BASIS charter expansion is up for public comment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...More would crack the most highly competitive colleges. A few of the most ambitious students wind up taking AP exams in subjects that BASIS doesn't teach at other schools..

BASIS kids this year (and in years past) have done very well in terms of college acceptance - especially when you consider the small class size.

Right, no room for improvement at BASIS. None.

Every school has room for improvement, but for a class of ~60, from a non-application, free high school, they have great results (Yale, Penn, UVA, JHU, McGill, Tufts, W&M, UCLA, UMD, VT, etc.)

You seem to have an axe to grind. Maybe your kid didn't like it, or couldn't deal with the workload. That's OK.

Different PP here. My kid is a senior heading to a college admitting in the single digits in the fall.

You might be surprised to hear that I couldn't agree more that, with better support for students with unusual interests & backgrounds, greater scope for hands-on learning & more flexibility in the curriculum, BASIS DC could get even better college results without a bigger budget. Significantly better.

Frankly, half a dozen current seniors might have cracked Ivies if they'd been treated more intelligently by the franchise from start to finish (particularly re how senior year is used). It's no joke that BASIS wastes the strong language backgrounds of dozens of DC 5th graders by preventing them from studying languages they come in with at the advanced level prior to sophomore or junior year. BASIS does this because they can, not because it's smart. I say this as a former DCI feeder parent whose kid wasn't remotely challenged in language classes at BASIS.

We're glad to be at the finish line with a program that could and should aim higher. In a nutshell, BASIS is stuck in an earlier decade in its planning for elite college admissions, with parents like me picking up the slack by providing essential (and none too cheap) inputs for years before acceptance notices go out.

Would love to hear more about the essential inputs you provided to help make BASIS work for your kid in high school.

Kid prepped for AP Drawing and Art History independently by taking local drawing classes for adults and working with a tutor. They attended a 4-wk Concordia camp in MN after 10th. Kid took an AP language exam in 11th. They went abroad for language immersion after 11th as prep for a much harder Cambridge A-Level exam in Nov of sr year (taken at an intl school in another city). Kid is set on college pre-med, so attended the Tufts Mini Med School summer camp. In high school, kid built up to EMT training (to be completed this summer) by taking first aid courses at the Red Cross training center in Rosslyn. Kid volunteered as a patient services helper at two area hospitals.

Thanks for sharing this. So it sounds like you had both academics and extracurriculars that you assisted with finding outside of BASIS.

Gulp. I'm not sure I'm up to the task.

[Anonymous]

Sure. If I could back to 4th, we'd have stuck things out at our DCPS for 5th and applied to parochial middle schools. We'd have figured something else out for high school, tried for Walls, maybe moved to NoVa temporarily or asked for help from family to afford parochial high school. We got the college result we wanted, but at high cost in time, money and frustration. Our kid would've liked the chance to pursue serious ECs with classmates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure. If I could back to 4th, we'd have stuck things out at our DCPS for 5th and applied to parochial middle schools. We'd have figured something else out for high school, tried for Walls, maybe moved to NoVa temporarily or asked for help from family to afford parochial high school. We got the college result we wanted, but at high cost in time, money and frustration. Our kid would've liked the chance to pursue serious ECs with classmates.

This is the kind of thing that makes me so leery about BASIS. Yeah, it can get your kid through, but at what cost? I'd rather my kid go to a good college and not see education as traumatic (which I think will make them perform at a higher level) than eke into a great college on the back of 4-7 years of misery, anxiety and struggle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure. If I could back to 4th, we'd have stuck things out at our DCPS for 5th and applied to parochial middle schools. We'd have figured something else out for high school, tried for Walls, maybe moved to NoVa temporarily or asked for help from family to afford parochial high school. We got the college result we wanted, but at high cost in time, money and frustration. Our kid would've liked the chance to pursue serious ECs with classmates.

