Parents are pulling their children out of Basis FAST!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding of Basis, coming out strong from the starting gates, is that it places a premium on AP coursework and passing as a very 'high-standards' metric of success. Latin has AP offerings in the upper school, but emphasizes a classical education (original texts, discussion) and being participatory community member (see reference to service in its motto) as its metric. It may be that Basis does all of this plus AP. They just seem to come out of the starting gates running different races.

Latin is more like a high-end private school - not surprising given the Head. It's the public version of the Cathedral schools or Sidwell. Basis is more like a set of high-end modules, the integration will be intrinsic for some, absent for others. I wouldn't expect any community or citizenship component.

As for community and citizenship, Basis has already had many activities to foster a sense of community in the school as well as a sense of good citizenship.

As for high end modules, I am not even sure what this means.

[Anonymous]

PP wrote, "Latin is more like a high-end private school."

Um, no. Not even close. As a parent who had a child at Latin who has now happily moved on to private, your are kidding yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP wrote, "Latin is more like a high-end private school."

Um, no. Not even close. As a parent who had a child at Latin who has now happily moved on to private, your are kidding yourself.

Are you crazy, PP? The former head of NCS is at the helm!

Not a private school parent myself, can't afford it, but I imagine private school parents pay for the peer group more than the curriculum. In that sense, Latin is nothing like the "high-end private schools" it tries to emulate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're in 5th, not pulling out but quietly applying to privates for 6th. Our Hill ES didn't work for 5th because none of our kid's pals were staying. We're concerned that most of the high SES families will go sooner or later, as at Latin (although we keep this to ourselves). I get the feeling that a good many high SES parents are biding their time while saving for privates. We're fine with what's happening now, but skeptical about the HS situation, so seems best to go before we open the door to a socially turbulent situation for our child. Another family will surely appreciate our spot next year; good luck to them.

Can other BASIS 5th and 6th grade parents confirm this? Are many BASIS families really preparing to pull their children out after a year or two (but keeping it to themselves)?

Yes and here's why:
1. Basis's campus inside is small and we wonder if there will be room for 3-4 more grades.
2. Basis's concept is really good but it is in the experiment phase. They still have many kinks to work out and it's a gamble to leave my kid in and see how it's going to go.
I really believed the hype about Basis and believed that they already had structure when the reality is that while the concept is awsome and the teachers are certified, most of them are first year teachers and this is their first time developing their own curriculum so it hasent been tested or proven their experimenting to see if it works.
My child is doing really well there and GPA is a 3.5 but I'm a high SES AA and I have the time to stay at home and I have hired a tutor for my daughter give her additional help with her work and I help her organize so she has been doing well. What I'm hearing from some parents is its not that the kids didn't test in or it's not that they are doing poorly they just have poor organization skill. Quite frankly, if I didn't have it financially to give my kid the additional help she needed with study and organization, she might not be doing as well either. Even in a middle or high class home where both parent are working and it's not feasible to have a nanny, tutor or the luxury of staying at home, what I'm saying may pose a challenge. Basis defiantly has to be a fit for you. I would even go so far as to say that a low SES person who is able to stay at home (please don't thrash me for low SES I'm really doing my best to make valid points) their child would have a better opportunity at basis if that parent sat with their child and helped tutor them themselves or helped with organization. That's my opinion. It's a lot of work being a "Basis Parent". All of these reasons that I see some people posting why their child is failing is off. It's not low SES or bad kids or even bad parents. Most of the children just don't have the organizational skills!

[Anonymous]

Obviously every parent has a different perspective. I think BASIS has been great about forcing organizational skills on kids. I feel like I dont have to look over my kid's shoulder and keep him on task as I did when he was at his old school which had much less structure. I check his CJ and ask if he completed specific assignments and thats it. Being a BASIS parent is much easier on me.

[Anonymous]

Choosing between Latin and Basis, we did. After a few years at Latin it was not going well for our bright but ditsy one. Latin does not have the bandwidth to help a child stay organized, but more importantly, they support the idiosyncracies of individual teachers such that my dear one had to master seven different ways of doing things, frankly it was annoying. When we heard Basis offered a consistent methodology, we didn't look back. The same kid who got Ds last year is averaging B-plus because he is able to simply keep track of what he's supposed to do. that said, I don't yet have a sense for the 'soul' of Basis. The school leadership is a bit of a question-mark.

