Basis fills a gap that shouldn’t exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no 5th or 6th grader needs to be taking Algebra. Just no need. Let your 10 year old be 10.

None should be compelled to. Unnecessary. But those that are ready should have the option, preferably at school.

Very few are "ready" and most do end up feeling compelled to "stay ahead" or be in the classes with the other "smart kids." We need a study on actual outcomes of the hyper-accelerated math kids. The ones I know are all humanities majors who ended up up barely tolerating having to take another math class.

A whole bunch of BASIS's graduating class last year aim to be engineering majors, and a handful of others chose the sciences, too (physics, biology).

Math at BASIS seems more aligned with standards in Europe and Asia, where algebra is introduced in 5th or 6th grade, and calculus is just introduced as calculating integrals and then differentiating throughout high school math.

I know haters love to hate. and we are already seeing middle school classmates who are miserable with the pace of the math. but my kid likes it and kids who are ready for it should absolutely have a public option in DC to do it.

They do have a public option like Deal and DCI. The difference is these schools don’t push all kids to accelerate and offer lower level math classes for those who are not ready.

BTW the rigid curriculum is why we passed on Basis with my high performing kid who would be able to handle the math.

As if Deal and DCI are easily accessible….

Access is not the issue here and Basis also does have an access issue too since it is a lottery like DCI.

The issue is that the school is unwilling to offer options and flexibility to families. It’s their way or the highway. Let’s not pretend otherwise.

And no one keeps you from the highway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm really sorry that happened to you.

I think things may have settled down a little bit (knock on wood) since the changing of the Head of school. the current middle school physics teacher is awesome and the teachers generally seem a little happier. Comps count less, proportionally, towards end of year grades so the students are a little less stressed. no brand new teachers at all for our kid this year -- the team is strong across the board.

(Parents do complain a lot on the whatsapp, but that might just be par for the course for the sort of parent who send their kid to BASIS... they complained last year that the math went too slowly, and this year people are complaining that the math is going to quickly.)

We are having a great experience but I sense things have changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no 5th or 6th grader needs to be taking Algebra. Just no need. Let your 10 year old be 10.

None should be compelled to. Unnecessary. But those that are ready should have the option, preferably at school.

Very few are "ready" and most do end up feeling compelled to "stay ahead" or be in the classes with the other "smart kids." We need a study on actual outcomes of the hyper-accelerated math kids. The ones I know are all humanities majors who ended up up barely tolerating having to take another math class.

A whole bunch of BASIS's graduating class last year aim to be engineering majors, and a handful of others chose the sciences, too (physics, biology).

Math at BASIS seems more aligned with standards in Europe and Asia, where algebra is introduced in 5th or 6th grade, and calculus is just introduced as calculating integrals and then differentiating throughout high school math.

I know haters love to hate. and we are already seeing middle school classmates who are miserable with the pace of the math. but my kid likes it and kids who are ready for it should absolutely have a public option in DC to do it.

They do have a public option like Deal and DCI. The difference is these schools don’t push all kids to accelerate and offer lower level math classes for those who are not ready.

BTW the rigid curriculum is why we passed on Basis with my high performing kid who would be able to handle the math.

As if Deal and DCI are easily accessible….

Access is not the issue here and Basis also does have an access issue too since it is a lottery like DCI.

The issue is that the school is unwilling to offer options and flexibility to families. It’s their way or the highway. Let’s not pretend otherwise.

And no one keeps you from the highway.

Nope, chose not to go on that highway because of above. Eyes wide open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no 5th or 6th grader needs to be taking Algebra. Just no need. Let your 10 year old be 10.

None should be compelled to. Unnecessary. But those that are ready should have the option, preferably at school.

Very few are "ready" and most do end up feeling compelled to "stay ahead" or be in the classes with the other "smart kids." We need a study on actual outcomes of the hyper-accelerated math kids. The ones I know are all humanities majors who ended up up barely tolerating having to take another math class.

Some are truly “ready” and capable, but it’s still questionable whether such acceleration is necessary or advisable, even for kids aiming for STEM majors at top tier colleges.

