BASIS attrition after middle school- why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, we’re expecting little fron BASIS. But we’d sure like a modicum of common sense flexibility at no cost to the school on curriculum here and there. The ironclad policy on language instruction is so over the top obtuse that you can’t make this stuff up. Be our guests, march and salute on into the high school claiming that the rest of us leave because are children are too dumb and lazy to cope.

Self centered entitled parent has entered the chat. He doesn't understand why the school can't just make an exception for his snowflake.

i don't understand why bullying seems to be a huge part of BASIS culture. I can't imagine anyone from any other school speaking this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, we’re expecting little fron BASIS. But we’d sure like a modicum of common sense flexibility at no cost to the school on curriculum here and there. The ironclad policy on language instruction is so over the top obtuse that you can’t make this stuff up. Be our guests, march and salute on into the high school claiming that the rest of us leave because are children are too dumb and lazy to cope.

Sounds like you enrolled at BASIS expecting them to change the curriculum, especially as it relates to language. Why enroll at all if you don't like the curriculum?

Sounds like you’re OK with public school admins pushing families in every case. Before enrolling, we were ensured by admins that our kid would be challenged across the board. The reality was that his ES language classes were more rigorous than his 8th grade classes. We asked for harder work from his language teacher, the answer was no. No again when we asked if he could sit out language classes in the cafeteria studying on his own. Things weren’t much better in MS English and social studies classes. BASIS isn’t for every student, right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, we’re expecting little fron BASIS. But we’d sure like a modicum of common sense flexibility at no cost to the school on curriculum here and there. The ironclad policy on language instruction is so over the top obtuse that you can’t make this stuff up. Be our guests, march and salute on into the high school claiming that the rest of us leave because are children are too dumb and lazy to cope.

Sounds like you enrolled at BASIS expecting them to change the curriculum, especially as it relates to language. Why enroll at all if you don't like the curriculum?

Sounds like you’re OK with public school admins pushing families in every case. Before enrolling, we were ensured by admins that our kid would be challenged across the board. The reality was that his ES language classes were more rigorous than his 8th grade classes. We asked for harder work from his language teacher, the answer was no. No again when we asked if he could sit out language classes in the cafeteria studying on his own. Things weren’t much better in MS English and social studies classes. BASIS isn’t for every student, right.

I was simply asking about why you chose to enroll given your preference about language instruction. I can't speak to your claim about "public school admins pushing families in every case" and I'm not even sure what that means. Hopefully you found a school with a better fit for your child's language studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, we’re expecting little fron BASIS. But we’d sure like a modicum of common sense flexibility at no cost to the school on curriculum here and there. The ironclad policy on language instruction is so over the top obtuse that you can’t make this stuff up. Be our guests, march and salute on into the high school claiming that the rest of us leave because are children are too dumb and lazy to cope.

Self centered entitled parent has entered the chat. He doesn't understand why the school can't just make an exception for his snowflake.

i don't understand why bullying seems to be a huge part of BASIS culture. I can't imagine anyone from any other school speaking this way.

LOL. You must be new to DCUM.

Believe me, the private school threads are much worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, we’re expecting little fron BASIS. But we’d sure like a modicum of common sense flexibility at no cost to the school on curriculum here and there. The ironclad policy on language instruction is so over the top obtuse that you can’t make this stuff up. Be our guests, march and salute on into the high school claiming that the rest of us leave because are children are too dumb and lazy to cope.

Self centered entitled parent has entered the chat. He doesn't understand why the school can't just make an exception for his snowflake.

i don't understand why bullying seems to be a huge part of BASIS culture. I can't imagine anyone from any other school speaking this way.

