Basis PCS
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Anonymous
| In terms of this hands on science issue, my son has to wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt every time he does a lab in Chemistry (he is in 6th). Somehow don't think they would be doing that if they were not doing "hands on science." He says it is the equivalent of a lab coat and the teacher did some demo with acid to show how dangerous chemicals were (and showed them a scar on her finger) to make them wake up and pay attention. Given my kid, it either had to dissolve, go on fire, or who knews what............... |
Anonymous
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The HS kids aren't encouraged to do scientific research, compete in national/international science competitions (e.g. Google, Siemens, INTEL), intern anywhere (e.g. the nearby Smithsonian museums, NASA HQ, National Geographic HQ), or get into mentoring relationships with senior scientists. The school doesn't support students in such endeavors. Students prep for AP and other standardized tests, and compete in the odd science or Latin bowl, and BASIS pretty much leaves it at that. Take a tour of TJ or the Blair MoCo math/sci magnet to understand what I'm talking about. TJ students are even encouraged to knock of AP classes during summers (on their campus) to free them up to work with scientists during the school year. Not sure how/if BAIS DC parents could change the equation. Maybe the new HOS will prove amenable.
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Anonymous
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I think PP's observations on the BASIS DC high school experience neglect to take into account that the oldest kids in the school are just juniors - and there are only about 20 of them.
BASIS makes students complete the AP courses/exams before progressing to more independent course work. There is absolutely support for doing post-AP science work in junior/senior year if the student wants to pursue those things. And this year there is active encouragement for kids to pursue science fair/independent projects than we've seen before. That is good. A BASIS student in Arizona won an Intel prize just last year and was featured at the White House science far, so it is misleading to say the curriculum doesn't allow for it. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2015/03/20/valley-students-to-participate-in-white-house-science-fair/25062229/ Then there are the senior year, independent study capstone projects. No BASIS DC student has done one yet, but I have no doubt that some will choose scientific or engineering topics for their capstone projects. But it isn't just a STEM school and just as many BASIS DC students may pursue a humanities or arts focused capstone projects. My 9th grade BASIS student is thinking about what to do for a capstone project now; current ideas (not fully formed) include an internship and research project at the UN in New York or the European Union. But no matter what, I know DC will also graduate high school having passed at least 2 AP science courses and exams and 4 other AP classes. BASIS DC is far from perfect - but it's also not yet fully formed. Personally I see enough positive for my kid to commit to it and help it evolve. |
Anonymous
I hate idiotic comments like yours but I feel I have to respond........... Your "smart money" about our FARMS percentage may be right now, but never forget that the first year we opened our doors we scored #3 on the DC CAS, and the second year (the last year of the DC CAS) it was #1 Deal #2 BASIS #3 Washington Latin. And guess what? At that point we were over 40% FARMS, a Title I school, getting extra help from OSSE, and surprisingly to you, apparently, while our Title I status qualified us for the extra help, a lot of the kids who needed it were not the FARMS kids. But it did not surprise me. Now do you want to guess what the FARMS rates were at that time at Deal and Latin MS? Both under 25% pretty sure. So since BASIS is a lottery, my hypothesis would be that we are attracting more high SES applicants since BASIS does not get to choose whom it admits. I for one had no problem with the population when we started and no problem with the population now - because surprisingly, the "FARMS" kids (since there were so many of them) helped us kill the DC CAS. Two years in a row. This speaks more to the types of parents who sent their kids to BASIS DC, and the type of kids who went those first two years, than their race, ethnic origin, or income level. I know our third year we were no longer Title I. I know at BASIS you do a disservice to your kid if you do anything more than help with the mountains of paper, and I know we are fully enrolled this year - so more than enough parents in DC want what BASIS DC has to offer. We started out where Washington Latin did in 2007 - one of those two years their high school was 39% FARMS - and their DC CAS scores reflected it. Our demographics just shifted a heck of a lot more quickly, and maybe that is because of the difference in the schools. I like to think so. Maybe it is the product of absolute desperation. But we have kids coming every year who are zoned for Deal and they came at the beginning as well. We also have kids from private school who have been there since the first year. Whatever the case, you cannot blame a lottery school for its population. But in the case of BASIS, you ought to have the grace to remember where BASIS started out in terms of our FARMS population and how well our population did when we were "that kind of population." A Title I school in its second year of operation beat every other middle school on the DC CAS except the almighty Deal, and we KNOW how much money many of those parents have. Because that kind of success in two years - where we did not change the population but the kids got better educated to the point where 44%? were advanced in math, says something remarkable about the kids in the school......... and to an extent the school itself - but BASIS could not have taught all these kids to score so high if they weren't willing to learn. But no parents do NOT have to hover and it is actively discouraged so whether parents are just working all the time, have another kid who is sick, there are a myriad of reasons why you could not helicopter parent but the point is at BASIS you should not. And it has jack to do with SES it is the school culture to get kids to take responsibility for themselves and their academics early. So please just shut up already. Who cares if the Blocks get rich if their schools actually educate our kids and our kids are enthusiastic about it? I don't. |
Anonymous