Even the founder of AOPS (which has trained all the most recent Team USA Math Olympiad squads) warns against the dangers of such in-school hyper acceleration.

If anything, such acceleration is something that should be first experienced in a low-stakes context outside of school to allow the curiosity and exploratory muscles time to flourish without testing and grade pressures.

The AoPS founder doesn't believe it's dangerous, he believes it's insufficient because even AP calc BC is too easy for these kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no 5th or 6th grader needs to be taking Algebra. Just no need. Let your 10 year old be 10.

None should be compelled to. Unnecessary. But those that are ready should have the option, preferably at school.

Very few are "ready" and most do end up feeling compelled to "stay ahead" or be in the classes with the other "smart kids." We need a study on actual outcomes of the hyper-accelerated math kids. The ones I know are all humanities majors who ended up up barely tolerating having to take another math class.

Some are truly “ready” and capable, but it’s still questionable whether such acceleration is necessary or advisable, even for kids aiming for STEM majors at top tier colleges.

Even the founder of AOPS (which has trained all the most recent Team USA Math Olympiad squads) warns against the dangers of such in-school hyper acceleration.

If anything, such acceleration is something that should be first experienced in a low-stakes context outside of school to allow the curiosity and exploratory muscles time to flourish without testing and grade pressures.

I agree. My kid aces the standardized math testing and I would rather have him understand the material well and deeply than be super accelerated.

It is fine if he gets to AP calculus by junior year (standard track at our school is senior year). I don’t need him to be in AP Calculus 10th grade or earlier.

If he's acing the material then he already understands the material deeply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm really sorry that happened to you.

I think things may have settled down a little bit (knock on wood) since the changing of the Head of school. the current middle school physics teacher is awesome and the teachers generally seem a little happier. Comps count less, proportionally, towards end of year grades so the students are a little less stressed. no brand new teachers at all for our kid this year -- the team is strong across the board.

(Parents do complain a lot on the whatsapp, but that might just be par for the course for the sort of parent who send their kid to BASIS... they complained last year that the math went too slowly, and this year people are complaining that the math is going to quickly.)

We are having a great experience but I sense things have changed.

What grade is your student having this "great experience" in? 6th? 7th?

We bailed for a private late, after 10th, not long ago. Here's what we'd grown fed up with by the time we left, none of which we expected:

*Schlepping our student all over town in search of competitive college worthy ECs as he developed new interests.
*Paying for decent ECs that our kid couldn't do with school friends, even when our student represented BASIS in regional competitions.
*Supposedly STEM fantastic BASIS teaching just 1 of the 4 AP physics exams.
*Too easy foreign language classes for a kid who outgrew the curriculum on day 1 in the first year he could take a language, 8th grade.
*Kid not having a quiet, pleasant place to study alone or with HS friends in the building.
*Gaslighting by new admins where HS instruction was weak; we were told that the kid's sloth and attitude was the problem (it wasn't).
*Favorite HS teachers leaving, along with favorite friends/families (not just after 8th grade, but after 9th).
*The crazy push for all AP exams to be taken by the end of junior year. Kid felt rushed and senior year didn't look worth sticking around for.

Yes, BASIS is better academically overall than all other DC public MS options. Yet my excellent student grew to hate it nonetheless. BASIS may have been filling gaps that shouldn't exist, but it wasn't filling nearly enough for us 5 years in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm really sorry that happened to you.

I think things may have settled down a little bit (knock on wood) since the changing of the Head of school. the current middle school physics teacher is awesome and the teachers generally seem a little happier. Comps count less, proportionally, towards end of year grades so the students are a little less stressed. no brand new teachers at all for our kid this year -- the team is strong across the board.

(Parents do complain a lot on the whatsapp, but that might just be par for the course for the sort of parent who send their kid to BASIS... they complained last year that the math went too slowly, and this year people are complaining that the math is going to quickly.)

We are having a great experience but I sense things have changed.

