BASIS attrition after middle school- why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are: attrition -- I did some research and learned that lots of attrition is common to all BASIS charter school -- the graduating classes is a third to a quarter the size of the incoming class. I think it's expected and part of how they make this model work (a charter that is open to all but where the content is very accelerated and probably appropriate for only a subset.)

Still digesting...

I have a very academically inclined 4th grader and am SO conflicted about where to put this school on the list. In theory he would love it -- learning all that material --but is there something wrong with the execution?

Have you visited the school yourself? Talked to families in-person about their experiences at BASIS? You'll get more info doing that than coming to DCUM.

Visited the school twice, talked to several families who left (one with a horror story) and one who stayed and regretted it. I haven't met someone in person who is glad they stayed and has a grad, but I would love to.

Maybe that’s a sign, PP. No one in your circle choses BASIS, so neither should you.

[Anonymous]

I have an 8th grade boy at BASIS and we’re staying. He’s found an excellent group of peers that have kept him on track, and he’s now an incredibly mature kid who I can trust to act responsibly. I give a lot of credit to the other kids and their families for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8th grade boy at BASIS and we’re staying. He’s found an excellent group of peers that have kept him on track, and he’s now an incredibly mature kid who I can trust to act responsibly. I give a lot of credit to the other kids and their families for that.

Questions for parents who have happy kids and older kids at BASIS:

Do your kids have time to pursue their extra curriculars outside of school, or does the amount of homework prohibit that?
How were 6th and 7th grade? -- the stories here give me pause (30 kids per class, inexperienced and overwhelmed teachers). How did your kids feel about those years?
Parents of alums, if there are any-- does the senior capstone project really work? I can see kids slacking off... but can also see how it might be an amazing opportunity. How is the execution?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8th grade boy at BASIS and we’re staying. He’s found an excellent group of peers that have kept him on track, and he’s now an incredibly mature kid who I can trust to act responsibly. I give a lot of credit to the other kids and their families for that.

Questions for parents who have happy kids and older kids at BASIS:

Do your kids have time to pursue their extra curriculars outside of school, or does the amount of homework prohibit that?
How were 6th and 7th grade? -- the stories here give me pause (30 kids per class, inexperienced and overwhelmed teachers). How did your kids feel about those years?
Parents of alums, if there are any-- does the senior capstone project really work? I can see kids slacking off... but can also see how it might be an amazing opportunity. How is the execution?

The amount of time needed to do homework is a function of both ability and standards. My reasonably smart but no genius child with little ambition didn't do much, if any, "home" work in middle school and still got passible (mostly As) grades - there's enough time in school to get most of it done. The workload has increased in high school but there are still plenty of days with little to no homework. It might be difficult for a child who does a sport that has a huge time commitment, for example, or who struggles with math. And middle school was fine - my main complaint was the lack of writing, with a lot of time spent on grammar, but I think there's been a bit of a shift there, and there's a lot more writing in HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8th grade boy at BASIS and we’re staying. He’s found an excellent group of peers that have kept him on track, and he’s now an incredibly mature kid who I can trust to act responsibly. I give a lot of credit to the other kids and their families for that.

Questions for parents who have happy kids and older kids at BASIS:

Do your kids have time to pursue their extra curriculars outside of school, or does the amount of homework prohibit that?
My child had no additional time to pursue extracurriculars in 5th grade. It was a harsh adjustment from her prior school, which didn't value education so much. They actually have to be awake and ready each day, and that was a big adjustment. Since then, she has had tons of time for extracurriculars. She spends at least 2 hours a day on them, and she also has a robust social life. She is busy though.

How were 6th and 7th grade? -- the stories here give me pause (30 kids per class, inexperienced and overwhelmed teachers). How did your kids feel about those years?
6th and 7th were a breeze. I don't recall any homework done at home. She had learned time management, and she was generally able to do it all at school.

In high school, there has definitely been homework. On average 2 hours a day. But, things really ebb and flow. They don't do much make work. So, if it is time to study, they study. If it isn't, they don't. The crew is tight and encouraging, and they often do homework or study together or on the phone, so there is an overlap of when is studying and when is hanging out. But she and her friends all get mostly (if not straight) A's and have very big extracurricular lives, so I don't push much of anything. The cohort is so good that they know how to learn and teach each other even when the teachers may not quite know what they need. At this point, they know they are learning towards a test, so they find other materials that help if the ones provided aren't cutting it. It is impressive to watch. Once the APs are over, there is really no substance at all and they all relax a ton. It actually works quite well.

Parents of alums, if there are any-- does the senior capstone project really work? I can see kids slacking off... but can also see how it might be an amazing opportunity. How is the execution?

