Parents of former Basis students - where did you go, and why

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you seem pretty pushy and angry and entitled to get your question answered. Not the way to go about getting the intel you want. Work on your tone.

OP sounds like my third wife.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP you seem pretty pushy and angry and entitled to get your question answered. Not the way to go about getting the intel you want. Work on your tone.

OP sounds like my third wife.

third out of how many?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like BASIS ain't so hot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like BASIS ain't so hot.

I am not interested in this school because, as I posted earlier, I'm not interested in accelerated academics. But sounds to me like there is one deranged mom there trying to torpedo the school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like BASIS ain't so hot.

I am not interested in this school because, as I posted earlier, I'm not interested in accelerated academics. But sounds to me like there is one deranged mom there trying to torpedo the school

Deranged is the right word to describe her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like BASIS ain't so hot.

That depends. If you're actually up for doing your part where it comes to putting in the work, doing accelerated coursework, APs, tracking your kid's progress and coursework in his CJ, availing yourself of the many supports, and passing comprehensive exams as a requirement to advancing to the next grade then they are doing great work at Basis.

But if you were shocked that there were actually expectations of your kid, if you think that all you need to do is have your kid show up, if you were one of the ones that waited til the last possible minute to worry about comps, if you had no clue your kid was struggling because you didn't bother to look at their CJ (parents can typically see how their kids are doing in class on a week by week basis) and if your kid was struggling, but you didn't have your kid avail himself of the tutoring, teacher hours, and many other supports or didn't bother until the last possible minute, then perhaps the school isn't for you.

And if you're the parent who figures that rather than doing your part in making it work, you instead think what needs to happen is to water down the expectations, water down the curriculum or change the requirements or model to make it like any number of the other schools that already exist in DC, then the school definitely isn't so hot for you.

Their model was developed over the span of 15 years with their highly successful Arizona schools, and is based on what's worked for them in a dozen schools, what's worked for thousands of families, and what's already demonstrated a phenomenal track record for accelerated results and college placement, and isn't terribly likely to change just because some parent didn't understand it or wasn't willing to do their part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP you seem pretty pushy and angry and entitled to get your question answered. Not the way to go about getting the intel you want. Work on your tone.

OP sounds like my third wife.

third out of how many?

I think OP is gone.

Was the third time the charm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like BASIS ain't so hot.

That depends. If you're actually up for doing your part where it comes to putting in the work, doing accelerated coursework, APs, tracking your kid's progress and coursework in his CJ, availing yourself of the many supports, and passing comprehensive exams as a requirement to advancing to the next grade then they are doing great work at Basis.

But if you were shocked that there were actually expectations of your kid, if you think that all you need to do is have your kid show up, if you were one of the ones that waited til the last possible minute to worry about comps, if you had no clue your kid was struggling because you didn't bother to look at their CJ (parents can typically see how their kids are doing in class on a week by week basis) and if your kid was struggling, but you didn't have your kid avail himself of the tutoring, teacher hours, and many other supports or didn't bother until the last possible minute, then perhaps the school isn't for you.

And if you're the parent who figures that rather than doing your part in making it work, you instead think what needs to happen is to water down the expectations, water down the curriculum or change the requirements or model to make it like any number of the other schools that already exist in DC, then the school definitely isn't so hot for you.

Their model was developed over the span of 15 years with their highly successful Arizona schools, and is based on what's worked for them in a dozen schools, what's worked for thousands of families, and what's already demonstrated a phenomenal track record for accelerated results and college placement, and isn't terribly likely to change just because some parent didn't understand it or wasn't willing to do their part.

Please shut up! BTW I am a parent of a child that attends BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like BASIS ain't so hot.

I am not interested in this school because, as I posted earlier, I'm not interested in accelerated academics. But sounds to me like there is one deranged mom there trying to torpedo the school

Deranged is the right word to describe her.

