Latin v. BASIS

[Anonymous]

The children will learn how to manage their time.

[Anonymous]

14:13, instead of their parents doing it for them. That's what I love about Basis. Kids take ownership of their own education. They love school, not for recess, or lunch, or for their friends. They love school because they love learning. Homework is not a chore. It is not busy work. It is verification that they can do independently what they learned in class.

[Anonymous]

I have a 3rd grader in a PS-8 charter so I get to sit this argument out. That being said, it sounds like DC will--in the end--have two good middle school choices (if BASIS lives up to the hype). Any way you slice it, things are improving in DC with regards to public education choices. I would certainly consider both LATIN and BASIS for my DC in the event I begin to feel that their current school (which they love) can't provide everything I believe they need to compete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, the amount of work it will take for kids to pass, say AP calculus in 11th grade, will pretty much preclude outside activities. If the day is 9-5 and you add in commut time (say 40 minutes each way) then the child arrives home around 5;30 or 6. Add dinner and now how many hours of homework? Because there has to be homework to move kids along in such an accelerated manner.

I read the article in Current. It's not that the kids will be studying Shakespeare over Jane Eyre or whatever that will ensure homework. I think the curriculum will be great, very interesting for kids. Middle schoolers crave content and will enjoy such a rich curriculum. But if the child has to read 30 pages of Hamlet, do an algebra 2 problem set, answer questions about economics, write an essay, etc. Some kids are efficient and can run through homework quickly. But other kids labor on and on. My middle schooler does.

So with that type of workload, how would any after school activities fit into the schedule? I'm really asking -- we are struggling with this issue already, much less with a BASIS type of work load.

I agree that it sounds like quite a workload, but in the meeting I attended, the school administrators said they'd stick to the DCPS schedule, so 8:45-3:15. Many children could be home via metro or bus by 4:00, which should leave time for homework and one afterschool activity.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure BASIS will be work, but I think it's doable. When I was in High School I took 5 AP classes and still had time for a part-time job, extra-curricular activities and friends. Yes, there were some nights that I was up until all hours finishing homework and studying, but I remember those nights because they were the exception, not the rule.

[Anonymous]

On another note, how does Latin get away with their lottery (or lack there of)?

[Anonymous]

Latin has a transparent lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Latin has a transparent lottery.

ITA. With the exception of sibling preference, Latin's lottery is completely impartial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On another note, how does Latin get away with their lottery (or lack there of)?

Troll. Attend it this year and you will see.

[Anonymous]

They give a preference to early applicants- as in, people who applied early- for their wait list. That seems like it would skew results to hyper-organized, resourced families. Doesn't that impact their student body?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They give a preference to early applicants- as in, people who applied early- for their wait list. That seems like it would skew results to hyper-organized, resourced families. Doesn't that impact their student body?

NP--Not really because the lottery and the original round of accepted students is based on chance. Basic statistics, the lottery results can not be skewed based on the ranking of the waitlist because they are two separate events.

[Anonymous]

I heard that all applicants to 5th grade for 2011-12 were eventually offered a place for entrance. On a rolling basis obviously.

Yu Ying also organized the wait list by application submission date. YY gets a higher yield from the top portion of the wait list than the randomly admitted families. e.g., maybe 50% of the random end up enrolling and 80% of the first 20 on the wait list. So, the class make up is skewed by the wait list order. At YY there are students on wait list who are not offered slots (for most grades in 2011-12, I think all applicants for 2nd were offered a slot).

[Anonymous]

anyone have any idea whether BASIS will follow the same school year schedule (roughly) as DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:anyone have any idea whether BASIS will follow the same school year schedule (roughly) as DC?

We talked about that today at a Basis event. It will be decided by parents in a few months. School must be 180 days (by law), but Basis will not follow the DCPS schedule 100% for things like professional development, parent/teacher conf, etc. Thus, the school year can start later, or end earlier, or have a longer break between terms than DCPS and still get the 180 days in.

[Anonymous]

how is it possible that parents will decide a school schedule?