how does BASIS work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What can Basis do to change the admissions to elite colleges? Serious question.

I mean, every high school in America is facing declining Ivy odds. The DC privates (I have a kid at one of them) are also 100% facing this decline. Kids that make it in are either hooked (URM, legacy, VIP, athlete) or they go ON THEIR OWN and do something spectacular outside of school (a talent, research, national competition winner, etc).
It's no different for kids at Sidwell or NCS--grades, test scores, etc are no longer enough. This isn't a problem that any school can solve.

What is the problem is if parents still live under the paradigm that an Ivy spot can be had on grades, test scores and rigorous curriculum alone and are choosing a high school based on this. You choose high school (whether it is Sidwell, Basis, etc) because of what the school teaches your kid and their experience at the school. In 2023 you will always be disappointed if you think that a high school can get you a leg-up for an elite college admission.

You want to know what BASIS could do to change admissions to elite colleges? I feel like the question has been answered in various ways on many a BASIS thread over the years, without doing one iota of good. After five years at BASIS, glad to have left, here's my list:

*Begin to backfill the way the AZ campuses have since the get go. Lobby the politicians for permission and get it. Recruit student talent by backfilling.
*Get students out interning and volunteering around town much younger.
*Stop pushing 7th grade math on all the kids. If a kid is strong in humanities and average in math, let them quality to take algebra in 8th grade.
*Start tracking for ELA and social studies in MS like the better suburban programs in this area do. My kid was seriously bored/unchallenged in BASIS MS humanities.
*Raise far more money to support far more serious HS ECs, particularly participating in group and individual competitions. Set up a PTA that raises money and has a say in how it's spent in pursuit of more robust college admissions. Ditch the lame Booster Club fund-raising system controlled by admins.
*Work much hard on teacher retention and training. Stop putting teachers with weak classroom management skills in classrooms.
*Start thinking outside the box about college admissions. Encourage students to apply from gap years. Encourage students to go away for a year as foreign exchange students before returning to BASIS, with the HS offering a 5-year track to accommodate them.
*Encourage students who wish to travel to compete in regional, national and international competitions to do so up to say, 15 days a school year without being penalized for missing school. Set up system whereby they can submit work remotely while traveling to compete in enrichment activities that will burnish their CVs.
*Stop pushing for students to take all AP exams by the end of junior year. Encourage students to take 2 or 3 APs exams in the spring of senior year along with Cambridge exams in the fall or spring of any year. Encourage students to self-prep for Cambridge exams in unusual/eye-catching subjects, e.g. Islamic Studies, Marine Biology.
*Start up an instrumental music program, a serious one.
*Test kids for language background on arrival. Offer appropriate language classes to students from 5th grade to build aggressively on their skills. Encourage bilingual students to aim for 4-5s on AP language as early as 8th or 9th grades. Stop forcing students who've taken and passed an AP language exam to take more language classes. Encourage students who excel in languages to do summer immersion, taking Cambridge Intl AS or A-Level exams in Nov. of senior year (at a time when 5s on AP language are a dime a dozen). Raise money for post 11th grade immersion summer programs (standard in suburban schools). Teach more AP languages.

I rest my case.

[Anonymous]

Long term parent whose kid is liking it here. The list above is an interesting conversation starter. It has some very good points, and some not so good points. Some of the things are fully impractical, some would actually be destructive, some they are already doing, and some that would absolutely help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't work.

Look at how many kids are in the 6th grade class and look how many kids graduate. Then multiply it by the number of principals they have each year.

+100. Ha. Come on now, you're being unfair, only 8 or 9 principals in 14 years.

And, yes, the attrition rate is high. So what. The school works great for my kids. Kids leave for lots of reasons -- most because they couldn't handle or didn't want to handle the academics. But for other reasons too. BASIS doesn't backfill, so when kids leave the class size shrinks. It's actually nice!

omfg you just said it out loud!

so what? so my taxpayer dollars are paying for them to provide an education which isn't fit for the vast majority of kids. oh, but it works for your kids...

go break your kid's brains on your own dime, you and the for-profit ghouls that run that place can have fun without my tax dollars.

[Anonymous]

I like the above list because every point is geared toward helping kids stand out in admissions to the most highly competitive colleges. BASIS plays the game far too conservatively and top kids lose out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't work.

