Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion

[Anonymous]

+1. So ridiculous.

“My kid was only accepted to Cornell instead of his dream school. This is all BASIS’s fault!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post crystallizes a major problem that I see with Basis and its school culture. If ANY child struggles in any respect, it is ALWAYS claimed to be predominantly the child’s fault (or the child’s family for failing to appreciate or overlooking that the school might be a poor fit). In some other contexts, that would be called gaslighting.

It also crystalizes toxic BASIS exceptionalism.

Shock! My kid also requiring tutoring, for writing and a foreign language, after we went on to a parochial high school. This happened despite his high BASIS GPA for 5th-8th. The middle school writing instruction he'd had at BASIS wasn't up to the standards of his new school, not even close. His language skills weren't nearly good enough either, since his new classmates had started studying the language no later than 6th grade.

Declaring BASIS to be the most fantastic and highest ranked DC high school ad nauseam on these threads in DC only goes so far in papering over the cracks.

Parochial schools are known to have strong writing classes, especially compared to public schools. I think it would say more about Basis if you were comparing it against another public school. And no one is saying DC is the highest ranked DC high school. It's a PUBLIC school and as compared to other PUBLIC schools in DC it does pretty well.

[Anonymous]

No, what’s happening here is that a few parents are challenging the widely held assumption that BASIS is a sure bet for the academically advanced. It’s not. In our experience, teaching quality is far too uneven, and curricular choices are far too limited, for BASIS to be anything but a default option for those EotP who can’t afford privates and don’t want to move. As for Cornell, J-R and Walls students crack Ivies more often than BASIS seniors. Look it up.

[Anonymous]

Why is anyone even arguing about the high school in this thread?? It’s about the proposed elementary school

[Anonymous]

Yes, BASIS compares favorably to other schools here in one of the half dozen lowest-performing public school systems in the country. Parents are so desperate for a halfway decent option that they put up with all sorts of pushy crap at BASIS, from the ban on a PTA, to parents pushed hard to top up teachers salaries, to BS middle school “physics” classes.

[Anonymous]

Because the ES will be cut from the same cloth. PTA? Choice of subjects? Danger!! Alert!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, BASIS compares favorably to other schools here in one of the half dozen lowest-performing public school systems in the country. Parents are so desperate for a halfway decent option that they put up with all sorts of pushy crap at BASIS, from the ban on a PTA, to parents pushed hard to top up teachers salaries, to BS middle school “physics” classes.

They ban a PTA??

[Anonymous]

Do Basis elementary schools have as much attrition as the middle and high schools do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lot of defensive parents here blaming Basis for their lack of research and bad choices, and their kids’ poor performance.

This is how parents are about everything these days--especially in this area. It's everyone else's fault if their kid is challenged in any way or if their kid's experience isn't perfect. Instead of taking a critical look at their child, themselves, and the situation, it's far easier to blame others. Blame the soccer club if their kid isn't getting enough playing time instead of the fact that their kid doesn't have the skills. Blame the friends (or the friend's parents) if their kid doesn't get invited to a party. Blame the school if the kid gets a poor grade. Sometimes the blame does lie with others, but the knee-jerk reaction of parents is to point the finger elsewhere instead of recognizing that things don't always work out, life isn't always fair, and you might have to change something on your end to get a different outcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, BASIS compares favorably to other schools here in one of the half dozen lowest-performing public school systems in the country. Parents are so desperate for a halfway decent option that they put up with all sorts of pushy crap at BASIS, from the ban on a PTA, to parents pushed hard to top up teachers salaries, to BS middle school “physics” classes.

They ban a PTA??

Yes, the franchise doesn’t permit PTAs. Admins encourage parents to form “Booster Clubs” that raise funds which are turned over to admins to spend as they wish. No kidding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lot of defensive parents here blaming Basis for their lack of research and bad choices, and their kids’ poor performance.

This is how parents are about everything these days--especially in this area. It's everyone else's fault if their kid is challenged in any way or if their kid's experience isn't perfect. Instead of taking a critical look at their child, themselves, and the situation, it's far easier to blame others. Blame the soccer club if their kid isn't getting enough playing time instead of the fact that their kid doesn't have the skills. Blame the friends (or the friend's parents) if their kid doesn't get invited to a party. Blame the school if the kid gets a poor grade. Sometimes the blame does lie with others, but the knee-jerk reaction of parents is to point the finger elsewhere instead of recognizing that things don't always work out, life isn't always fair, and you might have to change something on your end to get a different outcome.

. Where taxpayers funds support a school, parents are both stakeholders and appropriate watchdogs collectively. Hint: BASIS admins aren’t always acting in the best interest of students or families, even where kids can handle the curriculum easily enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, BASIS compares favorably to other schools here in one of the half dozen lowest-performing public school systems in the country. Parents are so desperate for a halfway decent option that they put up with all sorts of pushy crap at BASIS, from the ban on a PTA, to parents pushed hard to top up teachers salaries, to BS middle school “physics” classes.

They ban a PTA??

Yes, the franchise doesn’t permit PTAs. Admins encourage parents to form “Booster Clubs” that raise funds which are turned over to admins to spend as they wish. No kidding.

But they also do plan picnics and stuff for the school community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, what’s happening here is that a few parents are challenging the widely held assumption that BASIS is a sure bet for the academically advanced. It’s not. In our experience, teaching quality is far too uneven, and curricular choices are far too limited, for BASIS to be anything but a default option for those EotP who can’t afford privates and don’t want to move. As for Cornell, J-R and Walls students crack Ivies more often than BASIS seniors. Look it up.

Uh, Walls is much bigger than Basis high school and J-R is even larger.

Per capita, college admissions are better at Basis than Walls or J-R.

Look it up.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes, BASIS compares favorably to other schools here in one of the half dozen lowest-performing public school systems in the country. Parents are so desperate for a halfway decent option that they put up with all sorts of pushy crap at BASIS, from the ban on a PTA, to parents pushed hard to top up teachers salaries, to BS middle school “physics” classes. [/quote]

They ban a PTA??[/quote]

They ban a PTA??[/quote]

The school communicates almost every day and is super responsive. There are plenty of opportunities for parents to participate in various plans, strategies, etc. There are lots of surveys and solicitations.

PTAs are outmoded and unnecessary and date back to the 19th century.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, BASIS compares favorably to other schools here in one of the half dozen lowest-performing public school systems in the country. Parents are so desperate for a halfway decent option that they put up with all sorts of pushy crap at BASIS, from the ban on a PTA, to parents pushed hard to top up teachers salaries, to BS middle school “physics” classes.

They ban a PTA??

The school communicates almost every day and is super responsive. There are plenty of opportunities for parents to participate in various plans, strategies, etc. There are lots of surveys and solicitations.

PTAs are outmoded and unnecessary and date back to the 19th century.