BASIS attrition after middle school- why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you give yourself a minute and enjoy 5th grade if your child is enjoying it? If you get to know families in your grade, you will soon realize why some people leave, while others stay. It’s for all kinds of reasons.

Ultimately, you need to make the best decision for your child, but you won’t know what that is if you spend your time worrying about what everyone else is doing instead of paying attention to your own kid’s experience. Your child will change a lot between 5th and 8th grades. Pay attention to that, and you will know what is the best decision to make when the time comes.

This is bad advice. She needs to participate in the lottery for 6th grade, even if she isn't sure about staying or going, because it's a year when there's movement in the school system. To keep the option open in case the second semester of 5th grade isn't as good or OP realizes that other people's reasons for leaving apply to her situation.

Which lottery schools have more seats open in 6th grade as opposed to other middle school years? Is Latin Cooper still offering 6th grade seats?

Latin Cooper likely will, pending attrition. Since they're moving into the new building I'm not sure of their plans. There are always seats for 6th at Inspired Teaching. Stuart-Hobson makes OOB offers for 6th. Last year, Hardy offered 25 OOB seats initially and also made 47 offers for 6th. Not saying any of those schools are better or worse for OP's child than BASIS is, but if you want to get in to Hardy, 6th is your best chance.

Has Latin Cooper been losing kids after 5th grade?

Yes. BIM is so hard up for students that it made an open offer to everyone in Latin's 5th grade class. It solves BIM's enrollment problem and kicks Latin in the shins in one fell swoop-- genius plan!

BIM?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My straight A student left after 8th because the discipline issues in their cohort.
There was no effort made on admins side to try and improve things - multiple meetings with them and we go nowhere. Classes were boring for my kid because basis drags through so many kids who really cant handle the work load, so they dumb it down, and half the year is spent reviewing things from previous years. She ended up being bored.
In the end we bit the bullet and went private, her 2 good friends went to Walls for similar reasons. Kids who have the means or opportunity tend to leave - the kids who are behind, not stellar in academics and have behavior issues stay, and as the class sizes get smaller, they make up a larger percentage of the class. We were lucky to have the options to get away.

Which private did you choose?

NCS

[Anonymous]

BASIS doesn’t accept students after 5th grade, so there is no backfilling for students who leave. By high school, it doesn’t just feel small, but it lacks the energy of new students. This can feel socially stifling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you give yourself a minute and enjoy 5th grade if your child is enjoying it? If you get to know families in your grade, you will soon realize why some people leave, while others stay. It’s for all kinds of reasons.

Ultimately, you need to make the best decision for your child, but you won’t know what that is if you spend your time worrying about what everyone else is doing instead of paying attention to your own kid’s experience. Your child will change a lot between 5th and 8th grades. Pay attention to that, and you will know what is the best decision to make when the time comes.

This is bad advice. She needs to participate in the lottery for 6th grade, even if she isn't sure about staying or going, because it's a year when there's movement in the school system. To keep the option open in case the second semester of 5th grade isn't as good or OP realizes that other people's reasons for leaving apply to her situation.

Which lottery schools have more seats open in 6th grade as opposed to other middle school years? Is Latin Cooper still offering 6th grade seats?

Latin Cooper likely will, pending attrition. Since they're moving into the new building I'm not sure of their plans. There are always seats for 6th at Inspired Teaching. Stuart-Hobson makes OOB offers for 6th. Last year, Hardy offered 25 OOB seats initially and also made 47 offers for 6th. Not saying any of those schools are better or worse for OP's child than BASIS is, but if you want to get in to Hardy, 6th is your best chance.

Has Latin Cooper been losing kids after 5th grade?

Yes. BIM is so hard up for students that it made an open offer to everyone in Latin's 5th grade class. It solves BIM's enrollment problem and kicks Latin in the shins in one fell swoop-- genius plan!

BIM?

Private school out near Tyson’s.

