BASIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t almost everybody generalizing from their particular experience on DCUM?! Sheesh.

It's fait to call out that poster for generalizing from their particular experience when their post starts with This statement screams to be qualified.

“My kid was straight As in BASIS DC middle school. We moved DC to a public school in Arlington after my spouse and I divorced. My kid got Bs at the new school and didn’t make the NOVA tri-county MS district band. Therefore, BASIS DC is bad and any BASIS DC boosters are just buying into BASIS exceptionalism, which is a total fiction.”

Post all the overwrought derision you want but the PP who found new challenge in Arlington in 8th grade makes a valid point. Even the highest-performing DC public schools are average overall by the standards of top suburban programs in the DMV offering extensive middle school tracking, other than for science and math instruction at BASIS.

I'm not just referring to deluxe test-in magnets in MoCo. Fairfax still offers robust GT programming in most neighborhood middle schools, and Arlington is rolling out intensified classes for 7th graders in four core subjects in the fall. Loudoun county tracks the most. It's a myth that BASIS offers advanced humanities to middle schoolers. My kid had to read and write disappointingly little in 5th, 6th and 7th grade English and social studies classes at BASIS. Easy to get mired in relativism.

This is because the BASIS curriculum focuses on grammar in MS. This switches in HS. I like the grammar focus, and it is one of the reasons I ranked BASIS first when I did the lottery years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something like 60% of BASIS kids take public transit. You’re probably better off going from NW to BASIS than some of the other metro lines.

That said, I don’t put my own kid on metro, because I think metro is dangerous.

lol what? Metro is not dangerous.

Stop laughing metro is dangerous. Kid has to be smart enough to get appropriate help if someone tries to abduct them.

The chances of someone trying to abduct a middle or high school child on the Metro are basically zero. That's not to say there are no potential problems, like the risk of getting hit by a car walking to and from the Metro and the risk of being bullied or mugged by other kids. However, my kids have not reported any such issues after many years of commuting to Basis, and there's a huge benefit of gaining confidence in their ability to get around the city independently.

I love hearing this. My kid is starting next fall, and we are three Metro stops away from Basis. I really am looking forward to him taking ownership over this commute -- I can see that he'll gain a lot of confidence through that process. When did your child start doing it on their own?

DP. My child started in 5th grade, as did all of his friends. They all walked together to the metro and rode together. Now that they are older, they walk separately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something like 60% of BASIS kids take public transit. You’re probably better off going from NW to BASIS than some of the other metro lines.

That said, I don’t put my own kid on metro, because I think metro is dangerous.

lol what? Metro is not dangerous.

Stop laughing metro is dangerous. Kid has to be smart enough to get appropriate help if someone tries to abduct them.

The chances of someone trying to abduct a middle or high school child on the Metro are basically zero. That's not to say there are no potential problems, like the risk of getting hit by a car walking to and from the Metro and the risk of being bullied or mugged by other kids. However, my kids have not reported any such issues after many years of commuting to Basis, and there's a huge benefit of gaining confidence in their ability to get around the city independently.

I think maybe you don't have a daughter. My tall for her age + blonde 7 year old daughter has already been sexually harassed on Metro with me standing right there next to her. She had no idea what the man was talking about but it was creep AF and I dread what she'll go through as she gets older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something like 60% of BASIS kids take public transit. You’re probably better off going from NW to BASIS than some of the other metro lines.

That said, I don’t put my own kid on metro, because I think metro is dangerous.

lol what? Metro is not dangerous.

Stop laughing metro is dangerous. Kid has to be smart enough to get appropriate help if someone tries to abduct them.

The chances of someone trying to abduct a middle or high school child on the Metro are basically zero. That's not to say there are no potential problems, like the risk of getting hit by a car walking to and from the Metro and the risk of being bullied or mugged by other kids. However, my kids have not reported any such issues after many years of commuting to Basis, and there's a huge benefit of gaining confidence in their ability to get around the city independently.

I think maybe you don't have a daughter. My tall for her age + blonde 7 year old daughter has already been sexually harassed on Metro with me standing right there next to her. She had no idea what the man was talking about but it was creep AF and I dread what she'll go through as she gets older.