We also know privates. Our older child was private all the way. Private school academics seemed to me only "eh" until high school, when they can really pick and choose their student body. The reason to go private before then is to either a)snag a slot before the rush in 9th grade or b) get all the bells and whistles in the earlier grades: black box theater, full soccer field, ample library, lengthy parent--teacher conferences, etc.

Having seen them all, the most important factor in picking a school is the quality of thought among his/her peers and whether your child shares or enjoys that quality. A very difficult thing to gauge, and it also evolves from year to year. So we will wait, fingers crossed, to see if Basis can develop a 'soul'.

[Anonymous]

Maybe and let's use our common sense here! There are a variety of differt scenarios that can describe a Basis family. If your child is doing well, then that's great and they only needed minimal support. If your child is struggling, you may need to see what the problem is and it may not all be that they can't do it. These kids come from all different types of schools and social background and none of them were acceptable if they wouldn't have brought their children to Basis any way they were just the best that they could find at the time. Then here comes this school that makes all these promises and sets the structure but truth is they are still experimenting! I mean can we at least agree with that? They have already fired 4 of the teachers there and all before the 3rd semester and 2nd semester with other schools since Basis has 5 semesters. Pluse don't forget the children also have to pass the comp test in the middle of the school year to pass to the next grade. If a person can stick it out with Basis then that's their choic but I'm not mad at the parents that are pullin their child out now or that are secretly planning to pull them next year because of the confusion. I myself am on the fence about pulling my child out especially because now I would have to just put her in a school that would take her and not a school of my choice! I love their freedom of expression they have at Basis, no uniforms and their independence and city life they get to experience but some of that may be a little too advanced and mature for some kids. It just depends on your child. I have 2 kids at Basis and one can handle the independence a little better that the other.

[Anonymous]

Here's a piece from the Atlantic about writing at BASIS:

www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/10/what-the-best-writing-teachers-know/263573/

An excerpt:

"I have been lucky enough to experience an awakening to the second dimension of writing firsthand. At my high school, a BASIS charter school in Scottsdale, Arizona, every student must take both honors language and honors literature as a freshman. In other words, we take two English classes a day, five days a week. As an incoming ninth grader, I was skeptical of this system. To me, English was English. Wouldn't doubling our intake just be redundant?

I couldn't have been more mistaken. In both language and literature, we read and learn to compose essays. However, the key difference is that literature calls for discussion where language calls for rhetorical analysis. After being encouraged to engage with (and not just pick apart) what I was reading, I learned to recognize writing's second dimension. Instead of churning out formulaic essays, I found myself formulating novel opinions and writing in my own voice (with the purpose of lucid communication always in mind). In this way, between the two classes, I picked up the nitty-gritty nuances of syntax and diction along with a more audience-conscious perspective."

This article is about BASIs- Scottsdale, not BASIS- DC. I/m interested in what they are doing in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding of Basis, coming out strong from the starting gates, is that it places a premium on AP coursework and passing as a very 'high-standards' metric of success. Latin has AP offerings in the upper school, but emphasizes a classical education (original texts, discussion) and being participatory community member (see reference to service in its motto) as its metric. It may be that Basis does all of this plus AP. They just seem to come out of the starting gates running different races.

Latin is more like a high-end private school - not surprising given the Head. It's the public version of the Cathedral schools or Sidwell. Basis is more like a set of high-end modules, the integration will be intrinsic for some, absent for others. I wouldn't expect any community or citizenship component.

As for community and citizenship, Basis has already had many activities to foster a sense of community in the school as well as a sense of good citizenship.

As for high end modules, I am not even sure what this means.

Sorry--I posted the above about Latin and Basis. The irony is I am trying to avoid comparisons. We are very happy with Latin, but I do not believe in building up one school by tearing down another. That's why I said, "It may be that Basis does all of this plus AP". I don't know, but there are plenty with firsthand Basis experience that can educate us. My understanding from Basis literature, publicity and newspaper articles is that the APs are a primary focus point in Basis. Am I wrong?

[Anonymous]

Not strictly "AP focused" as that sounds like it's just test prep for AP exams, which this isn't really. It's about a solid foundation on classical education (similar to Latin) with available acceleration in other subjects like math and science (not available at Latin), and an opportunity and encouragement to take a large number of AP courses. It's more broad than just an AP focus - but there would definitely be a strong focus on getting a jump start on college. AZ Basis students can often have all requirements met ahead of time, to graduate a year early and go straight into college before 12th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not strictly "AP focused" as that sounds like it's just test prep for AP exams, which this isn't really. It's about a solid foundation on classical education (similar to Latin) with available acceleration in other subjects like math and science (not available at Latin), and an opportunity and encouragement to take a large number of AP courses. It's more broad than just an AP focus - but there would definitely be a strong focus on getting a jump start on college. AZ Basis students can often have all requirements met ahead of time, to graduate a year early and go straight into college before 12th grade.