+100

I have to say I bit my tongue and didn't respond before, but those listserv posts were cringeworthy not just for the misguidedness mentioned above but they really jumped the shark with accusations of "racism" just because someone's kid didn't pass their comps. I just hate it when people immediately throw around those kinds of knee-jerk reactions, particularly when it's total ignorance of the reality that lots of AA kids passed their comps on the first try, lots of FARMS kids did as well, lots of AA kids are on honor roll, lots of AA kids are thriving and succeeding and being put to the fore competing academically against other schools, for example Science Bowl - not to mention the fact that the tests in question are electronically graded by a Scantron machine in Arizona that is incapable of knowing if a particular student is black, white, purple, whatever when it grades their tests. That, and the suggestion that only AA kids get disciplined when other parents know for a fact that's dead wrong. It really undermines all the hard work going on in civil rights when people immediately go straight to those kinds of specious accusations of racism and lean on it like a crutch any time anything isn't going their way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like BASIS ain't so hot.

That depends. If you're actually up for doing your part where it comes to putting in the work, doing accelerated coursework, APs, tracking your kid's progress and coursework in his CJ, availing yourself of the many supports, and passing comprehensive exams as a requirement to advancing to the next grade then they are doing great work at Basis.

But if you were shocked that there were actually expectations of your kid, if you think that all you need to do is have your kid show up, if you were one of the ones that waited til the last possible minute to worry about comps, if you had no clue your kid was struggling because you didn't bother to look at their CJ (parents can typically see how their kids are doing in class on a week by week basis) and if your kid was struggling, but you didn't have your kid avail himself of the tutoring, teacher hours, and many other supports or didn't bother until the last possible minute, then perhaps the school isn't for you.

And if you're the parent who figures that rather than doing your part in making it work, you instead think what needs to happen is to water down the expectations, water down the curriculum or change the requirements or model to make it like any number of the other schools that already exist in DC, then the school definitely isn't so hot for you.

Their model was developed over the span of 15 years with their highly successful Arizona schools, and is based on what's worked for them in a dozen schools, what's worked for thousands of families, and what's already demonstrated a phenomenal track record for accelerated results and college placement, and isn't terribly likely to change just because some parent didn't understand it or wasn't willing to do their part.

Please shut up! BTW I am a parent of a child that attends BASIS.

"Shut up?" I think it's right on the money and appreciated the post and appreciate that someone is standing up against the clueless, radioactive rants flying around.

[Anonymous]

We have a child who left for BASIS for Walls. Our DC was performing very well at BASIS but we felt the social and extracurricular opportunities were equally important. DC is not motivitated to do much outside of school so we felt we needed to change to a slightly larger and more established environment.
Not all their credits transferred which was frustrating.
Our child was totally fine at BASIS but is happy we made the change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like BASIS ain't so hot.

That depends. If you're actually up for doing your part where it comes to putting in the work, doing accelerated coursework, APs, tracking your kid's progress and coursework in his CJ, availing yourself of the many supports, and passing comprehensive exams as a requirement to advancing to the next grade then they are doing great work at Basis.

But if you were shocked that there were actually expectations of your kid, if you think that all you need to do is have your kid show up, if you were one of the ones that waited til the last possible minute to worry about comps, if you had no clue your kid was struggling because you didn't bother to look at their CJ (parents can typically see how their kids are doing in class on a week by week basis) and if your kid was struggling, but you didn't have your kid avail himself of the tutoring, teacher hours, and many other supports or didn't bother until the last possible minute, then perhaps the school isn't for you.

And if you're the parent who figures that rather than doing your part in making it work, you instead think what needs to happen is to water down the expectations, water down the curriculum or change the requirements or model to make it like any number of the other schools that already exist in DC, then the school definitely isn't so hot for you.

Their model was developed over the span of 15 years with their highly successful Arizona schools, and is based on what's worked for them in a dozen schools, what's worked for thousands of families, and what's already demonstrated a phenomenal track record for accelerated results and college placement, and isn't terribly likely to change just because some parent didn't understand it or wasn't willing to do their part.

Please shut up! BTW I am a parent of a child that attends BASIS.

Why do you feel the need to stifle opinions, PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a child who left for BASIS for Walls. Our DC was performing very well at BASIS but we felt the social and extracurricular opportunities were equally important. DC is not motivitated to do much outside of school so we felt we needed to change to a slightly larger and more established environment.
Not all their credits transferred which was frustrating.
Our child was totally fine at BASIS but is happy we made the change.

Dear PP,
thank you very much for your honest and thoughtful answer.