I haven't seen this yet personally. I've seen it work in different ways. But honestly, I'm good either way. These kids are super self-motivated and if they use it as a bit of a gap year, good for them for recognizing that is what they need. There is no way that you could call a successful basis high schooler a slacker with a straight face.

Answers embedded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8th grade boy at BASIS and we’re staying. He’s found an excellent group of peers that have kept him on track, and he’s now an incredibly mature kid who I can trust to act responsibly. I give a lot of credit to the other kids and their families for that.

Questions for parents who have happy kids and older kids at BASIS:

Do your kids have time to pursue their extra curriculars outside of school, or does the amount of homework prohibit that?
How were 6th and 7th grade? -- the stories here give me pause (30 kids per class, inexperienced and overwhelmed teachers). How did your kids feel about those years?
Parents of alums, if there are any-- does the senior capstone project really work? I can see kids slacking off... but can also see how it might be an amazing opportunity. How is the execution?

My son has had straight As all through middle school, and has always had plenty of time to do extracurriculars. I don't think I've ever seen him do more than 1 hour of a homework in an evening, and that's a rare event.

There were some teacher problems in 6th and 7th grade, but imo, I don't really blame BASIS for this. Finding and keeping teachers post-pandemic has been crazy everywhere. In our experience, BASIS did do a lot to try to support my kid through unevenness, whether that was finding a replacement teacher, offering extra study sessions, sending out extra resources, etc. For my kid, this was enough.

[Anonymous]

The lonely senior capstone project isn't serious. The set up and execution were left to us and there was no funding to support our girl's project. What we mostly did with fall of senior year was have her prep for a couple Nov Cambridge International exams, one A-Level (language, pitched around two years past AP) and an AS-Level, half an A-Level in a subject not taught at BASIS that she loves (marine biology). Our kid was concerned that some of her 11th grade AP scores could have been better and wanted to bump up her results portfolio. She took the exams NYC. The language worked out great after a month-long summer immersion program abroad, which we paid for. In the spring, she volunteered at an aquarium in the area, also arranged by us. We hired our own college counselor after our girl complained that the BASIS counselor had a tin ear. If you only want to hear positives, ask others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8th grade boy at BASIS and we’re staying. He’s found an excellent group of peers that have kept him on track, and he’s now an incredibly mature kid who I can trust to act responsibly. I give a lot of credit to the other kids and their families for that.

Questions for parents who have happy kids and older kids at BASIS:

Do your kids have time to pursue their extra curriculars outside of school, or does the amount of homework prohibit that?
My child had no additional time to pursue extracurriculars in 5th grade. It was a harsh adjustment from her prior school, which didn't value education so much. They actually have to be awake and ready each day, and that was a big adjustment. Since then, she has had tons of time for extracurriculars. She spends at least 2 hours a day on them, and she also has a robust social life. She is busy though.

How were 6th and 7th grade? -- the stories here give me pause (30 kids per class, inexperienced and overwhelmed teachers). How did your kids feel about those years?
6th and 7th were a breeze. I don't recall any homework done at home. She had learned time management, and she was generally able to do it all at school.

In high school, there has definitely been homework. On average 2 hours a day. But, things really ebb and flow. They don't do much make work. So, if it is time to study, they study. If it isn't, they don't. The crew is tight and encouraging, and they often do homework or study together or on the phone, so there is an overlap of when is studying and when is hanging out. But she and her friends all get mostly (if not straight) A's and have very big extracurricular lives, so I don't push much of anything. The cohort is so good that they know how to learn and teach each other even when the teachers may not quite know what they need. At this point, they know they are learning towards a test, so they find other materials that help if the ones provided aren't cutting it. It is impressive to watch. Once the APs are over, there is really no substance at all and they all relax a ton. It actually works quite well.

Parents of alums, if there are any-- does the senior capstone project really work? I can see kids slacking off... but can also see how it might be an amazing opportunity. How is the execution?

I haven't seen this yet personally. I've seen it work in different ways. But honestly, I'm good either way. These kids are super self-motivated and if they use it as a bit of a gap year, good for them for recognizing that is what they need. There is no way that you could call a successful basis high schooler a slacker with a straight face.

Answers embedded.

Very helpful, thank you so much!

A few more Q's for families who stayed:

Do the science classes have labs/hands on work?
Do they take field trips?
Do the kids put together a school newspaper or yearbook?
Are there activities like Model UN or Debate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The lonely senior capstone project isn't serious. The set up and execution were left to us and there was no funding to support our girl's project. What we mostly did with fall of senior year was have her prep for a couple Nov Cambridge International exams, one A-Level (language, pitched around two years past AP) and an AS-Level, half an A-Level in a subject not taught at BASIS that she loves (marine biology). Our kid was concerned that some of her 11th grade AP scores could have been better and wanted to bump up her results portfolio. She took the exams NYC. The language worked out great after a month-long summer immersion program abroad, which we paid for. In the spring, she volunteered at an aquarium in the area, also arranged by us. We hired our own college counselor after our girl complained that the BASIS counselor had a tin ear. If you only want to hear positives, ask others.

