post, and you know there have been other long, recent basis threads providing the info/insight you're looking for it. Got it.

It's a no brainer that the answer to the stay-or-go question all depends what you want and can afford in a hs and living situation, op.

In your shoes, we stayed for 9th only to leave in mid year. We left for a private with a strong instrumental music program, ib diploma, more experienced admins, a more stable faculty, more international diversity and much better facilities. We left once we got off a wait list.

Most of the other families we came up through ms have stayed for hs happily for whatever reasons of their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're telling pps what they can and cannot post, and you know there have been other long, recent basis threads providing the info/insight you're looking for it. Got it.

It's a no brainer that the answer to the stay-or-go question all depends what you want and can afford in a hs and living situation, op.

In your shoes, we stayed for 9th only to leave in mid year. We left for a private with a strong instrumental music program, ib diploma, more experienced admins, a more stable faculty, more international diversity and much better facilities. We left once we got off a wait list.

Most of the other families we came up through ms have stayed for hs happily for whatever reasons of their own.

OP here. Sorry, didn't intend to tell people what not to post. My "save your breath" comment was more out of frustration that any BASIS thread seeking new/legitimate information turns into the same diatribe. People can post whatever they like, I would just prefer not having to sift through pages of the same complaints. This is why I haven't read the recent posts about high school because I assumed they were all the same. I'll go back and read through them.

[Anonymous]

As my child moved to 9th grade, I haven't noticed a huge change from middle school. The main difference is the switch to two English classes in 9th and additional writing. We weren't that interested in changing: I think our child appreciates the consistency, and being with the same small group of students. I can understand moving if you're looking for different extracurriculars or a change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As my child moved to 9th grade, I haven't noticed a huge change from middle school. The main difference is the switch to two English classes in 9th and additional writing. We weren't that interested in changing: I think our child appreciates the consistency, and being with the same small group of students. I can understand moving if you're looking for different extracurriculars or a change.

OP here. From what we've seen in the middle school, it's a huge focus on memorization and study skills. These are great skills to have, but I've been unimpressed with the lack of critical thinking and writing skills. Is there really more of this in high school? I'm also concerned about how some beloved teachers have recently left the high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're telling pps what they can and cannot post, and you know there have been other long, recent basis threads providing the info/insight you're looking for it. Got it.

It's a no brainer that the answer to the stay-or-go question all depends what you want and can afford in a hs and living situation, op.

In your shoes, we stayed for 9th only to leave in mid year. We left for a private with a strong instrumental music program, ib diploma, more experienced admins, a more stable faculty, more international diversity and much better facilities. We left once we got off a wait list.

Most of the other families we came up through ms have stayed for hs happily for whatever reasons of their own.

How did you kid adjust to the new school? Socially and academically?

[Anonymous]

We stayed. We had lots of options: accepted to walls, inbound wilson, private would be covered, and would move temporarily if it was the best decision. Instead, we stayed.

I think it was the right decision. It was the very clear winner when making the decision. But, there has been a lot of second guessing, mostly because a lot of non-basis friends went from various middle schools to Walls, and so far they all love it.

The high school is small. There actually weren’t too many people who left, but high school classes are just generally bigger. When combined with the fact that the senior class isn’t really there and serves more of a mentoring role, it feels incredibly small for a high school. On the other hand, that seems to be a plus in our case. The cohort is tight, and all the kids that I know (which is many) are amazing. Super smart, interesting, funny, well-rounded kids who work hard but make sure to have fun while doing it. It is an incredible group and by far the biggest seller for us. So my first question would be, how does your kid get along with their classmates and do you want to dive deeper in with them or branch out as branching isn’t an option at basis.

Despite the size, there have been ample opportunities for interesting classes. My high schooler is very excited about many of the subjects. There is much more writing. But the teachers are young and don’t have enough time, so there isn’t a great deal of feedback on the writing. There is a ton of work, but not that much more than 8th grade, other than the writing. Overall, it is academically solid if your child isn’t afraid of hard work, can muddle through some busy work with friends, and is self motivated. But the teachers are not great; they can’t be given the set up (underpaid, undersupported, too many kids per inexperienced teacher to do all grading required). I anticipate my kid will get into a good college, have to do a bit to work on writing, will overall have less work than high school, and will be super excited by small discussions with great teachers, which doesn’t happen at all at Basis. On the other hand, the kids know many of the teachers quite well and they are great people; flip side, when they leave, it hurts harder,

Extracurriculars. Your kid is in middle school, so you should know by now whether the school has the extracurriculars your kid needs and likes. Unlike at many other high schools, they get smaller and the high school students have a mentoring role. The intensity is dependent on the child. It isn’t a normal system where you will have deep layers of skill sets. Instead, there is a community and each student has their own role. Many students also pursue outside extracurriculars.

The senior experience is also very unique. I would love to hear from more people who have gone all the way through, though I think it will be different now that the cohorts are bigger.

I think it is an amazing experience for my high schooler. It is interesting how different things look from high school than middle school even though it is all the same players. I now get why it is hard to explain the differences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As my child moved to 9th grade, I haven't noticed a huge change from middle school. The main difference is the switch to two English classes in 9th and additional writing. We weren't that interested in changing: I think our child appreciates the consistency and being with the same small group of students. I can understand moving if you're looking for different extracurriculars or a change.

OP here. From what we've seen in the middle school, it's a huge focus on memorization and study skills. These are great skills to have, but I've been unimpressed with the lack of critical thinking and writing skills. Is there really more of this in high school? I'm also concerned about how some beloved teachers have recently left the high school.

