Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

PP here. Think this pretty much illustrates my point. This parent was very unhappy with BASIS. It didn’t “work” for them so they left for a private. Not sure how this makes BASIS any different than any other public school, but no one froths at the mouth like this about Coolidge or Roosevelt SHSs. And if you want to quibble about the college admissions, I would encourage you to look at BASIS’s college acceptance insta page. Lots of “blue chips” and strong from top to bottom. I can also tell you about many of the schools that got turned down. The results are even more impressive with that data. This is not the hill you want to die on.

NP. Don't tell us which hills to fight or die on.

What PP above is pointing out is well known in the BASIS high school community. Many of us dislike the way senior year is handled. Can we do anything about it, influencing outcomes at the school? Of course not. But we aren't without our ways of challenging on a personal level. My kid is spreading subject work into senior year by taking a couple-line IB Diploma classes senior year while at BASIS (yes, on-line IBD classes are now a thing, just not for many subjects) as well as at least one Cambridge A-Level exam in November.

I'm not bitter although I'd have left for a private long ago if I had the option (never got good enough fi aid). Even so, I'm counting the months until I can divorce the place. A franchise not run by educators is correct.

Speak for yourself when you come at the disgruntled parents of kids who "washed out." The many kids we know who've left haven't fit the bill and we've been at BASIS for 7 years.

NP. We chose BASIS because we like the way senior year is handled, and turned down Walls because it doesn’t do senior year that way (among other reasons).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

Yawn. Bitter much?

Your kid washed out years ago and now you bash the school?

Per capita, Basis DC has the best college admissions results of any public school in DC.

You really can’t do better for an academically motivated kid in DC unless you want to pay $60,000/year at one of the Big 3 privates.

I really hate the way Basis boosters seem to feel the need to sneer at absolutely everyone else.

Seriously. BASIS is a mid school and if you like it, fine. But there's no need for the nastiness, defensiveness, and constant obsession with the ratings that BASIS openly games. BASIS boosters are annoying and that's why people get like this about it.

How does BASIS “game the ratings?” Do you mean that kids who can’t keep up with the work are counseled out or leave of their own accord? How is that different than the private schools that BASIS detractors seem to think are the reasonable alternative for all. Does SWW game the ratings by requiring testing for applicants? As a
Long time BASIS parent, I have plenty of criticisms of the school. To the extent that I get “boosterish” is when recalcitrant former families or people with a strong anti-BASIS network bias attack the school as wholly unworthy. Like it shouldn’t exist or families only stay there if they literally have no other options. And that’s obviously just not a reasonable take, so parents lash out. You say BASIS is mid, compared to what? Sidwell? SWW, Banneker, & JR all have their warts too. They’re just not charters.

Mid compared to the claims of its boosters. And mid compared to how it would score if it has to take by-right enrollment like J-R does.

Gaming the ratings does include retention and counseling out, but also things like what CAPE test they have the kids take.

SWW and Banneker are explicitly selective schools. BASIS is functionally running a lottery 5th grade and then a selective 7-12 by not letting kids matriculate upwards if they are below grade level, while pretending it is lottery and nothing but lottery. Jeff will probably delete this post as misleading but I don't know how much clearer I can be.

It seems like you’re fixated on the question of how much institutional credit BASIS deserves, especially in comparison to schools like JR, Reed, or others that serve by-right populations. And sure, from a school-rating or policy-analysis perspective, that’s a fair question. But from the vantage point of a family evaluating what’s best for their child, it’s largely irrelevant.

If a family believes their child can thrive in BASIS’s rigorous environment—whether entering at 5th grade or later—then the fact that BASIS ends up with a more curated, academically oriented student body is actually a point in its favor, not a strike against it. The peer environment matters. So if the selectivity or attrition that happens along the way results in a cohort that’s better aligned for certain kinds of academic engagement, many parents will see that as a plus.

Now, I totally get that some people object to BASIS’s model on policy grounds—particularly the publicly funded nature of the school, the attrition rates, and the lack of backfilling. That’s a legitimate debate to have at the systems level. But those very features that raise red flags for some are seen as benefits by many families trying to navigate a landscape where middle school options in D.C. are often limited or uneven. In other words, what’s framed as a systemic flaw from one angle can be a practical advantage from another.

So yes, it’s true that BASIS benefits in some ways from the fact that not everyone stays, and that it doesn’t face the same structural burdens as some DCPS schools. But the real-world question for most families isn’t whether BASIS is getting “too much credit”—it’s whether their own child would benefit from being there. And for plenty of families, the answer is yes.

Well, for me those things are connected. It's not just policy grounds, it's what it says about BASIS and the quality of the experience there. BASIS loves to tout their stats and ratings, but if I believe those things are the result of attrition and class curation and external factors that don't benefit my kid, rather than the result of quality teaching, that's unappealing. And personally I think the small senior class is a con rather than a pro, but not everyone thinks that I guess.

Disagree.

1. You must think SWW and Bannker are mid because they cherry pick all their students. By your definition, those schools "curate" 100% of their class. So, by your logic, their ratings are nothing to tout.

2. Basis has a rigorous curriculum and doesn't backfill, that is why the classes get smaller over time. The fact that Basis can't backfill by offering a test in DC to allow qualified students to enter later grades is not their fault (no way a random lottery student could handle the curriculum by entering in, say, 8th or 9th grade). Rather, Basis is barred from doing that by their charter.

3. The teaching is generally pretty good, as evidenced by Basis' top scores on AP exams, high SAT average, and top college admissions.

