BASIS DC will seek to expand to include K to 4th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the critical flexibility and support we needed to pursue post AP language, performance music and STEM competition success (involving some travel on school days) from SJC. At BASIS, when we would ask admins for a little flexibility in middle school and 9th grade the answer was invariably, no. Too many barriers for our kid to stand out in college admissions down the road.

Sounds like private school was the right choice for you. It’s harder for a public school to violate policies like you were asking. TBH, except for post AP language, for the others I would have just done it and waited for someone to tell me no. As long as your kid keeps up in class and you don’t push absences past 10 days or whatever, there’s a lot you can get away with.

I mean - BASIS Science Olympiad team just went to Kansas City this past weekend for some event so . . . . ?

School sponsored Olympiad event, planned long in advance for a group. PP isn't wrong that individual competitors tend to be out of luck at BASIS under this HoS and that seniors don't tend to knock it of the park on ECs because they've been too busy taking all their AP exams by spring of junior year. I'm hoping that some lessons will be learned from underwhelming admissions results this year (NYU, Smith, Middlebury, who could ask for anything more?). Probably not.

?? There are also students going to Johns Hopkins and Caltech. I wonder why you didn't mention those?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the critical flexibility and support we needed to pursue post AP language, performance music and STEM competition success (involving some travel on school days) from SJC. At BASIS, when we would ask admins for a little flexibility in middle school and 9th grade the answer was invariably, no. Too many barriers for our kid to stand out in college admissions down the road.

Sounds like private school was the right choice for you. It’s harder for a public school to violate policies like you were asking. TBH, except for post AP language, for the others I would have just done it and waited for someone to tell me no. As long as your kid keeps up in class and you don’t push absences past 10 days or whatever, there’s a lot you can get away with.

I mean - BASIS Science Olympiad team just went to Kansas City this past weekend for some event so . . . . ?

They went to the Science Olympiad National Tournament and competed against schools like TJ and Langley. Considering that both those schools have over 1k students and BASIS has only 200 in its high school (and is a lottery school), I think BASIS did pretty well.

https://www.soinc.org/2023-national-tournament
https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/Final_SONT_23_Division_C_Results_by_Rank.pdf

[Anonymous]

We hired our own counselor from 10th grade. Totally worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the critical flexibility and support we needed to pursue post AP language, performance music and STEM competition success (involving some travel on school days) from SJC. At BASIS, when we would ask admins for a little flexibility in middle school and 9th grade the answer was invariably, no. Too many barriers for our kid to stand out in college admissions down the road.

Sounds like private school was the right choice for you. It’s harder for a public school to violate policies like you were asking. TBH, except for post AP language, for the others I would have just done it and waited for someone to tell me no. As long as your kid keeps up in class and you don’t push absences past 10 days or whatever, there’s a lot you can get away with.

I mean - BASIS Science Olympiad team just went to Kansas City this past weekend for some event so . . . . ?

School sponsored Olympiad event, planned long in advance for a group. PP isn't wrong that individual competitors tend to be out of luck at BASIS under this HoS and that seniors don't tend to knock it of the park on ECs because they've been too busy taking all their AP exams by spring of junior year. I'm hoping that some lessons will be learned from underwhelming admissions results this year (NYU, Smith, Middlebury, who could ask for anything more?). Probably not.

?? There are also students going to Johns Hopkins and Caltech. I wonder why you didn't mention those?

. Caltech is v. impressive but not one Ivy, or Stanford or MIT. Hopkins undergrad is just OK. Sorry, not impressed with this year’s admissions results. I blame increasingly uneven teaching and leadership with tunnel vision.

[Anonymous]

The parents I talk to seem thrilled with this year’s college results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the critical flexibility and support we needed to pursue post AP language, performance music and STEM competition success (involving some travel on school days) from SJC. At BASIS, when we would ask admins for a little flexibility in middle school and 9th grade the answer was invariably, no. Too many barriers for our kid to stand out in college admissions down the road.

Sounds like private school was the right choice for you. It’s harder for a public school to violate policies like you were asking. TBH, except for post AP language, for the others I would have just done it and waited for someone to tell me no. As long as your kid keeps up in class and you don’t push absences past 10 days or whatever, there’s a lot you can get away with.

I mean - BASIS Science Olympiad team just went to Kansas City this past weekend for some event so . . . . ?