Ok, sounds like you ran into a mentally ill pedophile. I’m sorry about that. But, bus and Metro commuting are generally safe for middle and high schoolers, and the commute helps with confidence and independence. I have two girls at BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something like 60% of BASIS kids take public transit. You’re probably better off going from NW to BASIS than some of the other metro lines.

That said, I don’t put my own kid on metro, because I think metro is dangerous.

lol what? Metro is not dangerous.

Stop laughing metro is dangerous. Kid has to be smart enough to get appropriate help if someone tries to abduct them.

The chances of someone trying to abduct a middle or high school child on the Metro are basically zero. That's not to say there are no potential problems, like the risk of getting hit by a car walking to and from the Metro and the risk of being bullied or mugged by other kids. However, my kids have not reported any such issues after many years of commuting to Basis, and there's a huge benefit of gaining confidence in their ability to get around the city independently.

I think maybe you don't have a daughter. My tall for her age + blonde 7 year old daughter has already been sexually harassed on Metro with me standing right there next to her. She had no idea what the man was talking about but it was creep AF and I dread what she'll go through as she gets older.

I know two children who were sexually assaulted on the metro. Recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something like 60% of BASIS kids take public transit. You’re probably better off going from NW to BASIS than some of the other metro lines.

That said, I don’t put my own kid on metro, because I think metro is dangerous.

lol what? Metro is not dangerous.

Stop laughing metro is dangerous. Kid has to be smart enough to get appropriate help if someone tries to abduct them.

The chances of someone trying to abduct a middle or high school child on the Metro are basically zero. That's not to say there are no potential problems, like the risk of getting hit by a car walking to and from the Metro and the risk of being bullied or mugged by other kids. However, my kids have not reported any such issues after many years of commuting to Basis, and there's a huge benefit of gaining confidence in their ability to get around the city independently.

I think maybe you don't have a daughter. My tall for her age + blonde 7 year old daughter has already been sexually harassed on Metro with me standing right there next to her. She had no idea what the man was talking about but it was creep AF and I dread what she'll go through as she gets older.

Homeschool is the answer. Keep her protected always!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t almost everybody generalizing from their particular experience on DCUM?! Sheesh.

It's fait to call out that poster for generalizing from their particular experience when their post starts with This statement screams to be qualified.

“My kid was straight As in BASIS DC middle school. We moved DC to a public school in Arlington after my spouse and I divorced. My kid got Bs at the new school and didn’t make the NOVA tri-county MS district band. Therefore, BASIS DC is bad and any BASIS DC boosters are just buying into BASIS exceptionalism, which is a total fiction.”

Post all the overwrought derision you want but the PP who found new challenge in Arlington in 8th grade makes a valid point. Even the highest-performing DC public schools are average overall by the standards of top suburban programs in the DMV offering extensive middle school tracking, other than for science and math instruction at BASIS.

I'm not just referring to deluxe test-in magnets in MoCo. Fairfax still offers robust GT programming in most neighborhood middle schools, and Arlington is rolling out intensified classes for 7th graders in four core subjects in the fall. Loudoun county tracks the most. It's a myth that BASIS offers advanced humanities to middle schoolers. My kid had to read and write disappointingly little in 5th, 6th and 7th grade English and social studies classes at BASIS. Easy to get mired in relativism.

This is because the BASIS curriculum focuses on grammar in MS. This switches in HS. I like the grammar focus, and it is one of the reasons I ranked BASIS first when I did the lottery years ago.

BASIS could easily walk and chew gum at the same time in middle school ELA classes, as in good parochial middle schools, where reading, writing and grammar are all stressed. We sent my youngest to a parochial school instead of BASIS. STEM instruction wasn't as good for that kid, but English instruction was miles ahead. BASIS middle school students are assigned few books to read, not even one a month. We hired a writing tutor for my eldest at BASIS in 7th and 8th grades because she could hardly write a grammatic sentence despite earning As in English. Don't buy the hype about fantastic BASIS humanities instruction. It's the stuff of fantasy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t almost everybody generalizing from their particular experience on DCUM?! Sheesh.

It's fait to call out that poster for generalizing from their particular experience when their post starts with This statement screams to be qualified.

