Basis DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sense is that the teachers and parents are pretty glad that the old Head is gone - the new head is less intense and a little warmer and more flexible.

Though, the 5th graders are currently on this big multi-day nature adventure that was the old heads idea.

They changed the proportions a bit -- the end of year tests matter slightly less, proportionally, and some parents in upper middle school said that the vibe feels a little less stressful.

It's a lot of work, but if you have a kid who likes to learn, that can be a pro. Lots of hw and lots of assessments. My son enjoys it and is really proud of himself. Th curriculum is great, especially in middle school-- they learn a lot in a way that makes a lot of sense (building up from basics) and they learn how to learn (planner, flashcards, when to study for which test). He also really likes his classmates (so many sweet, smart kids in one place!)

The building is absolutely horrible in a way that makes
their lives horrible (not seeing the sky for days). Some of the teachers seem really excellent, and a couple are brand new and seem a little confused. But they still transmit the curriculum to the kids and learning happens.

We are just going to keep staying as long as it works... Even for two years it feels like he'll gain a lot of skills and knowledge. But open to staying for 4, or even 8. No regrets about enrolling.

Huh?

We miss the old HOS.

He was awesome.

Said no one, ever.

Says me and plenty of BASIS parents.

Yearly evaluations have him high ratings as well.

Did you even have kids at the school the last few years? I doubt it.

In all the years that my kids have been at BASIS (where they still attend school), I have never heard a parent say a positive thing about him.

DP.

Maybe you were in an echo chamber or just listening to the voices in your head.

He was a strong administrator and very responsive.

LOL! Ok trolly-polly.

[Anonymous]

He was only a "strong administrator" and "very responsive" under two conditions. If you kowtowed to him like crazy and if he agreed with you (being a bully and an egomaniac).

No question that BASIS is better off under the current more thoughtful and lower-key management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How’s the new principal and teacher retention this year? Considering adding this school for the lottery but concerned about the intense academic pressure.

Parent of a fifth grader hoping to provide a quick, factual answer to the original question (if from a limited perspective). No teacher has left the grade, and they all seem competent (some seem excellent). Again with regards to fifth grade only: the science teacher was added a couple of weeks into the year, and the math teacher is new as of this year, but the others are all returning, IIRC. The head of school seems to be flying rather under the radar, or at least I rarely have the opportunity to think about her. I'm really impressed with the curriculum they are doing and my child is happy and motivated. At this stage, the academic pressure is not that intense. My child completes their homework at school and none of their friends struggle with it either. With that said, I agree with the commonly made observation that this approach is not a fit for every child. Indeed, I am not sure it will suit all of my own children. But I am sure that the teacher retention has little to do with whether it's a fit. The things to ask are whether your child can thrive despite the ugly building and the nerdy seriousness of the place.

I will try to not look at this thread again to avoid being baited by the inevitable "Wait 'till eight grade!" / "Move to UnicornHighSchools, VA!" replies. But I will say that if I had simply listened to this crowd before I experimented with the school, I think I would have gotten the wrong perspective on what people find valuable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How’s the new principal and teacher retention this year? Considering adding this school for the lottery but concerned about the intense academic pressure.

Parent of a fifth grader hoping to provide a quick, factual answer to the original question (if from a limited perspective). No teacher has left the grade, and they all seem competent (some seem excellent). Again with regards to fifth grade only: the science teacher was added a couple of weeks into the year, and the math teacher is new as of this year, but the others are all returning, IIRC. The head of school seems to be flying rather under the radar, or at least I rarely have the opportunity to think about her. I'm really impressed with the curriculum they are doing and my child is happy and motivated. At this stage, the academic pressure is not that intense. My child completes their homework at school and none of their friends struggle with it either. With that said, I agree with the commonly made observation that this approach is not a fit for every child. Indeed, I am not sure it will suit all of my own children. But I am sure that the teacher retention has little to do with whether it's a fit. The things to ask are whether your child can thrive despite the ugly building and the nerdy seriousness of the place.

I will try to not look at this thread again to avoid being baited by the inevitable "Wait 'till eight grade!" / "Move to UnicornHighSchools, VA!" replies. But I will say that if I had simply listened to this crowd before I experimented with the school, I think I would have gotten the wrong perspective on what people find valuable.