School sponsored Olympiad event, planned long in advance for a group. PP isn't wrong that individual competitors tend to be out of luck at BASIS under this HoS and that seniors don't tend to knock it of the park on ECs because they've been too busy taking all their AP exams by spring of junior year. I'm hoping that some lessons will be learned from underwhelming admissions results this year (NYU, Smith, Middlebury, who could ask for anything more?). Probably not.

?? There are also students going to Johns Hopkins and Caltech. I wonder why you didn't mention those?

. Caltech is v. impressive but not one Ivy, or Stanford or MIT. Hopkins undergrad is just OK. Sorry, not impressed with this year’s admissions results. I blame increasingly uneven teaching and leadership with tunnel vision.

This is so bizarre. Kids go where they want to go. My kid would 100% choose Caltech over MIT, and as for Ivys -- I went to Ivys for undergrad and grad myself, and there were *plenty* of people who went to undergrads that I'm sure you would find unimpressive, and ended up at an Ivy for grad school. Ivys aren't great for everything anyway, so I'm not sure why you are obsessed with them.

[Anonymous]

Right, why care if any DC public school students are admitted to any top colleges. So bizarre to care.

[Anonymous]

Most UMC kids in DC come from donut home families. Elite private colleges are unaffordable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the critical flexibility and support we needed to pursue post AP language, performance music and STEM competition success (involving some travel on school days) from SJC. At BASIS, when we would ask admins for a little flexibility in middle school and 9th grade the answer was invariably, no. Too many barriers for our kid to stand out in college admissions down the road.

Sounds like private school was the right choice for you. It’s harder for a public school to violate policies like you were asking. TBH, except for post AP language, for the others I would have just done it and waited for someone to tell me no. As long as your kid keeps up in class and you don’t push absences past 10 days or whatever, there’s a lot you can get away with.

Um, not in Fairfax, MoCo or Arlington, not in well-run suburban systems aiming high in college admissions. The open-minded former BASIS HoS would have worked with you. This guy wears his insecurities on his sleeve by controlling whatever he can. Glad you could afford to leave to stay on track for an Ivy.

The current HOH is a big reason we are leaving for Private for HS. He makes no changes, blows off parent concerns, does nothing to try and control classroom behavior. My child has gotten excellent grades - and honestly if Basis followed through on the curriculum as it was designed (as opposed to being months behind the AZ campuses), she would really thrive more and maybe we would stay. But the teaching quality has been hit or miss, admin is clueless and prides themselves on dragging along kids who are in over their heads and probably shouldn't be at Basis rather than being an environment where advanced children can thrive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most UMC kids in DC come from donut home families. Elite private colleges are unaffordable.

This is true. We know BASIS families hoping for top UK and Canada colleges, Oxford, Univ of London, St. Andrews, McGill etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the critical flexibility and support we needed to pursue post AP language, performance music and STEM competition success (involving some travel on school days) from SJC. At BASIS, when we would ask admins for a little flexibility in middle school and 9th grade the answer was invariably, no. Too many barriers for our kid to stand out in college admissions down the road.

Sounds like private school was the right choice for you. It’s harder for a public school to violate policies like you were asking. TBH, except for post AP language, for the others I would have just done it and waited for someone to tell me no. As long as your kid keeps up in class and you don’t push absences past 10 days or whatever, there’s a lot you can get away with.

Um, not in Fairfax, MoCo or Arlington, not in well-run suburban systems aiming high in college admissions. The open-minded former BASIS HoS would have worked with you. This guy wears his insecurities on his sleeve by controlling whatever he can. Glad you could afford to leave to stay on track for an Ivy.

The current HOH is a big reason we are leaving for Private for HS. He makes no changes, blows off parent concerns, does nothing to try and control classroom behavior. My child has gotten excellent grades - and honestly if Basis followed through on the curriculum as it was designed (as opposed to being months behind the AZ campuses), she would really thrive more and maybe we would stay. But the teaching quality has been hit or miss, admin is clueless and prides themselves on dragging along kids who are in over their heads and probably shouldn't be at Basis rather than being an environment where advanced children can thrive.

We could have written this post. We're fed up with rowdy middle school classes. My sibling has teens at the original Arizona campus and their school is simply much better. The campus has good facilities and a serious performing arts program. Teens can play in a first-rate school orchestra. They can take languages past the AP level and advanced humanities classes from 7th grade. A different world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most UMC kids in DC come from donut home families. Elite private colleges are unaffordable.