“My kid was straight As in BASIS DC middle school. We moved DC to a public school in Arlington after my spouse and I divorced. My kid got Bs at the new school and didn’t make the NOVA tri-county MS district band. Therefore, BASIS DC is bad and any BASIS DC boosters are just buying into BASIS exceptionalism, which is a total fiction.”

Post all the overwrought derision you want but the PP who found new challenge in Arlington in 8th grade makes a valid point. Even the highest-performing DC public schools are average overall by the standards of top suburban programs in the DMV offering extensive middle school tracking, other than for science and math instruction at BASIS.

I'm not just referring to deluxe test-in magnets in MoCo. Fairfax still offers robust GT programming in most neighborhood middle schools, and Arlington is rolling out intensified classes for 7th graders in four core subjects in the fall. Loudoun county tracks the most. It's a myth that BASIS offers advanced humanities to middle schoolers. My kid had to read and write disappointingly little in 5th, 6th and 7th grade English and social studies classes at BASIS. Easy to get mired in relativism.

This is because the BASIS curriculum focuses on grammar in MS. This switches in HS. I like the grammar focus, and it is one of the reasons I ranked BASIS first when I did the lottery years ago.

BASIS could easily walk and chew gum at the same time in middle school ELA classes, as in good parochial middle schools, where reading, writing and grammar are all stressed. We sent my youngest to a parochial school instead of BASIS. STEM instruction wasn't as good for that kid, but English instruction was miles ahead. BASIS middle school students are assigned few books to read, not even one a month. We hired a writing tutor for my eldest at BASIS in 7th and 8th grades because she could hardly write a grammatic sentence despite earning As in English. Don't buy the hype about fantastic BASIS humanities instruction. It's the stuff of fantasy.

The question for most of us isn't how it compares to parochial school, but how it compares to DCPS -- that's the actual choice every family is making first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t almost everybody generalizing from their particular experience on DCUM?! Sheesh.

It's fait to call out that poster for generalizing from their particular experience when their post starts with This statement screams to be qualified.

“My kid was straight As in BASIS DC middle school. We moved DC to a public school in Arlington after my spouse and I divorced. My kid got Bs at the new school and didn’t make the NOVA tri-county MS district band. Therefore, BASIS DC is bad and any BASIS DC boosters are just buying into BASIS exceptionalism, which is a total fiction.”

Post all the overwrought derision you want but the PP who found new challenge in Arlington in 8th grade makes a valid point. Even the highest-performing DC public schools are average overall by the standards of top suburban programs in the DMV offering extensive middle school tracking, other than for science and math instruction at BASIS.

I'm not just referring to deluxe test-in magnets in MoCo. Fairfax still offers robust GT programming in most neighborhood middle schools, and Arlington is rolling out intensified classes for 7th graders in four core subjects in the fall. Loudoun county tracks the most. It's a myth that BASIS offers advanced humanities to middle schoolers. My kid had to read and write disappointingly little in 5th, 6th and 7th grade English and social studies classes at BASIS. Easy to get mired in relativism.

This is because the BASIS curriculum focuses on grammar in MS. This switches in HS. I like the grammar focus, and it is one of the reasons I ranked BASIS first when I did the lottery years ago.

BASIS could easily walk and chew gum at the same time in middle school ELA classes, as in good parochial middle schools, where reading, writing and grammar are all stressed. We sent my youngest to a parochial school instead of BASIS. STEM instruction wasn't as good for that kid, but English instruction was miles ahead. BASIS middle school students are assigned few books to read, not even one a month. We hired a writing tutor for my eldest at BASIS in 7th and 8th grades because she could hardly write a grammatic sentence despite earning As in English. Don't buy the hype about fantastic BASIS humanities instruction. It's the stuff of fantasy.

We are well aware that reading and writing instruction at parochial and private schools is well ahead of public. It's a huge bummer when people come to the public school forum to mention this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something like 60% of BASIS kids take public transit. You’re probably better off going from NW to BASIS than some of the other metro lines.

That said, I don’t put my own kid on metro, because I think metro is dangerous.

lol what? Metro is not dangerous.

