How to help child succeed at BASIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more I learn about BASIS the less appealing it sounds. Too cutthroat and high stress for our family I think. We have PhDs and our kid has been rather bored in DCPS (almost all 4s on every report card since K). Sounds like we will need to go private or move after 5th grade if we don't get into Latin 1 or 2.

You have PhDs but make important life decisions based on anonymous posts you read on DCUM…

I'm not the PP you're responding to. Even so, I'm going to ask you to stop being a jerk and a bully on this thread, and, presumably, others related to BASIS.

Why assume that this poster relies entirely on DCUM for info on BASIS? For all you know, they've been to open houses and done a shadow day if that's still an option. They may have talked to a variety of BASIS stakeholders before arriving at the same conclusion.

We turned down BASIS because it didn't seem anything like the happy school you describe.

Go on, slam me, too.

NP. Listen to yourself. You know nothing about the school, and yet you feel the need to post in this thread repeatedly.

We had a month to research BASIS after lottery results came out, like all the families who were offered a spot. We worked hard to research our decision by talking to admins and many parents, even parents whose children had already graduated. We went to open houses and toured the building. The school just didn't seem like a happy, friendly, healthy place for our bright, hard-working 11 year old. We made alternative middle school plans.

Your nastiness and accusations on this thread aren't good advertising for BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more I learn about BASIS the less appealing it sounds. Too cutthroat and high stress for our family I think. We have PhDs and our kid has been rather bored in DCPS (almost all 4s on every report card since K). Sounds like we will need to go private or move after 5th grade if we don't get into Latin 1 or 2.

You have PhDs but make important life decisions based on anonymous posts you read on DCUM…

I'm not the PP you're responding to. Even so, I'm going to ask you to stop being a jerk and a bully on this thread, and, presumably, others related to BASIS.

Why assume that this poster relies entirely on DCUM for info on BASIS? For all you know, they've been to open houses and done a shadow day if that's still an option. They may have talked to a variety of BASIS stakeholders before arriving at the same conclusion.

We turned down BASIS because it didn't seem anything like the happy school you describe.

Go on, slam me, too.

NP. Listen to yourself. You know nothing about the school, and yet you feel the need to post in this thread repeatedly.

We had a month to research BASIS after lottery results came out, like all the families who were offered a spot. We worked hard to research our decision by talking to admins and many parents, even parents whose children had already graduated. We went to open houses and toured the building. The school just didn't seem like a happy, friendly, healthy place for our bright, hard-working 11 year old. We made alternative middle school plans.

Your nastiness and accusations on this thread aren't good advertising for BASIS.

I am a new poster. The fact that you feel like you should comment, repeatedly, about a school that you know nothing about (you went to an open house - that’s your evidence???) is pretty pathetic.

You didn’t like the school. Fine. Be secure in your choice. You don’t need to post over and over again bashing it. Especially since you don’t know what you’re talking about so you’re adding nothing of value.

[Anonymous]

This thread hasn't offered anything of value for pages. Just another exercise in boosters shouting down awkward questions and inconvenient truths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Arizona placement system is interesting though I’m unsure what the advantage of such a system would be to BASISDC?

I could see lots of admitted and enrolled kids withdrawing before school began because they’d rather stay at their inbound than repeat a grade. I could also see charges of discrimination because UMC white kids might be more likely to test into their current grade than other populations. Seems easier just to admit everyone into 5th and give students a level playing field.

What would be even easier, of course, would be to have a test-in magnet school, but no chance DC allows that….

It’s against the federal law that established dc charters to have test in admissions

[Anonymous]

As a BASIS parent, I'd say listen to your child. Both of my children really wanted to go to BASIS. If there wasn't buy in from my children, I might think differently. At the moment they are very happy and love BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread hasn't offered anything of value for pages. Just another exercise in boosters shouting down awkward questions and inconvenient truths.

You lack an sort of perspective if you think that's what has happened. The insane defensiveness has been matched shot for shot with people who seem to have some sort of personal animus. And then occasionally there's a nugget of wisdom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more I learn about BASIS the less appealing it sounds. Too cutthroat and high stress for our family I think. We have PhDs and our kid has been rather bored in DCPS (almost all 4s on every report card since K). Sounds like we will need to go private or move after 5th grade if we don't get into Latin 1 or 2.

