My child is drowning at Basis. Thoughts on mid year move?

[Anonymous]

Stick it out for the rest of the year and then move on if you think it's best, but you are not alone with the struggle. My DS came to BASIS in 6th and really struggled the first half of the year. We signed him up for academic support with Ms. P, met with a few of the teachers, and really focused on looking at effort and overall improvement vs grades. He elected to stay for 7th grade (I was ready to go) and has a much better handle on managing the work. Also, try really hard to let go of the focus on high grades. Of course you don't want your DC getting Fs, but hard earned Bs and Cs helped my DS recognize the value in studying and putting in the effort to get what he wanted. Good luck to you and your family.

[Anonymous]

call Hardy to see if they have space - they often do mid-year b/c with Bowling Airforce Base kids, some leave mid-year. It's seriously changed a huge amount in the past couple years with SEM (ie. can do college-track math & science), PTA funded responsive classroom, fantastic new library and reading programs, lots of art, PE daily, encouragement to try new things & it's ok to try & 'fail' b/c that's how you learn afterall, and it's small enough that it would not be as overwhelming to a new student (around 130 per year, Principal seems to know all kids by name). Also then in a designated school for Wilson. Honestly, I'm a WOTP IB parent (who went to 'pressure cooker' schools myself) and feel like Hardy is really solid and a much better experience mentally for my kids than I had in MS.

[Yes, before the uniform troll posts, there are uniforms. We're a $500K+ HHI and think it's awesome - there is no bullying or crazy peer pressure or judgments around clothes.]

[Anonymous]

call Hardy to see if they have space - they often do mid-year b/c with Bowling Airforce Base kids, some leave mid-year. It's seriously changed a huge amount in the past couple years with SEM (ie. can do college-track math & science), PTA funded responsive classroom, fantastic new library and reading programs, lots of art, PE daily, encouragement to try new things & it's ok to try & 'fail' b/c that's how you learn afterall, and it's small enough that it would not be as overwhelming to a new student (around 130 per year, Principal seems to know all kids by name). Also then in a designated school for Wilson. Honestly, I'm a WOTP IB parent (who went to 'pressure cooker' schools myself) and feel like Hardy is really solid and a much better experience mentally for my kids than I had in MS.

[Yes, before the uniform troll posts, there are uniforms. We're a $500K+ HHI and think it's awesome - there is no bullying or crazy peer pressure or judgments around clothes.]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:call Hardy to see if they have space - they often do mid-year b/c with Bowling Airforce Base kids, some leave mid-year. It's seriously changed a huge amount in the past couple years with SEM (ie. can do college-track math & science), PTA funded responsive classroom, fantastic new library and reading programs, lots of art, PE daily, encouragement to try new things & it's ok to try & 'fail' b/c that's how you learn afterall, and it's small enough that it would not be as overwhelming to a new student (around 130 per year, Principal seems to know all kids by name). Also then in a designated school for Wilson. Honestly, I'm a WOTP IB parent (who went to 'pressure cooker' schools myself) and feel like Hardy is really solid and a much better experience mentally for my kids than I had in MS.

[Yes, before the uniform troll posts, there are uniforms. We're a $500K+ HHI and think it's awesome - there is no bullying or crazy peer pressure or judgments around clothes.]

Sorry the above posted twice -- and I missed that you were asking about 5th grade. Try Key, Mann or Hyde-Addison. Their enrollments go down in 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - do you think your child is struggling because of BASIS or because your outgoing school didn't prepare him for BASIS? Or a combo of both?

The Basis model fits better for highly organized students. My child is not that. We have had ADD and ADHD testing for the weakness in executive functioning skills but the diagnosis was negative. It is not an issue on paying attention, getting started or not understanding the content. That's not the difficulty. It is keeping up with the worksheets or how if you dont finish a worksheet then you cant take the test. It is having to rely on yourself to write down the homework in the CJ without being able to go to an online system like in previous years in case you lost the CJ or miswrote something. As a parent the lack of communication is tough. We have never been in a school where there werent built in parent teacher conference days in the calendar. We have also never had to try to coordinate meeting with the teacher through the front office and the teachers have diffferent parent hours on different days so for working parents trying to schedule multiple conferences it is tough. Not having a recess in addition to PE has been an adjustment as well as the lack of built in school activities. My child has always been motivated and enjoyed learning but it was also more experiential and hands on. There is no science text and DC is expected to take notes by listening to the lecture and copying drom what is on the board. I find that concept to be a higher grade skill than 5th. We would usually have met more parents to build a good social network by now but the way security is set up, you dont have those chance encounters with other parents like "hey my child is friends with yours lets try to meet up on Saturday". So I would say Basis is just not a good fit for our family. I dont think the previous school dropped the ball on preparation.