You have no idea how much it means to get a real response when present Basis parents have run off the rails, much to the detriment of Basis - both in terms of recruiting and retention.

When you say "extracurricular opportunities," would you please elaborate on that? Earlier in this thread someone posted a whole slew of activities that are available at Basis (not many of which I am familiar with). I was just wondering what the difference was between what Basis offers (according to that poster) and the offerings at SWW.

When you say not all of the credits transferred, we were told dc would have to retake World History, and that math would be an issue as well. Did the math credits not transfer? And were there any other courses? And does that kind of mean that your child can coast in some classes, including AP classes? Because I could see how that could free up time to do other things that would make an applicant more appealing to colleges and universities.

Again, I am extremely grateful for your response, because I learned quite a few things from it.

It is very interesting to me that your child was totally fine at Basis, and was doing well academically, but you decided nonetheless to make the change to SWW, and now your child is happy you did it. We have kind of thought that in terms of college admissions, being at Basis might give dc an academic edge over being at Walls.

And I have not met many children who are sort of take it or leave it about Basis. Most of my children's friends either love it (but recognize we have a ways to go) or hate it (and nothing I can imagine would ever change that). And like your dc, these are the kids who are doing relatively well grade wise, and have a solid group of friends.

So you learn something new every day. Thank you for letting me know that there is an entirely different category and dynamic at play, at least for your child........

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing one of the few answers on this thread (I have also appreciated the posts from parents who are still at Basis but have no intention of staying).

Maybe we can get back on track here...........

NB if you support Basis, please do not claim that you were "biting your tongue" until something happened that made you go on a racial rant, and please do not blame parents and students for "failing" at Basis with a tone of superiority and elitism that should be offensive to all Basis parents, whether their children are on Distinguished Honor Roll or are constantly struggling, and especially to those whose children have been retained and have decided to return to Basis and try again, instead of abandoning the school.

Silence is golden, and the noises you all are making might completely undo the countless hours we have spent talking to parents in person trying to get them to send their children to Basis, and certainly could legitimately cause any parent who has been considering Basis as a possibility to decide that whatever additional academic opportunities the school might offer are outweighed by racial and class tensions and an elitist attitude that demonstrates an appalling lack of empathy among the parents at Basis that makes creating a real community of parents and/or children impossible.

I hear a group of parents I do not know, and do not want to, and for anyone who is following this thread because they are considering enrolling their children in Basis, I can assure you that parents like these are a distinct minority who for some unknown reason have chosen this particular moment, and these particular threads, to crawl out of their holes. They are sufficiently aware to recognize that they would be shunned if they ever had the guts to post their true opinions on our school list serve and sign their names. But of course they would never do that because they are cowards at heart and know their kids would ultimately pay for it. No administrator, teacher, or decent parent would treat these comments as anything but what they are - comments by selfish, self aggrandizing, narcissistic people who clearly do not care enough about the future of Basis, or the future of their children at Basis (yes they are intertwined), to control themselves.

Please crawl back under the rocks from which you came, NOW, before you do anymore damage just because you feel a need to express your opinion and think everyone would benefit from hearing it. Basis does not benefit from your decisions that it is more important for you to vent your spleen than think about our future, and Basis does not benefit from attracting any more parents and children with whom your rants resonate

PP, I would really like to continue this conversation, and would greatly appreciate your thoughts on the additional questions I have asked, or anything else that you think might help us keep more students like your dc at Basis through high school..........

[Anonymous]

So there are activities at BASIS though our DC never really participated in much. Academics have never been an issue for this one, grades were excellent, was in the Junior National Honor Society at BASIS. 4.0 the whole time.

Last year Mr. Aiken impressed upon parents that kids at a new BASIS school are free to start clubs and activties, which is great. We just don't have that kind of kid. And Walls is just larger and there more opportunities like Model UN and crew and even a cheese club. Of course your kid can start a cheese club at Basis too. Our kid wants nothing to do with cheese club anywhere btw.

Regarding math, the BASIS kids had to take additional tests the first week of school which was pretty irritating since some kids were rusty after the summer. So they ended up in different classes. Two out of the 13 basis kids are in pre calc which is where they would be had they stayed.