4. Agree that it is too bad the senior class is so small. However, that is a result of the fact that Basis has to admit 100% of students by lottery, some kids who shouldn't go there are enrolled by parents who are desperate to avoid their in-bounds option and the kids later drop out, and Basis can't backfill under their charter by admitting qualified students for upper grades through an entrance exam.

5. The hope is that, over time, parents will do better research at the beginning and only send academically motivated kids to Basis for 5th grade. That will reduce attrition, increase class sizes over time, and lead to a better school for everyone.

1) I don't think SWW and Banneker are particularly great for application schools. But at least they're not trying to pretend they are lottery schools when really they aren't. It's the transparent BS of BASIS and its boosters that irritates people.

2) BASIS could admit students and is just choosing not to. The BASIS parent organization could decide to allow it. They just don't want to. Stop pretending it's impossible when it's just a policy choice. Again with the transparent BS.

3) You are imputing a causal relationship far stronger than actually exists. Those kids would likely be fine at any well performing school.

4) Again, they can, they just don't want to. Other schools do.

5) Is that the hope? BASIS is hoping students with disabilities don't enroll? I think you said the quiet part loud. You're not supposed to admit that because it could get BASIS in legal trouble.

1. Whatever. You hate all DC public schools apparently.

2. Totally false. Read the BASIS charter.

3. How do you know? Schools are generally judged by common metrics. That is why BASIS ranks very highly using widely recognized standards. Arguing that every kid would do just as well at, say, Latin or DCI is just dumb. In fact, BASIS has higher scores and ranking than both those schools.

4. False again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

Yawn. Bitter much?

Your kid washed out years ago and now you bash the school?

Per capita, Basis DC has the best college admissions results of any public school in DC.

You really can’t do better for an academically motivated kid in DC unless you want to pay $60,000/year at one of the Big 3 privates.

I really hate the way Basis boosters seem to feel the need to sneer at absolutely everyone else.

Seriously. BASIS is a mid school and if you like it, fine. But there's no need for the nastiness, defensiveness, and constant obsession with the ratings that BASIS openly games. BASIS boosters are annoying and that's why people get like this about it.

How does BASIS “game the ratings?” Do you mean that kids who can’t keep up with the work are counseled out or leave of their own accord? How is that different than the private schools that BASIS detractors seem to think are the reasonable alternative for all. Does SWW game the ratings by requiring testing for applicants? As a
Long time BASIS parent, I have plenty of criticisms of the school. To the extent that I get “boosterish” is when recalcitrant former families or people with a strong anti-BASIS network bias attack the school as wholly unworthy. Like it shouldn’t exist or families only stay there if they literally have no other options. And that’s obviously just not a reasonable take, so parents lash out. You say BASIS is mid, compared to what? Sidwell? SWW, Banneker, & JR all have their warts too. They’re just not charters.

Mid compared to the claims of its boosters. And mid compared to how it would score if it has to take by-right enrollment like J-R does.

Gaming the ratings does include retention and counseling out, but also things like what CAPE test they have the kids take.

SWW and Banneker are explicitly selective schools. BASIS is functionally running a lottery 5th grade and then a selective 7-12 by not letting kids matriculate upwards if they are below grade level, while pretending it is lottery and nothing but lottery. Jeff will probably delete this post as misleading but I don't know how much clearer I can be.

It seems like you’re fixated on the question of how much institutional credit BASIS deserves, especially in comparison to schools like JR, Reed, or others that serve by-right populations. And sure, from a school-rating or policy-analysis perspective, that’s a fair question. But from the vantage point of a family evaluating what’s best for their child, it’s largely irrelevant.

If a family believes their child can thrive in BASIS’s rigorous environment—whether entering at 5th grade or later—then the fact that BASIS ends up with a more curated, academically oriented student body is actually a point in its favor, not a strike against it. The peer environment matters. So if the selectivity or attrition that happens along the way results in a cohort that’s better aligned for certain kinds of academic engagement, many parents will see that as a plus.

Now, I totally get that some people object to BASIS’s model on policy grounds—particularly the publicly funded nature of the school, the attrition rates, and the lack of backfilling. That’s a legitimate debate to have at the systems level. But those very features that raise red flags for some are seen as benefits by many families trying to navigate a landscape where middle school options in D.C. are often limited or uneven. In other words, what’s framed as a systemic flaw from one angle can be a practical advantage from another.

So yes, it’s true that BASIS benefits in some ways from the fact that not everyone stays, and that it doesn’t face the same structural burdens as some DCPS schools. But the real-world question for most families isn’t whether BASIS is getting “too much credit”—it’s whether their own child would benefit from being there. And for plenty of families, the answer is yes.

Well, for me those things are connected. It's not just policy grounds, it's what it says about BASIS and the quality of the experience there. BASIS loves to tout their stats and ratings, but if I believe those things are the result of attrition and class curation and external factors that don't benefit my kid, rather than the result of quality teaching, that's unappealing. And personally I think the small senior class is a con rather than a pro, but not everyone thinks that I guess.

Disagree.

1. You must think SWW and Bannker are mid because they cherry pick all their students. By your definition, those schools "curate" 100% of their class. So, by your logic, their ratings are nothing to tout.

2. Basis has a rigorous curriculum and doesn't backfill, that is why the classes get smaller over time. The fact that Basis can't backfill by offering a test in DC to allow qualified students to enter later grades is not their fault (no way a random lottery student could handle the curriculum by entering in, say, 8th or 9th grade). Rather, Basis is barred from doing that by their charter.

3. The teaching is generally pretty good, as evidenced by Basis' top scores on AP exams, high SAT average, and top college admissions.