Stop laughing metro is dangerous. Kid has to be smart enough to get appropriate help if someone tries to abduct them.

The chances of someone trying to abduct a middle or high school child on the Metro are basically zero. That's not to say there are no potential problems, like the risk of getting hit by a car walking to and from the Metro and the risk of being bullied or mugged by other kids. However, my kids have not reported any such issues after many years of commuting to Basis, and there's a huge benefit of gaining confidence in their ability to get around the city independently.

I think maybe you don't have a daughter. My tall for her age + blonde 7 year old daughter has already been sexually harassed on Metro with me standing right there next to her. She had no idea what the man was talking about but it was creep AF and I dread what she'll go through as she gets older.

Homeschool is the answer. Keep her protected always!

great look to mock sexual harassment of a child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something like 60% of BASIS kids take public transit. You’re probably better off going from NW to BASIS than some of the other metro lines.

That said, I don’t put my own kid on metro, because I think metro is dangerous.

lol what? Metro is not dangerous.

Stop laughing metro is dangerous. Kid has to be smart enough to get appropriate help if someone tries to abduct them.

The chances of someone trying to abduct a middle or high school child on the Metro are basically zero. That's not to say there are no potential problems, like the risk of getting hit by a car walking to and from the Metro and the risk of being bullied or mugged by other kids. However, my kids have not reported any such issues after many years of commuting to Basis, and there's a huge benefit of gaining confidence in their ability to get around the city independently.

I think maybe you don't have a daughter. My tall for her age + blonde 7 year old daughter has already been sexually harassed on Metro with me standing right there next to her. She had no idea what the man was talking about but it was creep AF and I dread what she'll go through as she gets older.

Ok, sounds like you ran into a mentally ill pedophile. I’m sorry about that. But, bus and Metro commuting are generally safe for middle and high schoolers, and the commute helps with confidence and independence. I have two girls at BASIS.

7 is VERY different than 11. Very normal for 11 and 12 year olds in our neighborhood -- including girls -- to bus and metro themselves to school. I have a 7 and a 10 year old and I cannot imagine letting my 7 year old be on his own on public transit, but I can see that my 10 year old is almost ready.

Women and girls are always in some amount of danger. But we have to know how to protect ourselves as well as possible and handle the world, otherwise you end up with a very restricted life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something like 60% of BASIS kids take public transit. You’re probably better off going from NW to BASIS than some of the other metro lines.

That said, I don’t put my own kid on metro, because I think metro is dangerous.

lol what? Metro is not dangerous.

Stop laughing metro is dangerous. Kid has to be smart enough to get appropriate help if someone tries to abduct them.

The chances of someone trying to abduct a middle or high school child on the Metro are basically zero. That's not to say there are no potential problems, like the risk of getting hit by a car walking to and from the Metro and the risk of being bullied or mugged by other kids. However, my kids have not reported any such issues after many years of commuting to Basis, and there's a huge benefit of gaining confidence in their ability to get around the city independently.

I think maybe you don't have a daughter. My tall for her age + blonde 7 year old daughter has already been sexually harassed on Metro with me standing right there next to her. She had no idea what the man was talking about but it was creep AF and I dread what she'll go through as she gets older.

Ok, sounds like you ran into a mentally ill pedophile. I’m sorry about that. But, bus and Metro commuting are generally safe for middle and high schoolers, and the commute helps with confidence and independence. I have two girls at BASIS.

7 is VERY different than 11. Very normal for 11 and 12 year olds in our neighborhood -- including girls -- to bus and metro themselves to school. I have a 7 and a 10 year old and I cannot imagine letting my 7 year old be on his own on public transit, but I can see that my 10 year old is almost ready.

Women and girls are always in some amount of danger. But we have to know how to protect ourselves as well as possible and handle the world, otherwise you end up with a very restricted life.

7 and 11 are different in terms of navigating the logistics of the metro, but 11 is still very young to be dealing with sexual harassment from adult men. I'm pro kids taking the metro, but I absolutely think about this. I'd much rather my kid be in a group than alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t almost everybody generalizing from their particular experience on DCUM?! Sheesh.

It's fait to call out that poster for generalizing from their particular experience when their post starts with This statement screams to be qualified.