DP. I am certainly not condoning the snarky retorts, but have you ever noticed how condescending and rude the anti-Basis posters are? I can understand not being happy with a particular school for whatever reason and sharing that experience with others on this forum, but comments accusing those who send their children there as not caring about their future, contributing to their mental health decline, drinking the Kool-Aid and similar are completely uncalled for. Isn't that a form of bullying also? Why such vitriol toward strangers over a school you're no longer affiliated with? There are few other schools that routinely get blasted on this forum like Basis, and when posters defend those schools, they are likewise accused of not caring about their children, etc. It's the same back-and-forth there. Again, not condoning it but it does happen elsewhere on this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, we’re expecting little fron BASIS. But we’d sure like a modicum of common sense flexibility at no cost to the school on curriculum here and there. The ironclad policy on language instruction is so over the top obtuse that you can’t make this stuff up. Be our guests, march and salute on into the high school claiming that the rest of us leave because are children are too dumb and lazy to cope.

Self centered entitled parent has entered the chat. He doesn't understand why the school can't just make an exception for his snowflake.

i don't understand why bullying seems to be a huge part of BASIS culture. I can't imagine anyone from any other school speaking this way.

DP. I am certainly not condoning the snarky retorts, but have you ever noticed how condescending and rude the anti-Basis posters are? I can understand not being happy with a particular school for whatever reason and sharing that experience with others on this forum, but comments accusing those who send their children there as not caring about their future, contributing to their mental health decline, drinking the Kool-Aid and similar are completely uncalled for. Isn't that a form of bullying also? Why such vitriol toward strangers over a school you're no longer affiliated with? There are few other schools that routinely get blasted on this forum like Basis, and when posters defend those schools, they are likewise accused of not caring about their children, etc. It's the same back-and-forth there. Again, not condoning it but it does happen elsewhere on this forum.

+1. A previous comment was that Basis was guilty of child abuse. You are OK with those sort of comments?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, we’re expecting little fron BASIS. But we’d sure like a modicum of common sense flexibility at no cost to the school on curriculum here and there. The ironclad policy on language instruction is so over the top obtuse that you can’t make this stuff up. Be our guests, march and salute on into the high school claiming that the rest of us leave because are children are too dumb and lazy to cope.

Sounds like you enrolled at BASIS expecting them to change the curriculum, especially as it relates to language. Why enroll at all if you don't like the curriculum?

Sounds like you’re OK with public school admins pushing families in every case. Before enrolling, we were ensured by admins that our kid would be challenged across the board. The reality was that his ES language classes were more rigorous than his 8th grade classes. We asked for harder work from his language teacher, the answer was no. No again when we asked if he could sit out language classes in the cafeteria studying on his own. Things weren’t much better in MS English and social studies classes. BASIS isn’t for every student, right.

You have a few valid points and a few that aren't valid. I agree that admins should not be assuring parents that any specific kid would be challenged across the board. Although Basis is more rigorous than most schools, it's not a gifted magnet, and it largely does not have leveled classes. If your kid is way beyond grade level in any subject other than math, it's not going to be able to meet your kid at that high of a level. Few schools can.

It's unreasonable for you to expect largely underpaid and overworked teachers to spend even more of their personal time on enrichment materials just for your kid. It's pretty special snowflake of you to expect that from teachers.

Likewise, few schools are going to let a middle schooler sit in the cafeteria and do independent study. Someone would have to monitor your child and be responsible for him. Someone would have to be responsible for evaluating his independent study work and making sure that he's not effectively skipping a class. Public schools are not going to burden themselves that much for one kid.

Basis is pretty upfront about what it offers and what it doesn't offer. I'm still mystified as to why you expected Basis to cater to your child for the world languages and why you're so bitter that they provided exactly what they said they would. It would be akin to valuing varsity tennis, enrolling at Basis, which doesn't have a tennis team, and then getting upset that they won't create one just for your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, we’re expecting little fron BASIS. But we’d sure like a modicum of common sense flexibility at no cost to the school on curriculum here and there. The ironclad policy on language instruction is so over the top obtuse that you can’t make this stuff up. Be our guests, march and salute on into the high school claiming that the rest of us leave because are children are too dumb and lazy to cope.

Self centered entitled parent has entered the chat. He doesn't understand why the school can't just make an exception for his snowflake.

i don't understand why bullying seems to be a huge part of BASIS culture. I can't imagine anyone from any other school speaking this way.