OMG. Not you again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The lonely senior capstone project isn't serious. The set up and execution were left to us and there was no funding to support our girl's project. What we mostly did with fall of senior year was have her prep for a couple Nov Cambridge International exams, one A-Level (language, pitched around two years past AP) and an AS-Level, half an A-Level in a subject not taught at BASIS that she loves (marine biology). Our kid was concerned that some of her 11th grade AP scores could have been better and wanted to bump up her results portfolio. She took the exams NYC. The language worked out great after a month-long summer immersion program abroad, which we paid for. In the spring, she volunteered at an aquarium in the area, also arranged by us. We hired our own college counselor after our girl complained that the BASIS counselor had a tin ear. If you only want to hear positives, ask others.

Not every parent there is like this! I promise!

[Anonymous]

I wish the parent above was wrong. Annoying, maybe, but making fair points. Senior year at BASIS was too ad hoc for us to be impressed. The senioritis kicks in at Labor Day rather than in the spring. Most of the kids are quite burned out and want to cruise. BASIS doesn't put the resources into senior year to make it work well.

[Anonymous]

OMG BASIS doesn't have the money for capstone projects. Wait, you didn't notice until senior year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG BASIS doesn't have the money for capstone projects. Wait, you didn't notice until senior year?

Then what’s the point of pushing kids so hard to take all these AP for? To do a joke project senior year?

Doesn’t sound like a good system at all. Burn kids out in the AP factory and then take time to recover senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8th grade boy at BASIS and we’re staying. He’s found an excellent group of peers that have kept him on track, and he’s now an incredibly mature kid who I can trust to act responsibly. I give a lot of credit to the other kids and their families for that.

Questions for parents who have happy kids and older kids at BASIS:

Do your kids have time to pursue their extra curriculars outside of school, or does the amount of homework prohibit that?
My child had no additional time to pursue extracurriculars in 5th grade. It was a harsh adjustment from her prior school, which didn't value education so much. They actually have to be awake and ready each day, and that was a big adjustment. Since then, she has had tons of time for extracurriculars. She spends at least 2 hours a day on them, and she also has a robust social life. She is busy though.

How were 6th and 7th grade? -- the stories here give me pause (30 kids per class, inexperienced and overwhelmed teachers). How did your kids feel about those years?
6th and 7th were a breeze. I don't recall any homework done at home. She had learned time management, and she was generally able to do it all at school.

In high school, there has definitely been homework. On average 2 hours a day. But, things really ebb and flow. They don't do much make work. So, if it is time to study, they study. If it isn't, they don't. The crew is tight and encouraging, and they often do homework or study together or on the phone, so there is an overlap of when is studying and when is hanging out. But she and her friends all get mostly (if not straight) A's and have very big extracurricular lives, so I don't push much of anything. The cohort is so good that they know how to learn and teach each other even when the teachers may not quite know what they need. At this point, they know they are learning towards a test, so they find other materials that help if the ones provided aren't cutting it. It is impressive to watch. Once the APs are over, there is really no substance at all and they all relax a ton. It actually works quite well.

Parents of alums, if there are any-- does the senior capstone project really work? I can see kids slacking off... but can also see how it might be an amazing opportunity. How is the execution?

I haven't seen this yet personally. I've seen it work in different ways. But honestly, I'm good either way. These kids are super self-motivated and if they use it as a bit of a gap year, good for them for recognizing that is what they need. There is no way that you could call a successful basis high schooler a slacker with a straight face.

Answers embedded.

Very helpful, thank you so much!

A few more Q's for families who stayed:

Do the science classes have labs/hands on work?
Do they take field trips?
Do the kids put together a school newspaper or yearbook?
Are there activities like Model UN or Debate?

Sure, here you go.

Do the science classes have labs/hands on work?

Yes. Just like other schools.

Do they take field trips?

Yes. Just like other schools

Do the kids put together a school newspaper or yearbook?

Yes for yearbook. No school newspaper.

Are there activities like Model UN or Debate?

Yes. Just like other schools they have both MUN, debate, and other extracurricular activities.

You can answer any other questions by looking here: https://enrollbasis.com/washington-dc/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG BASIS doesn't have the money for capstone projects. Wait, you didn't notice until senior year?

Then what’s the point of pushing kids so hard to take all these AP for? To do a joke project senior year?

Doesn’t sound like a good system at all. Burn kids out in the AP factory and then take time to recover senior year.

Maybe don't believe everything you read on DCUM.

https://enrollbasis.com/academics/senior-projects/