Basis families: talk to me about the building

[Anonymous]

PP - yeah the building isn't that great, but at least it isn't falling apart like my student's DCPS elementary was, with inconsistent heat and a/c and holes in the bathroom walls

[Anonymous]

I happen to know that the leadership of the BASIS franchise in Arizona is rethinking their use of senior year as elite college admissions becomes ever more competitive in this country. I've done some budget-related management consulting work for the franchise over a 12-year period. They're in the process of shifting more teaching resources into 12th grade, starting at several of the Arizona campuses.

We live on CH and went private rather than take a BASIS spot. Half a dozen of the BASIS families whose teens, all of them math stars, were admitted to Ivies in the past few years are friends and/or neighbors. I've never heard any of these parents wax about what an "amazing fit!" BASIS was. I know that they had their real ups and downs in the program over the years, particularly with doing the legwork and paying for competitive ECs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Think back to when you were a kid. Did you care about buildiings/classrooms/windows? I sure didn't. I cared about seeing friends, clothes, etc. I have an 8th grader at BASIS and we have been very impressed by the program, with the exception of writing instruction - that has generally been minimal, up to now. Grammar, on the other hand - my kid nails that stuff . And now that kid is in 8th grade she absolutely loves the off campus lunch option.

When I was in middle school, in a mostly working-class community, I cared most about playing in my school's orchestra and on the girls' lacrosse team and participating in our school's Outward Bound gym program. I also cared about learning French from 6th grade. I attended Ivies for college (on a Pell Grant) and grad school.

I taught a humanities subject in the BASIS high school for a year (just a few years ago) and was asked to extend my contract. I moved on instead. The building was too claustrophobic for me, the curriculum too limited, and admins too controlling. From my perspective, the BASIS policy of cramming four years of high school work into three damages the colleges admissions prospects of some of the students, mainly because they lack the time for serious extra-curriculars in 9th, 10th and 11th grades while they cram in AP classes. The tough DC Metro area elite college admissions pool and much softer Arizona pool are v. different, which the franchise doesn't seem to get.

NP here with a student that graduated from BASIS. This teacher obviously never got to know the students they taught. My student was on a school sponsored sport, a school sponsored academic team, Scouts, took non-BASIS arts classes and also played a rec sport SIMULTANEOUSLY during high school at BASIS. ECs were no problem for college admissions and the 12 AP classes didn't hurt either. Their friends were similarly active - DC has so much to offer.

The "cramming" was great because it made senior year fun, less stressful - working on your application essays as a group in a class is much better than doing them by yourself after you finish your homework. College visits were NOT a problem.

We left BASIS after 10th and did all of our college visits on YouTube while our eldest performed with his Strathmore orchestra (you might know who we are). He attends a college admitting in the single digits. If the policy of making ample room for college visits by omitting senior year classes were so great, all the top privates in this area would follow suit. To my knowledge, none do.

[Anonymous]

Who cares about tony privates when BASIS is the best of the best?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you asked about the building so here's what I'd say. It is exactly what it looks like it is. The hallways are very crowded at 5 class change periods and there isn't a formal gym or theater. The classrooms are fine, but no one is filming teen rom-con movies in them. But you knew all that. We came from Two Rivers and people used to ask me what the playground was like. I'd look at them like, "What do you think it is like? You can see it. It's tiny. If you are choosing based on outdoor space don't choose Two Rivers." Same applies to BASIS. You don't choose BASIS for the building or facilities. You chose it in spite of them. The classrooms themselves are not in any way packed to the gills. Even when my kid was in 5th where they max out at 27-ish kids per class there rooms were sufficient.

The issue here is not one that can addressed in a vacuum. It's not, "Is this building better than others?" It's also not, "Is this better than TJ or NYC application schools or other schools not here?" BASIS is an amazing fit and school for some kids. A good fit for some and a terrible fit for others. Your baseline is how good a school you think it is for your kids, you consider other available options and then figure out how the cost benefit shifts when you compare facilities, sports, etc. against all other factors.

BASIS offers shadow days. By all means if you have not done so sign your kid up (if they match, or if you are looking at out years, they do them in the fall before the lottery as well). The only way to know how your kid will or will not respond is to see and experience it. Seeing period changes up close and personal, and seeing the actual classrooms is the best way to make an informed decision.

Good luck.

This euphemistic line is used repeatedly on DCUM where BASIS goes. What parents are really saying is that some kids tolerate BASIS better than others. No school without windows in the cafeteria, no outdoor space, little natural light, no stage or gym, no media center, no languages taught before 8th grade etc., controlling young admins and high teacher turnover due to crappy teacher pay is an "amazing fit" for any kid here in a world-class city in the 21st century. It just isn't.