LOL. You must be new to DCUM.

Believe me, the private school threads are much worse.

I don't see any bullying in my child's high school class. It is a pretty tight knit group. As for here, I don't see why people who have decided that Basis isn't a good fit for their family need to keep telling us that we are bad because it is working for ours.

Of course it isn't perfect. We came from an immersion school, and I certainly would have loved to keep that up in school. But I educated myself before enrolling my children, and I knew that wouldn't be possible there. So I made a choice, and we have handled that issue outside the school. Entering Basis and complaining about the language policy is a you problem; the school makes the policy really clear. If you enroll your child in Basis with any hope that they will enter an advanced language program there, you are setting your family up for failure. Just don't do it.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to play devil's advocate by arguing that the point the detractors are making is a good one. In a public school supported by taxpayers money, a measure of flexibility in supporting best practices isn't just permitted, it's mandated to execute the overarching mission of the institution: serving the public well. When a local BASIS administrator insists that a student is forced to complete schoolwork that isn't remotely appropriate to their background or aptitude, they aren't serving the public well at taxpayers expense. This is especially true when the remedy would require only a little flexibility on their part, vs. expenditure. This is what happens in one of the country's lowest-capacity urban school systems without a law on GT education, a system that relies heavily on national charter franchises for service delivery: families are blamed and labelled as poor consumers when schools offer no flexibility in situations where a measure of flexibility is warranted. BASIS could indeed strive to accommodate families seeking more appropriate advanced educational challenge within budgetary constraints. They don't bother for two simple reasons: DC ed leaders don't require them to in a poorly governed jurisdiction and neither does the law. In a much higher-capacity public school system, e.g. Fairfax, such modest requests would generally be accommodated. No thoughtful stakeholder should defend such poor treatment of voters/consumers/families. When no flexibility is extended to families making a strong case for it at no expense to the taxpayer, a system failure to be corrected should be flagged up the chain. In BASIS DC's case, there doesn't seem to be any chain to go, up either at the jurisdiction level or the franchise level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to play devil's advocate by arguing that the point the detractors are making is a good one. In a public school supported by taxpayers money, a measure of flexibility in supporting best practices isn't just permitted, it's mandated to execute the overarching mission of the institution: serving the public well. When a local BASIS administrator insists that a student is forced to complete schoolwork that isn't remotely appropriate to their background or aptitude, they aren't serving the public well at taxpayers expense. This is especially true when the remedy would require only a little flexibility on their part, vs. expenditure. This is what happens in one of the country's lowest-capacity urban school systems without a law on GT education, a system that relies heavily on national charter franchises for service delivery: families are blamed and labelled as poor consumers when schools offer no flexibility in situations where a measure of flexibility is warranted. BASIS could indeed strive to accommodate families seeking more appropriate advanced educational challenge within budgetary constraints. They don't bother for two simple reasons: DC ed leaders don't require them to in a poorly governed jurisdiction and neither does the law. In a much higher-capacity public school system, e.g. Fairfax, such modest requests would generally be accommodated. No thoughtful stakeholder should defend such poor treatment of voters/consumers/families. When no flexibility is extended to families making a strong case for it at no expense to the taxpayer, a system failure to be corrected should be flagged up the chain. In BASIS DC's case, there doesn't seem to be any chain to go, up either at the jurisdiction level or the franchise level.

