If you gave BASIS a chance and it didn't work out, when did you know?

[Anonymous]

What is ridiculous is thinking that there area a lot of free bespoke public school options for academically advanced kids in DC.

BASIS is clearly the worst option for such kids…except for all of the others.

I’m a basis parent and agree with the quoted PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine isn't. He's getting very little support for his senior year projects and activities and doesn't want to goof around (like so many of his classmates are doing).

Our next door neighbor is pretty unhappy with his senior year. He’s basically done by lunch, his classmates are all totally checked out of all ECs (unlike at most HSes where EC leadership is a huge part of senior year) and the school isn’t helping at all with his senior project logistics. He has mostly likely BASIS along the way, but hates the senior year model. Definitely not having a blast other than the break from work being nice.

We hated it, too. My kid found it lonely and a silly waste of time. We ran our kid's senior project logistics ourselves, using our contacts and resources. BASIS did so little to help us that I'm not sure what the point of the senior project was. If I could go back, we'd have found a four-year high school program instead.

My senior and friends are leading the projects themselves. I have nothing to do with it. But I know mine has found an advisor at a local university, a related internship, has interviewed many people, and is reading tons. Neither I nor the school have provided contacts. It is mostly cold calling, which seems to be working remarkably well. I believe the point is that it is to be self driven. I have not once considered helping and certainly haven’t been asked to help. It is fascinating to watch. In addition to many extracurriculars and large social gatherings occurring seemingly constantly.

This.

The senior year project is obviously one of those "it is what you make of it" things. Some students will do nothing, some will have parents who do 80 percent of it, and some students will have an amazing experience of their own initiative.

That's completely obvious when the year is explained.

Eh. I think it also depends what you want to do. Our neighbor could do something amazing on paper (parents connections), but what he actually wants to do for a job isn’t something where a HS kid can do anything remotely useful. There are tons of fields where a senior project is a waste of time. This is multiplied for families with no contacts at all in a relevant field. Basically you can pretty easily do something, but doing something actually useful is a crap shoot based on interests. Honestly, it’s a terrible model.

If you start from the perspective that your child is trying to get a job or you plan on using parent connections at all, you are absolutely correct. There is no point at all. But if you encourage your child to independently reach out and figure out what to do, you might be surprised by what they can do in the model. My child had no relevant contacts. So, the first step was a whole lot of cold call informational interviews where people who connected with her in that manner helped her find the right niche. I have tons of contacts that I could have just handed to her, but what is the point of that. Senior project is about establishing independent thought and work; it isn't a girl scout cookie sale where the parents bring the order form to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is academically advanced, it will be fine.

If not, you will know by the end of 6th grade.

I think it’s probably more about the type of kid. My kid is not academically advanced per se but he adjusts really well to expectations, so I think he could have done OK. I didn’t really realize this about him in 4th so we didn’t try for Badie.

Agree: Basis isn't just for really smart kids, it's for anyone who is reasonably capable and willing to follow the structure. My kids are doing fine as Basis and it's certainly easier if they have the ability to do the homework faster and learn with less studying, but it's really whether they have the focus and organizational skills. One kid aced everything; the other is a middle-of-the-class student (due I think more to motivation than ability), but still gets the assignments turned in and I think probably learns more getting Bs at Basis than As at some other schools.

It won't work out if your child can't stand not having outdoor recess, isn't organized enough to turn in homework, is so academically behind that they fail tests or can't complete the homework, or wants a more typical school experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine isn't. He's getting very little support for his senior year projects and activities and doesn't want to goof around (like so many of his classmates are doing).

Our next door neighbor is pretty unhappy with his senior year. He’s basically done by lunch, his classmates are all totally checked out of all ECs (unlike at most HSes where EC leadership is a huge part of senior year) and the school isn’t helping at all with his senior project logistics. He has mostly likely BASIS along the way, but hates the senior year model. Definitely not having a blast other than the break from work being nice.

We hated it, too. My kid found it lonely and a silly waste of time. We ran our kid's senior project logistics ourselves, using our contacts and resources. BASIS did so little to help us that I'm not sure what the point of the senior project was. If I could go back, we'd have found a four-year high school program instead.

My senior and friends are leading the projects themselves. I have nothing to do with it. But I know mine has found an advisor at a local university, a related internship, has interviewed many people, and is reading tons. Neither I nor the school have provided contacts. It is mostly cold calling, which seems to be working remarkably well. I believe the point is that it is to be self driven. I have not once considered helping and certainly haven’t been asked to help. It is fascinating to watch. In addition to many extracurriculars and large social gatherings occurring seemingly constantly.

This.