This is the kind of thing that makes me so leery about BASIS. Yeah, it can get your kid through, but at what cost? I'd rather my kid go to a good college and not see education as traumatic (which I think will make them perform at a higher level) than eke into a great college on the back of 4-7 years of misery, anxiety and struggle.

It really, really depends on the kid. For some, BASIS is perfect; for others, it isn't. My DD thrived at SH w/ her tight knit drama crew, an ability to ignore behavioral issues & the social skills to avoid problems, and good enough academics to have all the options for HS. BASIS would have drained her for likely the same outcome. My DS would have been constantly stressed out by classmates at SH, would have found the work too easy and likely didn't have the skills to make the team for his sport (at best, would ride the bench). On the other hand, DS finds BASIS academics easy (math is his thing, which is where many feel the pressure most), made his sports team with good playing time and has a very diverse crew of surprisingly similar friends. Same family; two very different kids who correct paths were totally different for likely similar college outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure. If I could back to 4th, we'd have stuck things out at our DCPS for 5th and applied to parochial middle schools. We'd have figured something else out for high school, tried for Walls, maybe moved to NoVa temporarily or asked for help from family to afford parochial high school. We got the college result we wanted, but at high cost in time, money and frustration. Our kid would've liked the chance to pursue serious ECs with classmates.

This is the kind of thing that makes me so leery about BASIS. Yeah, it can get your kid through, but at what cost? I'd rather my kid go to a good college and not see education as traumatic (which I think will make them perform at a higher level) than eke into a great college on the back of 4-7 years of misery, anxiety and struggle.

It really, really depends on the kid. For some, BASIS is perfect; for others, it isn't. My DD thrived at SH w/ her tight knit drama crew, an ability to ignore behavioral issues & the social skills to avoid problems, and good enough academics to have all the options for HS. BASIS would have drained her for likely the same outcome. My DS would have been constantly stressed out by classmates at SH, would have found the work too easy and likely didn't have the skills to make the team for his sport (at best, would ride the bench). On the other hand, DS finds BASIS academics easy (math is his thing, which is where many feel the pressure most), made his sports team with good playing time and has a very diverse crew of surprisingly similar friends. Same family; two very different kids who correct paths were totally different for likely similar college outcomes.

This is basically the first reasonable thing I've read on this thread. As one of the people who routinely objects to BASIS, I endorse this version. But I don't think BASIS markets itself this way and I don't think most parents trying to get their kids in have such a nuanced view.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...More would crack the most highly competitive colleges. A few of the most ambitious students wind up taking AP exams in subjects that BASIS doesn't teach at other schools..

BASIS kids this year (and in years past) have done very well in terms of college acceptance - especially when you consider the small class size.

Right, no room for improvement at BASIS. None.

Every school has room for improvement, but for a class of ~60, from a non-application, free high school, they have great results (Yale, Penn, UVA, JHU, McGill, Tufts, W&M, UCLA, UMD, VT, etc.)

You seem to have an axe to grind. Maybe your kid didn't like it, or couldn't deal with the workload. That's OK.

Different PP here. My kid is a senior heading to a college admitting in the single digits in the fall.

You might be surprised to hear that I couldn't agree more that, with better support for students with unusual interests & backgrounds, greater scope for hands-on learning & more flexibility in the curriculum, BASIS DC could get even better college results without a bigger budget. Significantly better.

Frankly, half a dozen current seniors might have cracked Ivies if they'd been treated more intelligently by the franchise from start to finish (particularly re how senior year is used). It's no joke that BASIS wastes the strong language backgrounds of dozens of DC 5th graders by preventing them from studying languages they come in with at the advanced level prior to sophomore or junior year. BASIS does this because they can, not because it's smart. I say this as a former DCI feeder parent whose kid wasn't remotely challenged in language classes at BASIS.

We're glad to be at the finish line with a program that could and should aim higher. In a nutshell, BASIS is stuck in an earlier decade in its planning for elite college admissions, with parents like me picking up the slack by providing essential (and none too cheap) inputs for years before acceptance notices go out.

