I am confused between Stuart Hobson Middle School vs. Deal Middle School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the post above that digs into college admissions at BASIS. So glad we left for Walls, where college admissions isn’t the be and end all. My kid rows crew and plays in the orchestra, lots of fun. With an 800 on her math SAT and half a dozen 5s on AP exams, I’m not worried about college admissions.. BASIS was much too controlling for some of us. Their admins underwhelm. DCPS can work fine all the way up for a top kid.

The complete and total lack of self awareness astounds.

Exactly, on the part of BASIS parents who think that most of the kids are headed to MIT, Yale, Harvard etc. (four or five admitted to those particular schools this past spring).

Name a school where “most” kids are heading to those colleges.

I’ll wait.

Thomas Jefferson in Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Expand the definition of top colleges a little and....Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Sci, Hunter, Northside Prep (Chicago), Boston Latin, Dallas School for the Talented and Gifted, Lowell (San Fran).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the post above that digs into college admissions at BASIS. So glad we left for Walls, where college admissions isn’t the be and end all. My kid rows crew and plays in the orchestra, lots of fun. With an 800 on her math SAT and half a dozen 5s on AP exams, I’m not worried about college admissions.. BASIS was much too controlling for some of us. Their admins underwhelm. DCPS can work fine all the way up for a top kid.

The complete and total lack of self awareness astounds.

Exactly, on the part of BASIS parents who think that most of the kids are headed to MIT, Yale, Harvard etc. (four or five admitted to those particular schools this past spring).

Name a school where “most” kids are heading to those colleges.

I’ll wait.

Thomas Jefferson in Fairfax.

LOL...Not even close. State schools are where most end up with great merit packages. The package is the most important thing. Just a sample--https://tjhsst.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/inline-files/school-profile%202021-22_0.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the post above that digs into college admissions at BASIS. So glad we left for Walls, where college admissions isn’t the be and end all. My kid rows crew and plays in the orchestra, lots of fun. With an 800 on her math SAT and half a dozen 5s on AP exams, I’m not worried about college admissions.. BASIS was much too controlling for some of us. Their admins underwhelm. DCPS can work fine all the way up for a top kid.

The complete and total lack of self awareness astounds.

Exactly, on the part of BASIS parents who think that most of the kids are headed to MIT, Yale, Harvard etc. (four or five admitted to those particular schools this past spring).

Name a school where “most” kids are heading to those colleges.

I’ll wait.

Thomas Jefferson in Fairfax.

No.

The senior class was around 450. They didn't send over 225 kids to MIT, Yale, Harvard, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the post above that digs into college admissions at BASIS. So glad we left for Walls, where college admissions isn’t the be and end all. My kid rows crew and plays in the orchestra, lots of fun. With an 800 on her math SAT and half a dozen 5s on AP exams, I’m not worried about college admissions.. BASIS was much too controlling for some of us. Their admins underwhelm. DCPS can work fine all the way up for a top kid.

The complete and total lack of self awareness astounds.

Exactly, on the part of BASIS parents who think that most of the kids are headed to MIT, Yale, Harvard etc. (four or five admitted to those particular schools this past spring).

Name a school where “most” kids are heading to those colleges.

I’ll wait.

Thomas Jefferson in Fairfax.

LOL...Not even close. State schools are where most end up with great merit packages. The package is the most important thing. Just a sample--https://tjhsst.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/inline-files/school-profile%202021-22_0.pdf

For the class of 2021 and for HYPSM, TJ had 6 or more acceptances only at MIT and Harvard. So, figure only a dozen or two matriculations at HYPSM out of 450 students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the post above that digs into college admissions at BASIS. So glad we left for Walls, where college admissions isn’t the be and end all. My kid rows crew and plays in the orchestra, lots of fun. With an 800 on her math SAT and half a dozen 5s on AP exams, I’m not worried about college admissions.. BASIS was much too controlling for some of us. Their admins underwhelm. DCPS can work fine all the way up for a top kid.

The complete and total lack of self awareness astounds.

Exactly, on the part of BASIS parents who think that most of the kids are headed to MIT, Yale, Harvard etc. (four or five admitted to those particular schools this past spring).

Name a school where “most” kids are heading to those colleges.

I’ll wait.

Thomas Jefferson in Fairfax.

LOL...Not even close. State schools are where most end up with great merit packages. The package is the most important thing. Just a sample--https://tjhsst.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/inline-files/school-profile%202021-22_0.pdf

For the class of 2021 and for HYPSM, TJ had 6 or more acceptances only at MIT and Harvard. So, figure only a dozen or two matriculations at HYPSM out of 450 students.

So if my kid doesn't get into those schools, they'll be stuck with classmates who were perhaps in the top third of their TJ class? Sounds good to me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every BASIS parent event I attended included an intense pep talk on how their college admissions are "The best in DC!"