Look at how many kids are in the 6th grade class and look how many kids graduate. Then multiply it by the number of principals they have each year.

+100. Ha. Come on now, you're being unfair, only 8 or 9 principals in 14 years.

And, yes, the attrition rate is high. So what. The school works great for my kids. Kids leave for lots of reasons -- most because they couldn't handle or didn't want to handle the academics. But for other reasons too. BASIS doesn't backfill, so when kids leave the class size shrinks. It's actually nice!

omfg you just said it out loud!

so what? so my taxpayer dollars are paying for them to provide an education which isn't fit for the vast majority of kids. oh, but it works for your kids...

go break your kid's brains on your own dime, you and the for-profit ghouls that run that place can have fun without my tax dollars.

DP. This makes no sense. Not every school is a good fit for every kid. Are you also concerned about your tax dollars going to schools where most students are far below grade level (which, hint, there a LOT in DC)? Let me guess: you’re not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You want to know what BASIS could do to change admissions to elite colleges? I feel like the question has been answered in various ways on many a BASIS thread over the years, without doing one iota of good. After five years at BASIS, glad to have left, here's my list:

*Begin to backfill the way the AZ campuses have since the get go. Lobby the politicians for permission and get it. Recruit student talent by backfilling.

*Stop pushing 7th grade math on all the kids. If a kid is strong in humanities and average in math, let them quality to take algebra in 8th grade.

*Work much hard on teacher retention and training. Stop putting teachers with weak classroom management skills in classrooms.

*Start up an instrumental music program, a serious one.

I rest my case.

Some of your points amount to needing more resources. Where will Basis get the money? They already get a lower per student allocation than DCPS schools, so they already have to make do with a lot less.

For your first point, Basis DC would most likely love to do so, but can't due to DC laws.
For your second, I agree, but kids can slow down the math acceleration in 9th by taking precalc A, which will largely shore up the Algebra concepts they didn't fully get the first time.
For your third, there's a teacher shortage everywhere.

For your fourth point, absolutely not. School music programs are only good for the kids dabbling in music, and the non-serious programs are fine for that. The kids who excel in music participate in local youth orchestras. High level youth orchestras generally require kids to play in their school orchestra/band, which is a complete waste of time and waste of elective slot for a kid who already is spending a lot of time on private lessons, practicing, and their high level orchestra. Basis kids can claim that their school doesn't have a true orchestra program, and can thus get the school participation requirement waived.

[Anonymous]

BASIS also has a program where kids can use an outside activity as one of the electives if they choose. It opens up a lot of options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so weird. I have a 10th grader at Basis. I am not and have never been under any delusions that Basis will be the key for Ivies. My kid is not legacy, not URM, and will not be a recruited athlete. Due to geographic diversity preferences at ivies, it will be tough for any non legacy /URM/recruited athlete from DC to get in.

If my kid ends up being a NMSF, it will be due to my kid's abilities and any test prep we do. Basis wouldn't be a factor, nor would any other school.

My kid only has around 1 hour of homework per day, so there's still plenty of time to pursue ECs. My kid is into a fringe sport that was never going to be offered at a regular high school. If my kid were too bogged down with schoolwork to do any ECs, or they wanted to participate in an activity that would have much better opportunities elsewhere, then I would move my kid to a regular school.

Comparing Basis to magnet schools in different counties or to expensive private schools is absurd. If the Basis kids lived somewhere else or were wealthy, they'd probably attend a different school. How is that even a question or issue?

+1. My kid goes to BASIS because my kid likes the school. Sending him to a school where he's miserable just to try to get into an Ivy is stupid. I live in DC so I'm not sending him to a suburban public school, but I can afford to send him to private, and we toured private schools before he went on to BASIS for HS, because I wanted the choice to be his. He said he wanted to be at BASIS. I know he's going to do his best at the place he feels happiest, so BASIS is the place we sent him. That's the most a parent can do.

+1. I could have written this. In fact, I had to check the date to make sure I didn't (with a few changes for anonymity). The school has its problems for sure. But check out a sporting event that includes BASIS and you will see the current high school community is pretty incredible.