The senior year project is obviously one of those "it is what you make of it" things. Some students will do nothing, some will have parents who do 80 percent of it, and some students will have an amazing experience of their own initiative.

That's completely obvious when the year is explained.

Eh. I think it also depends what you want to do. Our neighbor could do something amazing on paper (parents connections), but what he actually wants to do for a job isn’t something where a HS kid can do anything remotely useful. There are tons of fields where a senior project is a waste of time. This is multiplied for families with no contacts at all in a relevant field. Basically you can pretty easily do something, but doing something actually useful is a crap shoot based on interests. Honestly, it’s a terrible model.

If you start from the perspective that your child is trying to get a job or you plan on using parent connections at all, you are absolutely correct. There is no point at all. But if you encourage your child to independently reach out and figure out what to do, you might be surprised by what they can do in the model. My child had no relevant contacts. So, the first step was a whole lot of cold call informational interviews where people who connected with her in that manner helped her find the right niche. I have tons of contacts that I could have just handed to her, but what is the point of that. Senior project is about establishing independent thought and work; it isn't a girl scout cookie sale where the parents bring the order form to work.

I think you totally missed my point. It's not about getting a job. It's about the fact that there are some fields where a HSer cannot actually do anything interesting or useful. They can observe other people doing things with the right connections or perhaps cold calls as you note, but that's stupid in my book. There are other fields where a HS project can be meaningful. For those kids, the senior project can be totally worthwhile. But as a mandatory thing? It's dumb. I completely agree with the PP that says a normal year with fun electives and EC leadership positions would be better for 80% of kids at BASIS. The reason they don't do it? The building is too small. School leadership told me that directly. The senior project is about resource conservation and nothing more. It's a shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It took us until 7th grade before we pulled the plug. It's not that it "didn't work out" - kids was academically advanced and the top of the class. But it wasn't the environment we wanted him in long term. We moved out of the city.

That is what not working out means. Would be so helpful if those who don’t find it a good fit aren’t so defensive.

Immediate PP: "If your kid is academically advanced, it will be fine."

Well that is ridiculous. It can obviously be a bad fit for some academically advanced kids. That is just one factor necessary to be a good fit.

Fit? Assessing multiple factors?

What is ridiculous is thinking that there area a lot of free bespoke public school options for academically advanced kids in DC.

BASIS is clearly the worst option for such kids…except for all of the others.

I do think Basis is great for some kids. I am glad that it exists for the students and families who can benefit from that model. My kid is still in elementary. At this point, I am not planning to send them to Basis. I don't think it's not a fit and we are lucky enough to be inbounds for a middle I am comfortable with.

Maybe this is happy talk, but I also don't think Basis is the only free option in DC that works for academically advanced students. For some academically advanced kids and families, it's probably the best free option. For others, it's not. Would it be great if there were even more options for advanced learners? Yes.

[Anonymous]

Why would your child be trying to do a senior project in the area that they want a job? Every single one of the kids is about to go away to a four year college and probably grad school. Also, it isn't mandatory at all. If your kid isn't creative enough to find a niche to explore and learn from on their own, they should skip it. They will graduate all the same.

I still have no clue what you are talking about with regard to lack of extracurricular leadership positions. This seems again to be child specific, nothing to do with the school. My child has interesting electives (though they are starting to wind down) and so many leadership positions, both within the school and through city wide extracurriculars. So do her friends. I can't think of a single one that isn't captain of something or president of something or similar. It sounds like this child is just unmotivated, which may be fueled by a parental desire to interfere and not allow independent growth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It took us until 7th grade before we pulled the plug. It's not that it "didn't work out" - kids was academically advanced and the top of the class. But it wasn't the environment we wanted him in long term. We moved out of the city.

That is what not working out means. Would be so helpful if those who don’t find it a good fit aren’t so defensive.

Immediate PP: "If your kid is academically advanced, it will be fine."

Well that is ridiculous. It can obviously be a bad fit for some academically advanced kids. That is just one factor necessary to be a good fit.

Fit? Assessing multiple factors?

What is ridiculous is thinking that there area a lot of free bespoke public school options for academically advanced kids in DC.

BASIS is clearly the worst option for such kids…except for all of the others.

I do think Basis is great for some kids. I am glad that it exists for the students and families who can benefit from that model. My kid is still in elementary. At this point, I am not planning to send them to Basis. I don't think it's not a fit and we are lucky enough to be inbounds for a middle I am comfortable with.

Maybe this is happy talk, but I also don't think Basis is the only free option in DC that works for academically advanced students. For some academically advanced kids and families, it's probably the best free option. For others, it's not. Would it be great if there were even more options for advanced learners? Yes.