4. Agree that it is too bad the senior class is so small. However, that is a result of the fact that Basis has to admit 100% of students by lottery, some kids who shouldn't go there are enrolled by parents who are desperate to avoid their in-bounds option and the kids later drop out, and Basis can't backfill under their charter by admitting qualified students for upper grades through an entrance exam.

5. The hope is that, over time, parents will do better research at the beginning and only send academically motivated kids to Basis for 5th grade. That will reduce attrition, increase class sizes over time, and lead to a better school for everyone.

+1

I agree with a lot of what you’ve laid out here, especially the challenges around backfilling and how BASIS’s model plays out structurally over time. One point I’d add, though (and that you may agree with) is that even many of the students who end up leaving BASIS—whether they decamp for Walls, Banneker, or private school—aren’t necessarily “underserved” by their time there.

In fact, I’d argue that quite a few of those kids may have been well served by BASIS during the years they attended. The rigor, the structure, and even the school’s reputation likely strengthened their applications to other schools. For families who ultimately decide the fit isn’t right long term, that experience still had value. Their time at BASIS may have pushed them academically or exposed them to higher expectations, and that doesn’t go away just because they didn’t stay through 12th grade.

So when we talk about who “benefits” from BASIS, I think it’s broader than just the graduating class. The value proposition isn’t only for the students who make it all the way through—it often extends to those who use it as a launchpad to other strong options as well.

Agree.

In fact, if you look at the top students at Walls, some of them went to BASIS for middle school.

There was a woman some years back who went to BASIS DC for MS and then Walls. She then matriculated to Harvard and earned a Rhodes Scholarship. Saying that BASIS DC is "bad" because this woman ended up graduating from Walls misses the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love how all BASIS attrition is due to the kid failing academically, and none of it is ever due to people finding better options or moving away for some other reason. BASIS for the win! Everyone else is dumb!

Stop constructing straw people. No one says that.

Did you not read the thread? People leave for all sorts of reasons including academic ones. Maybe they are Embassy personnel and get transferred to a different post, maybe they move out of the area for a new job, maybe they decide on private.

The issue is that BASIS doesn't backfill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

PP here. Think this pretty much illustrates my point. This parent was very unhappy with BASIS. It didn’t “work” for them so they left for a private. Not sure how this makes BASIS any different than any other public school, but no one froths at the mouth like this about Coolidge or Roosevelt SHSs. And if you want to quibble about the college admissions, I would encourage you to look at BASIS’s college acceptance insta page. Lots of “blue chips” and strong from top to bottom. I can also tell you about many of the schools that got turned down. The results are even more impressive with that data. This is not the hill you want to die on.

NP. Don't tell us which hills to fight or die on.

What PP above is pointing out is well known in the BASIS high school community. Many of us dislike the way senior year is handled. Can we do anything about it, influencing outcomes at the school? Of course not. But we aren't without our ways of challenging on a personal level. My kid is spreading subject work into senior year by taking a couple-line IB Diploma classes senior year while at BASIS (yes, on-line IBD classes are now a thing, just not for many subjects) as well as at least one Cambridge A-Level exam in November.

I'm not bitter although I'd have left for a private long ago if I had the option (never got good enough fi aid). Even so, I'm counting the months until I can divorce the place. A franchise not run by educators is correct.

Speak for yourself when you come at the disgruntled parents of kids who "washed out." The many kids we know who've left haven't fit the bill and we've been at BASIS for 7 years.

No one forced you to send your kids to BASIS.

You CHOSE not to send your kids to your in-bounds public school or to another one of DC's 134 charter schools, and you CHOSE not to move elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

Yawn. Bitter much?

Your kid washed out years ago and now you bash the school?

Per capita, Basis DC has the best college admissions results of any public school in DC.

You really can’t do better for an academically motivated kid in DC unless you want to pay $60,000/year at one of the Big 3 privates.

I really hate the way Basis boosters seem to feel the need to sneer at absolutely everyone else.

Seriously. BASIS is a mid school and if you like it, fine. But there's no need for the nastiness, defensiveness, and constant obsession with the ratings that BASIS openly games. BASIS boosters are annoying and that's why people get like this about it.

How does BASIS “game the ratings?” Do you mean that kids who can’t keep up with the work are counseled out or leave of their own accord? How is that different than the private schools that BASIS detractors seem to think are the reasonable alternative for all. Does SWW game the ratings by requiring testing for applicants? As a
Long time BASIS parent, I have plenty of criticisms of the school. To the extent that I get “boosterish” is when recalcitrant former families or people with a strong anti-BASIS network bias attack the school as wholly unworthy. Like it shouldn’t exist or families only stay there if they literally have no other options. And that’s obviously just not a reasonable take, so parents lash out. You say BASIS is mid, compared to what? Sidwell? SWW, Banneker, & JR all have their warts too. They’re just not charters.

Mid compared to the claims of its boosters. And mid compared to how it would score if it has to take by-right enrollment like J-R does.

Gaming the ratings does include retention and counseling out, but also things like what CAPE test they have the kids take.

SWW and Banneker are explicitly selective schools. BASIS is functionally running a lottery 5th grade and then a selective 7-12 by not letting kids matriculate upwards if they are below grade level, while pretending it is lottery and nothing but lottery. Jeff will probably delete this post as misleading but I don't know how much clearer I can be.

It seems like you’re fixated on the question of how much institutional credit BASIS deserves, especially in comparison to schools like JR, Reed, or others that serve by-right populations. And sure, from a school-rating or policy-analysis perspective, that’s a fair question. But from the vantage point of a family evaluating what’s best for their child, it’s largely irrelevant.