You really don't see how teacher retention affects the kids' experience? Having a lot of inexperienced replacement teachers, and having a teacher they liked quit the job, are both negative factors.

[Anonymous]

Same old boastful claims. The kids are invariably highly motivated and very happy! Never mind obvious problems, the worst of which are the bad building, iffy teacher retention, too many inexperienced educators who can't manage classrooms and a dreary cram school culture. 7th and 8th grades are the worst of it. At least the leadership is improving. OP, if you're willing to move, or can afford privates, you avoid BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same old boastful claims. The kids are invariably highly motivated and very happy! Never mind obvious problems, the worst of which are the bad building, iffy teacher retention, too many inexperienced educators who can't manage classrooms and a dreary cram school culture. 7th and 8th grades are the worst of it. At least the leadership is improving. OP, if you're willing to move, or can afford privates, you avoid BASIS.

If you never had kids in the school, why do you think you know so much about it and why are you so invested? If you had a kid at the school and hated the school this much, why didn't you pull your kids kids? If you had kids at the school and left, in what way are you qualified to speak to the "improvement" or head of school that's been on the job for 2.5 months?

I'll wait...

[Anonymous]

NP. Nah, don't wait around for the same old comments.

Parents who weren't crazy about BASIS weigh in to reflect on their experiences. Shock!

Booster parents counter, asserting that those complaining can't have had kids in the school, because, let's face it, BASIS is much too wonderful for legit bad experiences.

As a BASIS parent, I can tell you that many families think in terms of putting up with the just-OK middle school hoping that a better high school option with materialize. The HS numbers tell the story.

Yea, the new HoS is an improvement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He was only a "strong administrator" and "very responsive" under two conditions. If you kowtowed to him like crazy and if he agreed with you (being a bully and an egomaniac).

No question that BASIS is better off under the current more thoughtful and lower-key management.

The fired disgruntled staffer posts again…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How’s the new principal and teacher retention this year? Considering adding this school for the lottery but concerned about the intense academic pressure.

Parent of a fifth grader hoping to provide a quick, factual answer to the original question (if from a limited perspective). No teacher has left the grade, and they all seem competent (some seem excellent). Again with regards to fifth grade only: the science teacher was added a couple of weeks into the year, and the math teacher is new as of this year, but the others are all returning, IIRC. The head of school seems to be flying rather under the radar, or at least I rarely have the opportunity to think about her. I'm really impressed with the curriculum they are doing and my child is happy and motivated. At this stage, the academic pressure is not that intense. My child completes their homework at school and none of their friends struggle with it either. With that said, I agree with the commonly made observation that this approach is not a fit for every child. Indeed, I am not sure it will suit all of my own children. But I am sure that the teacher retention has little to do with whether it's a fit. The things to ask are whether your child can thrive despite the ugly building and the nerdy seriousness of the place.

I will try to not look at this thread again to avoid being baited by the inevitable "Wait 'till eight grade!" / "Move to UnicornHighSchools, VA!" replies. But I will say that if I had simply listened to this crowd before I experimented with the school, I think I would have gotten the wrong perspective on what people find valuable.

You really don't see how teacher retention affects the kids' experience? Having a lot of inexperienced replacement teachers, and having a teacher they liked quit the job, are both negative factors.

You really don’t see how teacher retention is a common problem not only in DC but in the country?

https://osse.dc.gov/page/district-columbia-educator-retention

You really don’t see how teacher retention is a bad thing if the teacher is bad?

Unlike DCPS, at the end of the school year, Basis can fairly easily get rid of teachers who are not performing.

[Anonymous]

We are in our 2nd year at BASIS, and our 6th grader is thriving. Child learned a lot of executive functioning/organizational skills in 5th grade last year, and they complete their 6th grade homework on their own at school (study hall) or have minimal homework or studying at night as they have LOTS of extracurricular activities both via school or in the community. Our child thrives in math/science and loves to read, so BASIS seems to work well for them. I don’t think it’s a perfect school for everyone, but it certainly seems to be great for my kid.