Same. My kid really likes BASIS. Is it for everyone? Probably not, but who cares. 5th grade was great, and the focus on executive functioning + academics was a great transition from elementary to middle school for THIS KID. 6th grade is going really well. I'm not sure it would be the right fit for my second kid, but they are in 3rd grade, so I don't have to think too hard about it yet. But honestly, this debate into it being the perfect gateway to the Ivy League seems really silly. It's just a school, and we like it because it works for my kid.

+1 again. The statement that "BASIS DC will need something of a reboot to continue to fulfill its mission of Ivy Plus admissions success." is absolutely ridiculous. I think the mission of Basis is provide a strong academic foundation for college and beyond, and I think my kids are getting that. Whether they go to an Ivy Plus school (and I don't know exactly what that means) or another of the couple of hundred strong colleges is beside the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't work.

Look at how many kids are in the 6th grade class and look how many kids graduate. Then multiply it by the number of principals they have each year.

+100. Ha. Come on now, you're being unfair, only 8 or 9 principals in 14 years.

And, yes, the attrition rate is high. So what. The school works great for my kids. Kids leave for lots of reasons -- most because they couldn't handle or didn't want to handle the academics. But for other reasons too. BASIS doesn't backfill, so when kids leave the class size shrinks. It's actually nice!

omfg you just said it out loud!

so what? so my taxpayer dollars are paying for them to provide an education which isn't fit for the vast majority of kids. oh, but it works for your kids...

go break your kid's brains on your own dime, you and the for-profit ghouls that run that place can have fun without my tax dollars.

SWW, Duke Ellington, Banneker, TJ, and any other public application high school is doing the same thing. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You want to know what BASIS could do to change admissions to elite colleges? I feel like the question has been answered in various ways on many a BASIS thread over the years, without doing one iota of good. After five years at BASIS, glad to have left, here's my list:

*Begin to backfill the way the AZ campuses have since the get go. Lobby the politicians for permission and get it. Recruit student talent by backfilling.

*Stop pushing 7th grade math on all the kids. If a kid is strong in humanities and average in math, let them quality to take algebra in 8th grade.

*Work much hard on teacher retention and training. Stop putting teachers with weak classroom management skills in classrooms.

*Start up an instrumental music program, a serious one.

I rest my case.

Some of your points amount to needing more resources. Where will Basis get the money? They already get a lower per student allocation than DCPS schools, so they already have to make do with a lot less.

For your first point, Basis DC would most likely love to do so, but can't due to DC laws.
For your second, I agree, but kids can slow down the math acceleration in 9th by taking precalc A, which will largely shore up the Algebra concepts they didn't fully get the first time.
For your third, there's a teacher shortage everywhere.

For your fourth point, absolutely not. School music programs are only good for the kids dabbling in music, and the non-serious programs are fine for that. The kids who excel in music participate in local youth orchestras. High level youth orchestras generally require kids to play in their school orchestra/band, which is a complete waste of time and waste of elective slot for a kid who already is spending a lot of time on private lessons, practicing, and their high level orchestra. Basis kids can claim that their school doesn't have a true orchestra program, and can thus get the school participation requirement waived.

Not sure how much sympathy I have when BASIS DC cries poor. Fact is, their admins make exceedingly poor use of significant UMC parent resources, constantly hitting parents up for dough to top up teachers' salaries vs. asking for their input on how our donations are generated and spent. Some of us come in from DCPS ES backgrounds where PTA raised hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, close to a million in Upper NW. Before BASIS, we held gala fundraisers, wrote thick grant applications and lobbied city council members for bigger school outlays in city budgets (particularly for plant upgrades). BASIS parents do little of that mainly because they aren't permitted to. We know how to raise money but are reluctant to chip in generously at BASIS w/out a PTA structure.

As for the school music programs. FYI, several of the BASIS AZ campuses have supported strong music programs for many years, particularly competitive string orchestras. The orchestras are an impressive BASIS AZ tradition, which I know this because my nephews have played in one for years. My kid plays in a competitive youth ensemble at Strathmore post BASIS. I couldn't disagree more that requiring strong youth musicians to play in their school orchestra/band is a complete waste of time. The school spirit that comes from participation is excellent for the programs and it's very good for kids on the high-level orchestra track to help mentor low-income musicians w/out the family resources for private lessons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS also has a program where kids can use an outside activity as one of the electives if they choose. It opens up a lot of options.

