BASIS attrition after middle school- why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, but they would have had more time to learn and process learning, with AP classes continuing through sr year. They would also have had more time for ECs before sr year. We hired a college counselor at BASIS in the end and would surely have done the same at JR.

+1. Be careful what you wish for. We weren't impressed with the much vaunted college counseling at BASIS. Senior admins didn't attend IvyPlus schools themselves and don't seem to have their heads around what it takes to stand out in a highly competitive field. They don't necessarily get that a bunch of high AP scores and a half baked senior project generally won't be enough if you're aiming high. Our kid's unusual academic and ec interests weren't supported at BASIS but she took a couple Cambridge International AS-Level exams in off beat subjects (marine biology, a language not taught at BASIS or tested by AP) independently, which her counselor discouraged and disparaged. We mostly tuned the counselor out.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you enter hoping for more than pre-AP test prep and yAP test prep you will also be dissappointed. BASIS is a test prep program in the guise of a school. If that bothers you don’t enroll, or enroll and don’t stay for high school.

Not in our experience.

And the school’s high rankings refute your point as well.

BTW, check your spelling.

The school’s rankings are based entirely on the fact that they are a test prep program. What do you think the rankings are measuring?

-NP

Troll.

You don't understand rankings or BASIS.

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/middle-schools/district-of-columbia
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/district-of-columbia

You are so dumb. Google what US News is measuring. Hint: it’s how many kids take and pass APs.

I love people who call other people dumb when they say totally wrong stuff and act arrogant and patronizing.

Try googling the Dunning-Kruger effect.

1) Kids don't take AP classes in middle school.

2) How many kids take and pass APs is just one factor considered for high school rankings by USN&WR. Read for yourself:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings

Actually, at BASIS DC they do take at least one AP course in 8th grade (some take more) and have the option of taking the test at the end of the year. It's unclear whether these would actually count for anything in college, but they do take the courses.

BASIS considers 8th grade upper school (that is, high school). That is in part because most of your coursework (including APs) is done by 11th grade.

In any event, APs aren't considered by USN&WR for middle school rankings.

How developmentally inappropriate.

None of this will get your kids into a better college, job or life. But hey anxious kids are fun and interesting adults

Disagree. It is a smart strategy that allows kids to focus in college apps senior year instead of taking a really tough courseload.

So what do BASIS students do first semester of senior year? Spend 8 hours a day for 4 months working on their college apps? Why does it take them that long?

It's only one of their courses - can't remember how many, but fewer than other grades. Maybe 3 or 4?

Maybe 2. The kids can good around all of senior year if they want. Many do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, but they would have had more time to learn and process learning, with AP classes continuing through sr year. They would also have had more time for ECs before sr year. We hired a college counselor at BASIS in the end and would surely have done the same at JR.

+1. Be careful what you wish for. We weren't impressed with the much vaunted college counseling at BASIS. Senior admins didn't attend IvyPlus schools themselves and don't seem to have their heads around what it takes to stand out in a highly competitive field. They don't necessarily get that a bunch of high AP scores and a half baked senior project generally won't be enough if you're aiming high. Our kid's unusual academic and ec interests weren't supported at BASIS but she took a couple Cambridge International AS-Level exams in off beat subjects (marine biology, a language not taught at BASIS or tested by AP) independently, which her counselor discouraged and disparaged. We mostly tuned the counselor out.

OK but how would your experience have been better at another DC public school?

DC public schools aren’t stocked with hundreds of IvyPlus-educated counselors eager to guide your snowflake through college admissions, marine biology, and obscure languages.

[Anonymous]

RE: comment about recess in 5th grade.