For what it’s worth, I’m so tired of hearing about the school space as I really don’t think it bothers kids as much as it seems to bother some parents. My kid gets plenty of movement throughout the day going from class to class and does tons of activities outside of school, so I have no concern that they are not exposed to being out in the elements or doing other things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in our 2nd year at BASIS, and our 6th grader is thriving. Child learned a lot of executive functioning/organizational skills in 5th grade last year, and they complete their 6th grade homework on their own at school (study hall) or have minimal homework or studying at night as they have LOTS of extracurricular activities both via school or in the community. Our child thrives in math/science and loves to read, so BASIS seems to work well for them. I don’t think it’s a perfect school for everyone, but it certainly seems to be great for my kid.

For what it’s worth, I’m so tired of hearing about the school space as I really don’t think it bothers kids as much as it seems to bother some parents. My kid gets plenty of movement throughout the day going from class to class and does tons of activities outside of school, so I have no concern that they are not exposed to being out in the elements or doing other things.

You may be tired to hearing about the school building but it is an issue for many families. And is the reason some kids don’t choose the school. Just because it doesn’t bother your kid doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem for others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in our 2nd year at BASIS, and our 6th grader is thriving. Child learned a lot of executive functioning/organizational skills in 5th grade last year, and they complete their 6th grade homework on their own at school (study hall) or have minimal homework or studying at night as they have LOTS of extracurricular activities both via school or in the community. Our child thrives in math/science and loves to read, so BASIS seems to work well for them. I don’t think it’s a perfect school for everyone, but it certainly seems to be great for my kid.

For what it’s worth, I’m so tired of hearing about the school space as I really don’t think it bothers kids as much as it seems to bother some parents. My kid gets plenty of movement throughout the day going from class to class and does tons of activities outside of school, so I have no concern that they are not exposed to being out in the elements or doing other things.

And I'm tired of hearing that the building is a good place for preteens and teens. Give us a break. There isn't a blade of grass on the campus or even a basketball court on the roof like at my equally cramped high school in Manhattan. There isn't a quiet place with natural light to study either. No library, a Stalinesque cafeteria with no windows in a basement. No real gym to run around. Dark, narrow hallways and classrooms with little natural light. No music rooms at all. The building is a travesty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in our 2nd year at BASIS, and our 6th grader is thriving. Child learned a lot of executive functioning/organizational skills in 5th grade last year, and they complete their 6th grade homework on their own at school (study hall) or have minimal homework or studying at night as they have LOTS of extracurricular activities both via school or in the community. Our child thrives in math/science and loves to read, so BASIS seems to work well for them. I don’t think it’s a perfect school for everyone, but it certainly seems to be great for my kid.

For what it’s worth, I’m so tired of hearing about the school space as I really don’t think it bothers kids as much as it seems to bother some parents. My kid gets plenty of movement throughout the day going from class to class and does tons of activities outside of school, so I have no concern that they are not exposed to being out in the elements or doing other things.

And I'm tired of hearing that the building is a good place for preteens and teens. Give us a break. There isn't a blade of grass on the campus or even a basketball court on the roof like at my equally cramped high school in Manhattan. There isn't a quiet place with natural light to study either. No library, a Stalinesque cafeteria with no windows in a basement. No real gym to run around. Dark, narrow hallways and classrooms with little natural light. No music rooms at all. The building is a travesty.

Stalinesque? Exaggerate much?

Maybe you prefer the former warehouse across from the dive bar that is Latin Cooper?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in our 2nd year at BASIS, and our 6th grader is thriving. Child learned a lot of executive functioning/organizational skills in 5th grade last year, and they complete their 6th grade homework on their own at school (study hall) or have minimal homework or studying at night as they have LOTS of extracurricular activities both via school or in the community. Our child thrives in math/science and loves to read, so BASIS seems to work well for them. I don’t think it’s a perfect school for everyone, but it certainly seems to be great for my kid.

For what it’s worth, I’m so tired of hearing about the school space as I really don’t think it bothers kids as much as it seems to bother some parents. My kid gets plenty of movement throughout the day going from class to class and does tons of activities outside of school, so I have no concern that they are not exposed to being out in the elements or doing other things.

+1.

The school is a public school in downtown DC, people. Move to Loudon if you want a suburban existence.

[Anonymous]

I have had students in BASIS for the last 10 years (combined) and they have complained about a lot of things, but the building was never on their list.

And I haven’t liked the last 2 HOS, FWIW. He was too green and she is too self important.