[Anonymous]

Another type of family tends to leave. The independent minded type. BASIS offers few electives, little choice in the middle school curriculum and less high school choice of classes than normal in a high achieving program. They also try to pass off silly 6th and 7th grade linguistics as bona fide language instruction. By high school, the control freak vibe at BASIS becomes a push factor for many of those who can afford to get on the off ramp.

[Anonymous]

Some (many?) parents remember fondly the non academic activities offered at their own high schools and this eats away at their belief in the Basis model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because BASIS isn't actually that great. High teacher turnover, inexperienced teachers, few sports and activities, and way too much time devoted to testing rather than learning. 5th and 6th are big shuffle years in the system, 7th and 8h aren't, and by 9th when people have other options, a lot of families have figured out that BASIS is a school they are happy to exit.

This x100, especially on the teaching quality. We are a current middle school family, where our child has gotten straight As for all the years they have been enrolled. But while there are a couple of great teachers, most have been just ok and several have been absolutely appalling. In fact, the 6th and 7th grade physics teacher just got fired after months of parent complaints and the administration acknowledging he was failing in both instruction and classroom management. The head of school had tried to tell the parents that we shouldn’t worry because he was being mentored by other teachers in the BASIS network, but whatever mentoring he was getting wasn’t doing anything. Now they have a bunch of teachers trying to cover his classes — the kids were already behind on the curriculum (which gets tested in the mid year pre comps and end of year comp exams) and this will only make it worse.

Similarly, they had to hire a 5th grade math teacher last minute last year - and they picked one who didn’t seem to have any educational experience and wasn’t a good teacher. shocking no one, this year the 6th grade class was evaluated to be behind on math (leading to a bunch of extra homework assignments as the administration apparently feels that will magically fix the problem of a year’s worth of subpar instruction).

Those are just the most egregious examples. But overall the teaching quality is not up to par, especially for a school that talks such a big game about the quality and rigor of its academics. We will not be returning next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My straight A student left after 8th because the discipline issues in their cohort.
There was no effort made on admins side to try and improve things - multiple meetings with them and we go nowhere. Classes were boring for my kid because basis drags through so many kids who really cant handle the work load, so they dumb it down, and half the year is spent reviewing things from previous years. She ended up being bored.
In the end we bit the bullet and went private, her 2 good friends went to Walls for similar reasons. Kids who have the means or opportunity tend to leave - the kids who are behind, not stellar in academics and have behavior issues stay, and as the class sizes get smaller, they make up a larger percentage of the class. We were lucky to have the options to get away.

Which private did you choose?

NCS

Interesting. You know your kid would have had much better college options from Basis? I have an NCS senior and we came from DCPS. It's striking and now that we're at this end of things I'm somewhat regretting the move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a child who is excelling at BASIS in 7th, and we are considering leaving.

BASIS is a weird combination of kids who are very smart and kids who really do not want to be there and have constant behavior problems. BASIS inexperienced teachers can really exacerbate those problems. Some of the teachers are great but a lot of teachers seem to be struggling and angry about how difficult their job is. There’s a lot of poor teacher behavior and poor student behavior that would not be tolerated in other school systems. It makes for a learning environment that is very punitive. Add to that the admin who literally do not care about anything other that the BASIS stats and you have a place that you’re not sure you want your kid in for their entire middle and high school career.

Former BASIS family and agree with this. If you’re questioning BASIS long term and you are only in 5th (the best year at BASIS in our family’s opinion, before the constant testing and pressure of comps start in 6th), think about your exit strategy and be prepared to leave after 6th. Seventh grade is an easier year to leave and start a new school than 8th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because BASIS isn't actually that great. High teacher turnover, inexperienced teachers, few sports and activities, and way too much time devoted to testing rather than learning. 5th and 6th are big shuffle years in the system, 7th and 8h aren't, and by 9th when people have other options, a lot of families have figured out that BASIS is a school they are happy to exit.

