BASIS Independent McLean ranked 15th on Niche?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, is Niche right or wrong?

Limited, self-reporting surveys are by definition questionable. The sum total of various BIM boards on DCUM is some families and students who fit well there and like it, with many others who left or elected not to go in the first place.

That majority opinion against the school is also self-selecting, so you would need to find other sources of opinion. That's why I put in the GreatSchools.org ranking with its 50+ reviews.

The short version is that BIM does OK as a STEM-AP academic grind school with little else to offer and perpetual management chaos.

[Anonymous]

The school has had unfavorable reviews deleted on great schools. And they beg people to leave good reviews. They go to great efforts to punish anyone who disagrees with administration. And most people are so glad to leave that they don’t bother to share their awful experiences.

So all in all, it’s quite a lot worse than what you see on these sites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The school has had unfavorable reviews deleted on great schools. And they beg people to leave good reviews. They go to great efforts to punish anyone who disagrees with administration. And most people are so glad to leave that they don’t bother to share their awful experiences.

So all in all, it’s quite a lot worse than what you see on these sites.

Their management team lacks the ability to create positive outcomes that would simply motivate positive reviews based on results. So they resort to these antics, like a bad boss demanding respect and lying about failures instead of simply doing a better job.

But there is always next year and the next new HOS, right? The BIM theme song.

[Anonymous]

Right, next school year will see the 7th HoS in the school’s 6th year (some temporaries mixed in). The greatness is always just over the horizon, but never arrives. The most practiced skill of the administration is deflection and empty promises.

[Anonymous]

The administration at Basis is the absolute worst I've ever experienced. Really horrible, black and white thinkers - and very little experience in education or making nuanced decisions, but loving the power their Basis title gives them. Horrendous.

[Anonymous]

Someone told me that the current acting HOS started as an admin assistant. Very scary.

[Anonymous]

Front desk receptionist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The administration at Basis is the absolute worst I've ever experienced. Really horrible, black and white thinkers - and very little experience in education or making nuanced decisions, but loving the power their Basis title gives them. Horrendous.

The individuals running the upper school and middle school were teachers before they came to BIM, with little or no admin experience. The whole place was thrown together haphazardly with predictable results in management turnover.

Then they laid off the #2 in the middle school last October to make the strain even worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The administration at Basis is the absolute worst I've ever experienced. Really horrible, black and white thinkers - and very little experience in education or making nuanced decisions, but loving the power their Basis title gives them. Horrendous.

The individuals running the upper school and middle school were teachers before they came to BIM, with little or no admin experience. The whole place was thrown together haphazardly with predictable results in management turnover.

Then they laid off the #2 in the middle school last October to make the strain even worse.

Really to save money.

[Anonymous]

OMG the current HOS started as a front desk receptionist? That explains a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG the current HOS started as a front desk receptionist? That explains a lot.

The current interim HOS has a teaching background with a Masters in Independent Schools Administration. Got her foot on the door by taking a front desk position. Not that facts matter much in this forum. Interesting how the old Basis threads resurface every year at the same time as enrollment is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG the current HOS started as a front desk receptionist? That explains a lot.

The current interim HOS has a teaching background with a Masters in Independent Schools Administration. Got her foot on the door by taking a front desk position. Not that facts matter much in this forum. Interesting how the old Basis threads resurface every year at the same time as enrollment is happening.

What exactly is her experience in supervising pre-K to 12 education functions and not just admin operations? Anything?

Yes, facts matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG the current HOS started as a front desk receptionist? That explains a lot.

The current interim HOS has a teaching background with a Masters in Independent Schools Administration. Got her foot on the door by taking a front desk position. Not that facts matter much in this forum. Interesting how the old Basis threads resurface every year at the same time as enrollment is happening.

What exactly is her experience in supervising pre-K to 12 education functions and not just admin operations? Anything?

Yes, facts matter.

Well, she was the Head of Operations at the start of the year and for at least the year previous. That's about where she belongs, and she was the primary point person in shepherding BASIS through what was a pretty smooth transition to full DL and then back to hybrid at the beginning of this school year.

She's also responsible for some of the brutal admin issues that the school has had as well - so a bit of a double-edged sword. She's the acting HOS right now because the previous one bailed mid-year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG the current HOS started as a front desk receptionist? That explains a lot.

The current interim HOS has a teaching background with a Masters in Independent Schools Administration. Got her foot on the door by taking a front desk position. Not that facts matter much in this forum. Interesting how the old Basis threads resurface every year at the same time as enrollment is happening.

What exactly is her experience in supervising pre-K to 12 education functions and not just admin operations? Anything?

Yes, facts matter.

Well, she was the Head of Operations at the start of the year and for at least the year previous. That's about where she belongs, and she was the primary point person in shepherding BASIS through what was a pretty smooth transition to full DL and then back to hybrid at the beginning of this school year.

She's also responsible for some of the brutal admin issues that the school has had as well - so a bit of a double-edged sword. She's the acting HOS right now because the previous one bailed mid-year.

Providing needed resources is very different from hiring decisions, dealing with parents about their kids' issues, understanding curriculum needs and changes, building a school culture, etc.

It's like putting the chief accountant in charge of a tech company. Sure he has worked there and knows the terminology, but does he know coding, interfaces, and product development requirements?

Not so much. BIM really took the less responsible option making this person the HOS for even six months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG the current HOS started as a front desk receptionist? That explains a lot.

The current interim HOS has a teaching background with a Masters in Independent Schools Administration. Got her foot on the door by taking a front desk position. Not that facts matter much in this forum. Interesting how the old Basis threads resurface every year at the same time as enrollment is happening.

What exactly is her experience in supervising pre-K to 12 education functions and not just admin operations? Anything?

Yes, facts matter.

Well, she was the Head of Operations at the start of the year and for at least the year previous. That's about where she belongs, and she was the primary point person in shepherding BASIS through what was a pretty smooth transition to full DL and then back to hybrid at the beginning of this school year.

She's also responsible for some of the brutal admin issues that the school has had as well - so a bit of a double-edged sword. She's the acting HOS right now because the previous one bailed mid-year.

Providing needed resources is very different from hiring decisions, dealing with parents about their kids' issues, understanding curriculum needs and changes, building a school culture, etc.

It's like putting the chief accountant in charge of a tech company. Sure he has worked there and knows the terminology, but does he know coding, interfaces, and product development requirements?

Not so much. BIM really took the less responsible option making this person the HOS for even six months.

Do you know this person and her background or are you just assuming that she can't do those things because he held a front desk job at some point?