Some admin invariably would always reel off a list of high powered colleges recent grads were admitted to. Yea, MIT, HARVARD, YALE. They did this even if the meeting was to talk about fundraising or an another unrelated subject. The drill got embarrassing over the years.

The further we get from BASIS, the better I understand why families of some of the highest achieving middle school students leave for programs where school leaders aren't as obsessed with MIT, Harvard, Yale. I point this out as an MIT grad.

No one cares where you went to school.

We care. When MIT grads think that relentless Basis intensity on college admissions is a drag, I’m gonna agree, me with my degree from a small public univ down South. The complaint is valid and you guys know it.

You care where PP went to school?

Sure, Jan.

I used to work at BASIS DC, where caring obsessively about admission to name schools is standard. The franchise's approach to college prep is c/o Olga Block, who isn't an educator. Their rigid formula for admissions success only gets many of the students so far, because it doesn't celebrate individual learning styles, interests, backgrounds and preferences like the nation's top HS magnet programs do. Students who crack MIT and Ivies at BASIS DC either have parents who pump substantial family resources--money, time and energy--into shoring up their extra curriculars/enrichment over the years, or they're low-SES students who get something of a break in admissions. When I attended a NYC magnet as a low-SES student from a home where English wasn't spoken, things were different. If you arrived speaking a language tested by AP, the school would do everything it could afford to help you retain and build on your language knowledge from the get-go. There was an arrangement with NYC whereby students were encouraged to take language courses at community colleges (for free) if they'd run out of language challenge in the school's curriculum. We were encouraged to take AP exams for which we'd prepped outside the school as early as 9th grade, not just for languages, but for music, art etc. The school even had an arrangement with Johns Hopkins CTY whereby low SES students could take summer courses in any subject they liked without paying. BASIS is nothing like that, because the franchise isn't headed up by educators. BASIS pushes families around because they can in a city where parents are desperate for high-performing public schools. The intensely acquiescent parent culture doesn't help. I've heard similar complaints about Stuart Hobson and Deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every BASIS parent event I attended included an intense pep talk on how their college admissions are "The best in DC!"

Some admin invariably would always reel off a list of high powered colleges recent grads were admitted to. Yea, MIT, HARVARD, YALE. They did this even if the meeting was to talk about fundraising or an another unrelated subject. The drill got embarrassing over the years.

The further we get from BASIS, the better I understand why families of some of the highest achieving middle school students leave for programs where school leaders aren't as obsessed with MIT, Harvard, Yale. I point this out as an MIT grad.

No one cares where you went to school.

We care. When MIT grads think that relentless Basis intensity on college admissions is a drag, I’m gonna agree, me with my degree from a small public univ down South. The complaint is valid and you guys know it.

You care where PP went to school?

Sure, Jan.

I used to work at BASIS DC, where caring obsessively about admission to name schools is standard. The franchise's approach to college prep is c/o Olga Block, who isn't an educator. Their rigid formula for admissions success only gets many of the students so far, because it doesn't celebrate individual learning styles, interests, backgrounds and preferences like the nation's top HS magnet programs do. Students who crack MIT and Ivies at BASIS DC either have parents who pump substantial family resources--money, time and energy--into shoring up their extra curriculars/enrichment over the years, or they're low-SES students who get something of a break in admissions. When I attended a NYC magnet as a low-SES student from a home where English wasn't spoken, things were different. If you arrived speaking a language tested by AP, the school would do everything it could afford to help you retain and build on your language knowledge from the get-go. There was an arrangement with NYC whereby students were encouraged to take language courses at community colleges (for free) if they'd run out of language challenge in the school's curriculum. We were encouraged to take AP exams for which we'd prepped outside the school as early as 9th grade, not just for languages, but for music, art etc. The school even had an arrangement with Johns Hopkins CTY whereby low SES students could take summer courses in any subject they liked without paying. BASIS is nothing like that, because the franchise isn't headed up by educators. BASIS pushes families around because they can in a city where parents are desperate for high-performing public schools. The intensely acquiescent parent culture doesn't help. I've heard similar complaints about Stuart Hobson and Deal.

A magnet and a charter are two different things. To expect Basis DC to act like your NYC magnet is unrealistic. The fact is that the suburban schools in the DMV are excellent, and most people will move there if they want the type of opportunities you had in NYC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every BASIS parent event I attended included an intense pep talk on how their college admissions are "The best in DC!"

Some admin invariably would always reel off a list of high powered colleges recent grads were admitted to. Yea, MIT, HARVARD, YALE. They did this even if the meeting was to talk about fundraising or an another unrelated subject. The drill got embarrassing over the years.

The further we get from BASIS, the better I understand why families of some of the highest achieving middle school students leave for programs where school leaders aren't as obsessed with MIT, Harvard, Yale. I point this out as an MIT grad.