This x100, especially on the teaching quality. We are a current middle school family, where our child has gotten straight As for all the years they have been enrolled. But while there are a couple of great teachers, most have been just ok and several have been absolutely appalling. In fact, the 6th and 7th grade physics teacher just got fired after months of parent complaints and the administration acknowledging he was failing in both instruction and classroom management. The head of school had tried to tell the parents that we shouldn’t worry because he was being mentored by other teachers in the BASIS network, but whatever mentoring he was getting wasn’t doing anything. Now they have a bunch of teachers trying to cover his classes — the kids were already behind on the curriculum (which gets tested in the mid year pre comps and end of year comp exams) and this will only make it worse.

Similarly, they had to hire a 5th grade math teacher last minute last year - and they picked one who didn’t seem to have any educational experience and wasn’t a good teacher. shocking no one, this year the 6th grade class was evaluated to be behind on math (leading to a bunch of extra homework assignments as the administration apparently feels that will magically fix the problem of a year’s worth of subpar instruction).

Those are just the most egregious examples. But overall the teaching quality is not up to par, especially for a school that talks such a big game about the quality and rigor of its academics. We will not be returning next year.

PP here and also disillusioned with BASIS. Are you staying in DC or do you plan to leave the city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another type of family tends to leave. The independent minded type. BASIS offers few electives, little choice in the middle school curriculum and less high school choice of classes than normal in a high achieving program. They also try to pass off silly 6th and 7th grade linguistics as bona fide language instruction. By high school, the control freak vibe at BASIS becomes a push factor for many of those who can afford to get on the off ramp.

Control freak admins also drive out independent minded teachers, a serious problem. I’m not convinced that BASIS Arizona is as responsible as the current HoS. He has his strengths but micromanages to an intolerable degree. Six years in with him, BASIS DC instruction isn’t what it was for our older kid. See post above about weak math and physics teachers in the MS.

[Anonymous]

Everyone can list the negatives, so I’m going to flip this to say why we stayed.

Our child was thriving, getting great grades, loving extracurriculars, and having a ton of fun with her friends. Her friend group is big and tight, as they have been together for many years. It is an amazing cohort. If any of these things weren’t true, we would have bailed for walls as Basis isn’t big enough to just shift within. We did apply because we wanted the option, but the child decided that it was the right fit to stay and we haven’t regretted it for a minute, though she would like a big school for college as she has done the small school.

Contrary to what people who don’t stay say about those that do, we are an extremely independent family with a very diverse educational history. We know there is no give within basis, but I think of school as such a small part of education. Also, we have many options - Walls, Wilson (in bound) or private being our top fall backs. But our child is getting the best experience right now with this cohort teaching each other how to learn and navigate.

If it fits, it fits. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

[Anonymous]

Another downside of BASIS is that it attracts families who are high-maintenance and like to complain about everything. Unlike Latin, which attracts parents who are chill and know how to enjoy life. If Latin Cooper has 6th grade seats, it might be a good idea to switch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another downside of BASIS is that it attracts families who are high-maintenance and like to complain about everything. Unlike Latin, which attracts parents who are chill and know how to enjoy life. If Latin Cooper has 6th grade seats, it might be a good idea to switch.

I'm listing Latin first, but if my kid gets into BASIS and not Latin, my kid will go to BASIS. The overlap between parents considering each of these schools must be huge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can get a sense a little from the data on this:

https://edscape.dc.gov/node/1640846

A kid who leaves after 8th grade for SWW could be leaving for any number of reasons. They could have always intended to leave for high school. They could be strong academically and want something BASIS doesn't offer. Same with students leaving for Ellington.

But kids leaving during middle school probably did not have that as their initial intention. And if they're leaving for an academically much weaker school, probably BASIS was too intense academically. If you can handle the academics at BASIS, you're not transferring during middle school to go someplace where you're going to have to retake classes.

Thanks for the link. It shows that 85% of 8th graders stayed at Basis for 9th grade. I'm a parent of a high schooler and agree with basically everything above, both the positive and negative.. It's all true to some extent. But there are negatives to every school in DC, which explains why the vast majority of students in eighth stay for ninth. We found that overall it's a good fit for our child.