You don't know what the word "euphemism" means. My opinion and perspective is not converted into merely a "euphemism" because you disagree. I get that is isn't/wasn't a good fit for your kid. Note I'm not trying to tell you that it is. What is good for your kid need not be good for mine. Why are you so invested in convincing yourself that my kid and his friends are a great fit for what BASIS offers? I assume you are the person who chimes in constantly on BASIS thread to make essentially the same three points:

1. The school isn't perfect
2. It didn't meet your needs
3. Since you hate the school, so too must everyone else and those who don't are liars

I don't know what happened to you or your kid at BASIS. I am truly sorry it impacted you in this severe a manner. It must suck to spend this much time and energy hating something, insisting that all others hat it too, and getting worked up that anyone might have a difference of opinion.

[Anonymous]

Post above is a classic example of why BASIS threads invariably become a waste of time three or four dozen posts in.

Multiple posters express well-substantiated sounding concerns about the way BASIS DC operates. At least one booster with too much time on his or her hands then jumps in claiming that a single inveterate hater needs to be both beaten back and comforted. Boring.

[Anonymous]

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I happen to know that the leadership of the BASIS franchise in Arizona is rethinking their use of senior year as elite college admissions becomes ever more competitive in this country. I've done some budget-related management consulting work for the franchise over a 12-year period. They're in the process of shifting more teaching resources into 12th grade, starting at several of the Arizona campuses.

We live on CH and went private rather than take a BASIS spot. Half a dozen of the BASIS families whose teens, all of them math stars, were admitted to Ivies in the past few years are friends and/or neighbors. I've never heard any of these parents wax about what an "amazing fit!" BASIS was. I know that they had their real ups and downs in the program over the years, particularly with doing the legwork and paying for competitive ECs.

You didn't send your kid to BASIS but you know people who attended BASIS who never said it was a great fit for their kids. Is the idea that since no one you know thought so that anyone who feels that way must be wrong? I don't get it. How does your consulting work make you more of an expert on the actual experience than enrolled kids? I also don't think you are making the case you think you are. You know a bunch of kids who went to BASIS and now attend Ivies, and the conclusion is that...BASIS was a bad fit?

You don't have a kid there so you don't really know whether it was a good fit for your kid or how they felt about attending. I find it just so odd that you chime in to tell parents who are sharing their own experiences that they are wrong. It's strange behavior.

No one (and surely not me) is arguing BASIS is perfect. What I have said is that is a great fit for my kid and several of his friends. I do not understand why that triggers you.

P.S. Unrelated to my point above, unless the BASIS folks in AZ are rank morons, your engagement with them included an NDA and non-disparagement clause. You are disclosing non-public information and using that confidential information to disparage the current model. Good luck to any clients that hire you in the future!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Post above is a classic example of why BASIS threads invariably become a waste of time three or four dozen posts in.

Multiple posters express well-substantiated sounding concerns about the way BASIS DC operates. At least one booster with too much time on his or her hands then jumps in claiming that a single inveterate hater needs to be both beaten back and comforted. Boring.

That's not what happened here. Someone said it was a great fit for their kid and others. They noted it might not be for everyone. You and other chimed in to say it isn't a great fit for their kids. They pointed out the absurdity of that and how oddly personal this seems to you. Most parents aren't this invested in their own schools, let alone ones their kids don't attend. To be that attached to something with this much anger makes one sad for those people.

[Anonymous]

Untrue. This post was humming along with input from a variety of posters until a booster took a shot at squelching critical commentary.

I'm getting to grips with the reality that if our kid doesn't get into Walls shortly, we need to think seriously about moving for the first time in 20 years. Our kid wants out of BASIS and we're not getting the fi aid we need to swing a better school. Good luck with your planning, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I happen to know that the leadership of the BASIS franchise in Arizona is rethinking their use of senior year as elite college admissions becomes ever more competitive in this country. I've done some budget-related management consulting work for the franchise over a 12-year period. They're in the process of shifting more teaching resources into 12th grade, starting at several of the Arizona campuses.

We live on CH and went private rather than take a BASIS spot. Half a dozen of the BASIS families whose teens, all of them math stars, were admitted to Ivies in the past few years are friends and/or neighbors. I've never heard any of these parents wax about what an "amazing fit!" BASIS was. I know that they had their real ups and downs in the program over the years, particularly with doing the legwork and paying for competitive ECs.

You didn't send your kid to BASIS but you know people who attended BASIS who never said it was a great fit for their kids. Is the idea that since no one you know thought so that anyone who feels that way must be wrong? I don't get it. How does your consulting work make you more of an expert on the actual experience than enrolled kids? I also don't think you are making the case you think you are. You know a bunch of kids who went to BASIS and now attend Ivies, and the conclusion is that...BASIS was a bad fit?

You don't have a kid there so you don't really know whether it was a good fit for your kid or how they felt about attending. I find it just so odd that you chime in to tell parents who are sharing their own experiences that they are wrong. It's strange behavior.

No one (and surely not me) is arguing BASIS is perfect. What I have said is that is a great fit for my kid and several of his friends. I do not understand why that triggers you.