Maybe in the brochure, but in AZ most 9th graders take 2-4 APs (all take at least 1) and by 11th grade most take between 5-9 APs. It is an AP school, plain and simple.. the only other focus is college admissions. They do pretty well on that, but only with the kids that are left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not strictly "AP focused" as that sounds like it's just test prep for AP exams, which this isn't really. It's about a solid foundation on classical education (similar to Latin) with available acceleration in other subjects like math and science (not available at Latin), and an opportunity and encouragement to take a large number of AP courses. It's more broad than just an AP focus - but there would definitely be a strong focus on getting a jump start on college. AZ Basis students can often have all requirements met ahead of time, to graduate a year early and go straight into college before 12th grade.

Maybe in the brochure, but in AZ most 9th graders take 2-4 APs (all take at least 1) and by 11th grade most take between 5-9 APs. It is an AP school, plain and simple.. the only other focus is college admissions. They do pretty well on that, but only with the kids that are left.

PP here... just to clarify, I mean 5-9 APs in 11th grade year. Not a lot of room left over for all but preternaturally gifted students if you are taking 9 APs. IMO there is a place for AP exams as for SATs... colleges need to see you can jump through hoops, but ultimately there is MUCH more to a high school curriculum (which is why most privates look down their noses at APs), not to mention well-roundedness (excellence in extracurriculars, life experiences, etc.) that is essential (especially for high SES kids) applying to elite colleges.

But BASIS to be sure wherever they open are among the least worst alternatives for non-private education, since it self-selects for dedicated parents and repels "undesirable" types (which I actually don't have a problem with, but some do)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding of Basis, coming out strong from the starting gates, is that it places a premium on AP coursework and passing as a very 'high-standards' metric of success. Latin has AP offerings in the upper school, but emphasizes a classical education (original texts, discussion) and being participatory community member (see reference to service in its motto) as its metric. It may be that Basis does all of this plus AP. They just seem to come out of the starting gates running different races.

Latin is more like a high-end private school - not surprising given the Head. It's the public version of the Cathedral schools or Sidwell. Basis is more like a set of high-end modules, the integration will be intrinsic for some, absent for others. I wouldn't expect any community or citizenship component.

As for community and citizenship, Basis has already had many activities to foster a sense of community in the school as well as a sense of good citizenship.

As for high end modules, I am not even sure what this means.

Might be a good launchpad for: MIT, Harvey Mudd, Carnegie Mellon, Duke Engineering, Cal-Poly, etc. Not so much for Ivies & 7 Sisters & other elite privates, etc. That's fine, not everyone has the same goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: AZ Basis students can often have all requirements met ahead of time, to graduate a year early and go straight into college before 12th grade.

In all of this discussion, I haven't really heard anyone address the question is this even good for kids? Personally, I don't think I really want my kids to go to college before 18. Also, the film "Race to No Where" really made me stop and consider what I really wanted for my children's education. Pressure cooker? I don't think so. I wonder if AZ Basis tracks whether kids finish college? or take time off? (both brought up in the film). My DH and I both have advanced degrees and attended top universities, but neither of us had an as intensive a HS career as kids seem to have now. I don't think it is necessarily bad for kids in DC to have the choice of Basis, just not sure it is the direction I want to point my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: AZ Basis students can often have all requirements met ahead of time, to graduate a year early and go straight into college before 12th grade.

In all of this discussion, I haven't really heard anyone address the question is this even good for kids? Personally, I don't think I really want my kids to go to college before 18. Also, the film "Race to No Where" really made me stop and consider what I really wanted for my children's education. Pressure cooker? I don't think so. I wonder if AZ Basis tracks whether kids finish college? or take time off? (both brought up in the film). My DH and I both have advanced degrees and attended top universities, but neither of us had an as intensive a HS career as kids seem to have now. I don't think it is necessarily bad for kids in DC to have the choice of Basis, just not sure it is the direction I want to point my kids.

Basis provides the opportunity to graduate one year early or to stay on for 12th grade. Choices are more apt to meet all students needs My DC may or may not be ready for early college but I am glad that it may be an option. Some kids truly are ready for college at an earlier age.