[Anonymous]

Try to lottery into DCI next year. It's the only public school with a 1:1 technology program and everything is online (some say that's not a virtue but it may be great for your kid).

They have a few open houses coming up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - do you think your child is struggling because of BASIS or because your outgoing school didn't prepare him for BASIS? Or a combo of both?

The Basis model fits better for highly organized students. My child is not that. We have had ADD and ADHD testing for the weakness in executive functioning skills but the diagnosis was negative. It is not an issue on paying attention, getting started or not understanding the content. That's not the difficulty. It is keeping up with the worksheets or how if you dont finish a worksheet then you cant take the test. It is having to rely on yourself to write down the homework in the CJ without being able to go to an online system like in previous years in case you lost the CJ or miswrote something. As a parent the lack of communication is tough. We have never been in a school where there werent built in parent teacher conference days in the calendar. We have also never had to try to coordinate meeting with the teacher through the front office and the teachers have diffferent parent hours on different days so for working parents trying to schedule multiple conferences it is tough. Not having a recess in addition to PE has been an adjustment as well as the lack of built in school activities. My child has always been motivated and enjoyed learning but it was also more experiential and hands on. There is no science text and DC is expected to take notes by listening to the lecture and copying drom what is on the board. I find that concept to be a higher grade skill than 5th. We would usually have met more parents to build a good social network by now but the way security is set up, you dont have those chance encounters with other parents like "hey my child is friends with yours lets try to meet up on Saturday". So I would say Basis is just not a good fit for our family. I dont think the previous school dropped the ball on preparation.

I agree that BASIS does not fit everyone but I disagree with info given by previous poster.

In regards to the CJ, academic support does help with making sure student writes correct info in CJ.

As for not being able to take a test due to unfinished worksheet, we have never experienced that in our 5 years there. I would definitely write to the head of school and immediately complain about this and have it rectified immediately if it is true.

As for having to use CJ, I think it is an important skill for students to master and 5th grade is an important time for this. It may take time and daily reminders from you but I think in most cases it can be done and is an important life skill to be able to follow directions.

As for communication, you can email teachers any time. Plus teachers have parent and student hours every week. Yes the front desk makes the appointments but to me that is easier than trying to contact each teacher individually for an appointment so I don't get your beef at all. Plus you can call front desk and do it by phone to set up appointments. Lastly, teachers will do phone conferences upon request and will also offer to meet at different times when able. So I disagree with the communication problems that you say are happening.

As for adjusting to BASIS, yes it is hard work. I also think it is important for parents to be checking the CJ and their accordion files and handouts from every subject everyday and to be asking about the homework and class work.

As for textbooks, almost every class had recommendations for compatible textbooks in the syllabi and if not I am sure the teacher can recommend a textbook to go along with the handouts. You can often find very good used science textbooks that are a few years old used for a few bucks on abebooks.com or amazon to keep on hand for your kid. Also, the handouts have been very thorough IMO. The key is to make sure your kid does not lose them so emphasize not losing or leaving papers everywhere which is another important life skill.

This web site is one of many free websites with free textbooks online:

http://www.ck12.org/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA-MPCBRCZ0q23tPGm6_8BEiQAgw_bAqkpKyNreFK1oiiabCWwLuKHZ-kLx-brp0SvnZADSuYaAt5w8P8HAQ

As for note taking. the students are typically given guided notes worksheets to fill out in class and are taught how to take notes. I would talk to specific teacher if this is an isse for helpful hints.

As for activities and gym, all 5th and 6th grade students take gym and thereafter it is an elective class. The school offers plenty of after school activities for students to find at least one activity they would like. The of course there are outside activities.

As for meeting parents, I have met other parents over the years by engaging in small talk at pick up time or drop off time and by attending and volunteering at booster club meetings and other events. I think as kids get older, it will be up to them to make friends at school. Plus the city offers a ton of activities for kids outside of school.

Overall, BASIS is a lot of work and does not fit everyone. I would say however that it does take a good 6 months or longer to adjust to the school at first and is worth it to learn the organizational, note taking, and study skills whether your student stays or not. Helping your kid on daily basis to adjust will also be helpful in the long run. My kid is now very independent with his work despite a lot of hand holding the first 3 years there. Good luck with your decision

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - do you think your child is struggling because of BASIS or because your outgoing school didn't prepare him for BASIS? Or a combo of both?

