2023 Niche results: Basis McLean #1 in VA in 3 categories: best private HS in VA, best college prep…

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09/29/2022 20:30

Subject: 2023 Niche results: Basis McLean #1 in VA in 3 categories: best private HS in VA, best college prep…

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are the facts about BASIS Independent McLean:

1) The new Head of School is a huge improvement. He's in his second year now and there's no sign that he's going anywhere. He knows what he's doing and the school is in far better shape than it was as a consequence.

2) It is still, like all of the BASIS schools, very much a testing mill. Your child will graduate with a ton of AP credits and probably be a great candidate to go to a very good (if not elite) school, and will absolutely crush all of their standardized exams probably for the rest of their life.

3) There still not a lot to go on in terms of student life. Clubs are pay-as-you-go and still very fledgling. Athletics are essentially nil. But if you don't really care about that stuff, or if you have outlets for it outside of the school, it can be a great option.

4) Perhaps most importantly - the previous Head of Operations and Interim Head of School, T. A., is no longer employed there. The single biggest upgrade that BIM made was for her to leave - addition by subtraction. She was a very nice lady but an unmitigated disaster as a school administrator.

The bottom line? Send your kid there if you are looking for an excellent, no-frills whatsoever educational experience. If things outside of what goes on in the classroom are important to you, you're best served sending your kid elsewhere.

(I should note, what I wrote here applies almost entirely to the high school. If your kid is heading into 7th grade or below it's actually a really good option across the board for academic advancement.)

Are you working there?

#1-Any HOS who stays is going to have to be okay with the fact that he/she don't really run this school. The higher ups do. You just need to be a good puppet. Anyone with any leadership skills or an intellectual brain won't stay. To say that "there are no signs that he's going anywhere" is naive. Let's see if he can make it 2 full years before saying those kinds of things. It's sad that someone who has stuck around this long (Over a year!!) represents stability because of how jaded and traumatized this school community is by previous departures.

#2- Isn't that what every parent dreams of for their children? To absolutely crush standardized exams for the rest of their life?? Wow!

#4-She didn't leave. She was promoted. To Regional Director of their East Coast Schools. This is the type of organization that promotes incompetent people, as long as they are robots for the money-grubbing private equity folks at the top.

The bottom line-- " If things outside of what goes on in the classroom are important to you, you're best served sending your kid elsewhere." Like culture, climate, general environment, school stability, etc.!