Your points are valid. However, in a choice system, DCPS should be the system that makes the accommodations that you mention. Parents often choose charters specifically because of the way they run their schools -- i.e., for many of the BASIS families that choose to stay, many of the BASIS characteristics are features, not bugs. The real problem is that DCPS does not provide an MS option for students who want rigor but don't like the BASIS program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to play devil's advocate by arguing that the point the detractors are making is a good one. In a public school supported by taxpayers money, a measure of flexibility in supporting best practices isn't just permitted, it's mandated to execute the overarching mission of the institution: serving the public well. When a local BASIS administrator insists that a student is forced to complete schoolwork that isn't remotely appropriate to their background or aptitude, they aren't serving the public well at taxpayers expense. This is especially true when the remedy would require only a little flexibility on their part, vs. expenditure. This is what happens in one of the country's lowest-capacity urban school systems without a law on GT education, a system that relies heavily on national charter franchises for service delivery: families are blamed and labelled as poor consumers when schools offer no flexibility in situations where a measure of flexibility is warranted. BASIS could indeed strive to accommodate families seeking more appropriate advanced educational challenge within budgetary constraints. They don't bother for two simple reasons: DC ed leaders don't require them to in a poorly governed jurisdiction and neither does the law. In a much higher-capacity public school system, e.g. Fairfax, such modest requests would generally be accommodated. No thoughtful stakeholder should defend such poor treatment of voters/consumers/families. When no flexibility is extended to families making a strong case for it at no expense to the taxpayer, a system failure to be corrected should be flagged up the chain. In BASIS DC's case, there doesn't seem to be any chain to go, up either at the jurisdiction level or the franchise level.

Your points are valid. However, in a choice system, DCPS should be the system that makes the accommodations that you mention. Parents often choose charters specifically because of the way they run their schools -- i.e., for many of the BASIS families that choose to stay, many of the BASIS characteristics are features, not bugs. The real problem is that DCPS does not provide an MS option for students who want rigor but don't like the BASIS program.

+1. I'm one of the families that actually *likes* that BASIS teaches linguistics over offering a language right away. There are other families in the school like us as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to play devil's advocate by arguing that the point the detractors are making is a good one. In a public school supported by taxpayers money, a measure of flexibility in supporting best practices isn't just permitted, it's mandated to execute the overarching mission of the institution: serving the public well. When a local BASIS administrator insists that a student is forced to complete schoolwork that isn't remotely appropriate to their background or aptitude, they aren't serving the public well at taxpayers expense. This is especially true when the remedy would require only a little flexibility on their part, vs. expenditure. This is what happens in one of the country's lowest-capacity urban school systems without a law on GT education, a system that relies heavily on national charter franchises for service delivery: families are blamed and labelled as poor consumers when schools offer no flexibility in situations where a measure of flexibility is warranted. BASIS could indeed strive to accommodate families seeking more appropriate advanced educational challenge within budgetary constraints. They don't bother for two simple reasons: DC ed leaders don't require them to in a poorly governed jurisdiction and neither does the law. In a much higher-capacity public school system, e.g. Fairfax, such modest requests would generally be accommodated. No thoughtful stakeholder should defend such poor treatment of voters/consumers/families. When no flexibility is extended to families making a strong case for it at no expense to the taxpayer, a system failure to be corrected should be flagged up the chain. In BASIS DC's case, there doesn't seem to be any chain to go, up either at the jurisdiction level or the franchise level.

Your points are valid. However, in a choice system, DCPS should be the system that makes the accommodations that you mention. Parents often choose charters specifically because of the way they run their schools -- i.e., for many of the BASIS families that choose to stay, many of the BASIS characteristics are features, not bugs. The real problem is that DCPS does not provide an MS option for students who want rigor but don't like the BASIS program.

+1. I'm one of the families that actually *likes* that BASIS teaches linguistics over offering a language right away. There are other families in the school like us as well.

