Basis elements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader is happy, but we still would think of moving for high school. I'm not sure why BASIS would buy a building with no fields, no auditorium, no gym, etc.

It's a city school. The kids I know there have lots of activities outside of school -- they're not relying on the school to provide that stuff, they're doing travel soccer or orchestra or whatever with the great resources DC has.

All well and good for the families with the resources to support lots of activities outside of school, along with academic tutoring if needed. Not so hot for the rest. Basis loves to claim that they provide sufficient support for struggling middle school students. They don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader is happy, but we still would think of moving for high school. I'm not sure why BASIS would buy a building with no fields, no auditorium, no gym, etc.

Basis is very clear upfront every year about the building and what it doesn't have. Yet parents still enroll their kids and complain about the building and what it doesn't have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader is happy, but we still would think of moving for high school. I'm not sure why BASIS would buy a building with no fields, no auditorium, no gym, etc.

Basis is very clear upfront every year about the building and what it doesn't have. Yet parents still enroll their kids and complain about the building and what it doesn't have.

For me, I think it is a great place for middle school, but not so great for high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader is happy, but we still would think of moving for high school. I'm not sure why BASIS would buy a building with no fields, no auditorium, no gym, etc.

Basis is very clear upfront every year about the building and what it doesn't have. Yet parents still enroll their kids and complain about the building and what it doesn't have.

True. What they aren't upfront about is how the cramped quarters and lack of fresh air/recess/exercise cause many younger kids to bounce off the walls. They also aren't upfront about how woefully inexperienced some of the teachers are.

[Anonymous]

BASIS gets so beat up on this forum - usually by people with so little knowledge about the school.

Kids need different things. My DD went to BASIS through middle school and then went to SWW for more of a high school experience.

My DS is 11th grader at BASIS. The high school has grown every year. He has a diverse cohort of friends from across the city. He has some incredible masters/PhD trained teachers. BASIS High school was just awarded Blue Ribbon status this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Not going to happen. BASIS' approach has always been to weed around half the middle school kids out before HS, to grind them into submission by making them miserable. This has been their MO in Arizona since the early 90s. Trust me, the kids who can't move at a "brisker pace" will mostly be gone by 9th grade. You simply need to be patient for the Hobbesian results to kick in.

BASIS parent in AZ here. That's not at all how it works, and many of the kids are very happy at BASIS. Mine absolutely love it! It is true that the 5th grade class is around 180 kids, but only about 90 seniors graduate per year. Most of it is not due to weeding out the kids, but rather kids leave to attend the local magnet high school (think TJ-lite), move out of area, want a new social scene, or want competitive high school sports teams. None of these reasons for leaving are that the kids were weeded out. I would imagine that DC BASIS is similar, where many families use it for middle school and then switch out for high school.

The main reason BASIS graduates only half of their starting kids is that the system is set up to make it nearly impossible for new kids to join after maybe 6th grade. If a kid leaves after 8th grade, they can't simply offer the slot to another kid. Few kids would meet the pre-requisites if they hadn't been in BASIS all along. At least at my kids' school, to join in 9th grade, a kid would need to be ready for pre-calculus, be ready for an AP level history class, and have a full year of high school level foreign language. There isn't a lot of wiggle room to accommodate kids who aren't at that level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
They also aren't upfront about how woefully inexperienced some of the teachers are.

Every single school system has woefully inexperienced teachers, especially now with teacher shortages due to covid. At least the woefully inexperienced basis teachers have a solid curriculum handed to them and don't have to wing it or use teachers-pay-teachers for their curriculum, the way the woefully inexperienced FCPS teachers do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the main problem are the disruptive kids - and of course there will be several in each year. If a bunch of them end up in your kid's element it can really bring down the learning environment. My kid had a "bad" element in 5th grade (apparently everyone, including teachers knew it) and this year in 7th has a great (the "best") element. Night and day in terms of the experience/my kid's happiness level going to school. And they are clipping along at a fast pace (I wouldn't want it to be any more intense/in depth).

I think the main problem is the dearth of decent public middle school options in this city. Disruptive 5th and 6th graders, particularly boys, clearly wouldn't be as much of a problem if they had more recess, more space to move around, more activities and classes where they could shine.

They're not going to add recess or space. It is what it is.

Have you seen what recess looks like in 5th and 6th grade? Clique-y and lots of faux-fights and standing around and posturing - boys and girls. Not sure that would change much for class disruptors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader is happy, but we still would think of moving for high school. I'm not sure why BASIS would buy a building with no fields, no auditorium, no gym, etc.

It's a city school. The kids I know there have lots of activities outside of school -- they're not relying on the school to provide that stuff, they're doing travel soccer or orchestra or whatever with the great resources DC has.

OK, but Basis won't even develop much in the way of really nerdy competitive extra-curriculars like chess and debate.

Ever talk to the Certamen parents who pay all the kids' expenses to compete? None of the competing schools demand this.

BASIS offers chess and debate and science and math clubs. All of the clubs, including certamen and sports, have fees associated with them and all of them can be paid for if the family qualifies for extra financial assistance.

What are you talking about, pp? Or are you 5+ years out of date?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just need to vent.
I really wish they would make elements based on how accelerated or advanced the kids were.
Put the kids who consistently struggle across the board and need more support together, and put the kids who can move at brisker pace together and allow them to dig deeper into the content.