If a family believes their child can thrive in BASIS’s rigorous environment—whether entering at 5th grade or later—then the fact that BASIS ends up with a more curated, academically oriented student body is actually a point in its favor, not a strike against it. The peer environment matters. So if the selectivity or attrition that happens along the way results in a cohort that’s better aligned for certain kinds of academic engagement, many parents will see that as a plus.

Now, I totally get that some people object to BASIS’s model on policy grounds—particularly the publicly funded nature of the school, the attrition rates, and the lack of backfilling. That’s a legitimate debate to have at the systems level. But those very features that raise red flags for some are seen as benefits by many families trying to navigate a landscape where middle school options in D.C. are often limited or uneven. In other words, what’s framed as a systemic flaw from one angle can be a practical advantage from another.

So yes, it’s true that BASIS benefits in some ways from the fact that not everyone stays, and that it doesn’t face the same structural burdens as some DCPS schools. But the real-world question for most families isn’t whether BASIS is getting “too much credit”—it’s whether their own child would benefit from being there. And for plenty of families, the answer is yes.

Well, for me those things are connected. It's not just policy grounds, it's what it says about BASIS and the quality of the experience there. BASIS loves to tout their stats and ratings, but if I believe those things are the result of attrition and class curation and external factors that don't benefit my kid, rather than the result of quality teaching, that's unappealing. And personally I think the small senior class is a con rather than a pro, but not everyone thinks that I guess.

Disagree.

1. You must think SWW and Bannker are mid because they cherry pick all their students. By your definition, those schools "curate" 100% of their class. So, by your logic, their ratings are nothing to tout.

2. Basis has a rigorous curriculum and doesn't backfill, that is why the classes get smaller over time. The fact that Basis can't backfill by offering a test in DC to allow qualified students to enter later grades is not their fault (no way a random lottery student could handle the curriculum by entering in, say, 8th or 9th grade). Rather, Basis is barred from doing that by their charter.

3. The teaching is generally pretty good, as evidenced by Basis' top scores on AP exams, high SAT average, and top college admissions.

4. Agree that it is too bad the senior class is so small. However, that is a result of the fact that Basis has to admit 100% of students by lottery, some kids who shouldn't go there are enrolled by parents who are desperate to avoid their in-bounds option and the kids later drop out, and Basis can't backfill under their charter by admitting qualified students for upper grades through an entrance exam.

5. The hope is that, over time, parents will do better research at the beginning and only send academically motivated kids to Basis for 5th grade. That will reduce attrition, increase class sizes over time, and lead to a better school for everyone.

+1

I agree with a lot of what you’ve laid out here, especially the challenges around backfilling and how BASIS’s model plays out structurally over time. One point I’d add, though (and that you may agree with) is that even many of the students who end up leaving BASIS—whether they decamp for Walls, Banneker, or private school—aren’t necessarily “underserved” by their time there.

In fact, I’d argue that quite a few of those kids may have been well served by BASIS during the years they attended. The rigor, the structure, and even the school’s reputation likely strengthened their applications to other schools. For families who ultimately decide the fit isn’t right long term, that experience still had value. Their time at BASIS may have pushed them academically or exposed them to higher expectations, and that doesn’t go away just because they didn’t stay through 12th grade.

So when we talk about who “benefits” from BASIS, I think it’s broader than just the graduating class. The value proposition isn’t only for the students who make it all the way through—it often extends to those who use it as a launchpad to other strong options as well.

Agree.

In fact, if you look at the top students at Walls, some of them went to BASIS for middle school.

There was a woman some years back who went to BASIS DC for MS and then Walls. She then matriculated to Harvard and earned a Rhodes Scholarship. Saying that BASIS DC is "bad" because this woman ended up graduating from Walls misses the point.

That woman would have succeeded whether she went to Basis, Walls or not. She worked incredibly hard and was driven in a way most people aren’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

Yawn. Bitter much?

Your kid washed out years ago and now you bash the school?

Per capita, Basis DC has the best college admissions results of any public school in DC.

You really can’t do better for an academically motivated kid in DC unless you want to pay $60,000/year at one of the Big 3 privates.

I really hate the way Basis boosters seem to feel the need to sneer at absolutely everyone else.

Seriously. BASIS is a mid school and if you like it, fine. But there's no need for the nastiness, defensiveness, and constant obsession with the ratings that BASIS openly games. BASIS boosters are annoying and that's why people get like this about it.

How does BASIS “game the ratings?” Do you mean that kids who can’t keep up with the work are counseled out or leave of their own accord? How is that different than the private schools that BASIS detractors seem to think are the reasonable alternative for all. Does SWW game the ratings by requiring testing for applicants? As a
Long time BASIS parent, I have plenty of criticisms of the school. To the extent that I get “boosterish” is when recalcitrant former families or people with a strong anti-BASIS network bias attack the school as wholly unworthy. Like it shouldn’t exist or families only stay there if they literally have no other options. And that’s obviously just not a reasonable take, so parents lash out. You say BASIS is mid, compared to what? Sidwell? SWW, Banneker, & JR all have their warts too. They’re just not charters.

Mid compared to the claims of its boosters. And mid compared to how it would score if it has to take by-right enrollment like J-R does.

Gaming the ratings does include retention and counseling out, but also things like what CAPE test they have the kids take.

SWW and Banneker are explicitly selective schools. BASIS is functionally running a lottery 5th grade and then a selective 7-12 by not letting kids matriculate upwards if they are below grade level, while pretending it is lottery and nothing but lottery. Jeff will probably delete this post as misleading but I don't know how much clearer I can be.

It seems like you’re fixated on the question of how much institutional credit BASIS deserves, especially in comparison to schools like JR, Reed, or others that serve by-right populations. And sure, from a school-rating or policy-analysis perspective, that’s a fair question. But from the vantage point of a family evaluating what’s best for their child, it’s largely irrelevant.