It would be amazing if DCPS could take that on as a goal. Unfortunately, they seem to be heading the other direction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would your child be trying to do a senior project in the area that they want a job? Every single one of the kids is about to go away to a four year college and probably grad school. Also, it isn't mandatory at all. If your kid isn't creative enough to find a niche to explore and learn from on their own, they should skip it. They will graduate all the same.

I still have no clue what you are talking about with regard to lack of extracurricular leadership positions. This seems again to be child specific, nothing to do with the school. My child has interesting electives (though they are starting to wind down) and so many leadership positions, both within the school and through city wide extracurriculars. So do her friends. I can't think of a single one that isn't captain of something or president of something or similar. It sounds like this child is just unmotivated, which may be fueled by a parental desire to interfere and not allow independent growth.

After reading these posts (and after a couple years at BASIS), i actually think BASIS is NOT a good school for helicopter parents. The school really wants kids to take control of their own education -- they say this often and this is how a lot of things are are set up. The kids who take initiative (manage their own schoolwork, go to student hours if they need help, etc all the way up to figuring out their own senior year) seem MUCH happier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine isn't. He's getting very little support for his senior year projects and activities and doesn't want to goof around (like so many of his classmates are doing).

Our next door neighbor is pretty unhappy with his senior year. He’s basically done by lunch, his classmates are all totally checked out of all ECs (unlike at most HSes where EC leadership is a huge part of senior year) and the school isn’t helping at all with his senior project logistics. He has mostly likely BASIS along the way, but hates the senior year model. Definitely not having a blast other than the break from work being nice.

We hated it, too. My kid found it lonely and a silly waste of time. We ran our kid's senior project logistics ourselves, using our contacts and resources. BASIS did so little to help us that I'm not sure what the point of the senior project was. If I could go back, we'd have found a four-year high school program instead.

My senior and friends are leading the projects themselves. I have nothing to do with it. But I know mine has found an advisor at a local university, a related internship, has interviewed many people, and is reading tons. Neither I nor the school have provided contacts. It is mostly cold calling, which seems to be working remarkably well. I believe the point is that it is to be self driven. I have not once considered helping and certainly haven’t been asked to help. It is fascinating to watch. In addition to many extracurriculars and large social gatherings occurring seemingly constantly.

This.

The senior year project is obviously one of those "it is what you make of it" things. Some students will do nothing, some will have parents who do 80 percent of it, and some students will have an amazing experience of their own initiative.

That's completely obvious when the year is explained.

Eh. I think it also depends what you want to do. Our neighbor could do something amazing on paper (parents connections), but what he actually wants to do for a job isn’t something where a HS kid can do anything remotely useful. There are tons of fields where a senior project is a waste of time. This is multiplied for families with no contacts at all in a relevant field. Basically you can pretty easily do something, but doing something actually useful is a crap shoot based on interests. Honestly, it’s a terrible model.

If you start from the perspective that your child is trying to get a job or you plan on using parent connections at all, you are absolutely correct. There is no point at all. But if you encourage your child to independently reach out and figure out what to do, you might be surprised by what they can do in the model. My child had no relevant contacts. So, the first step was a whole lot of cold call informational interviews where people who connected with her in that manner helped her find the right niche. I have tons of contacts that I could have just handed to her, but what is the point of that. Senior project is about establishing independent thought and work; it isn't a girl scout cookie sale where the parents bring the order form to work.

I think you totally missed my point. It's not about getting a job. It's about the fact that there are some fields where a HSer cannot actually do anything interesting or useful. They can observe other people doing things with the right connections or perhaps cold calls as you note, but that's stupid in my book. There are other fields where a HS project can be meaningful. For those kids, the senior project can be totally worthwhile. But as a mandatory thing? It's dumb. I completely agree with the PP that says a normal year with fun electives and EC leadership positions would be better for 80% of kids at BASIS. The reason they don't do it? The building is too small. School leadership told me that directly. The senior project is about resource conservation and nothing more. It's a shame.

The senior project isn’t mandatory.

Maybe learn more about the school before weighing in.

[Anonymous]

The whole model is terrible. Very narrow curriculum, too much focus on AP. Then trying to cram everything in 3 years and the senior year is just a wasted year. On top of that, not a lot of great EC or sports in a terrible facility.

We have a high performing kid and passed on Baisi because of above. Did not even list it in the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The whole model is terrible. Very narrow curriculum, too much focus on AP. Then trying to cram everything in 3 years and the senior year is just a wasted year. On top of that, not a lot of great EC or sports in a terrible facility.

