Deal or Basis for DCs? Advice Needed.

[Anonymous]

10:17. Where is the like button when we need it. Like

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't fathom how any math teacher could ever differentiate effectively enough to deal with remedial basic math facts and algebra in the same classroom. I don't think a school like Deal that is limited to that approach could ever be as effective with advanced learners.

Deal does track in math. Ther are three tracks, the highest of which has kids taking geometry in 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Deal is behind BASIS then. BASIS has kids doing Algebra II and PreCalc in 8th. https://www.basisdc.org/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&download=109:math-course-sequence&id=4:course-sequences

[Anonymous]

Well, since BASIS hasn't been open long enough to have administered their famous comps, we have no idea if they *should* have kids "doing" Algebra II or Pre-Calc in 8th grade.

Mostly, the BASIS PR machine needs to slow itself down until it can prove it's a good school. Right now, it can't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, since BASIS hasn't been open long enough to have administered their famous comps, we have no idea if they *should* have kids "doing" Algebra II or Pre-Calc in 8th grade.

Mostly, the BASIS PR machine needs to slow itself down until it can prove it's a good school. Right now, it can't.

Nonsense. The eight kids in Algebra II this year (ranging from 6th to 8th grade) are all doing well. Most, if not all, will pass the comp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, since BASIS hasn't been open long enough to have administered their famous comps, we have no idea if they *should* have kids "doing" Algebra II or Pre-Calc in 8th grade.

Mostly, the BASIS PR machine needs to slow itself down until it can prove it's a good school. Right now, it can't.

Nonsense. The eight kids in Algebra II this year (ranging from 6th to 8th grade) are all doing well. Most, if not all, will pass the comp.

Stop right there. TMI. The only people who would, or should, know this much detail on the 8 kids are teachers or staff. It is unprofessional and inappropriate to post this type of comment with easily identifiable information. If PP I'd a parent, then this is speculation. And also irresponsible.

Find another way to boost.

[Anonymous]

Well, since BASIS hasn't been open long enough to have administered their famous comps, we have no idea if they *should* have kids "doing" Algebra II or Pre-Calc in 8th grade.

Mostly, the BASIS PR machine needs to slow itself down until it can prove it's a good school. Right now, it can't.


Nonsense. The eight kids in Algebra II this year (ranging from 6th to 8th grade) are all doing well. Most, if not all, will pass the comp.

I call BS. There is no way for you to know this unless you are the teacher. If you are the teacher, you should absolutely be fired for such unprofessional behavior.

Frankly, I hope you're merely one of the crazy boosters.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Thank you, pps, for filling me in. I certainly didn't mean to spark a round of anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better with Basis and Deal parents as the chorus. I'm impressed by the collective boosting though - parental loyalty to both schools sounds like testament to a pioneering spirit in NW.

My dearest wish right now is for a Fairfax or MoCo caliber public MS to suddenly emerge on the Hill. Failing that, the dough for a private. Looking at the pack of middle-class elementary school kids coming up, I feel like "everyman" parent here, with scores soon to confront the same dilemna. We essentially have six months to stay put and go with Basis, or 18 months to move and go with Deal/Wilson, or with MoCo. We could, of course, go with Stuart Hobson, or maybe Two Rivers, but they don't seem worth it. Hardly the end of the world whatever course we choose.

I'm disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that Deal only tracks for math, and will indefinitely from the sounds of it. I say this because the "differentiated learning within the classroom approach" has worked less well for us with each passing year of elementary school as the gap between the kids who struggle (yes, mostly low-SES and AA, but certainly not all) and the advanced kids (yes, mostly white or Asian and high-SES, but certainly not all) grows. My older child read all the Harry Potter books in the 3rd grade, where she sat alongide a few kids who struggled to read chapter books. Since tracking for subjects other than math is almost certainly what it's going to take this particular child to be consistently challenged, it doen't sound like Deal would be good fit. And I can't feel enthusiastic about the sounds of the non-academic facilities at Basis. I'd really like a school with at least a gym and a stage/auditorium.

Signing off her by saying thanks again, we'll weigh it all in the balance between now and decision-making time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Stop right there. TMI. The only people who would, or should, know this much detail on the 8 kids are teachers or staff. It is unprofessional and inappropriate to post this type of comment with easily identifiable information. If PP I'd a parent, then this is speculation. And also irresponsible.

Find another way to boost.