If a family believes their child can thrive in BASIS’s rigorous environment—whether entering at 5th grade or later—then the fact that BASIS ends up with a more curated, academically oriented student body is actually a point in its favor, not a strike against it. The peer environment matters. So if the selectivity or attrition that happens along the way results in a cohort that’s better aligned for certain kinds of academic engagement, many parents will see that as a plus.

Now, I totally get that some people object to BASIS’s model on policy grounds—particularly the publicly funded nature of the school, the attrition rates, and the lack of backfilling. That’s a legitimate debate to have at the systems level. But those very features that raise red flags for some are seen as benefits by many families trying to navigate a landscape where middle school options in D.C. are often limited or uneven. In other words, what’s framed as a systemic flaw from one angle can be a practical advantage from another.

So yes, it’s true that BASIS benefits in some ways from the fact that not everyone stays, and that it doesn’t face the same structural burdens as some DCPS schools. But the real-world question for most families isn’t whether BASIS is getting “too much credit”—it’s whether their own child would benefit from being there. And for plenty of families, the answer is yes.

Well, for me those things are connected. It's not just policy grounds, it's what it says about BASIS and the quality of the experience there. BASIS loves to tout their stats and ratings, but if I believe those things are the result of attrition and class curation and external factors that don't benefit my kid, rather than the result of quality teaching, that's unappealing. And personally I think the small senior class is a con rather than a pro, but not everyone thinks that I guess.

Disagree.

1. You must think SWW and Bannker are mid because they cherry pick all their students. By your definition, those schools "curate" 100% of their class. So, by your logic, their ratings are nothing to tout.

2. Basis has a rigorous curriculum and doesn't backfill, that is why the classes get smaller over time. The fact that Basis can't backfill by offering a test in DC to allow qualified students to enter later grades is not their fault (no way a random lottery student could handle the curriculum by entering in, say, 8th or 9th grade). Rather, Basis is barred from doing that by their charter.

3. The teaching is generally pretty good, as evidenced by Basis' top scores on AP exams, high SAT average, and top college admissions.

4. Agree that it is too bad the senior class is so small. However, that is a result of the fact that Basis has to admit 100% of students by lottery, some kids who shouldn't go there are enrolled by parents who are desperate to avoid their in-bounds option and the kids later drop out, and Basis can't backfill under their charter by admitting qualified students for upper grades through an entrance exam.

5. The hope is that, over time, parents will do better research at the beginning and only send academically motivated kids to Basis for 5th grade. That will reduce attrition, increase class sizes over time, and lead to a better school for everyone.

+1

I agree with a lot of what you’ve laid out here, especially the challenges around backfilling and how BASIS’s model plays out structurally over time. One point I’d add, though (and that you may agree with) is that even many of the students who end up leaving BASIS—whether they decamp for Walls, Banneker, or private school—aren’t necessarily “underserved” by their time there.

In fact, I’d argue that quite a few of those kids may have been well served by BASIS during the years they attended. The rigor, the structure, and even the school’s reputation likely strengthened their applications to other schools. For families who ultimately decide the fit isn’t right long term, that experience still had value. Their time at BASIS may have pushed them academically or exposed them to higher expectations, and that doesn’t go away just because they didn’t stay through 12th grade.

So when we talk about who “benefits” from BASIS, I think it’s broader than just the graduating class. The value proposition isn’t only for the students who make it all the way through—it often extends to those who use it as a launchpad to other strong options as well.

Agree.

In fact, if you look at the top students at Walls, some of them went to BASIS for middle school.

There was a woman some years back who went to BASIS DC for MS and then Walls. She then matriculated to Harvard and earned a Rhodes Scholarship. Saying that BASIS DC is "bad" because this woman ended up graduating from Walls misses the point.

That woman would have succeeded whether she went to Basis, Walls or not. She worked incredibly hard and was driven in a way most people aren’t.

Sure. But I'm also quite certain that BASIS has the best middle school curriculum in the public landscape in DC (not suburbs or privates). That's the main reason we wanted it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

Yawn. Bitter much?

Your kid washed out years ago and now you bash the school?

Per capita, Basis DC has the best college admissions results of any public school in DC.

You really can’t do better for an academically motivated kid in DC unless you want to pay $60,000/year at one of the Big 3 privates.

I really hate the way Basis boosters seem to feel the need to sneer at absolutely everyone else.

Seriously. BASIS is a mid school and if you like it, fine. But there's no need for the nastiness, defensiveness, and constant obsession with the ratings that BASIS openly games. BASIS boosters are annoying and that's why people get like this about it.

How does BASIS “game the ratings?” Do you mean that kids who can’t keep up with the work are counseled out or leave of their own accord? How is that different than the private schools that BASIS detractors seem to think are the reasonable alternative for all. Does SWW game the ratings by requiring testing for applicants? As a
Long time BASIS parent, I have plenty of criticisms of the school. To the extent that I get “boosterish” is when recalcitrant former families or people with a strong anti-BASIS network bias attack the school as wholly unworthy. Like it shouldn’t exist or families only stay there if they literally have no other options. And that’s obviously just not a reasonable take, so parents lash out. You say BASIS is mid, compared to what? Sidwell? SWW, Banneker, & JR all have their warts too. They’re just not charters.

Mid compared to the claims of its boosters. And mid compared to how it would score if it has to take by-right enrollment like J-R does.

Gaming the ratings does include retention and counseling out, but also things like what CAPE test they have the kids take.