Would love to hear more about the essential inputs you provided to help make BASIS work for your kid in high school.

Kid prepped for AP Drawing and Art History independently by taking local drawing classes for adults and working with a tutor. They attended a 4-wk Concordia camp in MN after 10th. Kid took an AP language exam in 11th. They went abroad for language immersion after 11th as prep for a much harder Cambridge A-Level exam in Nov of sr year (taken at an intl school in another city). Kid is set on college pre-med, so attended the Tufts Mini Med School summer camp. In high school, kid built up to EMT training (to be completed this summer) by taking first aid courses at the Red Cross training center in Rosslyn. Kid volunteered as a patient services helper at two area hospitals.

Thanks for sharing this. So it sounds like you had both academics and extracurriculars that you assisted with finding outside of BASIS.

Gulp. I'm not sure I'm up to the task.

If that's what you're looking for for your kid, there's no public or charter school in DC that's going to give them that, so you're going to be doing it regardless. But obviously you do not have to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure. If I could back to 4th, we'd have stuck things out at our DCPS for 5th and applied to parochial middle schools. We'd have figured something else out for high school, tried for Walls, maybe moved to NoVa temporarily or asked for help from family to afford parochial high school. We got the college result we wanted, but at high cost in time, money and frustration. Our kid would've liked the chance to pursue serious ECs with classmates.

This is the kind of thing that makes me so leery about BASIS. Yeah, it can get your kid through, but at what cost? I'd rather my kid go to a good college and not see education as traumatic (which I think will make them perform at a higher level) than eke into a great college on the back of 4-7 years of misery, anxiety and struggle.

It really, really depends on the kid. For some, BASIS is perfect; for others, it isn't. My DD thrived at SH w/ her tight knit drama crew, an ability to ignore behavioral issues & the social skills to avoid problems, and good enough academics to have all the options for HS. BASIS would have drained her for likely the same outcome. My DS would have been constantly stressed out by classmates at SH, would have found the work too easy and likely didn't have the skills to make the team for his sport (at best, would ride the bench). On the other hand, DS finds BASIS academics easy (math is his thing, which is where many feel the pressure most), made his sports team with good playing time and has a very diverse crew of surprisingly similar friends. Same family; two very different kids who correct paths were totally different for likely similar college outcomes.

This is basically the first reasonable thing I've read on this thread. As one of the people who routinely objects to BASIS, I endorse this version. But I don't think BASIS markets itself this way and I don't think most parents trying to get their kids in have such a nuanced view.

As the parent of a BASIS 8th grader, most of the parents I know have this view.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure. If I could back to 4th, we'd have stuck things out at our DCPS for 5th and applied to parochial middle schools. We'd have figured something else out for high school, tried for Walls, maybe moved to NoVa temporarily or asked for help from family to afford parochial high school. We got the college result we wanted, but at high cost in time, money and frustration. Our kid would've liked the chance to pursue serious ECs with classmates.

This is the kind of thing that makes me so leery about BASIS. Yeah, it can get your kid through, but at what cost? I'd rather my kid go to a good college and not see education as traumatic (which I think will make them perform at a higher level) than eke into a great college on the back of 4-7 years of misery, anxiety and struggle.

It really, really depends on the kid. For some, BASIS is perfect; for others, it isn't. My DD thrived at SH w/ her tight knit drama crew, an ability to ignore behavioral issues & the social skills to avoid problems, and good enough academics to have all the options for HS. BASIS would have drained her for likely the same outcome. My DS would have been constantly stressed out by classmates at SH, would have found the work too easy and likely didn't have the skills to make the team for his sport (at best, would ride the bench). On the other hand, DS finds BASIS academics easy (math is his thing, which is where many feel the pressure most), made his sports team with good playing time and has a very diverse crew of surprisingly similar friends. Same family; two very different kids who correct paths were totally different for likely similar college outcomes.