Our kid excelled in history at BASIS but chose not to take the AP test. So having to retake it is annoying. I think one BASIS child scored well enough on the AP exam to test out of history at Walls. Not everyone took it last year.

So it is not a perfect solution but so far it is a good fit.
Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a child who left for BASIS for Walls. Our DC was performing very well at BASIS but we felt the social and extracurricular opportunities were equally important. DC is not motivitated to do much outside of school so we felt we needed to change to a slightly larger and more established environment.
Not all their credits transferred which was frustrating.
Our child was totally fine at BASIS but is happy we made the change.

Dear PP,
thank you very much for your honest and thoughtful answer.

You have no idea how much it means to get a real response when present Basis parents have run off the rails, much to the detriment of Basis - both in terms of recruiting and retention.

When you say "extracurricular opportunities," would you please elaborate on that? Earlier in this thread someone posted a whole slew of activities that are available at Basis (not many of which I am familiar with). I was just wondering what the difference was between what Basis offers (according to that poster) and the offerings at SWW.

When you say not all of the credits transferred, we were told dc would have to retake World History, and that math would be an issue as well. Did the math credits not transfer? And were there any other courses? And does that kind of mean that your child can coast in some classes, including AP classes? Because I could see how that could free up time to do other things that would make an applicant more appealing to colleges and universities.

Again, I am extremely grateful for your response, because I learned quite a few things from it.

It is very interesting to me that your child was totally fine at Basis, and was doing well academically, but you decided nonetheless to make the change to SWW, and now your child is happy you did it. We have kind of thought that in terms of college admissions, being at Basis might give dc an academic edge over being at Walls.

And I have not met many children who are sort of take it or leave it about Basis. Most of my children's friends either love it (but recognize we have a ways to go) or hate it (and nothing I can imagine would ever change that). And like your dc, these are the kids who are doing relatively well grade wise, and have a solid group of friends.

So you learn something new every day. Thank you for letting me know that there is an entirely different category and dynamic at play, at least for your child........

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing one of the few answers on this thread (I have also appreciated the posts from parents who are still at Basis but have no intention of staying).

Maybe we can get back on track here...........

NB if you support Basis, please do not claim that you were "biting your tongue" until something happened that made you go on a racial rant, and please do not blame parents and students for "failing" at Basis with a tone of superiority and elitism that should be offensive to all Basis parents, whether their children are on Distinguished Honor Roll or are constantly struggling, and especially to those whose children have been retained and have decided to return to Basis and try again, instead of abandoning the school.

Silence is golden, and the noises you all are making might completely undo the countless hours we have spent talking to parents in person trying to get them to send their children to Basis, and certainly could legitimately cause any parent who has been considering Basis as a possibility to decide that whatever additional academic opportunities the school might offer are outweighed by racial and class tensions and an elitist attitude that demonstrates an appalling lack of empathy among the parents at Basis that makes creating a real community of parents and/or children impossible.

I hear a group of parents I do not know, and do not want to, and for anyone who is following this thread because they are considering enrolling their children in Basis, I can assure you that parents like these are a distinct minority who for some unknown reason have chosen this particular moment, and these particular threads, to crawl out of their holes. They are sufficiently aware to recognize that they would be shunned if they ever had the guts to post their true opinions on our school list serve and sign their names. But of course they would never do that because they are cowards at heart and know their kids would ultimately pay for it. No administrator, teacher, or decent parent would treat these comments as anything but what they are - comments by selfish, self aggrandizing, narcissistic people who clearly do not care enough about the future of Basis, or the future of their children at Basis (yes they are intertwined), to control themselves.

Please crawl back under the rocks from which you came, NOW, before you do anymore damage just because you feel a need to express your opinion and think everyone would benefit from hearing it. Basis does not benefit from your decisions that it is more important for you to vent your spleen than think about our future, and Basis does not benefit from attracting any more parents and children with whom your rants resonate

PP, I would really like to continue this conversation, and would greatly appreciate your thoughts on the additional questions I have asked, or anything else that you think might help us keep more students like your dc at Basis through high school..........

NP, and without a dog in this fight.

If "Silence is Golden" - why do you talk and talk and talk and (oh sweet Jesus, still with the talking!) talk?

Perhaps silence is only truly golden to you, when it "gilds" those people with whom you disagree?

Just curious, of course.