SWW and Banneker are explicitly selective schools. BASIS is functionally running a lottery 5th grade and then a selective 7-12 by not letting kids matriculate upwards if they are below grade level, while pretending it is lottery and nothing but lottery. Jeff will probably delete this post as misleading but I don't know how much clearer I can be.

It seems like you’re fixated on the question of how much institutional credit BASIS deserves, especially in comparison to schools like JR, Reed, or others that serve by-right populations. And sure, from a school-rating or policy-analysis perspective, that’s a fair question. But from the vantage point of a family evaluating what’s best for their child, it’s largely irrelevant.

If a family believes their child can thrive in BASIS’s rigorous environment—whether entering at 5th grade or later—then the fact that BASIS ends up with a more curated, academically oriented student body is actually a point in its favor, not a strike against it. The peer environment matters. So if the selectivity or attrition that happens along the way results in a cohort that’s better aligned for certain kinds of academic engagement, many parents will see that as a plus.

Now, I totally get that some people object to BASIS’s model on policy grounds—particularly the publicly funded nature of the school, the attrition rates, and the lack of backfilling. That’s a legitimate debate to have at the systems level. But those very features that raise red flags for some are seen as benefits by many families trying to navigate a landscape where middle school options in D.C. are often limited or uneven. In other words, what’s framed as a systemic flaw from one angle can be a practical advantage from another.

So yes, it’s true that BASIS benefits in some ways from the fact that not everyone stays, and that it doesn’t face the same structural burdens as some DCPS schools. But the real-world question for most families isn’t whether BASIS is getting “too much credit”—it’s whether their own child would benefit from being there. And for plenty of families, the answer is yes.

Well, for me those things are connected. It's not just policy grounds, it's what it says about BASIS and the quality of the experience there. BASIS loves to tout their stats and ratings, but if I believe those things are the result of attrition and class curation and external factors that don't benefit my kid, rather than the result of quality teaching, that's unappealing. And personally I think the small senior class is a con rather than a pro, but not everyone thinks that I guess.

Disagree.

1. You must think SWW and Bannker are mid because they cherry pick all their students. By your definition, those schools "curate" 100% of their class. So, by your logic, their ratings are nothing to tout.

2. Basis has a rigorous curriculum and doesn't backfill, that is why the classes get smaller over time. The fact that Basis can't backfill by offering a test in DC to allow qualified students to enter later grades is not their fault (no way a random lottery student could handle the curriculum by entering in, say, 8th or 9th grade). Rather, Basis is barred from doing that by their charter.

3. The teaching is generally pretty good, as evidenced by Basis' top scores on AP exams, high SAT average, and top college admissions.

4. Agree that it is too bad the senior class is so small. However, that is a result of the fact that Basis has to admit 100% of students by lottery, some kids who shouldn't go there are enrolled by parents who are desperate to avoid their in-bounds option and the kids later drop out, and Basis can't backfill under their charter by admitting qualified students for upper grades through an entrance exam.

5. The hope is that, over time, parents will do better research at the beginning and only send academically motivated kids to Basis for 5th grade. That will reduce attrition, increase class sizes over time, and lead to a better school for everyone.

+1

I agree with a lot of what you’ve laid out here, especially the challenges around backfilling and how BASIS’s model plays out structurally over time. One point I’d add, though (and that you may agree with) is that even many of the students who end up leaving BASIS—whether they decamp for Walls, Banneker, or private school—aren’t necessarily “underserved” by their time there.

In fact, I’d argue that quite a few of those kids may have been well served by BASIS during the years they attended. The rigor, the structure, and even the school’s reputation likely strengthened their applications to other schools. For families who ultimately decide the fit isn’t right long term, that experience still had value. Their time at BASIS may have pushed them academically or exposed them to higher expectations, and that doesn’t go away just because they didn’t stay through 12th grade.

So when we talk about who “benefits” from BASIS, I think it’s broader than just the graduating class. The value proposition isn’t only for the students who make it all the way through—it often extends to those who use it as a launchpad to other strong options as well.

Agree.

In fact, if you look at the top students at Walls, some of them went to BASIS for middle school.

There was a woman some years back who went to BASIS DC for MS and then Walls. She then matriculated to Harvard and earned a Rhodes Scholarship. Saying that BASIS DC is "bad" because this woman ended up graduating from Walls misses the point.

That woman would have succeeded whether she went to Basis, Walls or not. She worked incredibly hard and was driven in a way most people aren’t.

I wonder why she left BASIS, since it's the #1 rated school everrrrrr and everything there is super great. A mystery!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

PP here. Think this pretty much illustrates my point. This parent was very unhappy with BASIS. It didn’t “work” for them so they left for a private. Not sure how this makes BASIS any different than any other public school, but no one froths at the mouth like this about Coolidge or Roosevelt SHSs. And if you want to quibble about the college admissions, I would encourage you to look at BASIS’s college acceptance insta page. Lots of “blue chips” and strong from top to bottom. I can also tell you about many of the schools that got turned down. The results are even more impressive with that data. This is not the hill you want to die on.

NP. Don't tell us which hills to fight or die on.

What PP above is pointing out is well known in the BASIS high school community. Many of us dislike the way senior year is handled. Can we do anything about it, influencing outcomes at the school? Of course not. But we aren't without our ways of challenging on a personal level. My kid is spreading subject work into senior year by taking a couple-line IB Diploma classes senior year while at BASIS (yes, on-line IBD classes are now a thing, just not for many subjects) as well as at least one Cambridge A-Level exam in November.

I'm not bitter although I'd have left for a private long ago if I had the option (never got good enough fi aid). Even so, I'm counting the months until I can divorce the place. A franchise not run by educators is correct.

