My child is drowning at Basis. Thoughts on mid year move?

[Anonymous]

OP here, just correcting to "rolls around"

[Anonymous]

OP, I just wanted to let you know that my 8th grader would struggle with the organizational requirements described. I'm impressed your 5th grader is giving it a go and doing as well with it as possible.

I hope your DC gets a breather over the winter break and you are able to come up with some plans to move forward.

[Anonymous]

You know your child best. Trust your instincts.
We're all just doing our best to find a good fit for our child, so don't worry about what anyone else says.
It does sound like you got some helpful advice for getting additional support at BASIS. But your family knows best whether or not it is the best learning environment for his needs.

If you do decide to switch, check into Ross. It is small and warm, with great academics and support. The middle school feeder is SWW@FS, which is still coming around in the upper grades but is getting there. Or check into Hyde-Addison, Stoddert, Eaton, Mann or Key - they may have space in 5th.

Good luck - I truly hope you find a good solution for your child.

[Anonymous]

If you are able to stay at home with your child for the remainder of the year, they can take school online. Its free, a charter school, in DC, still has room, and they give you everything you need including the computer. AND your child can advance at their own pace. THEN you can enter the lottery or make another choice for 6th grade. But at least you get your child out of an environment that is not productive and brings some calm back to an uncomfortable situation.

[Anonymous]

5th grade, grades don't matter. It might be a good time to lay some pressure on him - but only you know this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't stand this attitude "BASIS is a lot of work, so does not fit everyone." Some families come to dislike BASIS not because it's hard work, or the kids can't handle the material, but because the school has too much in common with a juvenile detention facility. BASIS has many fine teachers and offers admirable challenge for DC public, yes, but the model is still a grind, unnecessarily.

At our IB school off the National Mall, 10 year olds do treasure hunts in the Botanical Gardens during walk-down morning field trips. They head to the American Indian Museum IMAGINATIONS room to learn, or Natural History Museum Discovery room. They see IMAX movies at Air and Space, then complete assignments to shoot their own space-themed movies on smart phones.

BASIS keeps the kids locked inside a joyless building almost all the time. They won't touch block scheduling, to give classes time to walk to museums and back during a single subject period. The Portrait Gallery/American Art museum and Ford's Theater are around the corner, but the kids are almost never taken to round out their history studies, let alone farther afield, to gasp, the National Archives and US History Museum. They can't even chill in a school library flipping through books, or shoot baskets on a roof court to unwind (we had one at my MS PS in Manhattan, despite no grassy area). No wonder some kids can't adjust.

I am the pp who wrote that BASIS is not a good fit for everyone and that it is a lot of work. I agree that some families come to the conclusion that BASIS is not a goof fit despite being able to do the work. In fact, we have had times when we thought seriously of pulling our kid out in 6th, 7th, 8th, and even 9th grade due to the workload even though our kid has done well grade wise there. I pointed out that it is a lot of work because it is a lot of work, more than some might want in fact which includes my opinion. I wish the workload was about 20% less or the day a little bit shorter like one hour shorter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:call Hardy to see if they have space - they often do mid-year b/c with Bowling Airforce Base kids, some leave mid-year. It's seriously changed a huge amount in the past couple years with SEM (ie. can do college-track math & science), PTA funded responsive classroom, fantastic new library and reading programs, lots of art, PE daily, encouragement to try new things & it's ok to try & 'fail' b/c that's how you learn afterall, and it's small enough that it would not be as overwhelming to a new student (around 130 per year, Principal seems to know all kids by name). Also then in a designated school for Wilson. Honestly, I'm a WOTP IB parent (who went to 'pressure cooker' schools myself) and feel like Hardy is really solid and a much better experience mentally for my kids than I had in MS.

[Yes, before the uniform troll posts, there are uniforms. We're a $500K+ HHI and think it's awesome - there is no bullying or crazy peer pressure or judgments around clothes.]

Sorry the above posted twice -- and I missed that you were asking about 5th grade. Try Key, Mann or Hyde-Addison. Their enrollments go down in 5th.

If you are up for the commute from wherever you are - if you are serious, I would also suggest trying the principals at these schools and explain the situation -- they can make an adjustment at their discretion & they all have a proportion of OOB students and lower enrollment in their 5th grades.

[Anonymous]

This is a good idea.