The Basis model fits better for highly organized students. My child is not that. We have had ADD and ADHD testing for the weakness in executive functioning skills but the diagnosis was negative. It is not an issue on paying attention, getting started or not understanding the content. That's not the difficulty. It is keeping up with the worksheets or how if you dont finish a worksheet then you cant take the test. It is having to rely on yourself to write down the homework in the CJ without being able to go to an online system like in previous years in case you lost the CJ or miswrote something. As a parent the lack of communication is tough. We have never been in a school where there werent built in parent teacher conference days in the calendar. We have also never had to try to coordinate meeting with the teacher through the front office and the teachers have diffferent parent hours on different days so for working parents trying to schedule multiple conferences it is tough. Not having a recess in addition to PE has been an adjustment as well as the lack of built in school activities. My child has always been motivated and enjoyed learning but it was also more experiential and hands on. There is no science text and DC is expected to take notes by listening to the lecture and copying drom what is on the board. I find that concept to be a higher grade skill than 5th. We would usually have met more parents to build a good social network by now but the way security is set up, you dont have those chance encounters with other parents like "hey my child is friends with yours lets try to meet up on Saturday". So I would say Basis is just not a good fit for our family. I dont think the previous school dropped the ball on preparation.

I agree that BASIS does not fit everyone but I disagree with info given by previous poster.

In regards to the CJ, academic support does help with making sure student writes correct info in CJ.

As for not being able to take a test due to unfinished worksheet, we have never experienced that in our 5 years there. I would definitely write to the head of school and immediately complain about this and have it rectified immediately if it is true.

As for having to use CJ, I think it is an important skill for students to master and 5th grade is an important time for this. It may take time and daily reminders from you but I think in most cases it can be done and is an important life skill to be able to follow directions.

As for communication, you can email teachers any time. Plus teachers have parent and student hours every week. Yes the front desk makes the appointments but to me that is easier than trying to contact each teacher individually for an appointment so I don't get your beef at all. Plus you can call front desk and do it by phone to set up appointments. Lastly, teachers will do phone conferences upon request and will also offer to meet at different times when able. So I disagree with the communication problems that you say are happening.

As for adjusting to BASIS, yes it is hard work. I also think it is important for parents to be checking the CJ and their accordion files and handouts from every subject everyday and to be asking about the homework and class work.

As for textbooks, almost every class had recommendations for compatible textbooks in the syllabi and if not I am sure the teacher can recommend a textbook to go along with the handouts. You can often find very good used science textbooks that are a few years old used for a few bucks on abebooks.com or amazon to keep on hand for your kid. Also, the handouts have been very thorough IMO. The key is to make sure your kid does not lose them so emphasize not losing or leaving papers everywhere which is another important life skill.

This web site is one of many free websites with free textbooks online:

http://www.ck12.org/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA-MPCBRCZ0q23tPGm6_8BEiQAgw_bAqkpKyNreFK1oiiabCWwLuKHZ-kLx-brp0SvnZADSuYaAt5w8P8HAQ

As for note taking. the students are typically given guided notes worksheets to fill out in class and are taught how to take notes. I would talk to specific teacher if this is an isse for helpful hints.

As for activities and gym, all 5th and 6th grade students take gym and thereafter it is an elective class. The school offers plenty of after school activities for students to find at least one activity they would like. The of course there are outside activities.

As for meeting parents, I have met other parents over the years by engaging in small talk at pick up time or drop off time and by attending and volunteering at booster club meetings and other events. I think as kids get older, it will be up to them to make friends at school. Plus the city offers a ton of activities for kids outside of school.

Overall, BASIS is a lot of work and does not fit everyone. I would say however that it does take a good 6 months or longer to adjust to the school at first and is worth it to learn the organizational, note taking, and study skills whether your student stays or not. Helping your kid on daily basis to adjust will also be helpful in the long run. My kid is now very independent with his work despite a lot of hand holding the first 3 years there. Good luck with your decision

NP. I'm a BASIS parent too, and I think you are both right but have differing opinions about the same thing. And I would imagine that after an independent school the learning curve to Basis would be tough (we came from another charter and found it much easier to navigate in a lot of ways). But it all depends on what you, and your kid are used to and looking for.

I think home schooling for the remainder of the year makes sense if the IB school doesn't work.

But if OP's kid is really unhappy -- for whatever reason, it makes sense to leave.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP. It is a big adjustment and I will follow up on some of your suggestions. We will definitely revisit the syllabus for supplemental books. I appreciate your feedback. I dont know if we can stick it out 3 years because it is killing my child's confidence and overall happiness but we will take the advice on sticking it out until the end of the year and go from there.

[Anonymous]

As for not being able to take a test due to unfinished worksheet, we have never experienced that in our 5 years there. I would definitely write to the head of school and immediately complain about this and have it rectified immediately if it is true.

I agree with most of what's written above, but my 5th grader is also in this class, and has had issues with lost worksheets. His transition has overall been really smooth, but keeping track of the worksheets was a nightmare for him and he became paralyzed and was unable to take a test because of lost worksheets. He's been able to fix any other problems he's had, but for this one, I emailed the teacher directly and together we found a solution that worked for everyone.