My child (and most kids that I’ve talked to from K-4) would also describe recess or PE as their favorite subject in elementary school. It has never come up as an issue at BASIS middle school as a PP stated that they have an hour for lunch/study hall every day to move around, socialize, study, etc. Plus, they have PE 3x per week and other specials (art/music) daily. Child also does lots of EC sports and activities both outside of school and in school clubs. My child is extremely active and the lack of recess has never come up. Plus, they move classrooms every 50 minutes so I don’t think they are sitting still all day?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The current HoS at BASIS just announced that he is leaving at the end of this school year to lead a different BASIS school and the current Director of Student Affairs will be replacing him as HoS next school year. This is how you know who actually attends BASIS or is genuinely interested in the school and who is just trolling…

If you want to have private discussions about BASIS, please do it on internal school list servs used by parents of students currently enrolled, not here. Not your role to determine who's "genuinely interested" in the school on DCUM. Hint: BASIS has a variety of stakeholders and is supported by taxpayers' dollars. The departure of the current HoS sounds good to me. I dealt with him briefly as a volunteer senior project sponsor and wasn't impressed. He came off as a real know-it-all who doesn't seem to have kept up with the times in college admissions, at least not in admissions to my IvyPlus alma mater and grad school.

No! Please keep the DCUM conversation. I have a 4th grader and have to decide in the next two months whether or not to add BASIS to the list, and this is all very valuable.

The new HoS thing -- could this actually mean a better experience for middle schoolers? Might they actually have recess?

For the love of god please DO NOT put BASIS on your list! You are precisely the kind of parent who is shown everything behind the curtain, chooses to enter and then complains about everything you knew was there. If recess is your primary concern then I assure you BASIS is very much not for you.

Sounds right. We are a very mathy family and my kid wants to pursue math/science and got a 5 on the math PARCC, but I do think recess is really essential to mental health. Kids need a break from being bossed around. So it's unfortunately a deal breaker.

BASIS aside, you are going to prioritize recess over academics? Elementary school age parents are adorable!

Different poster. Physical activity of some sort and time outside during the school day on a daily basis are important for one’s well-being beyond elementary school. BASIS DC does not offer this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RE: comment about recess in 5th grade.

My child (and most kids that I’ve talked to from K-4) would also describe recess or PE as their favorite subject in elementary school. It has never come up as an issue at BASIS middle school as a PP stated that they have an hour for lunch/study hall every day to move around, socialize, study, etc. Plus, they have PE 3x per week and other specials (art/music) daily. Child also does lots of EC sports and activities both outside of school and in school clubs. My child is extremely active and the lack of recess has never come up. Plus, they move classrooms every 50 minutes so I don’t think they are sitting still all day?

Don’t count on getting PE and art/music beyond 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The current HoS at BASIS just announced that he is leaving at the end of this school year to lead a different BASIS school and the current Director of Student Affairs will be replacing him as HoS next school year. This is how you know who actually attends BASIS or is genuinely interested in the school and who is just trolling…

If you want to have private discussions about BASIS, please do it on internal school list servs used by parents of students currently enrolled, not here. Not your role to determine who's "genuinely interested" in the school on DCUM. Hint: BASIS has a variety of stakeholders and is supported by taxpayers' dollars. The departure of the current HoS sounds good to me. I dealt with him briefly as a volunteer senior project sponsor and wasn't impressed. He came off as a real know-it-all who doesn't seem to have kept up with the times in college admissions, at least not in admissions to my IvyPlus alma mater and grad school.

No! Please keep the DCUM conversation. I have a 4th grader and have to decide in the next two months whether or not to add BASIS to the list, and this is all very valuable.

The new HoS thing -- could this actually mean a better experience for middle schoolers? Might they actually have recess?

For the love of god please DO NOT put BASIS on your list! You are precisely the kind of parent who is shown everything behind the curtain, chooses to enter and then complains about everything you knew was there. If recess is your primary concern then I assure you BASIS is very much not for you.

Sounds right. We are a very mathy family and my kid wants to pursue math/science and got a 5 on the math PARCC, but I do think recess is really essential to mental health. Kids need a break from being bossed around. So it's unfortunately a deal breaker.

BASIS aside, you are going to prioritize recess over academics? Elementary school age parents are adorable!

Different poster. Physical activity of some sort and time outside during the school day on a daily basis are important for one’s well-being beyond elementary school. BASIS DC does not offer this.

