No good teachers at BASIS High school?

[Anonymous]

Basis has only been around for 1 1\2 years, so how could they have been at Basis a few years?

[Anonymous]

Anybody know how to view a copy of the school's charter?

[Anonymous]

This is Basis'' second year in DC-it started in August of 2012.

[Anonymous]

BASIS has a high school? I didn't know that.

[Anonymous]

This year, 2013-2014, BASIS has grades 5-9, so I guess the 9th grade would count as high school. I think there are less than 30 students in 9th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I hear complaints about teachers ability to control the as room from 6th and 7th grade parents who have been there a few years. And no, chaos in the classroom is NOT acceptable and yes, it can and should be controllable by the teacher and the administration. Both by making the content interesting and accessible for the students and by a good, consistent system for dealing with problems. There is a problem with the teacher if there is so much talking and nonsense in the classroom that they can't get the lesson done. Kids are the same everywhere. I won't accept these excuses of pp's and you shouldn't either. You are being taken for a ride if you do.

Very difficult to agree with this post.

First, as mentioned earlier, no children have been there a few years. Maybe the parents, but that would be strange, since the school is only in the middle of year two.

Second, middle schoolers crave content, and there is plenty of that at BASIS. Interesting is not an issue. Accessible is definitely a problem for many who came from lower performing DCPS schools. They have a lot of ground to make up.

Third, kids are not the same everywhere. Smart kids who are used to being bored can be the worst troublemakers. Give them a year or two, and then check back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am fine with hard work and high expectations but how effective is 5 or more hours of homework? surely there's a point of diminishing returns

This x1,000,000.


And there's a lot of evidence to back that up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Another friend said he will probably get 3 hours of sleep only as he is getting ready for tomorrow's government test.
Is this the new norm for 9th grade?

Well isn't this a school that prides itself on extreme acceleration, high expectations, and getting people to be at least 3 years ahead in math? You can't want "challenge" and then complain about the massive amounts of work that go with it.

This. I think when you sign up for BASIS, this is what comes along with the territory. It's obviously not for all students. Maybe you should talk to the school and see if this is the norm (esp, no textbooks..maybe on backorder? since this is the 1st year they have expanded to HS)

Don't all Basis schools have to buy their text books and teaching materials from the company owned by the founders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am fine with hard work and high expectations but how effective is 5 or more hours of homework? surely there's a point of diminishing returns

This x1,000,000.

And there's a lot of evidence to back that up.

My child is a BASIS student. Today she managed to finish her homework after school and then hang out at Teaism with some friends. This evening she went to the circus at the Verizon Center. She got to bed at 9:45. She will get to school early tomorrow for academic support in one of her classes. She has discovered that the secret to doing well is to stay on top of her assignments, to be focused and efficient with her homework, and to frequently go in and ask for help from the teachers. She usually makes the 90s club - which is good but not the top academic level. It (the BASIS experience) is working well for her. She is able to do all the things that 12-year-old want to do like sleepovers, weekend trips with mom, "chillaxing" with friends on weekdays and weekends, and watching crappy TV like Say Yes to the Dress. She participates in a couple of extra curricular activities. She's generally pretty happy with BASIS and takes it all in stride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am fine with hard work and high expectations but how effective is 5 or more hours of homework? surely there's a point of diminishing returns

This x1,000,000.


And there's a lot of evidence to back that up.

Not really. BASIS parent, and we spend 20-30 mins per night, no more. DS is in distinguished honor roll, so he isn't blowing anything off.

[Anonymous]

Obviously PP's DS is some sort of a genius, because, as a Basis parent of two children myself, it is nigh impossible to do only 20-30 minutes of HW every night and get distinguished honor roll. Are there nights that my kids have very little hw because they did it in class or worked ahead or did it after school with their teachers during student hours? Sure! Is that a daily occurrence? No. Perhaps this student gets home after spending a few hours in school after care doing work. The kids take 8 graded subjects, most classes they have every day. That is about 15 minutes per class per week in HW. Even our elementary gave more hw than that starting in 1st or 2nd grade.

[Anonymous]

^^ what grades? Because my now 6th grader has not had much in the way of homework except for math for these past two years. And 30 math problems take anywhere from 45-75 minutes for DC to complete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am fine with hard work and high expectations but how effective is 5 or more hours of homework? surely there's a point of diminishing returns

This x1,000,000.


And there's a lot of evidence to back that up.

Not really. BASIS parent, and we spend 20-30 mins per night, no more. DS is in distinguished honor roll, so he isn't blowing anything off.

I'm sorry but what math level is your child in? 30 problems of Algebra II or pre-calculus can take 30 minutes a night. BASIS is hardcore. But from what I hear from parents of kids at TJ, we are much better off.

[Anonymous]

meant much more than 30 minutes a night

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am fine with hard work and high expectations but how effective is 5 or more hours of homework? surely there's a point of diminishing returns

This x1,000,000.


And there's a lot of evidence to back that up.

Not really. BASIS parent, and we spend 20-30 mins per night, no more. DS is in distinguished honor roll, so he isn't blowing anything off.

I'm sorry but what math level is your child in? 30 problems of Algebra II or pre-calculus can take 30 minutes a night. BASIS is hardcore. But from what I hear from parents of kids at TJ, we are much better off.

Algebra II, 6th grade. Yes, he has 30 problems each day, but has most of them complete during the class time allotted to the work. Typically, he just checks his work in the evening, and that's it for math during the week. On the weekends, he'll usually do an extra set to get ahead (about 20-30 additional minutes). For history, he'll often have a handful of questions to answer (long response - style), and he doesn't seem to spend much time at all on Latin -- he just seems to "get" it during class.

Biology is often the big homework-causer, with English being a close second due to required readings.

To be fair, there is a little trick to his method. He always stays a chapter ahead (or now 10, in the case of Algebra). He comes to class very prepared, and it makes life much simpler. Also, he has long read history books at bedtime for fun / relaxation, so that makes a little difference.

Grades? Overall 97. English and Biology are the two lowest grades, which makes sense, because they are the two subjects he is not ahead in.

I know some kids really need more time than others, but I just find the reports of 3+ hours to be very odd. Unless that includes a great deal of remediation, of course. Then it would be ENTIRELY understandable, because Basis just doesn't slow down.