Difference between NW parent involvement and Capitol Hill parent involvement.

[Anonymous]

The main difference between Basis and the better DCPS options like Deal and Hardy isn't the curriculum, it's that the former has the authority not to SOCIALLY PROMOTE.

This is what we should all be pushing for folks, an end to social promotion in DCPS middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does every thread that mentions Cap Hill turn into a BASIS thread? It is irrelevant to the original post?. Besides it isn’t a Cap Hill or Upper NW school.

https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/BASIS%20DC%20PCS_0%20%281%29.pdf

Because tbh, most people who actually live on Capitol Hill with school age children don't post in these threads. It's mostly former Hill people now living in the suburbs or upper NW, and those people are connected with friends who decided to stay and send their kids to BASIS.

??? You know this how?

By reading what is posted. If you actually live on the Hill and have school age kids attending Hill schools and talk to Hill parents, you'd know that most of what is written here about the Hill is outdated or weirdly biased against the Hill (unless it's about walkability).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, some people don't even consider BASIS; some attend but wish they had better options (however they define that) and happily leave for 9th; and others continue through high shool.

Sounds like lots of schools in the city. NOt sure why it attracts the haters.

I think it's because the school - and many of its parents - claims to have the most advanced curriculum for a DC public, at least in MS. That boast strikes some as cocky and arrogant, others as true. It also makes some parents annoyed that their MS doesn't have similar advanced options, albeit in a kinder, gentler, more beautiful setting.

Sort of. I take issue with the assertion that BASIS offers the most "advanced curriculum," at least across the board. While it's true that most advanced math and science classes in both the BASIS MS and HS are far and away the most challenging in the public system in the City, unfortunately, the same can't be said of BASIS' humanities classes. Arguably, humanities is stronger at Washington Latin and possibly Deal. We have neighbors who bailed on BASIS during or after MS mainly because they were fed up with weak and uninspired ELA and foreign language instruction for their humanities-oriented students as much as anything else. For example, the BASIS HS teaches no language past the AP level, while Walls and Wilson do. At Walls, the sky is essentially the limit for advanced language instruction at GW for students who can handle advanced course work. Putting BASIS on a broad-based academic achievement pedestal makes for a tidy argument, but it's not warranted.

BASIS does have AP Latin, fwiw.and also offers more humanities APs than any other public or charter high school in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does every thread that mentions Cap Hill turn into a BASIS thread? It is irrelevant to the original post?. Besides it isn’t a Cap Hill or Upper NW school.

https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/BASIS%20DC%20PCS_0%20%281%29.pdf

Because tbh, most people who actually live on Capitol Hill with school age children don't post in these threads. It's mostly former Hill people now living in the suburbs or upper NW, and those people are connected with friends who decided to stay and send their kids to BASIS.

??? You know this how?

By reading what is posted. If you actually live on the Hill and have school age kids attending Hill schools and talk to Hill parents, you'd know that most of what is written here about the Hill is outdated or weirdly biased against the Hill (unless it's about walkability).

We definitely walk in different circles!!

Signed long-time Hill resident with both middle-school and elementary-school aged kids (both on the Hill and at Basis).

Anyway, I’m guessing you haven’t hit middle school yet. The tune among parents is definitely different in preschool and lower-elementary. Back then, we were all definitely going to stay at our IB schools. Definitely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, some people don't even consider BASIS; some attend but wish they had better options (however they define that) and happily leave for 9th; and others continue through high shool.

Sounds like lots of schools in the city. NOt sure why it attracts the haters.

I think it's because the school - and many of its parents - claims to have the most advanced curriculum for a DC public, at least in MS. That boast strikes some as cocky and arrogant, others as true. It also makes some parents annoyed that their MS doesn't have similar advanced options, albeit in a kinder, gentler, more beautiful setting.

Sort of. I take issue with the assertion that BASIS offers the most "advanced curriculum," at least across the board. While it's true that most advanced math and science classes in both the BASIS MS and HS are far and away the most challenging in the public system in the City, unfortunately, the same can't be said of BASIS' humanities classes. Arguably, humanities is stronger at Washington Latin and possibly Deal. We have neighbors who bailed on BASIS during or after MS mainly because they were fed up with weak and uninspired ELA and foreign language instruction for their humanities-oriented students as much as anything else. For example, the BASIS HS teaches no language past the AP level, while Walls and Wilson do. At Walls, the sky is essentially the limit for advanced language instruction at GW for students who can handle advanced course work. Putting BASIS on a broad-based academic achievement pedestal makes for a tidy argument, but it's not warranted.

BASIS does have AP Latin, fwiw.and also offers more humanities APs than any other public or charter high school in DC.

Right, but the truth is that English, and foreign language instruction, at BASIS is still comparatively weak. Middle school writing assignments and instruction tend not to be inspired. Teacher turnover in humanities subjects is high, higher than for STEM subjects. Worse still, kids who arrive bilingual but not bilingual aren't encouraged to master the foreign language they already speak - they're forced to start over with a 3rd language or take beginning classes in the language they speak. This is sheer idiocy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, some people don't even consider BASIS; some attend but wish they had better options (however they define that) and happily leave for 9th; and others continue through high shool.