Vent in private.

Why? Basis is fund by public resources. The school merits no special protection from scrutiny because franchise leaders and local admins, teachers and booster parents want that.

Because DCPS doesn't do tracking.

If you don't like it move to private or the burbs. Or go yell at the clouds.

No, you move to private or the burbs.

If DCPS doesn't do MS tracking, how do you explain honors classes in math and English at Hardy, Stuart Hobson? You sound about 15 years out of date.

Sounds like you don't understand what tracking is.

https://dcps.dc.gov/page/schoolwide-enrichment-model-sem-faqs

Enjoy FCPS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many 5th graders? 135? How many 9th graders? 60?

Most of the students may indeed be happy, but PP is not wrong.

That's how it works. Most of the middle students leave before high school. That's what you signed up for. Basis doesn't track in middle school other than for math. They're very clear about this.

I don't think the school is trying to make kids miserable and grind them into submission, that's ridiculous. It's challenging. Kids have to be organized. It's not a good fit for every kid. Those that want a challenge love it.

Come on, they're absolutely trying to shed certain students. Not most students, but a good many.

My kid got straight As at Basis, qualified for Johns Hopkins CTY with SATs in the 600s after 6th grade, tested into the most advanced middle school math. But he didn't love the program, not by a long shot. He loves attending a school with playing fields, performing arts, serious sports, a strong music program etc.

You again? Why do you bother posting here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader is happy, but we still would think of moving for high school. I'm not sure why BASIS would buy a building with no fields, no auditorium, no gym, etc.

Basis is very clear upfront every year about the building and what it doesn't have. Yet parents still enroll their kids and complain about the building and what it doesn't have.

True. What they aren't upfront about is how the cramped quarters and lack of fresh air/recess/exercise cause many younger kids to bounce off the walls. They also aren't upfront about how woefully inexperienced some of the teachers are.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the Basis MS teachers lack strong classroom management and differentiation skills because they're not very experienced. Teacher turnover remains fairly high. The youngest and most inexperienced teachers tend to be assigned to 5th and 6th grades. By 7th grade, teachers tend to be more experienced and most of the disruptive kids have already left.

You are basing this on what? In fact, teacher turnover at Basis over the past year was significantly lower than DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not going to happen. BASIS' approach has always been to weed around half the middle school kids out before HS, to grind them into submission by making them miserable. This has been their MO in Arizona since the early 90s. Trust me, the kids who can't move at a "brisker pace" will mostly be gone by 9th grade. You simply need to be patient for the Hobbesian results to kick in.

BASIS parent in AZ here. That's not at all how it works, and many of the kids are very happy at BASIS. Mine absolutely love it! It is true that the 5th grade class is around 180 kids, but only about 90 seniors graduate per year. Most of it is not due to weeding out the kids, but rather kids leave to attend the local magnet high school (think TJ-lite), move out of area, want a new social scene, or want competitive high school sports teams. None of these reasons for leaving are that the kids were weeded out. I would imagine that DC BASIS is similar, where many families use it for middle school and then switch out for high school.

The main reason BASIS graduates only half of their starting kids is that the system is set up to make it nearly impossible for new kids to join after maybe 6th grade. If a kid leaves after 8th grade, they can't simply offer the slot to another kid. Few kids would meet the pre-requisites if they hadn't been in BASIS all along. At least at my kids' school, to join in 9th grade, a kid would need to be ready for pre-calculus, be ready for an AP level history class, and have a full year of high school level foreign language. There isn't a lot of wiggle room to accommodate kids who aren't at that level.

How are the upper grades in AAP in Fairfax? I would think the same thing would be applicable there? After a certain point, you can't join a gifted program because you'll be too far behind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not going to happen. BASIS' approach has always been to weed around half the middle school kids out before HS, to grind them into submission by making them miserable. This has been their MO in Arizona since the early 90s. Trust me, the kids who can't move at a "brisker pace" will mostly be gone by 9th grade. You simply need to be patient for the Hobbesian results to kick in.

BASIS parent in AZ here. That's not at all how it works, and many of the kids are very happy at BASIS. Mine absolutely love it! It is true that the 5th grade class is around 180 kids, but only about 90 seniors graduate per year. Most of it is not due to weeding out the kids, but rather kids leave to attend the local magnet high school (think TJ-lite), move out of area, want a new social scene, or want competitive high school sports teams. None of these reasons for leaving are that the kids were weeded out. I would imagine that DC BASIS is similar, where many families use it for middle school and then switch out for high school.

The main reason BASIS graduates only half of their starting kids is that the system is set up to make it nearly impossible for new kids to join after maybe 6th grade. If a kid leaves after 8th grade, they can't simply offer the slot to another kid. Few kids would meet the pre-requisites if they hadn't been in BASIS all along. At least at my kids' school, to join in 9th grade, a kid would need to be ready for pre-calculus, be ready for an AP level history class, and have a full year of high school level foreign language. There isn't a lot of wiggle room to accommodate kids who aren't at that level.

Outside of math, I don't understand why you can't join BASIS at a later grade. Doesn't BASIS give you a chance to choose a new foreign language in 9th grade? Also, AP level history isn't really that difficult? It's more a matter of learning how to read efficiently and having good study skills -- which can be taught.