Preparation for Basis Exam

[Anonymous]

You and most of the parents there. Not an original experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To summarize:

If I'd had the dough or my spouse had been willing to move to the burbs, I'd have sent my kid to a better middle school. I would also have remained at our good DCPS ES EotP for 5th.

I'd have gone with a middle school with good facilities, strong extra curriculars, stable leadership, a choice of foreign languages from 6th grade (and not just at the beginning level), a serious music program, serious sports and, frankly, more experienced teachers overall. In my family's circumstances, I made the best of BASIS for middle school. Not a bad school, but hardly a great one as you claim.

If you had more integrity, you'd quit trying to dupe 4th grade parents into believing that BASIS is wonderful. Logic tells us that it isn't, no matter how brainy and industrious one's kid(s) might be.

Most parents are unlike you and know how to investigate a school properly before sending their kid there. It’s obvious that you don’t have that skill, but instead of accepting your faults, you just go in to every BASIS thread and repeat your story where you blame everyone but yourself. I hope your kid turned out better than you did.

[Anonymous]

My nerdy 11 year old is currently devouring Animal Farm for literature class. So far BASIS has been a good experience.

[Anonymous]

All of this hoopla for Basis and your kid will still end up working for and under someone who dropped out of college.

[Anonymous]

My BASIS 5th grader can’t get over how much more interesting school is this year compared to the elementary school experience. My kid is so excited to tell me about the day and what the class learned. The school might have its faults, but if my child is happy, that’s good enough for me. We will take it year by year and hope that it continues to work out well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To summarize:

If I'd had the dough or my spouse had been willing to move to the burbs, I'd have sent my kid to a better middle school. I would also have remained at our good DCPS ES EotP for 5th.

I'd have gone with a middle school with good facilities, strong extra curriculars, stable leadership, a choice of foreign languages from 6th grade (and not just at the beginning level), a serious music program, serious sports and, frankly, more experienced teachers overall. In my family's circumstances, I made the best of BASIS for middle school. Not a bad school, but hardly a great one as you claim.

If you had more integrity, you'd quit trying to dupe 4th grade parents into believing that BASIS is wonderful. Logic tells us that it isn't, no matter how brainy and industrious one's kid(s) might be.

Most parents are unlike you and know how to investigate a school properly before sending their kid there. It’s obvious that you don’t have that skill, but instead of accepting your faults, you just go in to every BASIS thread and repeat your story where you blame everyone but yourself. I hope your kid turned out better than you did.

Yes indeed. Same person on every BASIS thread that was simply shocked to learn all of the things that BASIS tells you at every open house and that anyone with eyes a brain should have figured out. But they didn't do their jobs as parents and sent their kid to a school that was a bad fit. Instead of course correcting they just stayed. As always, it is everyone else's fault but theirs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To summarize:

If I'd had the dough or my spouse had been willing to move to the burbs, I'd have sent my kid to a better middle school. I would also have remained at our good DCPS ES EotP for 5th.

I'd have gone with a middle school with good facilities, strong extra curriculars, stable leadership, a choice of foreign languages from 6th grade (and not just at the beginning level), a serious music program, serious sports and, frankly, more experienced teachers overall. In my family's circumstances, I made the best of BASIS for middle school. Not a bad school, but hardly a great one as you claim.

If you had more integrity, you'd quit trying to dupe 4th grade parents into believing that BASIS is wonderful. Logic tells us that it isn't, no matter how brainy and industrious one's kid(s) might be.

Most parents are unlike you and know how to investigate a school properly before sending their kid there. It’s obvious that you don’t have that skill, but instead of accepting your faults, you just go in to every BASIS thread and repeat your story where you blame everyone but yourself. I hope your kid turned out better than you did.

Not the poster you're coming at. Yawn. The same accusation is leveled at almost everybody who posts critically on BASIS threads. Everybody who doesn't swear up and down that the program is fantastic is a troll. We "investigated" BASIS (with help from the FBI). We don't regret enrolling but will be glad to move on from a claustrophobic school for high school. This year's 9th grade cohort just isn't as large as predicted by admins and fellow parents.

[Anonymous]

That’s right, the 9th grade class is smaller than anticipated.

[Anonymous]

Approximately how many students are in the 9th grade class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To summarize:

If I'd had the dough or my spouse had been willing to move to the burbs, I'd have sent my kid to a better middle school. I would also have remained at our good DCPS ES EotP for 5th.

I'd have gone with a middle school with good facilities, strong extra curriculars, stable leadership, a choice of foreign languages from 6th grade (and not just at the beginning level), a serious music program, serious sports and, frankly, more experienced teachers overall. In my family's circumstances, I made the best of BASIS for middle school. Not a bad school, but hardly a great one as you claim.