You could make your precious snowflake child walk to school; get off the bus one stop sooner and walk; they could wake up at 6 am and workout or do this later. Adults don't get recess (its shows I know) but adults who are resilient figure this shit out - like putting breaks on their calendar; taking a 10 minute walk; working out.

If you want BASIS great - but the excuses for "they don't help my child micromanage their life" is beyond annoying.

and for all the ivyplus kids I see; if they can't figure out their own shit their education was a complete waste. This board is a clear example of adults who have zero coping skills or emotional IQ but all went to real ivys not even ivy plus schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RE: comment about recess in 5th grade.

My child (and most kids that I’ve talked to from K-4) would also describe recess or PE as their favorite subject in elementary school. It has never come up as an issue at BASIS middle school as a PP stated that they have an hour for lunch/study hall every day to move around, socialize, study, etc. Plus, they have PE 3x per week and other specials (art/music) daily. Child also does lots of EC sports and activities both outside of school and in school clubs. My child is extremely active and the lack of recess has never come up. Plus, they move classrooms every 50 minutes so I don’t think they are sitting still all day?

Don’t count on getting PE and art/music beyond 5th grade.

Why is that? Happens again in 6th and then as electives in 7th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, but they would have had more time to learn and process learning, with AP classes continuing through sr year. They would also have had more time for ECs before sr year. We hired a college counselor at BASIS in the end and would surely have done the same at JR.

+1. Be careful what you wish for. We weren't impressed with the much vaunted college counseling at BASIS. Senior admins didn't attend IvyPlus schools themselves and don't seem to have their heads around what it takes to stand out in a highly competitive field. They don't necessarily get that a bunch of high AP scores and a half baked senior project generally won't be enough if you're aiming high. Our kid's unusual academic and ec interests weren't supported at BASIS but she took a couple Cambridge International AS-Level exams in off beat subjects (marine biology, a language not taught at BASIS or tested by AP) independently, which her counselor discouraged and disparaged. We mostly tuned the counselor out.

OK but how would your experience have been better at another DC public school?

DC public schools aren’t stocked with hundreds of IvyPlus-educated counselors eager to guide your snowflake through college admissions, marine biology, and obscure languages.

Perhaps better at another public school: not a safe assumption that it won't be.

With the benefit of hindsight, we'd have gone with a different 9th-12th grade option for both of our children, one where four years of high school weren't crammed into three and admins might have been open-minded. Our second kid had a better counseling experience, at J-R, where he was given encouragement and support to study the "obscure language" (not remotely obscure) we speak at home via dual enrollment from the get go, along with a couple other subjects of interest.

Families bound for the BASIS high school might want to know that the strange, amorphous senior year experience isn't necessarily worth it. I see a problem with nobody in the building thinking outside the box about elite college admissions. The BASIS myopia about achievement is real, meaning that the program isn't for every family where the kid's capable of scoring high on many AP exams. Maybe the school culture will shift for the better under CC. Hope so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, but they would have had more time to learn and process learning, with AP classes continuing through sr year. They would also have had more time for ECs before sr year. We hired a college counselor at BASIS in the end and would surely have done the same at JR.

+1. Be careful what you wish for. We weren't impressed with the much vaunted college counseling at BASIS. Senior admins didn't attend IvyPlus schools themselves and don't seem to have their heads around what it takes to stand out in a highly competitive field. They don't necessarily get that a bunch of high AP scores and a half baked senior project generally won't be enough if you're aiming high. Our kid's unusual academic and ec interests weren't supported at BASIS but she took a couple Cambridge International AS-Level exams in off beat subjects (marine biology, a language not taught at BASIS or tested by AP) independently, which her counselor discouraged and disparaged. We mostly tuned the counselor out.

OK but how would your experience have been better at another DC public school?

DC public schools aren’t stocked with hundreds of IvyPlus-educated counselors eager to guide your snowflake through college admissions, marine biology, and obscure languages.

Perhaps better at another public school: not a safe assumption that it won't be.

With the benefit of hindsight, we'd have gone with a different 9th-12th grade option for both of our children, one where four years of high school weren't crammed into three and admins might have been open-minded. Our second kid had a better counseling experience, at J-R, where he was given encouragement and support to study the "obscure language" (not remotely obscure) we speak at home via dual enrollment from the get go, along with a couple other subjects of interest.