Lots of UMC kids in DC go to elite private colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the critical flexibility and support we needed to pursue post AP language, performance music and STEM competition success (involving some travel on school days) from SJC. At BASIS, when we would ask admins for a little flexibility in middle school and 9th grade the answer was invariably, no. Too many barriers for our kid to stand out in college admissions down the road.

Sounds like private school was the right choice for you. It’s harder for a public school to violate policies like you were asking. TBH, except for post AP language, for the others I would have just done it and waited for someone to tell me no. As long as your kid keeps up in class and you don’t push absences past 10 days or whatever, there’s a lot you can get away with.

I mean - BASIS Science Olympiad team just went to Kansas City this past weekend for some event so . . . . ?

They went to the Science Olympiad National Tournament and competed against schools like TJ and Langley. Considering that both those schools have over 1k students and BASIS has only 200 in its high school (and is a lottery school), I think BASIS did pretty well.

https://www.soinc.org/2023-national-tournament
https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/Final_SONT_23_Division_C_Results_by_Rank.pdf

Impressive, especially given BASIS DC's small size.

Final rankings:

Centennial (MD) (1400 students): 23
TJ (VA) (1900 students): 26
Langley (VA) (2025 students): 34
BASIS DC (DC) (200 HS students): 41

BASIS is the only DC school represented.

[Anonymous]

Small size and what amounts to selective admissions. It's no secret that the BASIS curriculum is a lot tougher than the DCPS curriculum, so you get a self-selecting group enrolling and comprehensive exams and a very heavy MS homework load, particularly for math, to weed out academic stragglers. I would expect BASIS to do well in competitions where they're up against diverse suburban high schools, especially those without test-in admissions for GT school-within-a-school programs or IB Diploma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We got the critical flexibility and support we needed to pursue post AP language, performance music and STEM competition success (involving some travel on school days) from SJC. At BASIS, when we would ask admins for a little flexibility in middle school and 9th grade the answer was invariably, no. Too many barriers for our kid to stand out in college admissions down the road.

Sounds like private school was the right choice for you. It’s harder for a public school to violate policies like you were asking. TBH, except for post AP language, for the others I would have just done it and waited for someone to tell me no. As long as your kid keeps up in class and you don’t push absences past 10 days or whatever, there’s a lot you can get away with.

Um, not in Fairfax, MoCo or Arlington, not in well-run suburban systems aiming high in college admissions. The open-minded former BASIS HoS would have worked with you. This guy wears his insecurities on his sleeve by controlling whatever he can. Glad you could afford to leave to stay on track for an Ivy.

The current HOH is a big reason we are leaving for Private for HS. He makes no changes, blows off parent concerns, does nothing to try and control classroom behavior. My child has gotten excellent grades - and honestly if Basis followed through on the curriculum as it was designed (as opposed to being months behind the AZ campuses), she would really thrive more and maybe we would stay. But the teaching quality has been hit or miss, admin is clueless and prides themselves on dragging along kids who are in over their heads and probably shouldn't be at Basis rather than being an environment where advanced children can thrive.

We could have written this post. We're fed up with rowdy middle school classes. My sibling has teens at the original Arizona campus and their school is simply much better. The campus has good facilities and a serious performing arts program. Teens can play in a first-rate school orchestra. They can take languages past the AP level and advanced humanities classes from 7th grade. A different world.

All BASIS schools, including in DC and AZ, follow the same curriculum: https://enrollbasis.com/academics/curriculum/.

BASIS's charter doesn't give it the flexibility that the AZ schools' charters permit. And its building and location in downtown DC are a wee bit different than the AZ campuses. For example, BASIS Chandler (the #1 ranked BASIS school and #11 charter school in US) is in the Phoenix burbs near the Gila River Indian Reservation (which is mainly a big desert). The original BASIS campus, BASIS Tucson North (the #6 ranked BASIS school and the #54 charter school in US) is similarly in the Tucson suburbs, a short drive from County Club Vista.

Rather than bash the HoS, feel free to lobby PCSB to create an Arizona-type charter system in DC and raise $50 million to build a suburban charter campus in downtown DC, one of the most expensive real estate markets in the United States.

Or move to the Phoenix or Tucson burbs if you think it so great.