Actually a parent could easily know if the other students are doing well by networking with the other parents in the class. As a Basis parent I have been doing a lot of networking as well as other parents. Also, a parent might hear how the others are doing from their child since a teacher might proudly say how great the class did which is not inappropriate. Or a parent might know by attending the first grading period 90s Club and honors awards since each student who makes the 90s club or honors club is called up to the stage to receive a certificate.

I also disagree that TMI was provided since no identifying info was given out. IMO you are just trying to find ways to bash Basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, since BASIS hasn't been open long enough to have administered their famous comps, we have no idea if they *should* have kids "doing" Algebra II or Pre-Calc in 8th grade.

Mostly, the BASIS PR machine needs to slow itself down until it can prove it's a good school. Right now, it can't.

Basis has done this in other schools successfully and all students currently taking Algebra 2 tested into the class. My child tested early into Algebra 1 and is doing great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I'm disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that Deal only tracks for math, and will indefinitely from the sounds of it. I say this because the "differentiated learning within the classroom approach" has worked less well for us with each passing year of elementary school as the gap between the kids who struggle (yes, mostly low-SES and AA, but certainly not all) and the advanced kids (yes, mostly white or Asian and high-SES, but certainly not all) grows. My older child read all the Harry Potter books in the 3rd grade, where she sat alongide a few kids who struggled to read chapter books. Since tracking for subjects other than math is almost certainly what it's going to take this particular child to be consistently challenged, it doen't sound like Deal would be good fit. And I can't feel enthusiastic about the sounds of the non-academic facilities at Basis. I'd really like a school with at least a gym and a stage/auditorium.

This. Lord help us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, since BASIS hasn't been open long enough to have administered their famous comps, we have no idea if they *should* have kids "doing" Algebra II or Pre-Calc in 8th grade.

Mostly, the BASIS PR machine needs to slow itself down until it can prove it's a good school. Right now, it can't.

Actually, you are forgetting that they already have EIGHT good schools in Arizona (several rated top in the nation) following that same model, not to mention some of the very same Arizona staff and faculty that made that happen in Arizona, now in DC to make it happen here as well. It's not as though they are flying blind with completely untested stuff. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I'm disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that Deal only tracks for math, and will indefinitely from the sounds of it. I say this because the "differentiated learning within the classroom approach" has worked less well for us with each passing year of elementary school as the gap between the kids who struggle (yes, mostly low-SES and AA, but certainly not all) and the advanced kids (yes, mostly white or Asian and high-SES, but certainly not all) grows. My older child read all the Harry Potter books in the 3rd grade, where she sat alongide a few kids who struggled to read chapter books. Since tracking for subjects other than math is almost certainly what it's going to take this particular child to be consistently challenged, it doen't sound like Deal would be good fit. And I can't feel enthusiastic about the sounds of the non-academic facilities at Basis. I'd really like a school with at least a gym and a stage/auditorium.

This. Lord help us.

Just to chime in, not as a booster, but as someone facing the same calculus. Washington Latin is going to have these facilities you desire along with an acre or two of playing fields starting next year. It is a school full of kids who were all reading Harry Potter in third grade and most of whom will be in Algebra I in 7th grade. Besides those really basic points, the curriculum and classical education models are enriching in profound ways. Teachers are asking kids as young as 5th grade to answer deep questions about themselves and the world around them and apply the answers to the real world. The academic.expectations are sky high. My DC in 6th is taking a vociferous class that we all would have taken as college freshman and the kids love it. He is taking an exam today that is three essay questions, a welcome relief from multiple choice. I am highly optimistic that we will be at Latin through high school and if not, I wouldn't want my kid at middle school anywhere else. And, by the way, if you apply in 5th grade, the trend is that every student who applies has been offered a spot by the beginning of the school year.

[Anonymous]

Vociferous class=civics class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't need more tracking and segregation. If that floats your boat, go private. And FWIW I don't care about what people in MoCo or Fairfax are doing.

But you will care when college applications time rolls around. I'd bet money on it. You're already getting the segregation without the tracking, Cretan, just less so at Deal and Basis than in other city middle schools. You'd get less segregation overall with more tracking, if it's done thoughtfully, and more bang for your education buck. As a graduate of Hunter public middle school in NYC (half minority, test-in acceptance rate 7%) I can attest to this simple truth.
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Problem is you don't know anything about me or our background or my child's gifts. I'm not worried one bit about college applications. Thanks though for the testimony.