High SES parents EOTP with an intense need to see their kids succeed at any cost will totally choose Basis. Many of us have very poorly performing elementary schools. We don't really have a charter school that scratches that itch right now. And the thing about who has the money to go private is often about which kids have grandparents who will fund it. Lots of us in the DC are have family money and parents who valued education enough to make sure that we got lots of it. Those same parents who are now grandparents are often frugal and happy to help with grandkids' schooling. Like my family, for example. From looking at our neighborhood and house you would assume that we don't have the money for private, but we bought ages ago and have family money set aside for private so we totally do. We haven't chosen it but the money is there. Often times people who are not house poor have more money to send kids private as well. |
. Thanks for sharing, PP. Your kid didn’t wash out: they traded up. Good for you guys. |
Agreed -- glad you found something that works for you! My main question when considering our BASIS offer for a very academic kid was "is it possible to be happy at BASIS?" The answer to that is yes (even when there are some kids for whom it feels like child abuse, others who just find it stressful, etc). It is possible to be happy and to learn a ton at BASIS. For a very particular kind of kid (fast processing speed, love facts, proud to be a good student, loves following directions, no test anxiety) it's actually a wonderful option. And I don't disdain that kind of kid, bc my older child is like that and really feels proud of his BASIS experience. My younger kid may very well not be. |
Fair point. |
No, it's not. A school with good facilities, the resources for strong enrichment, laudable esprit de corps and well-trained teachers who comprise a stable faculty is wonderful. |
You are telling her what to think about the school her kid is at? Disgusting. |
DP. This is how all the Basis threads go. Posters on here have gone as far as accusing parents of child abuse for sending their kids to school there. These threads are full of trolls. |
Full of trolls and disgustingly rational parents who have the gall to mention that the...Emperor has no clothes. |
I'm having trouble imagining a BASIS elementary school that's a happy place for young children. If one comes to be in DC, really hope I'm wrong. |
Same. |
Works great at the 50+ BASIS schools around the world, each of which has k-4. Not sure why BASIS DC k-4 would be any different. |
BASIS DC is the unloved stepchild of the BASIS system. |
For good reason. I have a sibling whose kids have been in a BASIS Arizona school for more than a decade. I'm told that their campus features strong and stable leadership, decent facilities and ECs (including good instrumental music lessons at school and a competitive orchestra), low teacher turnover and a high retention rate of students through 12th grade. That's not what we found at BASIS DC. |
Above is what leaves me less than convinced that the BASIS elementary school will be worth it. |
No. That was a PCSB decision, not BASIS’s. DCPS and PCSB are to blame for a lot of what ails the DC public education system. |