“My kid was straight As in BASIS DC middle school. We moved DC to a public school in Arlington after my spouse and I divorced. My kid got Bs at the new school and didn’t make the NOVA tri-county MS district band. Therefore, BASIS DC is bad and any BASIS DC boosters are just buying into BASIS exceptionalism, which is a total fiction.”

Post all the overwrought derision you want but the PP who found new challenge in Arlington in 8th grade makes a valid point. Even the highest-performing DC public schools are average overall by the standards of top suburban programs in the DMV offering extensive middle school tracking, other than for science and math instruction at BASIS.

I'm not just referring to deluxe test-in magnets in MoCo. Fairfax still offers robust GT programming in most neighborhood middle schools, and Arlington is rolling out intensified classes for 7th graders in four core subjects in the fall. Loudoun county tracks the most. It's a myth that BASIS offers advanced humanities to middle schoolers. My kid had to read and write disappointingly little in 5th, 6th and 7th grade English and social studies classes at BASIS. Easy to get mired in relativism.

This is because the BASIS curriculum focuses on grammar in MS. This switches in HS. I like the grammar focus, and it is one of the reasons I ranked BASIS first when I did the lottery years ago.

BASIS could easily walk and chew gum at the same time in middle school ELA classes, as in good parochial middle schools, where reading, writing and grammar are all stressed. We sent my youngest to a parochial school instead of BASIS. STEM instruction wasn't as good for that kid, but English instruction was miles ahead. BASIS middle school students are assigned few books to read, not even one a month. We hired a writing tutor for my eldest at BASIS in 7th and 8th grades because she could hardly write a grammatic sentence despite earning As in English. Don't buy the hype about fantastic BASIS humanities instruction. It's the stuff of fantasy.

Anyone who starts a sentence about pubic education with "how easy it is" must be immediately ignored. Nothing about public education is easy. Even if common sense and experience didn't tell us this, the fact that no public school in DC has figured it out should tell you something. But it doesn't because you are a know it all who sits in the cheap seats and talks a big game about things you clearly know nothing about.

[Anonymous]

The poster who chose parochial school for their youngest child had an experience that is not particularly relevant to families currently considering Basis for middle school. Recently (a couple of years ago), Basis strengthened its middle school writing program by eliminating the required Latin class and replacing it with a required, intensive writing class called Writing Mastery. My 5th grader now takes three required classes that involve significant writing: Writing Mastery, English, and History. (The 5th grade Writing Mastery teacher, who is excellent, also teaches 5th grade History.)

As a middle school parent, I have been impressed with the quality of writing instruction at Basis. My 5th grader is writing a lot -- persuasive writing, narrative writing, literary and historical analysis, even a bit of fiction -- and is getting a strong foundation in grammar. Plus, the kids don't use devices in class at all.

No school is perfect, but Basis has been great for my motivated, humanities-oriented kid. Those who are considering Basis should talk to current Basis middle school families, visit the school, and keep in mind that some information on DCUM is simply not up-to-date or accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The poster who chose parochial school for their youngest child had an experience that is not particularly relevant to families currently considering Basis for middle school. Recently (a couple of years ago), Basis strengthened its middle school writing program by eliminating the required Latin class and replacing it with a required, intensive writing class called Writing Mastery. My 5th grader now takes three required classes that involve significant writing: Writing Mastery, English, and History. (The 5th grade Writing Mastery teacher, who is excellent, also teaches 5th grade History.)

As a middle school parent, I have been impressed with the quality of writing instruction at Basis. My 5th grader is writing a lot -- persuasive writing, narrative writing, literary and historical analysis, even a bit of fiction -- and is getting a strong foundation in grammar. Plus, the kids don't use devices in class at all.

No school is perfect, but Basis has been great for my motivated, humanities-oriented kid. Those who are considering Basis should talk to current Basis middle school families, visit the school, and keep in mind that some information on DCUM is simply not up-to-date or accurate.

I have an 8th grader and had not heard of this writing mastery class.

PP is right that every year something changes. Sometimes it's a change that you like and sometimes it's goes the other way. BASIS seems to switch things up more than others. Not sure if that's a plus or not.