Sounds like lots of schools in the city. NOt sure why it attracts the haters.

I think it's because the school - and many of its parents - claims to have the most advanced curriculum for a DC public, at least in MS. That boast strikes some as cocky and arrogant, others as true. It also makes some parents annoyed that their MS doesn't have similar advanced options, albeit in a kinder, gentler, more beautiful setting.

Sort of. I take issue with the assertion that BASIS offers the most "advanced curriculum," at least across the board. While it's true that most advanced math and science classes in both the BASIS MS and HS are far and away the most challenging in the public system in the City, unfortunately, the same can't be said of BASIS' humanities classes. Arguably, humanities is stronger at Washington Latin and possibly Deal. We have neighbors who bailed on BASIS during or after MS mainly because they were fed up with weak and uninspired ELA and foreign language instruction for their humanities-oriented students as much as anything else. For example, the BASIS HS teaches no language past the AP level, while Walls and Wilson do. At Walls, the sky is essentially the limit for advanced language instruction at GW for students who can handle advanced course work. Putting BASIS on a broad-based academic achievement pedestal makes for a tidy argument, but it's not warranted.

BASIS does have AP Latin, fwiw.and also offers more humanities APs than any other public or charter high school in DC.

Right, but the truth is that English, and foreign language instruction, at BASIS is still comparatively weak. Middle school writing assignments and instruction tend not to be inspired. Teacher turnover in humanities subjects is high, higher than for STEM subjects. Worse still, kids who arrive bilingual but not bilingual aren't encouraged to master the foreign language they already speak - they're forced to start over with a 3rd language or take beginning classes in the language they speak. This is sheer idiocy.

You complain about BASIS a lot. I don’t think it’s sheer idiocy for a school to not change its entire curriculum because a kid is bilingual in a different language. It’s not like accommodating the training schedule of an Olympic athlete or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, some people don't even consider BASIS; some attend but wish they had better options (however they define that) and happily leave for 9th; and others continue through high shool.

Sounds like lots of schools in the city. NOt sure why it attracts the haters.

I think it's because the school - and many of its parents - claims to have the most advanced curriculum for a DC public, at least in MS. That boast strikes some as cocky and arrogant, others as true. It also makes some parents annoyed that their MS doesn't have similar advanced options, albeit in a kinder, gentler, more beautiful setting.

Sort of. I take issue with the assertion that BASIS offers the most "advanced curriculum," at least across the board. While it's true that most advanced math and science classes in both the BASIS MS and HS are far and away the most challenging in the public system in the City, unfortunately, the same can't be said of BASIS' humanities classes. Arguably, humanities is stronger at Washington Latin and possibly Deal. We have neighbors who bailed on BASIS during or after MS mainly because they were fed up with weak and uninspired ELA and foreign language instruction for their humanities-oriented students as much as anything else. For example, the BASIS HS teaches no language past the AP level, while Walls and Wilson do. At Walls, the sky is essentially the limit for advanced language instruction at GW for students who can handle advanced course work. Putting BASIS on a broad-based academic achievement pedestal makes for a tidy argument, but it's not warranted.

BASIS does have AP Latin, fwiw.and also offers more humanities APs than any other public or charter high school in DC.

Right, but the truth is that English, and foreign language instruction, at BASIS is still comparatively weak. Middle school writing assignments and instruction tend not to be inspired. Teacher turnover in humanities subjects is high, higher than for STEM subjects. Worse still, kids who arrive bilingual but not bilingual aren't encouraged to master the foreign language they already speak - they're forced to start over with a 3rd language or take beginning classes in the language they speak. This is sheer idiocy.

You complain about BASIS a lot. I don’t think it’s sheer idiocy for a school to not change its entire curriculum because a kid is bilingual in a different language. It’s not like accommodating the training schedule of an Olympic athlete or something.

Former BASIS parent who's going to challenge your narrow-minded post.

BASIS operates in districts where few non Hispanic immigrant families enroll in public schools. BASIS doesn't offer flexibility to immigrant families who want their students to ace a major world language spoken at home. They aren't used to these sort of students. It was Russian in our case and Arabic in the case of friends who also left. We didn't ask for specialized language instruction. We asked to be left alone to help our middle schoolers achieve fluency in the languages we speak at home. We asked if the kids could take mandatory language class as a study hall period. We didn't ask for the curriculum to change, let alone for the "entire curriculum" to change. The answer was no way, find another school. We did as instructed.

[Anonymous]

The sad truth is that PP above probably wouldn't have done any better here in NW. I've heard similar stories from Deal and Wilson parents trying to raise bilingual and biliterate kids. They didn't want their kids forced to study a 3rd language at school but were given no choice.