A lot of lonely and pricey options. Hint: MS and HS kids like to do serious ECs with peers from school and parents like public schools to finance serious ECs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You want to know what BASIS could do to change admissions to elite colleges? I feel like the question has been answered in various ways on many a BASIS thread over the years, without doing one iota of good. After five years at BASIS, glad to have left, here's my list:

*Begin to backfill the way the AZ campuses have since the get go. Lobby the politicians for permission and get it. Recruit student talent by backfilling.

*Stop pushing 7th grade math on all the kids. If a kid is strong in humanities and average in math, let them quality to take algebra in 8th grade.

*Work much hard on teacher retention and training. Stop putting teachers with weak classroom management skills in classrooms.

*Start up an instrumental music program, a serious one.

I rest my case.

Some of your points amount to needing more resources. Where will Basis get the money? They already get a lower per student allocation than DCPS schools, so they already have to make do with a lot less.

For your first point, Basis DC would most likely love to do so, but can't due to DC laws.
For your second, I agree, but kids can slow down the math acceleration in 9th by taking precalc A, which will largely shore up the Algebra concepts they didn't fully get the first time.
For your third, there's a teacher shortage everywhere.

For your fourth point, absolutely not. School music programs are only good for the kids dabbling in music, and the non-serious programs are fine for that. The kids who excel in music participate in local youth orchestras. High level youth orchestras generally require kids to play in their school orchestra/band, which is a complete waste of time and waste of elective slot for a kid who already is spending a lot of time on private lessons, practicing, and their high level orchestra. Basis kids can claim that their school doesn't have a true orchestra program, and can thus get the school participation requirement waived.

Not buying that they can't backfill per DC law. To my knowledge, BASIS leaders haven't lobbied DC politicians to backfill per the AZ system for 15 years now. Try again; it might work, times are a changin' in the District.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You want to know what BASIS could do to change admissions to elite colleges? I feel like the question has been answered in various ways on many a BASIS thread over the years, without doing one iota of good. After five years at BASIS, glad to have left, here's my list:

*Begin to backfill the way the AZ campuses have since the get go. Lobby the politicians for permission and get it. Recruit student talent by backfilling.

*Stop pushing 7th grade math on all the kids. If a kid is strong in humanities and average in math, let them quality to take algebra in 8th grade.

*Work much hard on teacher retention and training. Stop putting teachers with weak classroom management skills in classrooms.

*Start up an instrumental music program, a serious one.

I rest my case.

Some of your points amount to needing more resources. Where will Basis get the money? They already get a lower per student allocation than DCPS schools, so they already have to make do with a lot less.

For your first point, Basis DC would most likely love to do so, but can't due to DC laws.
For your second, I agree, but kids can slow down the math acceleration in 9th by taking precalc A, which will largely shore up the Algebra concepts they didn't fully get the first time.
For your third, there's a teacher shortage everywhere.

For your fourth point, absolutely not. School music programs are only good for the kids dabbling in music, and the non-serious programs are fine for that. The kids who excel in music participate in local youth orchestras. High level youth orchestras generally require kids to play in their school orchestra/band, which is a complete waste of time and waste of elective slot for a kid who already is spending a lot of time on private lessons, practicing, and their high level orchestra. Basis kids can claim that their school doesn't have a true orchestra program, and can thus get the school participation requirement waived.

Not sure how much sympathy I have when BASIS DC cries poor. Fact is, their admins make exceedingly poor use of significant UMC parent resources, constantly hitting parents up for dough to top up teachers' salaries vs. asking for their input on how our donations are generated and spent. Some of us come in from DCPS ES backgrounds where PTA raised hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, close to a million in Upper NW. Before BASIS, we held gala fundraisers, wrote thick grant applications and lobbied city council members for bigger school outlays in city budgets (particularly for plant upgrades). BASIS parents do little of that mainly because they aren't permitted to. We know how to raise money but are reluctant to chip in generously at BASIS w/out a PTA structure.