BASIS has worked great for my 5th grader and for me, but it's not without challenges.

[Anonymous]

I can't stand this attitude "BASIS is a lot of work, so does not fit everyone." Some families come to dislike BASIS not because it's hard work, or the kids can't handle the material, but because the school has too much in common with a juvenile detention facility. BASIS has many fine teachers and offers admirable challenge for DC public, yes, but the model is still a grind, unnecessarily.

At our IB school off the National Mall, 10 year olds do treasure hunts in the Botanical Gardens during walk-down morning field trips. They head to the American Indian Museum IMAGINATIONS room to learn, or Natural History Museum Discovery room. They see IMAX movies at Air and Space, then complete assignments to shoot their own space-themed movies on smart phones.

BASIS keeps the kids locked inside a joyless building almost all the time. They won't touch block scheduling, to give classes time to walk to museums and back during a single subject period. The Portrait Gallery/American Art museum and Ford's Theater are around the corner, but the kids are almost never taken to round out their history studies, let alone farther afield, to gasp, the National Archives and US History Museum. They can't even chill in a school library flipping through books, or shoot baskets on a roof court to unwind (we had one at my MS PS in Manhattan, despite no grassy area). No wonder some kids can't adjust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't stand this attitude "BASIS is a lot of work, so does not fit everyone." Some families come to dislike BASIS not because it's hard work, or the kids can't handle the material, but because the school has too much in common with a juvenile detention facility. BASIS has many fine teachers and offers admirable challenge for DC public, yes, but the model is still a grind, unnecessarily.

At our IB school off the National Mall, 10 year olds do treasure hunts in the Botanical Gardens during walk-down morning field trips. They head to the American Indian Museum IMAGINATIONS room to learn, or Natural History Museum Discovery room. They see IMAX movies at Air and Space, then complete assignments to shoot their own space-themed movies on smart phones.

BASIS keeps the kids locked inside a joyless building almost all the time. They won't touch block scheduling, to give classes time to walk to museums and back during a single subject period. The Portrait Gallery/American Art museum and Ford's Theater are around the corner, but the kids are almost never taken to round out their history studies, let alone farther afield, to gasp, the National Archives and US History Museum. They can't even chill in a school library flipping through books, or shoot baskets on a roof court to unwind (we had one at my MS PS in Manhattan, despite no grassy area). No wonder some kids can't adjust.

Glad your IB is working for you. Not everyone has that option, obviously.

Also all the BASIS 7th graders are going to the American history museum this Friday. And they're throwing egg drop experiments off the roof today for Physics.

But yes you are right, the building sucks. Pretty much everyone involved with buying that building is gone, but the school is stuck with it. It was chosen for its proximity to multiple Metro lines -- but that's its only virtue.

[Anonymous]

Why can't OP voice her experience and ask for help without the parents insecure about the choice for their dc having to chime in with "your information is wrong". No its not. OP was stating HER experience and guess what? Its different from yours and that's ok! I had no opinion of BASIS before coming to DCUM, but the inevitable insecure, obnoxious responses posted by BASIS boosters tells me everything I need to know about the school. It may actually be a great place but you people are doing it a real disservice. Trust that just because one person had a bad experience does not mean that the rest of us are judging you for the choice you made for your dc.

[Anonymous]

OP, have you considered moving to the Deal District, or the burbs, if just in a rental for starters? The bad news BASIS building, and cram school dimensions to the education, aren't going to change.

The kid of a close friend was miserable at his Spanish immersion charter this time last year. She agonized over what to do, saw no happy path forward, and sold up to move to the Oyster District over winter break. She did this despite having put down deep roots locally but has not looked back. Kid settled into new school quickly and loves it. She's settled into a new community. They're digging in for Wilson.

[Anonymous]

OP here, the school work itself is not hard for my child. It really is the environment (tight space, dark building, minimal activities) and how essential being organized and maturely responsible is to maintaing good grades. Children learn differently, mine absolutely is a hands-on, visual learner. In the past, DC has done fine with a mixture of worksheets, book work, projects, presentations and field trips. DC has never been an all A student but A's and B's and an occasional C when new math concepts have been introduced. Since pre-K DC has loved Science. It is now the least favorite subject. This thread has been very helpful and talking it through with you all. I have not taken any offense to varying opinions because delivery and experiences will differ. Moving is not an option because we recently bought our home in DC and can't afford a mortgage and rent. Thinking long term, I couldn't imagine selling our home in DC because I do wish to leave it to our child one day. Maybe in a few years, by the time high school role around we will be in a better financial position to move to upper NW or the suburbs if that was our best option. We do enjoy the different types of diversity living in the city offers. But we will see.