This is basically the first reasonable thing I've read on this thread. As one of the people who routinely objects to BASIS, I endorse this version. But I don't think BASIS markets itself this way and I don't think most parents trying to get their kids in have such a nuanced view.

As the parent of a BASIS 8th grader, most of the parents I know have this view.

Really? All the BASIS parents I've ever known admit all the bad things, but always very confidently say that it's not a problem for THEIR kid. Almost none of them have had their kids graduate. The one who has had the experience where one graduated and one found happiness at another school, and the one who graduated concluded he could have achieved the same college result and been much happier by going elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because our school system is deeply troubled in a toxic political environment, not because BASIS is all that great. What I hear in this thread is that more of the longtime BASIS parents who post on these threads aren’t singing the program’s praises.

What you are hearing is anonymous posts by a handful of posters, most of whom don’t even have kids at the school.

NP, there are a number of posters on here with kids at the school who acknowledge weaknesses and strengths. Those I respect and not the boosters who are so defensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure. If I could back to 4th, we'd have stuck things out at our DCPS for 5th and applied to parochial middle schools. We'd have figured something else out for high school, tried for Walls, maybe moved to NoVa temporarily or asked for help from family to afford parochial high school. We got the college result we wanted, but at high cost in time, money and frustration. Our kid would've liked the chance to pursue serious ECs with classmates.

This is the kind of thing that makes me so leery about BASIS. Yeah, it can get your kid through, but at what cost? I'd rather my kid go to a good college and not see education as traumatic (which I think will make them perform at a higher level) than eke into a great college on the back of 4-7 years of misery, anxiety and struggle.

It really, really depends on the kid. For some, BASIS is perfect; for others, it isn't. My DD thrived at SH w/ her tight knit drama crew, an ability to ignore behavioral issues & the social skills to avoid problems, and good enough academics to have all the options for HS. BASIS would have drained her for likely the same outcome. My DS would have been constantly stressed out by classmates at SH, would have found the work too easy and likely didn't have the skills to make the team for his sport (at best, would ride the bench). On the other hand, DS finds BASIS academics easy (math is his thing, which is where many feel the pressure most), made his sports team with good playing time and has a very diverse crew of surprisingly similar friends. Same family; two very different kids who correct paths were totally different for likely similar college outcomes.

Thank you for this! Agree that it is very reasonable and sane and actually helpful. For us (enrolled family with a very mathy 4th grade), it's comforting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure. If I could back to 4th, we'd have stuck things out at our DCPS for 5th and applied to parochial middle schools. We'd have figured something else out for high school, tried for Walls, maybe moved to NoVa temporarily or asked for help from family to afford parochial high school. We got the college result we wanted, but at high cost in time, money and frustration. Our kid would've liked the chance to pursue serious ECs with classmates.

This is the kind of thing that makes me so leery about BASIS. Yeah, it can get your kid through, but at what cost? I'd rather my kid go to a good college and not see education as traumatic (which I think will make them perform at a higher level) than eke into a great college on the back of 4-7 years of misery, anxiety and struggle.

It really, really depends on the kid. For some, BASIS is perfect; for others, it isn't. My DD thrived at SH w/ her tight knit drama crew, an ability to ignore behavioral issues & the social skills to avoid problems, and good enough academics to have all the options for HS. BASIS would have drained her for likely the same outcome. My DS would have been constantly stressed out by classmates at SH, would have found the work too easy and likely didn't have the skills to make the team for his sport (at best, would ride the bench). On the other hand, DS finds BASIS academics easy (math is his thing, which is where many feel the pressure most), made his sports team with good playing time and has a very diverse crew of surprisingly similar friends. Same family; two very different kids who correct paths were totally different for likely similar college outcomes.

This is basically the first reasonable thing I've read on this thread. As one of the people who routinely objects to BASIS, I endorse this version. But I don't think BASIS markets itself this way and I don't think most parents trying to get their kids in have such a nuanced view.

As the parent of a BASIS 8th grader, most of the parents I know have this view.

