Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion

[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??

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.

I felt righteous about this up until I had a Middle Schooler and realized I had no interest in a PTA and starting to let them grow up was not always knowing what's up in the school

[Anonymous]

To each his, her or their own. We found BASIS to be a control freak program. We didn't find admins remotely responsive or open-minded when we needed them to be. We didn't think that parent input was taken seriously, with the survey and solicitations designed to shore up support for admins and a variety of top-down initiatives. We switched to Walls in 10th grade. Eldest just matriculated at a college admitting in the single digits. I seriously doubt that she'd have been admitted under the BASIS regime, where her talents and interests weren't encouraged. At BASIS, she had little time for serious ECs in the rush for AP exams to be taken by the end of junior year. We felt pushed around, stymied and stifled. For every family like yours who loves the place, there's one like ours that would get on the exit ramp given a decent out. What's outmoded and unnecessary is the BASIS fixation with all students amassing a slew of impressive AP exam scores as their foundation for learning, inquiry and admission to highly competitive colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

You are proving my point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To each his, her or their own. We found BASIS to be a control freak program. We didn't find admins remotely responsive or open-minded when we needed them to be. We didn't think that parent input was taken seriously, with the survey and solicitations designed to shore up support for admins and a variety of top-down initiatives. We switched to Walls in 10th grade. Eldest just matriculated at a college admitting in the single digits. I seriously doubt that she'd have been admitted under the BASIS regime, where her talents and interests weren't encouraged. At BASIS, she had little time for serious ECs in the rush for AP exams to be taken by the end of junior year. We felt pushed around, stymied and stifled. For every family like yours who loves the place, there's one like ours that would get on the exit ramp given a decent out. What's outmoded and unnecessary is the BASIS fixation with all students amassing a slew of impressive AP exam scores as their foundation for learning, inquiry and admission to highly competitive colleges.

That was exhausting to read. Glad you left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To each his, her or their own. We found BASIS to be a control freak program. We didn't find admins remotely responsive or open-minded when we needed them to be. We didn't think that parent input was taken seriously, with the survey and solicitations designed to shore up support for admins and a variety of top-down initiatives. We switched to Walls in 10th grade. Eldest just matriculated at a college admitting in the single digits. I seriously doubt that she'd have been admitted under the BASIS regime, where her talents and interests weren't encouraged. At BASIS, she had little time for serious ECs in the rush for AP exams to be taken by the end of junior year. We felt pushed around, stymied and stifled. For every family like yours who loves the place, there's one like ours that would get on the exit ramp given a decent out. What's outmoded and unnecessary is the BASIS fixation with all students amassing a slew of impressive AP exam scores as their foundation for learning, inquiry and admission to highly competitive colleges.

Same. We found BASIS suffocating over time. No luck at Walls. Went private.

[Anonymous]

Sucks for you.

[Anonymous]

A lot of kids flame out at Basis.

Definitely avoid unless you have an academically advanced kid who can handle the rigor.

[Anonymous]

Plenty of kids who can handle the rigor leave, particularly for Walls. I’m picturing a new generation of BASIS K-4 grads even more inclined to leave by HS than the current crop.

[Anonymous]

DC doesn’t need a BASIS elementary school. The warped way the 5th to 12th grade school operates has taught us that. Many of us in Ward 6 will be cheering if their K-4 proposal withers on the vine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plenty of kids who can handle the rigor leave, particularly for Walls. I’m picturing a new generation of BASIS K-4 grads even more inclined to leave by HS than the current crop.

As someone who has a BASIS middle schooler, using it for middle school and then finding a high school with a broader experience seems like a great plan. They can learn how to study and learn a tremendous amount of information, and then take that elsewhere. It doesn't feel like a failure of the school... It feels like the middle school and the high school are just different decisions. I would still choose BASIS middle over the other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC doesn’t need a BASIS elementary school. The warped way the 5th to 12th grade school operates has taught us that. Many of us in Ward 6 will be cheering if their K-4 proposal withers on the vine.

Plenty of current BASIS parent will cheer too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Plenty of kids who can handle the rigor leave, particularly for Walls. I’m picturing a new generation of BASIS K-4 grads even more inclined to leave by HS than the current crop.

As someone who has a BASIS middle schooler, using it for middle school and then finding a high school with a broader experience seems like a great plan. They can learn how to study and learn a tremendous amount of information, and then take that elsewhere. It doesn't feel like a failure of the school... It feels like the middle school and the high school are just different decisions. I would still choose BASIS middle over the other options.

I agree but not completely. The BASIS DC hs experience would be a lot better if controlling admins were willing to offer more flexibility and choice, and if Arizona put more resources into the hs experience. HS students often struggle with AP language prep, because they can't start studying languages before 8th grade and then just at the beginning level. BASIS generally only teaches 1, possibly 2, of the AP physics curricula. The physics situation is ridiculous considering their manic focus on science prep in ms. The hs ECs just aren't too hot by design, which hurts retention from the ms. Above all, senior year could be used much better. The mandatory college counseling course is essentially a timewaster and senior projects tend to be unserious.

[Anonymous]

I understand that lot of people go in planning to probably just use the middle school. But then you are probably looking at applying out for 9th without much if any administrative support in doing so. That has some potential to be rather stressful.

[Anonymous]

Stressful is right. We applied to privates and Walls after failing to convince our kid to stay at BASIS for HS despite a high GPA. We moved on with no more than perfunctory support from BASIS. Our kid was admitted to a private that's a 45-min drive for us when the school shuttle isn't an option. Go into BASIS with your eyes open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No kid loves BASIS. Kids love fresh air, light, fun school electives supported by serious resources, a strong school community, fine performing arts programs, strong school sports programs, strong instrumental music programs, a chance to run around during the school day, a chance to go on interesting field trips on a regular basis, Parents love avoiding crappy DCPS middle schools while continuing to enjoy their hip row house lifestyle. I say this as a parent who used to proudly proclaim that my kids loved BASIS. The thing is, they didn't and neither did their friends. By 9th grade, almost the entire friend group, a dozen kids, had voted with their feet.

Why did you proclaim that your kids loved BASIS when they didn't?