Families bound for the BASIS high school might want to know that the strange, amorphous senior year experience isn't necessarily worth it. I see a problem with nobody in the building thinking outside the box about elite college admissions. The BASIS myopia about achievement is real, meaning that the program isn't for every family where the kid's capable of scoring high on many AP exams. Maybe the school culture will shift for the better under CC. Hope so.

Well, you seem bitter about your personal experience but the BASIS seniors getting accepted to Ivy League and other highly ranked colleges seem to be doing fine.

[Anonymous]

PP above is making a valid point that you guys don't want to deal with.

BASIS DC is an ultra-conservative school academically built on a limited AP curriculum--they teach about half of the 32 AP subjects--run by admins chosen by franchise leaders in Arizona. The franchise runs off a hidebound formula for elite college admissions which is almost military in they way it's implemented. Deviate openly from the narrow BASIS AP success path and your family will no longer be welcome in high school. If the BASIS approach works for your family, fantastic.

For example, if the kid wants to study an "obscure" or "exotic" language, like Japanese (AP language), Russian or Arabic, or to prep for Cambridge Islamic Studies or Marine Biology exams, BASIS admins will discourage the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP above is making a valid point that you guys don't want to deal with.

BASIS DC is an ultra-conservative school academically built on a limited AP curriculum--they teach about half of the 32 AP subjects--run by admins chosen by franchise leaders in Arizona. The franchise runs off a hidebound formula for elite college admissions which is almost military in they way it's implemented. Deviate openly from the narrow BASIS AP success path and your family will no longer be welcome in high school. If the BASIS approach works for your family, fantastic.

For example, if the kid wants to study an "obscure" or "exotic" language, like Japanese (AP language), Russian or Arabic, or to prep for Cambridge Islamic Studies or Marine Biology exams, BASIS admins will discourage the kid.

Why would they care what your kid is doing outside the school?

[Anonymous]

The Cambridge Marine Biology exam? Why? Aren’t they going to be able to study Marine Biology in the college they go to? Why do this in high school? Does that really show rigor?

I understand the APs in basic subjects such as English and math and science as a way to cut through all of the grade inflation in high school education.

The college counselling is mixed but at least is is not a pressure cooker. We added an outside private counselor for essay help and list management and it worked out well. I suspect this would be a good idea for anyone at a DCPS or DCPCS high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP above is making a valid point that you guys don't want to deal with.

BASIS DC is an ultra-conservative school academically built on a limited AP curriculum--they teach about half of the 32 AP subjects--run by admins chosen by franchise leaders in Arizona. The franchise runs off a hidebound formula for elite college admissions which is almost military in they way it's implemented. Deviate openly from the narrow BASIS AP success path and your family will no longer be welcome in high school. If the BASIS approach works for your family, fantastic.

For example, if the kid wants to study an "obscure" or "exotic" language, like Japanese (AP language), Russian or Arabic, or to prep for Cambridge Islamic Studies or Marine Biology exams, BASIS admins will discourage the kid.

I'm not saying this isn't true, it just seems like a very specific criticism that isn't very relevant to a big group of parents, given that the other places we'd send our kids mostly have the same issues. In the category of "criticisms of BASIS", the building, pressure, and extracurricular limitations are a lot more relevant to me as the parent of a fourth grader because those are things I actually can do better for my kid somewhere else (at the cost of missing out on the things BASIS does better than those other schools.)

[Anonymous]

I'm an Ivy alum who's interviewed DC applicants, mostly public school students, since the late 90s. My spouse has long interviewed for a different Ivy.

As far as we can tell, no question that impressive off-beat interests and achievements give academically solid applicants a leg up in Ivy admissions these days.

BASIS doesn't seem to get it. I'd wager that more BASIS DC students would be admitted to our Ivies if the school encouraged singular interests and quirky academic achievement. Marine biology, yes. Hint: TJ in Fairfax has a marine biology research lab.