No one cares where you went to school.

We care. When MIT grads think that relentless Basis intensity on college admissions is a drag, I’m gonna agree, me with my degree from a small public univ down South. The complaint is valid and you guys know it.

You care where PP went to school?

Sure, Jan.

I used to work at BASIS DC, where caring obsessively about admission to name schools is standard. The franchise's approach to college prep is c/o Olga Block, who isn't an educator. Their rigid formula for admissions success only gets many of the students so far, because it doesn't celebrate individual learning styles, interests, backgrounds and preferences like the nation's top HS magnet programs do. Students who crack MIT and Ivies at BASIS DC either have parents who pump substantial family resources--money, time and energy--into shoring up their extra curriculars/enrichment over the years, or they're low-SES students who get something of a break in admissions. When I attended a NYC magnet as a low-SES student from a home where English wasn't spoken, things were different. If you arrived speaking a language tested by AP, the school would do everything it could afford to help you retain and build on your language knowledge from the get-go. There was an arrangement with NYC whereby students were encouraged to take language courses at community colleges (for free) if they'd run out of language challenge in the school's curriculum. We were encouraged to take AP exams for which we'd prepped outside the school as early as 9th grade, not just for languages, but for music, art etc. The school even had an arrangement with Johns Hopkins CTY whereby low SES students could take summer courses in any subject they liked without paying. BASIS is nothing like that, because the franchise isn't headed up by educators. BASIS pushes families around because they can in a city where parents are desperate for high-performing public schools. The intensely acquiescent parent culture doesn't help. I've heard similar complaints about Stuart Hobson and Deal.

Apples and oranges.

NYC uses selective admissions for public schools more than any school district in the country. About 1/3 of middle and high schools have some sort of admissions requirement. That is why you have high-performing schools like Stuyvesant, Bronx High School of Science, etc. The selection criteria were loosened during the pandemic but are now back.

BASIS DC is 100% lottery and has zero admissions requirements.

We might wish we had the system in NYC here in DC but we don't.

[Anonymous]

So let's stop pretending that any of our DC public school programs are world-class. It's good when posters call out knee-jerk BASIS boosters. I'm impressed that a dozen BASIS now students get into MIT, Ivies etc. each spring. Not impressed with factory style teaching and learning, and DCPS chaos, lack of rigor and unstable leadership. Deep-rooted systemic problems in our schools are far more serious than the absence of NYC and Fairfax type test-in magnets.

[Anonymous]

Everyone’s a critic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So let's stop pretending that any of our DC public school programs are world-class. It's good when posters call out knee-jerk BASIS boosters. I'm impressed that a dozen BASIS now students get into MIT, Ivies etc. each spring. Not impressed with factory style teaching and learning, and DCPS chaos, lack of rigor and unstable leadership. Deep-rooted systemic problems in our schools are far more serious than the absence of NYC and Fairfax type test-in magnets.

We aren't even asking for world-class programs. We are asking for average programs. We don't even have that in DC.

[Anonymous]

More like many parents are unrealistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let's stop pretending that any of our DC public school programs are world-class. It's good when posters call out knee-jerk BASIS boosters. I'm impressed that a dozen BASIS now students get into MIT, Ivies etc. each spring. Not impressed with factory style teaching and learning, and DCPS chaos, lack of rigor and unstable leadership. Deep-rooted systemic problems in our schools are far more serious than the absence of NYC and Fairfax type test-in magnets.

We aren't even asking for world-class programs. We are asking for average programs. We don't even have that in DC.

Yes, because no city politician ever seems to get voted out for failing to deliver first-rate public middle schools or high schools.

Where else in this country do the highest-performing high schools suffer from terrible overcrowding and honors for all, or are housed in buildings without basic facilities and budgets for serious extra curriculars/enrichment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let's stop pretending that any of our DC public school programs are world-class. It's good when posters call out knee-jerk BASIS boosters. I'm impressed that a dozen BASIS now students get into MIT, Ivies etc. each spring. Not impressed with factory style teaching and learning, and DCPS chaos, lack of rigor and unstable leadership. Deep-rooted systemic problems in our schools are far more serious than the absence of NYC and Fairfax type test-in magnets.

We aren't even asking for world-class programs. We are asking for average programs. We don't even have that in DC.

Yes, because no city politician ever seems to get voted out for failing to deliver first-rate public middle schools or high schools.

Where else in this country do the highest-performing high schools suffer from terrible overcrowding and honors for all, or are housed in buildings without basic facilities and budgets for serious extra curriculars/enrichment?

Why would they be held to account? As an observer now not at the whim of DCPS I am often quickly you all take up arms in a circular firing squad. An objective observer might think you hate basis more than you care about your own kid's education. You are poster children for how to control a mass audience by having them turn on each other rather than those in power.