Really? All the BASIS parents I've ever known admit all the bad things, but always very confidently say that it's not a problem for THEIR kid. Almost none of them have had their kids graduate. The one who has had the experience where one graduated and one found happiness at another school, and the one who graduated concluded he could have achieved the same college result and been much happier by going elsewhere.

I'm PP. Most of the parents I know take the school year by year, and see if the school continues to fit their child. A child can change a lot from 5th grade to 12th grade, and what works in younger years may not work in later years. Admittedly, this means that most of the parents I know have a Plan B -- even if this means going back to their non/Deal or Hardy MS IB and making it work with supplementation, camps, etc., or saving to ultimately pay for private HS. I don't know many who are forcing their kid to stay at BASIS if it's no longer a good fit. I do know many who ask their kid every year if they want to stay, and their kid says yes.

[Anonymous]

Taking middle and high school year by year is just too iffy and stressful for many of us. We reach a point where we’re open to school situation that’s a surer bet. My older kid is reserved, doesn’t make friends or manage transitions easily. Our family is burning out on pals and favorite teachers leaving for greener pastures. We’re also tired of the lonely hustle to identify, access and pay for quality ECs that line up with kids’ interests. BASIS is all about making do, which is tiring.

[Anonymous]

What a joke. BASIS is “perfect” for no student. Give us a break, enrichment is weak, teacher turnover remains stubbornly high for the location and demograhpic, the facilities are lousy and the admins are lazy jerks. I’ll buy BASIS is adequate or acceptable for many or even most who enroll, not more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taking middle and high school year by year is just too iffy and stressful for many of us. We reach a point where we’re open to school situation that’s a surer bet. My older kid is reserved, doesn’t make friends or manage transitions easily. Our family is burning out on pals and favorite teachers leaving for greener pastures. We’re also tired of the lonely hustle to identify, access and pay for quality ECs that line up with kids’ interests. BASIS is all about making do, which is tiring.

Above sums it up very well. We are already tired of the supplementing outside of school with academics, sports, or EC in elementary.

We want a middle and high school where our kid can get everything he needs above at school academically during the day and stay after school for the sports, clubs, EC. This would be a total game changer and huge increase in quality of life issues for not only us but our child.

No school is perfect but the school choices and situation is so sub par and poor in DC. I love the city but we are seriously considering moving to burbs to get what we need. And before someone says families in the burbs don’t supplement academics or whatever, sure some helicopter parents may to get their child ahead but if in a good pyramid, you don’t need to and the classes can be at appropriate level where your child is. Our friends in burbs don’t supplement and their kids are happy, got well rounded middle/high school experience, and landed fine in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking middle and high school year by year is just too iffy and stressful for many of us. We reach a point where we’re open to school situation that’s a surer bet. My older kid is reserved, doesn’t make friends or manage transitions easily. Our family is burning out on pals and favorite teachers leaving for greener pastures. We’re also tired of the lonely hustle to identify, access and pay for quality ECs that line up with kids’ interests. BASIS is all about making do, which is tiring.

Above sums it up very well. We are already tired of the supplementing outside of school with academics, sports, or EC in elementary.

We want a middle and high school where our kid can get everything he needs above at school academically during the day and stay after school for the sports, clubs, EC. This would be a total game changer and huge increase in quality of life issues for not only us but our child.

No school is perfect but the school choices and situation is so sub par and poor in DC. I love the city but we are seriously considering moving to burbs to get what we need. And before someone says families in the burbs don’t supplement academics or whatever, sure some helicopter parents may to get their child ahead but if in a good pyramid, you don’t need to and the classes can be at appropriate level where your child is. Our friends in burbs don’t supplement and their kids are happy, got well rounded middle/high school experience, and landed fine in college.

Plenty of parents in the burbs and at private schools supplement.

And you will probably have to supplement at most schools if you want to focus on some obscure language or arts area.

And more kids means that some classes are harder to get into. Just because the class is offered doesn’t mean your kid is going to get in.