What grade is your student having this "great experience" in? 6th? 7th?

We bailed for a private late, after 10th, not long ago. Here's what we'd grown fed up with by the time we left, none of which we expected:

*Schlepping our student all over town in search of competitive college worthy ECs as he developed new interests.
*Paying for decent ECs that our kid couldn't do with school friends, even when our student represented BASIS in regional competitions.
*Supposedly STEM fantastic BASIS teaching just 1 of the 4 AP physics exams.
*Too easy foreign language classes for a kid who outgrew the curriculum on day 1 in the first year he could take a language, 8th grade.
*Kid not having a quiet, pleasant place to study alone or with HS friends in the building.
*Gaslighting by new admins where HS instruction was weak; we were told that the kid's sloth and attitude was the problem (it wasn't).
*Favorite HS teachers leaving, along with favorite friends/families (not just after 8th grade, but after 9th).
*The crazy push for all AP exams to be taken by the end of junior year. Kid felt rushed and senior year didn't look worth sticking around for.

Yes, BASIS is better academically overall than all other DC public MS options. Yet my excellent student grew to hate it nonetheless. BASIS may have been filling gaps that shouldn't exist, but it wasn't filling nearly enough for us 5 years in.

BASIS was an excellent springboard for polishing our child’s application to a top private middle or high school. We left after seventh grade—not because we ever came to dislike it, but because we realized that other, more well-rounded environments might be a better fit for high school, at least in our case. We remain genuinely grateful for BASIS, especially since our other realistic middle-school option would likely have undershot our child academically.

Our student came from a cramped charter elementary with no green space, then moved to BASIS—another equally space-starved campus—and so never really knew anything different. That experience has probably made them all the more appreciative of the relatively palatial surroundings of their current school, which I find a bit too cushy for my own taste.

Then again, all of my schools growing up were pretty lousy—academically and in terms of physical plant—so I’m probably not the best gauge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm really sorry that happened to you.

I think things may have settled down a little bit (knock on wood) since the changing of the Head of school. the current middle school physics teacher is awesome and the teachers generally seem a little happier. Comps count less, proportionally, towards end of year grades so the students are a little less stressed. no brand new teachers at all for our kid this year -- the team is strong across the board.

(Parents do complain a lot on the whatsapp, but that might just be par for the course for the sort of parent who send their kid to BASIS... they complained last year that the math went too slowly, and this year people are complaining that the math is going to quickly.)

We are having a great experience but I sense things have changed.

What grade is your student having this "great experience" in? 6th? 7th?

We bailed for a private late, after 10th, not long ago. Here's what we'd grown fed up with by the time we left, none of which we expected:

*Schlepping our student all over town in search of competitive college worthy ECs as he developed new interests.
*Paying for decent ECs that our kid couldn't do with school friends, even when our student represented BASIS in regional competitions.
*Supposedly STEM fantastic BASIS teaching just 1 of the 4 AP physics exams.
*Too easy foreign language classes for a kid who outgrew the curriculum on day 1 in the first year he could take a language, 8th grade.
*Kid not having a quiet, pleasant place to study alone or with HS friends in the building.
*Gaslighting by new admins where HS instruction was weak; we were told that the kid's sloth and attitude was the problem (it wasn't).
*Favorite HS teachers leaving, along with favorite friends/families (not just after 8th grade, but after 9th).
*The crazy push for all AP exams to be taken by the end of junior year. Kid felt rushed and senior year didn't look worth sticking around for.

Yes, BASIS is better academically overall than all other DC public MS options. Yet my excellent student grew to hate it nonetheless. BASIS may have been filling gaps that shouldn't exist, but it wasn't filling nearly enough for us 5 years in.

BASIS was an excellent springboard for polishing our child’s application to a top private middle or high school. We left after seventh grade—not because we ever came to dislike it, but because we realized that other, more well-rounded environments might be a better fit for high school, at least in our case. We remain genuinely grateful for BASIS, especially since our other realistic middle-school option would likely have undershot our child academically.