If you love having your kid learn about linguistics in a public middle school, fantastic, do have your kid that. If you want your kids to learn a language instead, you should have a desirable option, like at the good suburban schools. Beating the drum for limiting options for the sake of limiting options, as others are doing here, gets you nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to play devil's advocate by arguing that the point the detractors are making is a good one. In a public school supported by taxpayers money, a measure of flexibility in supporting best practices isn't just permitted, it's mandated to execute the overarching mission of the institution: serving the public well. When a local BASIS administrator insists that a student is forced to complete schoolwork that isn't remotely appropriate to their background or aptitude, they aren't serving the public well at taxpayers expense. This is especially true when the remedy would require only a little flexibility on their part, vs. expenditure. This is what happens in one of the country's lowest-capacity urban school systems without a law on GT education, a system that relies heavily on national charter franchises for service delivery: families are blamed and labelled as poor consumers when schools offer no flexibility in situations where a measure of flexibility is warranted. BASIS could indeed strive to accommodate families seeking more appropriate advanced educational challenge within budgetary constraints. They don't bother for two simple reasons: DC ed leaders don't require them to in a poorly governed jurisdiction and neither does the law. In a much higher-capacity public school system, e.g. Fairfax, such modest requests would generally be accommodated. No thoughtful stakeholder should defend such poor treatment of voters/consumers/families. When no flexibility is extended to families making a strong case for it at no expense to the taxpayer, a system failure to be corrected should be flagged up the chain. In BASIS DC's case, there doesn't seem to be any chain to go, up either at the jurisdiction level or the franchise level.

Wow. You know nothing at all about regular public schools. My kids used to attend FCPS. There is no flexibility there whatsoever. It doesn't matter if your kid is leagues ahead. Your kid will get nothing from a large public like FCPS unless it's mandated by law. Basis was a breath of fresh air for my family, since we no longer had to fight tooth and nail for appropriate acceleration.

[Anonymous]

I've had the opposite experience in Arlington, where my ex lives (we share custody). At BASIS from 5th-6th, my eldest struggled in math, was often bored in English and social studies and couldn't study the language we speak at home at school. In Arlington, the math is pitched right and the English and social studies are more rigorous and better taught than at BASIS in 8th grade "Intensified" (honors classes). He plays in the top band at the school, daily as a class, and takes a daily language class (IB Middle Years Curriculum) that's quite challenging. With the band, he was able to qualify for a county PS band and even a 3-county district band. I've had to fight for nothing and none of his core classes have more than two dozen students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to play devil's advocate by arguing that the point the detractors are making is a good one. In a public school supported by taxpayers money, a measure of flexibility in supporting best practices isn't just permitted, it's mandated to execute the overarching mission of the institution: serving the public well. When a local BASIS administrator insists that a student is forced to complete schoolwork that isn't remotely appropriate to their background or aptitude, they aren't serving the public well at taxpayers expense. This is especially true when the remedy would require only a little flexibility on their part, vs. expenditure. This is what happens in one of the country's lowest-capacity urban school systems without a law on GT education, a system that relies heavily on national charter franchises for service delivery: families are blamed and labelled as poor consumers when schools offer no flexibility in situations where a measure of flexibility is warranted. BASIS could indeed strive to accommodate families seeking more appropriate advanced educational challenge within budgetary constraints. They don't bother for two simple reasons: DC ed leaders don't require them to in a poorly governed jurisdiction and neither does the law. In a much higher-capacity public school system, e.g. Fairfax, such modest requests would generally be accommodated. No thoughtful stakeholder should defend such poor treatment of voters/consumers/families. When no flexibility is extended to families making a strong case for it at no expense to the taxpayer, a system failure to be corrected should be flagged up the chain. In BASIS DC's case, there doesn't seem to be any chain to go, up either at the jurisdiction level or the franchise level.

Your points are valid. However, in a choice system, DCPS should be the system that makes the accommodations that you mention. Parents often choose charters specifically because of the way they run their schools -- i.e., for many of the BASIS families that choose to stay, many of the BASIS characteristics are features, not bugs. The real problem is that DCPS does not provide an MS option for students who want rigor but don't like the BASIS program.

+1. I'm one of the families that actually *likes* that BASIS teaches linguistics over offering a language right away. There are other families in the school like us as well.

If you love having your kid learn about linguistics in a public middle school, fantastic, do have your kid that. If you want your kids to learn a language instead, you should have a desirable option, like at the good suburban schools. Beating the drum for limiting options for the sake of limiting options, as others are doing here, gets you nowhere.

Start a school with a system you like better. Some of us like it for our kids, despite it not being perfect. If you don’t, you should not attend. But insulting those who like it is rude.