how does BASIS work?

[Anonymous]

Give us a break. When your JR Wilson student has taken many AP exams and scored all 4s and 5s and made it to an Ivy or top 10 SLAC, you don't wake up in the morning pondering which % of JR students has taken AP exams and how the student body scores overall.

We sidestepped Deal for BASIS for our youngest. Looking back, we needn't have bothered. The BASIS DC admins are just kids really, pushy, controlling kids, interchangeable parts in a corporate machine run from AZ (which is how BASIS works).

We weren't impressed with either Deal or BASIS' middle school, other than where science instruction was concerned for the latter. But JR has been better than expected since 10th grade, with vastly superior ECs to those at the BASIS high school. No comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's just about understanding what type of child you have, and then looking to find the best fit for your child if you are looking at charters. My DD can concentrate for a very long time, so BASIS is actually easy for her, and she's earned straight A's for years. It isn't all that "rigorous." It's just a lot of continuous work. But because this comes easy to her, she really likes BASIS.

Agree with this take. An average student who's willing to put in the study time can hold their own at BASIS. It's not a GT program emphasizing creativity, critical thinking skills, advanced writing skills, sophisticated presentations, group work and so on. Really helps if the kid's quick with quantitative work, or the math homework can take too long for the kid to enjoy life. We don't really like BASIS for reasons that have nothing to do with the curriculum. There are too many young teachers who can't control their classes. Good teachers tend to leave and the churn is a drag, along with the bad building.

Elementary parent neutral-for-now on Basis, but this is what I've heard about the school from recent Basis graduates - really mixed bag in terms of teachers (some great, some unable to control classes), lots of turnover, ineffective and inexperienced school leadership. To be fair, these Basis grads are now college students at some of the best, most competitive liberal arts colleges in the country and were well-prepared for higher ed. It's possible these particular smart and diligent kids could have gone to any quality (and maybe even not-so-quality?) high school in the country and achieved at the same level, but that doesn't mean Basis didn't serve them well. They definitely have mixed feelings about their high school experience, though, FWIW.

Bolded is true of every school in DC. And throughout the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nonsense. BASIS teaches no science past AP level and the highest score students can get on AP exam is a 5. JR teaches all the AP STEM exams, just like BASIS, with multiple JR students scoring 5 on each of them annually. The exams are:

AP Chemistry
AP Biology
AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism, AP Physics C - Mechanics
AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC
AP Environmental Studies
AP Statistics
AP Computer Science A (AB no longer given)

Yes, BASIS teaches serious science younger than DCPS, which is neither here nor there for JR students who score high on AP STEM. I note that J-R students have four AP exams cycles to take their APs, while BASIS students only have 3 per program rules. That's how BASIS works, OP.

80% of DC high school aged students don’t live in the JR boundary, so the offerings and outcomes there are not really relevant for most of us.

Shhhhhhhhhhhh. The JR catchment parents want to lecture us all about how what they have we can't is better. They DEMAND the rest of us sit quietly while they lecture. It is their god given zip code right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IME, most of the time when kids don't pass a class, the class is math, physics, or chemistry. If your kid is intellectually above average in STEM subjects, and if your kid is reasonably motivated, he'll be fine at Basis.

Also, by the time the kids get to the upper school, there is a lot more applied knowledge and a lot less memorization.

Not our experience. The entire BASIS curriculum/focus is AP prep. Since AP/the College Board doesn't test group work, research or presentation skills, or participation in class discussions, the focus remains on memorization and rote learning in the HS to prep for multiple-choice heavy AP exams (including language exams). BASIS STEM teaching to prep for those AP exams is undeniably impressive.

We moved on from the BASIS MS to a competitive admissions IB Diploma program. IB exams don't include multiple choice questions so the difference in the teaching and learning from BASIS has been night and day. Not as strong for math, much stronger for humanities + more applied science.

A friend's friend's brother-in-law's sister read about HS on DCUM, so they know.

How did you experience the HS if you moved on before your child was in it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break. When your JR Wilson student has taken many AP exams and scored all 4s and 5s and made it to an Ivy or top 10 SLAC, you don't wake up in the morning pondering which % of JR students has taken AP exams and how the student body scores overall.

We sidestepped Deal for BASIS for our youngest. Looking back, we needn't have bothered. The BASIS DC admins are just kids really, pushy, controlling kids, interchangeable parts in a corporate machine run from AZ (which is how BASIS works).