No, in our experience, the BASIS HS experience doesn't emphasize the development of critical thinking or writing skills. There's a strong AP test prep orientation all the way up, hence the lack of emphasis on critical thinking, writing, creative work, arts, globalism, sports etc. There's also little in the way of structured leadership, ethics and character development and, frankly, diversity of the student body. Almost all of the other UMC immigrant families we came in with who aren't super assimilated/Americanized left for privates or the burbs before 9th.

The best teachers aren't paid well enough to stay, so they tend to go after 2-5 years. But if you can't afford privates, your kid has done well academically in the middle school, you aren't willing to move from DC and want a STEM focus (without serious Technology) BASIS is fine, at least where elite college admissions is concerned. If you stay and have the dough, you send your HS kid to strong summer programs to fill gaps.

[Anonymous]

One more note on the size.

I just looked up the stats. For the 2022-23 school year, there are 663 students in the whole school.

There are about 150 in 9-11 grade. All but one or two of of those 150 have been there for 5 years. That is a small, tight high school. For us, it is amazing.

Contrast (using four year numbers, not three, as all others standardly have 4 years of attendance):
Walls:600
JR: 2000+
DCI: 500+
St. Albans: 250
Gonzaga: 972
Visi: 492
Sidwell: 500

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One more note on the size.

I just looked up the stats. For the 2022-23 school year, there are 663 students in the whole school.

There are about 150 in 9-11 grade. All but one or two of of those 150 have been there for 5 years. That is a small, tight high school. For us, it is amazing.

Contrast (using four year numbers, not three, as all others standardly have 4 years of attendance):
Walls:600
JR: 2000+
DCI: 500+
St. Albans: 250
Gonzaga: 972
Visi: 492
Sidwell: 500

. BASIS is amazing for DC public if, and it’s a big IF, all you want is AP test prep in about half the 32 subjects tested. If you’re looking for more, you won’t find it.

[Anonymous]

12:53 again. I fully agree with 13:12. I see a lot of racial diversity within social groups, more so than I’ve seen elsewhere. On the other hand, I see very little social economic diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As my child moved to 9th grade, I haven't noticed a huge change from middle school. The main difference is the switch to two English classes in 9th and additional writing. We weren't that interested in changing: I think our child appreciates the consistency and being with the same small group of students. I can understand moving if you're looking for different extracurriculars or a change.

OP here. From what we've seen in the middle school, it's a huge focus on memorization and study skills. These are great skills to have, but I've been unimpressed with the lack of critical thinking and writing skills. Is there really more of this in high school? I'm also concerned about how some beloved teachers have recently left the high school.

No, in our experience, the BASIS HS experience doesn't emphasize the development of critical thinking or writing skills. There's a strong AP test prep orientation all the way up, hence the lack of emphasis on critical thinking, writing, creative work, arts, globalism, sports etc. There's also little in the way of structured leadership, ethics and character development and, frankly, diversity of the student body. Almost all of the other UMC immigrant families we came in with who aren't super assimilated/Americanized left for privates or the burbs before 9th.

The best teachers aren't paid well enough to stay, so they tend to go after 2-5 years. But if you can't afford privates, your kid has done well academically in the middle school, you aren't willing to move from DC and want a STEM focus (without serious Technology) BASIS is fine, at least where elite college admissions is concerned. If you stay and have the dough, you send your HS kid to strong summer programs to fill gaps.

Agree. We couldn’t stomach more than a year of the rigorous but good dreary high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more note on the size.

I just looked up the stats. For the 2022-23 school year, there are 663 students in the whole school.

There are about 150 in 9-11 grade. All but one or two of of those 150 have been there for 5 years. That is a small, tight high school. For us, it is amazing.

Contrast (using four year numbers, not three, as all others standardly have 4 years of attendance):
Walls:600
JR: 2000+
DCI: 500+
St. Albans: 250
Gonzaga: 972
Visi: 492
Sidwell: 500

. BASIS is amazing for DC public if, and it’s a big IF, all you want is AP test prep in about half the 32 subjects tested. If you’re looking for more, you won’t find it.

Exactly. But if you're not the kind on high school they're looking for, willing to continue to do just as you're told, fitting in may prove a struggle. Any thoughts of marching to your own drummer, e.g. a gap year or substituting Cambridge Exams for APs, no interest, no support. BASIS runs a high school that works brilliantly for families fully invested in the hard-driving AP prep model who can't swing privates. Sounds like you'd break the mold, OP. I'd start considering alternatives if you haven't already.

[Anonymous]

I don't get the point of yet another BASIS thread. Simple calculus. If your family loved the BASIS middle school for your student, you stay for high school. If you didn't, you leave unless BASIS remains your best option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the point of yet another BASIS thread. Simple calculus. If your family loved the BASIS middle school for your student, you stay for high school. If you didn't, you leave unless BASIS remains your best option.

Thank you for your unrequested and unhelpful opinion. I respectfully disagree. I wish my life could be as simple as you state: loved or not loved. Okay, most people don’t love any school completely, so let’s go with the unloved chain. Stay or seek other options that might be better for your kid. That makes perfect sense. Quick question: How do you know what option is best for your kid? I have an idea. Why don’t you ask people for more information so that you can try to make a more educated guess. OP did that. What would you suggest instead? (Or more helpfully, in addition, as I’m gonna bet that OP will not be basing a decision on this thread alone)