DC schools aren't sophisticated about language instruction and the benefits of bilingualism like the school systems MoCo and N. VA. Immigrants who aim high on language instruction need to go private or move to the burbs.

[Anonymous]

Opting out of a class everyone else takes is a curriculum change. Freeing up a staff member to staff a study hall requires extra resources. Offering advanced sections or two of a foreign language also requires hiring another teacher (and god knows they have trouble finding competent Spanish teachers to cover the ones they do offer) .

BASIS has more teachers per grade than other schools to cover the 3 science disciplines students take in 6th, 7th and 8th. That's where they put their resources. If that doesn't work for your family, it does indeed make sense for you to choose something else.

Finally, I'd love to see some empirical evidence that exposure to a third language at school would hurt their ability to learn a second language at home.

[Anonymous]

Adams parent weighing in.

The lack of support for families shooting for fluency in foreign languages in DC public schools is appalling everywhere you look. Adams feeds into Wilson, where no Spanish immersion classes are taught. That's right, the best Adams grads can do at Wilson is take AP Spanish. They often ace the AP in 9th grade. No more appropriate Spanish classes for them after that, e.g. Spanish lit. DCI is supposed to provide a path to advanced fluency, but struggles with academic basics.

In some of the MoCo high schools, language students can take classes up to two higher than the AP level in a variety of languages.

PP above doesn't get it. Sounds like BASIS admins don't get it either, or care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Opting out of a class everyone else takes is a curriculum change. Freeing up a staff member to staff a study hall requires extra resources. Offering advanced sections or two of a foreign language also requires hiring another teacher (and god knows they have trouble finding competent Spanish teachers to cover the ones they do offer) .

BASIS has more teachers per grade than other schools to cover the 3 science disciplines students take in 6th, 7th and 8th. That's where they put their resources. If that doesn't work for your family, it does indeed make sense for you to choose something else.

Finally, I'd love to see some empirical evidence that exposure to a third language at school would hurt their ability to learn a second language at home.

Good grief, epic bureaucratic obstacles to such a simple request. This is what comes of a school that doesn't have a library where student can sit and study quietly on their own.

That's right lady, be sure to dive the committed linguists out of our public schools. Everybody wins!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adams parent weighing in.

The lack of support for families shooting for fluency in foreign languages in DC public schools is appalling everywhere you look. Adams feeds into Wilson, where no Spanish immersion classes are taught. That's right, the best Adams grads can do at Wilson is take AP Spanish. They often ace the AP in 9th grade. No more appropriate Spanish classes for them after that, e.g. Spanish lit. DCI is supposed to provide a path to advanced fluency, but struggles with academic basics.

In some of the MoCo high schools, language students can take classes up to two higher than the AP level in a variety of languages.

PP above doesn't get it. Sounds like BASIS admins don't get it either, or care.

Which MCPS of Northern Virginia high school offers advanced fluency (beyond AP or IB Spanish) or dual language in high school? Genuinely curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adams parent weighing in.

The lack of support for families shooting for fluency in foreign languages in DC public schools is appalling everywhere you look. Adams feeds into Wilson, where no Spanish immersion classes are taught. That's right, the best Adams grads can do at Wilson is take AP Spanish. They often ace the AP in 9th grade. No more appropriate Spanish classes for them after that, e.g. Spanish lit. DCI is supposed to provide a path to advanced fluency, but struggles with academic basics.

In some of the MoCo high schools, language students can take classes up to two higher than the AP level in a variety of languages.

PP above doesn't get it. Sounds like BASIS admins don't get it either, or care.

Which MCPS of Northern Virginia high school offers advanced fluency (beyond AP or IB Spanish) or dual language in high school? Genuinely curious.

Washington-Lee's International Baccalaureate Diploma program offers Higher Level IBD courses in several languages. Yorktown offers Spanish lit past AP. The several Fairfax IB Diploma programs offer languages past AP. MoCo is more serious about language study than Northern VA though, especially the Bethesda and Rockville schools.

[Anonymous]

Make that "Washington-Liberty," name change this year!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Opting out of a class everyone else takes is a curriculum change. Freeing up a staff member to staff a study hall requires extra resources. Offering advanced sections or two of a foreign language also requires hiring another teacher (and god knows they have trouble finding competent Spanish teachers to cover the ones they do offer) .

BASIS has more teachers per grade than other schools to cover the 3 science disciplines students take in 6th, 7th and 8th. That's where they put their resources. If that doesn't work for your family, it does indeed make sense for you to choose something else.

Finally, I'd love to see some empirical evidence that exposure to a third language at school would hurt their ability to learn a second language at home.

Come on, the immigrant parents weren't asking for extra "resources" from BASIS to support their children's language learning. Apparently, they were asking for a little flexibility for a sound academic reason (rooted in ambition) and none was offered by administrators/a charter franchise with tunnel vision.

-Signed,
European parent who grew up trilingual and has observed that "advanced" language study DC public schools is a joke