BASIS head of school steps down

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+100 PP. Delude themselves is right.

I come from Chicago. In my city, admission to high-powered test-in magnet high schools (e.g. the Lab School, Michelle Obama's alma mater)is supported by a thoughtful comprehensive application, but no interview. Applicants are ranked in a transparent fashion, with the ranking system transparently giving poor kids of all races a little preferential treatment.

I'm not from Chicago so might be misunderstanding, but I thought the Lab School was a private (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago_Laboratory_Schools), and Michelle Obama went to Young (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_M._Young_Magnet_High_School#Notable_alumni)

[Anonymous]

You are correct 9:13.

Michelle Obama went to Whitney Young, a public magnet school. Sasha and Malia went to the private Lab school before moving to DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are correct 9:13.

Michelle Obama went to Whitney Young, a public magnet school. Sasha and Malia went to the private Lab school before moving to DC.

yeah, wouldn't want to let the truth get in the way of a good story

[Anonymous]

NP. You guys are missing the forest for the trees. The point is that NYC, Boston, Chicago and other big US cities run bona fide test-in high school magnets.

We get the skim milk version at SWW etc.. No wonder some BASIS 8th graders pass on Walls and stay where they are, revolving heads or no revolving heads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. You guys are missing the forest for the trees. The point is that NYC, Boston, Chicago and other big US cities run bona fide test-in high school magnets.

We get the skim milk version at SWW etc.. No wonder some BASIS 8th graders pass on Walls and stay where they are, revolving heads or no revolving heads.

BASIS HS reminds me of the sports focused prep schools that enroll like 12 students and they all just happen to be elite basketball players. BASIS high school didn't even enroll 200 students last school year. Not a HS experience I want for my kids. There's a reason so many BASIS MS students apply elsewhere in 9th

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
BASIS HS reminds me of the sports focused prep schools that enroll like 12 students and they all just happen to be elite basketball players. BASIS high school didn't even enroll 200 students last school year. Not a HS experience I want for my kids. There's a reason so many BASIS MS students apply elsewhere in 9th

To each their own. I was lost in a larger high school. I would have benefited greatly from a situation where it wasn't possible to fade into the crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No wonder so many gentrifiers move to the burbs. A parent barely make-do with our public MS options EotP. BASIS DC was on the up and up. Who knows what comes next. Argh.

If this is how you feel, native Washingtonians are really glad to see you go. I hated this HOS - I thought Louis was okay but over his head. Liked Eyerman and the first HOS (they were fair and tried to do the right thing for the kids without falling into stereotypes). Garrett was very discriminatory and treated children differently based on her likes. We bailed for private school - where I learned that my child's math skills were not up to par despite having had AP Calculus. Wish I had bailed in 6th or after 6th grade. Latin would have been a far better option. At least a few of us high school students left after last year. Before you dismiss us as poor performers we are talking PSAT's in the 1200 - 1300+ range and decent/good grades. While I don't know the extent of BASIS's input (I think their science was good) we, and the 1300+ PSAT child's parent did not depend on them for their formulaic math or deficient reading/writing instruction. Feel really bad that I didn't get my child out before.


If you are AA - do not drink the Kool-aid - it is easy to listen to the Boosters. Make sure you supplement, go to Latin (my cousin's child got in Latin this year and I was surprised to see Asian students, whose parent's told me they were very pleased, that left during middle school from my child's class) or use your 429 to help put them in private high school. Your child emotional and psychological heath is worth the sacrifice. We are still working to undo the BASIS damage.

Multi-generational DC family that went to private middle/high school and DCPS elementary school

[Anonymous]

So much melodrama, PP. Some of us gut out the problems and pay to supplement while at BASIS. What we don't do is pay 25-45K for privates that aren't much better academically.

Latin certainly isn't better than BASIS academically, though the atmosphere is cheerier. Sounds like you've been drinking some Kool-aid about Latin.

Private high schools in this Metro area aren't short on spoiled brats. Buyer beware.

[Anonymous]

It is worth it to pay for my child to be happy and liking school. We gutted out the problems to my child's detriment - hence the "melodrama".

And I disagree, Latin is much much better in reading /writing. They actually write real papers in English classes. I already said that BASIS has a great science curriculum. Coming from a math family - the math did not impress us.

I did not want private school - I was wary of my child having an entitled mentality. We had to do private to get him enthused about school again and we did not want to risk the size of Wilson because he was not enthused.

Obviously my post does not apply to you - I posted my once a year post to DCUM to opine on the HOS who left and to give support to other middle school families who think they should leave but don't because they are "gutting" it out like we did.

Parent who does not post to DCUM because of the tone of the responses

[Anonymous]

You make good points, but realize that leaving BASIS means leaving the District most of the parents and, by extension, a great deal of upheaval for families. Gutting things out at BASIS may be the least bad options after families have spent years, even decades, putting down roots in urban neighborhoods, particularly EotP where there is no acceptable by-right HS. Few can afford to leave for privates, like you have, even with some financial aid.

I'm sorry to hear that your family didn't have a better experience with Garrett or BASIS. Unfair to you and wish you could have got more mileage for your tax dollars for MS and HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is worth it to pay for my child to be happy and liking school. We gutted out the problems to my child's detriment - hence the "melodrama".

And I disagree, Latin is much much better in reading /writing. They actually write real papers in English classes. I already said that BASIS has a great science curriculum. Coming from a math family - the math did not impress us.

I did not want private school - I was wary of my child having an entitled mentality. We had to do private to get him enthused about school again and we did not want to risk the size of Wilson because he was not enthused.

Obviously my post does not apply to you - I posted my once a year post to DCUM to opine on the HOS who left and to give support to other middle school families who think they should leave but don't because they are "gutting" it out like we did.

Parent who does not post to DCUM because of the tone of the responses

You always had an exit ramp if Wilson was an option. Few students at Basis live in that feeder pattern. Our options are just not the same.

[Anonymous]

+1. So we make the best of BASIS, and maybe hire a writing tutor and pay for Spanish immersion camps. If my kid were truly unhappy, I'd move to the burbs. Not the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is worth it to pay for my child to be happy and liking school. We gutted out the problems to my child's detriment - hence the "melodrama".

And I disagree, Latin is much much better in reading /writing. They actually write real papers in English classes. I already said that BASIS has a great science curriculum. Coming from a math family - the math did not impress us.

I did not want private school - I was wary of my child having an entitled mentality. We had to do private to get him enthused about school again and we did not want to risk the size of Wilson because he was not enthused.

Obviously my post does not apply to you - I posted my once a year post to DCUM to opine on the HOS who left and to give support to other middle school families who think they should leave but don't because they are "gutting" it out like we did.

Parent who does not post to DCUM because of the tone of the responses

I wouldn't be so sure. It's no secret that home-grown Washington Latin socially promotes, for political reasons, academic performance notwithstanding. BASIS DC, just one branch of a national franchise of a dozen high schools, doesn't, regardless of who's HOS.

Big difference.