As for the school music programs. FYI, several of the BASIS AZ campuses have supported strong music programs for many years, particularly competitive string orchestras. The orchestras are an impressive BASIS AZ tradition, which I know this because my nephews have played in one for years. My kid plays in a competitive youth ensemble at Strathmore post BASIS. I couldn't disagree more that requiring strong youth musicians to play in their school orchestra/band is a complete waste of time. The school spirit that comes from participation is excellent for the programs and it's very good for kids on the high-level orchestra track to help mentor low-income musicians w/out the family resources for private lessons.

I really need to know why you are so obsessed with BASIS. You left years ago! Did you try to get an admin position and were turned down? Did you have a fling with the HoS? Are you jealous of your sister who lives in AZ because you secretly wanted to marry her husband? What has your therapist said about all this??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You want to know what BASIS could do to change admissions to elite colleges? I feel like the question has been answered in various ways on many a BASIS thread over the years, without doing one iota of good. After five years at BASIS, glad to have left, here's my list:

*Begin to backfill the way the AZ campuses have since the get go. Lobby the politicians for permission and get it. Recruit student talent by backfilling.

*Stop pushing 7th grade math on all the kids. If a kid is strong in humanities and average in math, let them quality to take algebra in 8th grade.

*Work much hard on teacher retention and training. Stop putting teachers with weak classroom management skills in classrooms.

*Start up an instrumental music program, a serious one.

I rest my case.

Some of your points amount to needing more resources. Where will Basis get the money? They already get a lower per student allocation than DCPS schools, so they already have to make do with a lot less.

For your first point, Basis DC would most likely love to do so, but can't due to DC laws.
For your second, I agree, but kids can slow down the math acceleration in 9th by taking precalc A, which will largely shore up the Algebra concepts they didn't fully get the first time.
For your third, there's a teacher shortage everywhere.

For your fourth point, absolutely not. School music programs are only good for the kids dabbling in music, and the non-serious programs are fine for that. The kids who excel in music participate in local youth orchestras. High level youth orchestras generally require kids to play in their school orchestra/band, which is a complete waste of time and waste of elective slot for a kid who already is spending a lot of time on private lessons, practicing, and their high level orchestra. Basis kids can claim that their school doesn't have a true orchestra program, and can thus get the school participation requirement waived.

Not sure how much sympathy I have when BASIS DC cries poor. Fact is, their admins make exceedingly poor use of significant UMC parent resources, constantly hitting parents up for dough to top up teachers' salaries vs. asking for their input on how our donations are generated and spent. Some of us come in from DCPS ES backgrounds where PTA raised hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, close to a million in Upper NW. Before BASIS, we held gala fundraisers, wrote thick grant applications and lobbied city council members for bigger school outlays in city budgets (particularly for plant upgrades). BASIS parents do little of that mainly because they aren't permitted to. We know how to raise money but are reluctant to chip in generously at BASIS w/out a PTA structure.

As for the school music programs. FYI, several of the BASIS AZ campuses have supported strong music programs for many years, particularly competitive string orchestras. The orchestras are an impressive BASIS AZ tradition, which I know this because my nephews have played in one for years. My kid plays in a competitive youth ensemble at Strathmore post BASIS. I couldn't disagree more that requiring strong youth musicians to play in their school orchestra/band is a complete waste of time. The school spirit that comes from participation is excellent for the programs and it's very good for kids on the high-level orchestra track to help mentor low-income musicians w/out the family resources for private lessons.

I really need to know why you are so obsessed with BASIS. You left years ago! Did you try to get an admin position and were turned down? Did you have a fling with the HoS? Are you jealous of your sister who lives in AZ because you secretly wanted to marry her husband? What has your therapist said about all this??

PP-- have you tried applying for a position at the school? If not, I think you should. You've obviously put a lot of time, and continue to put a lot of time, thinking about BASIS fairly regularly, so it's a passion of yours. Why not follow your passion and do what you love? You've got some good ideas there.

[Anonymous]

Different poster. Ignore the nasty post above. IMHO, more good points have been made on the last half dozen pages of this thread than on any BASIS thread in years. If 2024 Ivy Plus (look it up) admissions results prove as mediocre as this year’s, BASIS DC will come under pressure to both make changes and change its tune about Ivy Plus prospects for its most capable students. No bad thing.