Our student came from a cramped charter elementary with no green space, then moved to BASIS—another equally space-starved campus—and so never really knew anything different. That experience has probably made them all the more appreciative of the relatively palatial surroundings of their current school, which I find a bit too cushy for my own taste.

Then again, all of my schools growing up were pretty lousy—academically and in terms of physical plant—so I’m probably not the best gauge.

This is a very hurtful post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm really sorry that happened to you.

I think things may have settled down a little bit (knock on wood) since the changing of the Head of school. the current middle school physics teacher is awesome and the teachers generally seem a little happier. Comps count less, proportionally, towards end of year grades so the students are a little less stressed. no brand new teachers at all for our kid this year -- the team is strong across the board.

(Parents do complain a lot on the whatsapp, but that might just be par for the course for the sort of parent who send their kid to BASIS... they complained last year that the math went too slowly, and this year people are complaining that the math is going to quickly.)

We are having a great experience but I sense things have changed.

What grade is your student having this "great experience" in? 6th? 7th?

We bailed for a private late, after 10th, not long ago. Here's what we'd grown fed up with by the time we left, none of which we expected:

*Schlepping our student all over town in search of competitive college worthy ECs as he developed new interests.
*Paying for decent ECs that our kid couldn't do with school friends, even when our student represented BASIS in regional competitions.
*Supposedly STEM fantastic BASIS teaching just 1 of the 4 AP physics exams.
*Too easy foreign language classes for a kid who outgrew the curriculum on day 1 in the first year he could take a language, 8th grade.
*Kid not having a quiet, pleasant place to study alone or with HS friends in the building.
*Gaslighting by new admins where HS instruction was weak; we were told that the kid's sloth and attitude was the problem (it wasn't).
*Favorite HS teachers leaving, along with favorite friends/families (not just after 8th grade, but after 9th).
*The crazy push for all AP exams to be taken by the end of junior year. Kid felt rushed and senior year didn't look worth sticking around for.

Yes, BASIS is better academically overall than all other DC public MS options. Yet my excellent student grew to hate it nonetheless. BASIS may have been filling gaps that shouldn't exist, but it wasn't filling nearly enough for us 5 years in.

There you have it. This is the choice we are all making, and actually the whole point of this thread.

I have sciencey kids, and my options are BASIS, where they will learn biology, chemistry, physics and physical geography, or DCPS where they will be misinformed by Amplify science and learn nothing.

If DCPS properly taught science and social studies and all the MSs offered accelerated math (our feeder, Francis, does not offer geometry or algebra 2), we would have been far less likely to choose BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm really sorry that happened to you.

I think things may have settled down a little bit (knock on wood) since the changing of the Head of school. the current middle school physics teacher is awesome and the teachers generally seem a little happier. Comps count less, proportionally, towards end of year grades so the students are a little less stressed. no brand new teachers at all for our kid this year -- the team is strong across the board.

(Parents do complain a lot on the whatsapp, but that might just be par for the course for the sort of parent who send their kid to BASIS... they complained last year that the math went too slowly, and this year people are complaining that the math is going to quickly.)

We are having a great experience but I sense things have changed.

What grade is your student having this "great experience" in? 6th? 7th?

We bailed for a private late, after 10th, not long ago. Here's what we'd grown fed up with by the time we left, none of which we expected:

*Schlepping our student all over town in search of competitive college worthy ECs as he developed new interests.
*Paying for decent ECs that our kid couldn't do with school friends, even when our student represented BASIS in regional competitions.
*Supposedly STEM fantastic BASIS teaching just 1 of the 4 AP physics exams.
*Too easy foreign language classes for a kid who outgrew the curriculum on day 1 in the first year he could take a language, 8th grade.
*Kid not having a quiet, pleasant place to study alone or with HS friends in the building.
*Gaslighting by new admins where HS instruction was weak; we were told that the kid's sloth and attitude was the problem (it wasn't).
*Favorite HS teachers leaving, along with favorite friends/families (not just after 8th grade, but after 9th).
*The crazy push for all AP exams to be taken by the end of junior year. Kid felt rushed and senior year didn't look worth sticking around for.