P.S. Unrelated to my point above, unless the BASIS folks in AZ are rank morons, your engagement with them included an NDA and non-disparagement clause. You are disclosing non-public information and using that confidential information to disparage the current model. Good luck to any clients that hire you in the future!

You're shadow boxing, lumping posters together defensively. Months ago, BASIS announced to stakeholders that its going to rework its approach to college counseling on shifting admissions sands. Not difficult to connect the dots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you asked about the building so here's what I'd say. It is exactly what it looks like it is. The hallways are very crowded at 5 class change periods and there isn't a formal gym or theater. The classrooms are fine, but no one is filming teen rom-con movies in them. But you knew all that. We came from Two Rivers and people used to ask me what the playground was like. I'd look at them like, "What do you think it is like? You can see it. It's tiny. If you are choosing based on outdoor space don't choose Two Rivers." Same applies to BASIS. You don't choose BASIS for the building or facilities. You chose it in spite of them. The classrooms themselves are not in any way packed to the gills. Even when my kid was in 5th where they max out at 27-ish kids per class there rooms were sufficient.

The issue here is not one that can addressed in a vacuum. It's not, "Is this building better than others?" It's also not, "Is this better than TJ or NYC application schools or other schools not here?" BASIS is an amazing fit and school for some kids. A good fit for some and a terrible fit for others. Your baseline is how good a school you think it is for your kids, you consider other available options and then figure out how the cost benefit shifts when you compare facilities, sports, etc. against all other factors.

BASIS offers shadow days. By all means if you have not done so sign your kid up (if they match, or if you are looking at out years, they do them in the fall before the lottery as well). The only way to know how your kid will or will not respond is to see and experience it. Seeing period changes up close and personal, and seeing the actual classrooms is the best way to make an informed decision.

Good luck.

This euphemistic line is used repeatedly on DCUM where BASIS goes. What parents are really saying is that some kids tolerate BASIS better than others. No school without windows in the cafeteria, no outdoor space, little natural light, no stage or gym, no media center, no languages taught before 8th grade etc., controlling young admins and high teacher turnover due to crappy teacher pay is an "amazing fit" for any kid here in a world-class city in the 21st century. It just isn't.

No one is denying that there are shortcomings, especially the building and teacher turnover. But the point that supporters (like me) make is that, on net, it's a good school for academically oriented students. This week I've been discussing readings from Rousseau and Plato with my 9th grader. He is interested and engaged with the substance of what he's learning. That's cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Untrue. This post was humming along with input from a variety of posters until a booster took a shot at squelching critical commentary.

I'm getting to grips with the reality that if our kid doesn't get into Walls shortly, we need to think seriously about moving for the first time in 20 years. Our kid wants out of BASIS and we're not getting the fi aid we need to swing a better school. Good luck with your planning, OP.

Your kid and mine are peers PP. And if yours has an interview at Walls, s/he is obviously doing well at BASIS (to meet grade cut off). Why does s/he want to leave? My kid is actually pretty happy at BASIS and likely to stay for HS next year (though also interviewing at Walls to keep options open).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I happen to know that the leadership of the BASIS franchise in Arizona is rethinking their use of senior year as elite college admissions becomes ever more competitive in this country. I've done some budget-related management consulting work for the franchise over a 12-year period. They're in the process of shifting more teaching resources into 12th grade, starting at several of the Arizona campuses.

We live on CH and went private rather than take a BASIS spot. Half a dozen of the BASIS families whose teens, all of them math stars, were admitted to Ivies in the past few years are friends and/or neighbors. I've never heard any of these parents wax about what an "amazing fit!" BASIS was. I know that they had their real ups and downs in the program over the years, particularly with doing the legwork and paying for competitive ECs.

I have a sibling with 2 children in the high school of an Arizona campus. I'm told that the policy change of using sr. year for more academic course work (on a voluntary basis) was announced to parents this past fall. Student at that campus will no longer be required to make applying to college the main focus on their school work in the fall 12th grade. Sounds like the policy will trickle down to DC eventually, a big change for BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Untrue. This post was humming along with input from a variety of posters until a booster took a shot at squelching critical commentary.

I'm getting to grips with the reality that if our kid doesn't get into Walls shortly, we need to think seriously about moving for the first time in 20 years. Our kid wants out of BASIS and we're not getting the fi aid we need to swing a better school. Good luck with your planning, OP.

Your kid and mine are peers PP. And if yours has an interview at Walls, s/he is obviously doing well at BASIS (to meet grade cut off). Why does s/he want to leave? My kid is actually pretty happy at BASIS and likely to stay for HS next year (though also interviewing at Walls to keep options open).

She's v independent-minded and language study oriented. We looked at DCI but didn't see tough enough academics outside language. She wants to take an AP language in 9th or 10th grade, then college level language classes at GW. She didn't want to study a third language at the beginning level as BASIS pushed her to do in 8th grade (leaving her unchallenged in language in 8th, annoying us all). She also wants to row crew with classmates at Walls and to stretch AP work through senior year. Her best buddies seem more interested in Walls than staying. Many reasons.