This is just absolute BS. We are growing, we are not TJ, and there is now an extra curricular club with a very experienced teacher who is volunteering to mentor and make connections for kids who want to do science fairs. We are not a STEM school, we have 20 11th graders, and it is clear that you just want to criticize us for anything you can pick on. I note you make no mention of how the students did in Science Bowl, Certamen, or Debate Too much trouble? Methinks not. Suffice it to say, the things we ARE doing, we are doing very well. But we have to open up gradually - without a critical mass, no extra curric is going to succeed. And I know of no other school that encourages kids to knock off AP classes during the summers instead of, say, traveling in Europe with your singing group. And no, we don't offer AP classes in the summers. We are not TJ, never said we were, we are not STEM, although you can definitely run with that at BASIS DC, and what I love is so far we are not a pressure cooker............ I would never want us to be TJ. Are you kidding? They talk about parents staying up with kids until 2:30am to complete projects. Our kids do their own, even my 5th grader last year made his own power point slides and did his own presentation and my spouse only got to see it when it was presented to the class. He got an A. Now maybe when it comes to internships and other issues, we will pull strings and create opportunities. But I love the fact that for the most part the kids take responsibility for their own work and have the freedom to develop and maintain outside interests like becoming an Eagle Scout, which will get you into college probably just as easily as coming in 3rd in a science fair depending on what your project is to make Eagle. As pp pointed out, senior year is for independent projects which, as an added bonus, are pass fail, so no fear of senior slump, and you can also (GOSH!) intern over the summer. The BASIS system is not designed for kids to take time out of their school day to intern in high school. Period. They seem to be doing pretty well at getting kids into college anyway. If other schools are designed that way, that is fine. But that is simply NOT BASIS's model the way I understand it. But I love these posts because it means someone feels threatened enough to try to take us down a notch.......... WHY?????????????? Maybe we beat their school last year in Certamen (we beat Washington Latin), or Science Bowl (too bad our two teams came in first and second so only one got to go to regionals) or Debate (don't remember exactly). You forgot the French competition where 2 [/b]BASIS DC kids scored 4th and 6th in the nation.......... |
Anonymous
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I know a few charters, BASIS DC and the BASIS Arizona schools. BASIS DC must reassure current parents to keep growing and buy the next building and (for those same parents) graduate two or three classes with surprisingly good admissions of non-minority students.
Minority student admissions will be explained away by DC and national union critics in the usual (rather racist) way as they have been at Latin and some of our private schools. Strong admit rates to great colleges for minority students are good (and life changing) but won't awaken the few fairly good charters, DCPS and PCSB to what's happening at BASIS. BASIS also needs to do a better job of not being cowed by critics. Lead. |
Anonymous
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I would also suggest that BASIS cut back on the Hill vibe. It's not expansive, not welcoming of DC's best and most interesting people and steeped in NIMBYist battles of yore.
Look for the great disaffected masses elsewhere. |
Anonymous
What does "cut back on the Hill vibe" mean? Since the great majority of NW is able to go to Wilson, the rest of the city scrambles. Sorry there are now a lot of children on the Hill with no hood IB option and it's less than 2miles to BASIS. |
Anonymous
| NP and 3rd year parent of Basis DC student who is IB for Wilson here-I can honestly say that the best students both academically and otherwise in my DC's class hail from DCPCS schools on the Hill and Stoddert-we did not come from either. The biggest issue we finbd with a large hill population is socially, since DC's buddies live in the opposite direction of DC. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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PP-What??? The current curriculum at BASIS serves non- science majors???
I think the curricula serves both STEM and liberal arts majors easily at BASIS. |
Anonymous
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and the poor liberal arts wannabees don't get to intern on the Hill during the school year either - SHOCKER.
SHAME on BASIS. you have got to be kidding me................ and fooling yourself........ or just trolling for trouble. Forget it. yes my child wants to get a 5 on AP Calculus BC to place out of Calculus completely for college so that they can just move on in their STEM career which is not going in a math direction at the moment. But my Ivy never required Calculus as a graduation requirement for liberal arts majors - we had to take two I think science courses as requirements? Popular names were Rocks for Jocks, Physics for Poets, and Nuts and Sluts (abnormal psychology). May have been one other. The scores required on APs to get credit at top schools to place out of science requirements are really high - some even only accept 5's. I might have washed out of Physics for Poets, but I loved Rocks for Jocks - the rocks were pretty cool, and so was the football team. Made lifelong friends who I would never have met otherwise in my wannabe intellectual world, who had my back all 4 years, and some of whom I would be able to count on even today, over 20 years after graduation. Never ever took Calculus, and has not hindered my professional career at all. Unless the earth has shifted, there is no math requirment for graduating from HYP. But dc got a 5 on her AP Psychology exam and had a lot of fun in the class, adored the teacher, and loved the subject matter. Got a 4 on the other AP (required).......... and a liberal arts course (AP gov't something).... BASIS DC is doing AP's well........... |
Anonymous
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Worst BASIS thread ever; this one should have been entitled BASIS by Boosters PCS. Even the mildest criticism sparks boring knee jerk boosterism this time around. We get it, fabulous school, where almost all students are headed to MIT and the Ivy League as INTEL finalists and winners.
Enough already. |
Anonymous
The .............. poster needs to give it a rest. |
Anonymous
No one has said that. But comparisons to TJ are ridiculous. I also don't get the snarky comments about minority admissions vs non-minority admissions because if private school parents are commenting it cannot be about straight up financials, and FISHER II is coming. Who says the white kids will not be financially motivated by merit scholarships? I will encourage my kids to be b/c we had too many of them |