If you had more integrity, you'd quit trying to dupe 4th grade parents into believing that BASIS is wonderful. Logic tells us that it isn't, no matter how brainy and industrious one's kid(s) might be.

Most parents are unlike you and know how to investigate a school properly before sending their kid there. It’s obvious that you don’t have that skill, but instead of accepting your faults, you just go in to every BASIS thread and repeat your story where you blame everyone but yourself. I hope your kid turned out better than you did.

Yes indeed. Same person on every BASIS thread that was simply shocked to learn all of the things that BASIS tells you at every open house and that anyone with eyes a brain should have figured out. But they didn't do their jobs as parents and sent their kid to a school that was a bad fit. Instead of course correcting they just stayed. As always, it is everyone else's fault but theirs.

No school without any outdoor space is a good fit for a preteen or adolescent. It’s a school you make the best of under the circumstances. Period.

[Anonymous]

Can't disagree with the above.

9th grade cohort is 60 or 65. Admins tell you they're expecting at least 80 each spring, but the numbers don't materialize. Most families still quietly leave for other programs. They're aren't enough choices in the BASIS high school to retain the majority. They're not teaching nearly as many languages or electives as the better hs programs in the area and don't have the facilities, focus or resources for serious ECs. DC charters just don't get the per capita funding or buildings they should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can't disagree with the above.

9th grade cohort is 60 or 65. Admins tell you they're expecting at least 80 each spring, but the numbers don't materialize. Most families still quietly leave for other programs. They're aren't enough choices in the BASIS high school to retain the majority. They're not teaching nearly as many languages or electives as the better hs programs in the area and don't have the facilities, focus or resources for serious ECs. DC charters just don't get the per capita funding or buildings they should.

Basis, by virtue of its policies around grade retention and refusal to accept anyone after 5th grade, has a tiny fraction of the challenges of DCPS. When they act like a public school they can be funded like a public school.

[Anonymous]

The reason that BASIS DC doesn't backfill after 5th grade is not of the franchise's making. The BASIS Arizona campuses have always backfilled at every grade. Politicians there don't mind if entering students are giving tough placement exams. Most students who enter BASIS after 6th grade in Arizona must repeat a great, sometimes two, to join the program. In DC, such an admissions system would be considered discriminatory, opening the door to litigation, so none exists.

Right, act like a DC public middle school EotP. Translation: don't offer serious academics or good discipline, ever.

Why should we send our children to a middle school where most kids work behind grade level but there aren't any definite advanced classes, other than 8th grade algebra? You tell us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To summarize:

If I'd had the dough or my spouse had been willing to move to the burbs, I'd have sent my kid to a better middle school. I would also have remained at our good DCPS ES EotP for 5th.

I'd have gone with a middle school with good facilities, strong extra curriculars, stable leadership, a choice of foreign languages from 6th grade (and not just at the beginning level), a serious music program, serious sports and, frankly, more experienced teachers overall. In my family's circumstances, I made the best of BASIS for middle school. Not a bad school, but hardly a great one as you claim.

If you had more integrity, you'd quit trying to dupe 4th grade parents into believing that BASIS is wonderful. Logic tells us that it isn't, no matter how brainy and industrious one's kid(s) might be.

Most parents are unlike you and know how to investigate a school properly before sending their kid there. It’s obvious that you don’t have that skill, but instead of accepting your faults, you just go in to every BASIS thread and repeat your story where you blame everyone but yourself. I hope your kid turned out better than you did.

Yes indeed. Same person on every BASIS thread that was simply shocked to learn all of the things that BASIS tells you at every open house and that anyone with eyes a brain should have figured out. But they didn't do their jobs as parents and sent their kid to a school that was a bad fit. Instead of course correcting they just stayed. As always, it is everyone else's fault but theirs.

No school without any outdoor space is a good fit for a preteen or adolescent. It’s a school you make the best of under the circumstances. Period.

No outdoor space doesn't equal kids never go outside/learn/train sports outside. Sports teams are practicing on the Mall, at RFK, etc.

Every family makes the best of every school, because no school is a dream school no matter how much money you throw at it. Period.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a troll. We gave BASIS a shot for 2 ears. The academics were fine, but the building really sucked and we left when we could do so o n good form.

It's just not a healthy set up for the kids not to have recess/breaks outside, or much natural light in the building. I say this as somebody who went to middle school and high school in NYC where all we had for outdoor space was a basketball court on the roof of our school. That was enough. No outdoor space isn't enough, even with the National Mall nearby.