Yes, BASIS is better academically overall than all other DC public MS options. Yet my excellent student grew to hate it nonetheless. BASIS may have been filling gaps that shouldn't exist, but it wasn't filling nearly enough for us 5 years in.

There you have it. This is the choice we are all making, and actually the whole point of this thread.

I have sciencey kids, and my options are BASIS, where they will learn biology, chemistry, physics and physical geography, or DCPS where they will be misinformed by Amplify science and learn nothing.

If DCPS properly taught science and social studies and all the MSs offered accelerated math (our feeder, Francis, does not offer geometry or algebra 2), we would have been far less likely to choose BASIS.

+1

Basis is the best free option available to many people. If you have other better options, exercise them and move on.

The Basis PTSD-ism is wild.

[Anonymous]

Agree. Call it BDS (Basis Derangement Syndrome).

Here is a public service message:

• We don't care that you didn't research Basis carefully before sending your kid to the school and that your kid can't handle the academics and rigor;

• We don't care that your kid washed out of Basis 10 years ago and you have a huge chip on your shoulder;

• We don't care that your kid is at some school in the burbs or some religious school that we never heard of and is "thriving";

• We don't care that your kid was "straight As" at Basis but wanted a school with a football team and now is "flourishing" at J-R; and

• We don’t care that you are outraged that Basis doesn’t have a pottery kiln, greenhouse, pool, or whatever out wonderful amenity you kid’s current school offers.

The fact is that 1) Basis is a great free option for academically motivated kids; 2) the ratings and college outcomes demonstrate this fact (your subjective anecdotes, deep-seated insecurity, and hate rants establish nothing); and 3) there are plenty of happy families and kids at Basis.

This is really simple: If your kid is not a good fit for the school, don't send them. If you do and your kid washes out, don't spend your free time flaming the school and Basis parents and kids because you made a mistake.

[Anonymous]

It is hard to compare schools because not that many people have experience at multiple different schools. And even within the same school, same grade, same year, things like teacher assignments and unforeseen social variables can cause school experiences to vary pretty widely. So experiences of people who attended a school and left have some value even if those experiences may be laced with sour grapes (some need to justify leaving). It is pretty common to run into people in DC who tried and left Basis; in real life, it tends to be more of a slightly embarrassed good for some kids but not really everyone type explanation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree. Call it BDS (Basis Derangement Syndrome).

Here is a public service message:

• We don't care that you didn't research Basis carefully before sending your kid to the school and that your kid can't handle the academics and rigor;

• We don't care that your kid washed out of Basis 10 years ago and you have a huge chip on your shoulder;

• We don't care that your kid is at some school in the burbs or some religious school that we never heard of and is "thriving";

• We don't care that your kid was "straight As" at Basis but wanted a school with a football team and now is "flourishing" at J-R; and

• We don’t care that you are outraged that Basis doesn’t have a pottery kiln, greenhouse, pool, or whatever out wonderful amenity you kid’s current school offers.

The fact is that 1) Basis is a great free option for academically motivated kids; 2) the ratings and college outcomes demonstrate this fact (your subjective anecdotes, deep-seated insecurity, and hate rants establish nothing); and 3) there are plenty of happy families and kids at Basis.

This is really simple: If your kid is not a good fit for the school, don't send them. If you do and your kid washes out, don't spend your free time flaming the school and Basis parents and kids because you made a mistake.

We are a happy Basis family, but think it’s fine if others share their less-than-stellar experiences.

[Anonymous]

We're an unhappy BASIS family who wishes that we'd talked to more families who left after 1-5 years before we enrolled and talked less to rah rah admins.

[Anonymous]

Just one data point but we know someone who said they knew a Basis kid who then went private and math foundation was not strong. Kid had to retake math year.

Accelerating too fast unnecessarily does not leave much room for depth. It is superficial. It is crazy IMO to try to accelerate all these kids and then senior year is basically just a wasted year.

Just one data point but just saying.