Speak for yourself when you come at the disgruntled parents of kids who "washed out." The many kids we know who've left haven't fit the bill and we've been at BASIS for 7 years.

No one forced you to send your kids to BASIS.

You CHOSE not to send your kids to your in-bounds public school or to another one of DC's 134 charter schools, and you CHOSE not to move elsewhere.

Still wondering why that parent didn’t send their kids to another high school. Walls, Banneker, DCI, Latin, McKinley Tech, MacArthur, Bard Early College, CHEC… there are lots of places to go to high school if you can’t afford private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

PP here. Think this pretty much illustrates my point. This parent was very unhappy with BASIS. It didn’t “work” for them so they left for a private. Not sure how this makes BASIS any different than any other public school, but no one froths at the mouth like this about Coolidge or Roosevelt SHSs. And if you want to quibble about the college admissions, I would encourage you to look at BASIS’s college acceptance insta page. Lots of “blue chips” and strong from top to bottom. I can also tell you about many of the schools that got turned down. The results are even more impressive with that data. This is not the hill you want to die on.

NP. Don't tell us which hills to fight or die on.

What PP above is pointing out is well known in the BASIS high school community. Many of us dislike the way senior year is handled. Can we do anything about it, influencing outcomes at the school? Of course not. But we aren't without our ways of challenging on a personal level. My kid is spreading subject work into senior year by taking a couple-line IB Diploma classes senior year while at BASIS (yes, on-line IBD classes are now a thing, just not for many subjects) as well as at least one Cambridge A-Level exam in November.

I'm not bitter although I'd have left for a private long ago if I had the option (never got good enough fi aid). Even so, I'm counting the months until I can divorce the place. A franchise not run by educators is correct.

Speak for yourself when you come at the disgruntled parents of kids who "washed out." The many kids we know who've left haven't fit the bill and we've been at BASIS for 7 years.

No one forced you to send your kids to BASIS.

You CHOSE not to send your kids to your in-bounds public school or to another one of DC's 134 charter schools, and you CHOSE not to move elsewhere.

Still wondering why that parent didn’t send their kids to another high school. Walls, Banneker, DCI, Latin, McKinley Tech, MacArthur, Bard Early College, CHEC… there are lots of places to go to high school if you can’t afford private school.

I don’t know that PP, but I do have a colleague whose child got into Walls but chose to continue at Basis for high school, and who then became more disenchanted with Basis each year. Mostly I think the kid was tired of the small and constantly shrinking social circle, but also all the little annoyances build up, and after 7 years the family was definitely counting the months to the finish line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

PP here. Think this pretty much illustrates my point. This parent was very unhappy with BASIS. It didn’t “work” for them so they left for a private. Not sure how this makes BASIS any different than any other public school, but no one froths at the mouth like this about Coolidge or Roosevelt SHSs. And if you want to quibble about the college admissions, I would encourage you to look at BASIS’s college acceptance insta page. Lots of “blue chips” and strong from top to bottom. I can also tell you about many of the schools that got turned down. The results are even more impressive with that data. This is not the hill you want to die on.

I guess the real question is whether these kids would have gotten into these schools even if they had gone to their DCPS, which is probably unknowable.

Everyone is just trying to do their best and I can’t understand these people who get so worked up about BASIS. If you don’t like it, don’t go. Not sure what there is to be angry about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

PP here. Think this pretty much illustrates my point. This parent was very unhappy with BASIS. It didn’t “work” for them so they left for a private. Not sure how this makes BASIS any different than any other public school, but no one froths at the mouth like this about Coolidge or Roosevelt SHSs. And if you want to quibble about the college admissions, I would encourage you to look at BASIS’s college acceptance insta page. Lots of “blue chips” and strong from top to bottom. I can also tell you about many of the schools that got turned down. The results are even more impressive with that data. This is not the hill you want to die on.

I guess the real question is whether these kids would have gotten into these schools even if they had gone to their DCPS, which is probably unknowable.

Everyone is just trying to do their best and I can’t understand these people who get so worked up about BASIS. If you don’t like it, don’t go. Not sure what there is to be angry about.

Their constant irritating boosting and slagging on other schools is what there is to be angry about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

PP here. Think this pretty much illustrates my point. This parent was very unhappy with BASIS. It didn’t “work” for them so they left for a private. Not sure how this makes BASIS any different than any other public school, but no one froths at the mouth like this about Coolidge or Roosevelt SHSs. And if you want to quibble about the college admissions, I would encourage you to look at BASIS’s college acceptance insta page. Lots of “blue chips” and strong from top to bottom. I can also tell you about many of the schools that got turned down. The results are even more impressive with that data. This is not the hill you want to die on.

NP. Don't tell us which hills to fight or die on.

What PP above is pointing out is well known in the BASIS high school community. Many of us dislike the way senior year is handled. Can we do anything about it, influencing outcomes at the school? Of course not. But we aren't without our ways of challenging on a personal level. My kid is spreading subject work into senior year by taking a couple-line IB Diploma classes senior year while at BASIS (yes, on-line IBD classes are now a thing, just not for many subjects) as well as at least one Cambridge A-Level exam in November.

I'm not bitter although I'd have left for a private long ago if I had the option (never got good enough fi aid). Even so, I'm counting the months until I can divorce the place. A franchise not run by educators is correct.

Speak for yourself when you come at the disgruntled parents of kids who "washed out." The many kids we know who've left haven't fit the bill and we've been at BASIS for 7 years.

No one forced you to send your kids to BASIS.

You CHOSE not to send your kids to your in-bounds public school or to another one of DC's 134 charter schools, and you CHOSE not to move elsewhere.