We have a high performing kid and passed on Baisi because of above. Did not even list it in the lottery.

lol

If your kid has your ability to write and spell that was a wise decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The whole model is terrible. Very narrow curriculum, too much focus on AP. Then trying to cram everything in 3 years and the senior year is just a wasted year. On top of that, not a lot of great EC or sports in a terrible facility.

We have a high performing kid and passed on Baisi because of above. Did not even list it in the lottery.

They don't try to cram everything within 3 years. They actually use the middle school years. They are crucial. Fifth grade is mostly teaching kids how to learn with a huge concentration on executive functioning. The goal is to make them independent learners by the time they get to sixth grades. Of course, if the parents shield them from the lessons, they won't take. Sixth grade is for ensuring that all the kids are on the same level academically as they have all come from very different backgrounds, most of which are now not even preparing middle schoolers to be able to read full novels. Then seventh and eighth grade are hardcore learning years, with many students taking AP classes during that time.

But I think it was probably a good call for you to skip it. It isn't great for everyone. It doesn't try to be. Moreover, they make it extremely clear that if you want to helicopter, you and your children will hate it. DCPS, on the other hand, should be trying to great for everyone. Don't blame charters for doing what they can to at least partially fill the huge holes left by DCPS. Instead, hold the city accountable and stop lowering expectations. I can't imagine why someone would be posting about how this charter doesn't fit their advanced kid when they should be marching in the streets to insist that DCPS provide options for EVERYONE including those who can read books by the end of 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The whole model is terrible. Very narrow curriculum, too much focus on AP. Then trying to cram everything in 3 years and the senior year is just a wasted year. On top of that, not a lot of great EC or sports in a terrible facility.

We have a high performing kid and passed on Baisi because of above. Did not even list it in the lottery.

What school does your child attend and what do they like about it?

Sane Basis supporters acknowledge that although it's the best non-private option in DC for many students, it's far from perfect and not the best school for every kid. If you're going to say it's terrible, it would be helpful to know what you think is good (or at least not terrible).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole model is terrible. Very narrow curriculum, too much focus on AP. Then trying to cram everything in 3 years and the senior year is just a wasted year. On top of that, not a lot of great EC or sports in a terrible facility.

We have a high performing kid and passed on Baisi because of above. Did not even list it in the lottery.

What school does your child attend and what do they like about it?

Sane Basis supporters acknowledge that although it's the best non-private option in DC for many students, it's far from perfect and not the best school for every kid. If you're going to say it's terrible, it would be helpful to know what you think is good (or at least not terrible).

I think there should be a moratorium about complaints towards BASIS or Banneker. Let's put our efforts towards general DCPS schools for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole model is terrible. Very narrow curriculum, too much focus on AP. Then trying to cram everything in 3 years and the senior year is just a wasted year. On top of that, not a lot of great EC or sports in a terrible facility.

We have a high performing kid and passed on Baisi because of above. Did not even list it in the lottery.

They don't try to cram everything within 3 years. They actually use the middle school years. They are crucial. Fifth grade is mostly teaching kids how to learn with a huge concentration on executive functioning. The goal is to make them independent learners by the time they get to sixth grades. Of course, if the parents shield them from the lessons, they won't take. Sixth grade is for ensuring that all the kids are on the same level academically as they have all come from very different backgrounds, most of which are now not even preparing middle schoolers to be able to read full novels. Then seventh and eighth grade are hardcore learning years, with many students taking AP classes during that time.

But I think it was probably a good call for you to skip it. It isn't great for everyone. It doesn't try to be. Moreover, they make it extremely clear that if you want to helicopter, you and your children will hate it. DCPS, on the other hand, should be trying to great for everyone. Don't blame charters for doing what they can to at least partially fill the huge holes left by DCPS. Instead, hold the city accountable and stop lowering expectations. I can't imagine why someone would be posting about how this charter doesn't fit their advanced kid when they should be marching in the streets to insist that DCPS provide options for EVERYONE including those who can read books by the end of 8th grade.

Give us a break with your tiresome BASIS exceptionalism.

Yes, they essentially cram 4 years of high school into 3. We switched both of our kids to a private after 9th and 6th. Neither liked BASIS despite earning close to straight As. Our younger kid learned far more at the private in 7th and 8th than the elder had at BASIS in those grades. Our eldest is now a senior at the private. He's already been admitted to the college of his choice (Top 20 school) Early Decision yet is still taking AP classes and participating in intensive ECs, like his classmates.

Simply put, BASIS does with senior year is very strange, unnecessary and unimpressive. The silly time-wasting college counseling class for the entire fall semester is the worst of it. It might be different if they had substantial resources to pour into the senior projects. They don't. Don't drink the Koolaid.