Walls vs BASIS thread
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Anonymous
| Man we are so torn, love the basis curriculum - kid thrives from that point, but hates his classmates. Makes me want to gamble and try something new with new people,,,but he is worried about not getting to his more advanced science/math classes |
Anonymous
Can you ask walls how they will do math placement? I know they give Algebra 1 credit automatically now. Basis kids end up in AP Calc, Pre Calc or Alg II as freshmen but call the school to ask how that placement is determined. Science I think they put all freshmen in Bio no matter what. But ask. |
Anonymous
This is so interesting to me as I usually hear the opposite from BASIS 8th grade parents. Kid wants a new school, but they love their friends. I think in your position, I'd move them to Walls for something new. Your kid has been at BASIS for four years - maybe it's time for a change. Changing schools can be a challenge but kids grow from new experiences. |
Anonymous
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Poster who suggests that we attend some random sports game to chat up parents is unhelpful, especially since the specific goal of this thread is to get views on Walls vs BASIS. BASIS is no doubt the only public school where the academics are more advanced than Walls, so it’s a unique set of considerations.
As for getting our general questions answered, will the school plan any kind of recruitment event so that parents and kids can learn more and get their questions answered? Hopefully we’ll get invites to something next week. |
Anonymous
I agree with this. The academics at Walls are good enough and if your kid is socially unhappy at Basis today, four more years with a small and shrinking pool of classmates he’s known since age 10 is not going to improve matters. |
Anonymous
| My kid graduated from Basis and I graduated from Walls, so my impressions are dated. Basis is so stuck to their own playbook (not DC Basis playbook but the one rolled out by AZ flagship) that they wouldn’t even let the kids participate in the OSSE college course option (open to all DC students who’s school agrees they can do dual college enrollment). The shrinkage of my kids Basis cohort was real and in hindsight my kids tribe is way more artsy/humanities than the kids who thrived and stuck with Basis. That said there were teachers at Basis who let my kid and others just be kids (not always welcomed at Basis) and their cohort keeps up with eachother (now preparing to graduate from their various colleges). The college my kid did elect to go to actually said they typically don’t admit the gpa range my kid ended up with but they know Basis is a tough school and my kid was admitted (not wholly certain my kid picked the best college for them either but, it is what is). I went to Walls decades ago and back then there was very little academic rigor (I recall being surprised and disappointed as a student about that) but the conversations in class were some of the most challenging and enlightening conversations I’ve still ever had. My friends from high school are still in my life and all were admitted to college but many did not complete college and found themselves unprepared for the academics (again, decades ago). Since my Walls graduation I have heard the school has become much less diverse (nearly all are privileged kids which had not been the case when I attended). Several of my kids Basis cohort left Basis and went to Walls and told my kid some wild tales of debauchery and drugs. The ones who stayed at Basis were waaaayyyyyyyyy tamer. I am a single parent household east of the river and was grateful to send my kid to a school I thought was academically rigorous because my kid is smart. In hindsight…sending my kid somewhere they could be a big fish in a small pond, could have gained the schools permission to take college courses (OSSE allows for all DC students), could have more arts and an artsy type friend group, could feel themselves to not be in a grind daily, could have had more time available (less compulsory homework) to devote to a hobby/passion would have likely been a better experience for my kid with better outcomes for them presently (my kid tenses and gets angry thinking back to high school which is so not my experience). I fell into the thinking that Basis, Walls or Latin (at the time of my kids high school enrollment) were the only “decent” options in DC public schools but I was wrong. My child would have loved Duke, Dunbar has an amazing program for engineering (if I recall correctly!) (and the girl we knew in it got great college acceptances/scholarships), Banneker kids were convinced they were the cream of the crop (and really applied themselves to being that). Good luck to all the kids wherever they land! Wishing them the best fit for their happiest high school experiences and growth! |
Anonymous
classmates will be different next year, and ALL will mature, maybe even mellow out. there's a valuable lesson for kids when parents stay the course. as for math/science at Walls . . . it is just not a stem school. having observed SWW for a decade or more, I used to be impressed by the nice community among students. not so much anymore as there is now a taste of cliques and inequality. Could be I'm getting older but some seem even more entitled and willing to use substances in the bathrooms and have unchaperoned overnight parties at houses in Bethesda or upper NW. I mean not one adult in sight until the cops show up. Wish I was kidding about that but it seems like we are neglecting kids right when they are developing into young adults |
Anonymous
Why does your kid hate his classmates? |
Anonymous
lol. At Walls? |
Anonymous
You posted that you don’t know any Walls parents in real life to talk to. A suggestion was made as to how to engage with some. But based on your response I see you don’t actually want suggestions. Just keep complaining and hemming and hawing over suuuucccchhhhh a tooouuuggghhh decision between two of the best schools in the city. Let me get my tiny violin. |
Anonymous
| Also another suggestion you don’t care to accept- there are kids currently at Basis who have siblings at Walls. And those siblings switched from Basis to Walls at 9th grade. Post on a Basis parent board or ask your kid to get some names of parents of those kids. The ones I know are very nice and open to sharing experiences. |
Anonymous
Exactly. This is high school. And at Walls, they are not focused on “recruitment”. |
Anonymous
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Both schools are in general poor choices with inadequate teachers and incompetent administration. There are bright kids at both schools, but the average kid is certainly a lot weaker than at your typical DC area private - I compare them to privates due to the school sizes are comparable.
If you are not first GEN and/or low income, I would try hard to look elsewhere. |
Anonymous
...and if we could afford private we would do that...but we cant - hence this is the public/charter forum |
Anonymous
Do you have actual experience at both schools with these inadequate teachers? You sound condescending and like you haven’t actually met many kids at these schools. I have and many are intelligent, thoughtful and involved in their community. |