You have PhDs but make important life decisions based on anonymous posts you read on DCUM…

I'm not the PP you're responding to. Even so, I'm going to ask you to stop being a jerk and a bully on this thread, and, presumably, others related to BASIS.

Why assume that this poster relies entirely on DCUM for info on BASIS? For all you know, they've been to open houses and done a shadow day if that's still an option. They may have talked to a variety of BASIS stakeholders before arriving at the same conclusion.

We turned down BASIS because it didn't seem anything like the happy school you describe.

Go on, slam me, too.

NP. Listen to yourself. You know nothing about the school, and yet you feel the need to post in this thread repeatedly.

We had a month to research BASIS after lottery results came out, like all the families who were offered a spot. We worked hard to research our decision by talking to admins and many parents, even parents whose children had already graduated. We went to open houses and toured the building. The school just didn't seem like a happy, friendly, healthy place for our bright, hard-working 11 year old. We made alternative middle school plans.

Your nastiness and accusations on this thread aren't good advertising for BASIS.

I am also intrigued that you feel so personally invested in your decision that you feel motivated to continue to post on a forum abut a school you decided not to attend, on a thread asking about how to help a student to who will be attending. I've voluntarily left jobs and continued to post on the topic of the employer. I've been laid off and posted on the topic of the employer (with some animus). But I've never been offered a job, decided not to take it and bene so invested in the employer that I felt the need to let everyone know I turned them down. That's just weird behavior that feels oddly personal.

[Anonymous]

Well, my bright, hard-working 7th grade student is happy at BASIS and just told me over dinner she wants to stay through high school. (Her current alternatives are applying to private, enrolling in Latin1, where we have sibling preference, or likely Walls.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Arizona placement system is interesting though I’m unsure what the advantage of such a system would be to BASISDC?

I could see lots of admitted and enrolled kids withdrawing before school began because they’d rather stay at their inbound than repeat a grade. I could also see charges of discrimination because UMC white kids might be more likely to test into their current grade than other populations. Seems easier just to admit everyone into 5th and give students a level playing field.

What would be even easier, of course, would be to have a test-in magnet school, but no chance DC allows that….

It’s against the federal law that established dc charters to have test in admissions

Not sure what you're getting at. DCPS allows test-in admissions, so a middle school magnet could start up as a DCPS program. The Arizona BASIS campuses don't offer test-in admissions. Any student who's the right age can lottery in. However, BASIS won't socially promote a student to the next grade if they can't pass academic placement tests after a summer prep program. Entering students may need to repeat a grade to advance, just like in DC.

[Anonymous]

Entering students don't need to repeat a grade to advance to the next in DC, but current middle school students might. The difference may not be a policy difference, but rather one of implementation of policy per federal charter law. Interesting question at any rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a BASIS parent, I'd say listen to your child. Both of my children really wanted to go to BASIS. If there wasn't buy in from my children, I might think differently. At the moment they are very happy and love BASIS.

I think child input is super important. I thought it was critical for my child to do the shadow day at BASIS, experience the building and classes, and hear from current students about the challenges they face and then weigh in regarding whether the school is a good fit. I think if a student is well informed and super enthusiastic about the experience that should count for a lot. Since enthusiasm and motivation seem to matter so much, how does BASIS help to maintain enthusiasm for hard work and learning over the years? This seems critical for success at BASIS.

On a separate note, I do think it’s so hard to have to plan/predict a child’s needs through high school when the child is not even yet in 5th grade. I wish the middle school decision didn’t have to be so consequential, as children have so much room to grow and change. All we can do is trust our instincts and assume that other people are using their own instincts about their own children. Not everything is for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Not sure I’m buying the child input angle. If you have a good relationship with your 11 year old, you can sell them on BASIS, or sell them on a reasonable alternative. That’s the name of that tune.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure I’m buying the child input angle. If you have a good relationship with your 11 year old, you can sell them on BASIS, or sell them on a reasonable alternative. That’s the name of that tune.

Sounds like your child can be duped easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure I’m buying the child input angle. If you have a good relationship with your 11 year old, you can sell them on BASIS, or sell them on a reasonable alternative. That’s the name of that tune.

aren’t we talking about 9 year olds, since the lottery is in early 4th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure I’m buying the child input angle. If you have a good relationship with your 11 year old, you can sell them on BASIS, or sell them on a reasonable alternative. That’s the name of that tune.

Sounds like your child can be duped easily.

omg. what is it about dcum lately. a lot of people with some might strange axes …