OP, if you aren't willing or able to sell up and go, rent out your place/rent in-boundary for Deal, Hobson or Hardy, pay for private school, or home school, and can't find a public alternative mid year, chances are good you're stuck at BASIS. In fact, chances are good you're also stuck there for 6th grade, in a city in the throes of something of a public MS catastrophe.

You might just want to work with your kid on surviving/not stressing out. What about hiring a homework buddy/academic organizer college student type? What about doing some of the kid's homework assignments with/for him so he can chill? What about getting an on-line subscription to a math tutor in India? This stuff has been done before BASIS parents eager to see kids get enough sleep and fun time.

[Anonymous]

I have a disorganized DS with poor executive skills who is now in 6th grade at BASIS (and a phenomenally organized DD in 8th grade DD). It has been tough but he is slowly getting the hang of it. IMHO, better to get marginal grades now than in high school when it matters. Sixth grade definitely better than 5th grade. I totally sympathize with the OP. Before you leave, I would try to get some support at school. After school clubs really helped my son, especially running club after school. I also engaged with a group of class parents and we frequently shared assignments for our smart but scattered boys! Class parents frequently share email lists. It has been really helpful. Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your 4th grade school (independent? DCPS? DCPC school?) worked for you in 4th grade, I'd go talk to the school about returning for 5th. They may be willing to offer the child special help to return. Unless the kid faces major social challenges as a general rule, he or she will make the adjustment on good form. I was a military brat who switched schools mid-year twice as a kid, hardly the end of the world.

A BASIS 5th grader returned to my kid's class at our in-boundary school, which she'd attended for years, well into the school year. Parents said reported that she was miserable at BASIS but was all smiles back at the school. They say that the curriculum at the in-boundary school isn't really challenging enough for her, but they supplement with a tutor and on-line math. BASIS is hardly the be and end all for 5th grade, or later.

Can't you just answer the question without the swipe at BASIS? Sheesh.

I think it is very important for parents to recognize that BASIS is not the be all and end all. Many of us thought it was. The bottom line is that while it may really give you a leg up in terms of college, you need to listen to your child because BASIS can kill intellectual curiosity, make kids very cynical because most of the high scorers cheat with cell phones even on comps, and a miserable middle school kid is a dangerous and sad result. We pulled our very advanced child out in November when they were already in high school. OSSE will allow you to do that and the requirements are not stringent for home schooling so you can do as much or as little as you want. It is amazing to realize how much time BASIS wastes for smart kids in numerous ways and how many other activities they will be able to pursue.

Good luck. It is absolutely the right decision for some kids.

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for this excellent post, pp. I'll never forget the day I asked a BASIS admin if the school supports a high school student government organization. This person replied, "Absolutely not, that would be a big waste of time." What sort of educational philosophy is that? Good luck to you and your kid. I had a friend in college, at an Ivy, who was home schooled for high school, on a yacht. He graduated summa cum, wins poetry writing awards in middle age, and owns and runs a multi million-dollar company.

[Anonymous]

OP's child is in 7th grade not 5th - we found that year incredibly frustrating.

They read all of two books for English, foreign language moved way too slow, and because even Chemistry depends in part on math, the spiral model is really just repetition to get kids who did not do so well in 5th and 6th to either get it or leave before 9th. Bio of course is different. Also not a fan of the move

But if you have a child in 7th grade doing well in precalculus who is not able to learn anything new in Physics much less Chem, if you are a math/science parent and your kid is also, watching them have to do the same amount of work but learn nothing new is demoralizing for everyone. Same is true of Saxon - the repetition is unnecessary for some kids and 30 problems a night with only 15 on new concepts gets tiring.

Finally, mastery defense is just a way to fool kids into staying until 8th so that BASIS gets the money, and it puts unnecessary pressure on kids who want to stay on Distinguished Honor Roll - at first we liked the emphasis on grades, but it got to be too much. Most of the highest performing kids left for high school - and our LEAP class only finally put them in the same section in 8th grade. Now there is no LEAP, and they immediately split up for high school except for math.

The "we dictate and you fill in the blanks on worksheets" is passive learning and tougher for many kids and boring for most.

[Anonymous]

OP here and DC is in 5th grade. I was saying the structure and responsibility seems more 7th grade level that 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here and DC is in 5th grade. I was saying the structure and responsibility seems more 7th grade level that 5th grade.

Most of us got what you were saying. Just not the bitter former parent.

Good luck to you and your kid.

[Anonymous]

How many hours of homework on average do 5th graders get?