We weren't impressed with either Deal or BASIS' middle school, other than where science instruction was concerned for the latter. But JR has been better than expected since 10th grade, with vastly superior ECs to those at the BASIS high school. No comparison.

PP refuted your erroneous points about BASIS, and your response is to claim that "your ... student" went to a top college from JR and the Basis DC admins are "kids"?

Lame.

[Anonymous]

This BASIS parent wishes that complaints about admins were lame. They’re just not that hot, particularly in eyes of HS families. The program is just OK. Claim it’s fantastic and you’re lame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

80% of DC high school aged students don’t live in the JR boundary, so the offerings and outcomes there are not really relevant for most of us.

I'm the OP and REALLY appreciate the conversation to this point.

It sounds like we should visit but be aware it might not be a good fit. My kid does really struggle with rote memorization (times tables are killing us), wants to learn a third language, and is more creative than focused. But, I wouldn't have understood the strenghts and weaknesses of the school without the thread.

We are not in bounds for JR and grew up in a time when schools offered a handful of APs only, so not really interested in a comparison of which has more or looks better on paper. Just wanted to understand the school better and now do!

[Anonymous]

I have a current/new 5th grader at BASIS and it’s been a great experience thus far for our child. They’ve previously been in both DCPS and DSPCS schools for language immersion, which both had its pros/cons. Our child has taken very well to the organization, structure and variety of subjects (2 science classes, math, history, English, writing, art, music, and PE) provided as part of the curriculum. Additionally, there are both afterschool sports (they compete against other charters like Latin, DCI, etc) and various clubs. Our child already speaks multiple languages at home, so we feel we can supplement that at home knowing that they will take linguistics next year.

Is the school perfect, no!? What what school is? I definitely don’t think it would be a great fit for all kids, but BASIS seems to be a positive change for my child where they definitely seem to enjoy the academic challenge. As previous posters said, be cautious not to fall too deep into the trap of the DCUM naysayers…to each their own!

[Anonymous]

There is no academic challenge in 5th grade. They spend the year learning organizational skills.

[Anonymous]

No academic challenge in 5th grade? Wow…I’m not sure what other 5th grades you are looking at in DC (we are on the public school forum, right?), but 5th graders at BASIS are absolutely exposed to significantly more rigor than DCPS across the city and charter schools.

Call a spade a spade…it’s far more rigorous and academic in 5th grade than other schools. This isn’t even a debate! Come on! It’s fine if you aren’t a fan of the school or the curriculum, but you need to get a mirror…

[Anonymous]

My 9th grader loves her teachers this year. She only has one mediocre one and he’s acceptable. The rest are really amazing.

I know teacher quality and retention have been challenges in years past, but our high school experience thus far has been fabulous.

[Anonymous]

Teacher quality ebbs and flows. The school does tend to lose good teachers for "greener" pastures. This year, the crop of teachers is strong.

Anonymous wrote:My 9th grader loves her teachers this year. She only has one mediocre one and he’s acceptable. The rest are really amazing.

I know teacher quality and retention have been challenges in years past, but our high school experience thus far has been fabulous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no academic challenge in 5th grade. They spend the year learning organizational skills.

Hahaha what???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no academic challenge in 5th grade. They spend the year learning organizational skills.

5th grade math leads to 6th grade Pre-Algebra for all kids. 5t grade science leads to 6th grade classes in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. By all means, please proceed...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

80% of DC high school aged students don’t live in the JR boundary, so the offerings and outcomes there are not really relevant for most of us.

I'm the OP and REALLY appreciate the conversation to this point.

It sounds like we should visit but be aware it might not be a good fit. My kid does really struggle with rote memorization (times tables are killing us), wants to learn a third language, and is more creative than focused. But, I wouldn't have understood the strenghts and weaknesses of the school without the thread.

We are not in bounds for JR and grew up in a time when schools offered a handful of APs only, so not really interested in a comparison of which has more or looks better on paper. Just wanted to understand the school better and now do!

Yes, do a tour and go to info sessions. I love BASIS so I say this with love. Based on the bolded your kid will be on the struggle bus. There is a ton of memorization and the material comes fast and furious. Quizzes and tests almost every day. BASIS doesn't offer language until 8th. If language is important to you why in the bloody hell would you even consider BASIS? Caveat emptor.