Still wondering why that parent didn’t send their kids to another high school. Walls, Banneker, DCI, Latin, McKinley Tech, MacArthur, Bard Early College, CHEC… there are lots of places to go to high school if you can’t afford private school.

I don’t know that PP, but I do have a colleague whose child got into Walls but chose to continue at Basis for high school, and who then became more disenchanted with Basis each year. Mostly I think the kid was tired of the small and constantly shrinking social circle, but also all the little annoyances build up, and after 7 years the family was definitely counting the months to the finish line.

So why didn’t they leave while in HS? It’s not like once you stay for 9th, you have to stay forever. It might be harder to get in, but if you/your kid hates it, then leave. Sticking around being miserable isn’t worth it at any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.

PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.

Parent of graduating BASIS senior here. I’m loathe to enter this fray because the BASIS detractors are so emotional, but this statement just isn’t true. My kid took 12 AP exams (I guess one was a submission for 2D Art as a freshman) by the end of junior year. Several of their academic peers took 12+ AP exams by the end of junior year. No BASIS seniors take APs unless they failed to satisfy one of the AP graduation requirements for a BASIS diploma. BASIS students technically satisfy DC high school grad requirements by the end of junior year, so that is a feature, not a bug. Senior year is reserved for post AP capstone courses the first two trimesters, and an optional senior project consisting of an internship, research, and presentation. Detractors can feel free to harp on the charter management, lack of space, perceived weaknesses in curriculum, etc. but the college results this speak for themselves. BASIS is not for every kid, but if it does work for your family, the outcomes
will be there when it is time to apply to colleges.

Don't buy this take, folks. PP is whitewashing structural problems with their BS loathe to enter the fray. I say this as the parent of a student who left after 10th grade for a private where extra curriculars, community and liberal learning are celebrated as much as exam and college results. Senior year at BASIS is a largely wasted. The focus isn't on learning or enjoying the year, it's on pushy, time-wasting forced college counseling. The AP capstone courses mentioned are poorly thought through, taught and resourced and the optional senior project is lonely, supported minimally and dramatically under-funded. No, the college results don't speak for themselves, not across the board. Fewer BASIS DC grads crack blue chip colleges than you might think. More would if they could bring serious extra-curricular accomplishments and, frankly, more time to absorb subject content, to the table. They neither have the time nor support for them in a curriculum where four years of high school is needlessly jammed into three, enrichment is paltry, parents are marginalized, respect for individual backgrounds, learning styles and interests is weak, and intellectuality is seldom promoted.

If you can afford to leave for greener pastures, you do that. Hint: The BASIS wasn't founded by, and isn't run by, educators.

PP here. Think this pretty much illustrates my point. This parent was very unhappy with BASIS. It didn’t “work” for them so they left for a private. Not sure how this makes BASIS any different than any other public school, but no one froths at the mouth like this about Coolidge or Roosevelt SHSs. And if you want to quibble about the college admissions, I would encourage you to look at BASIS’s college acceptance insta page. Lots of “blue chips” and strong from top to bottom. I can also tell you about many of the schools that got turned down. The results are even more impressive with that data. This is not the hill you want to die on.

NP. Don't tell us which hills to fight or die on.

What PP above is pointing out is well known in the BASIS high school community. Many of us dislike the way senior year is handled. Can we do anything about it, influencing outcomes at the school? Of course not. But we aren't without our ways of challenging on a personal level. My kid is spreading subject work into senior year by taking a couple-line IB Diploma classes senior year while at BASIS (yes, on-line IBD classes are now a thing, just not for many subjects) as well as at least one Cambridge A-Level exam in November.

I'm not bitter although I'd have left for a private long ago if I had the option (never got good enough fi aid). Even so, I'm counting the months until I can divorce the place. A franchise not run by educators is correct.

Speak for yourself when you come at the disgruntled parents of kids who "washed out." The many kids we know who've left haven't fit the bill and we've been at BASIS for 7 years.

No one forced you to send your kids to BASIS.

You CHOSE not to send your kids to your in-bounds public school or to another one of DC's 134 charter schools, and you CHOSE not to move elsewhere.

Still wondering why that parent didn’t send their kids to another high school. Walls, Banneker, DCI, Latin, McKinley Tech, MacArthur, Bard Early College, CHEC… there are lots of places to go to high school if you can’t afford private school.

I don’t know that PP, but I do have a colleague whose child got into Walls but chose to continue at Basis for high school, and who then became more disenchanted with Basis each year. Mostly I think the kid was tired of the small and constantly shrinking social circle, but also all the little annoyances build up, and after 7 years the family was definitely counting the months to the finish line.

So why didn’t they leave while in HS? It’s not like once you stay for 9th, you have to stay forever. It might be harder to get in, but if you/your kid hates it, then leave. Sticking around being miserable isn’t worth it at any school.

If only life were so simple. At least one of your kids isn't crazy about BASIS, a school that offers a path to a good college for the hard-working and bright in a system where such programs are in v. short supply. What do you do in response? Sell your house and move after decades in your neighborhood and the crazy sweat equity you put into an old house? Head to your failing in-boundary school? Cough up money you need for retirement and college by sending the kid to send the kid to a private?

My middle schoolers haven't been miserable at BASIS, but they haven't been happy either. One of us was DOGE'D this year and can't find another appealing job in the area. We have enough to worry about without moving over schools right now. We tried to lottery into J-R, DCI or one of the Latins for the rising 9th grader but failed. We also tried for Walls and Banneker. McKinley didn't seem worth it. We tried for fi aid and privates and didn't get enough. So we stay for the time being, hoping for a better year at BASIS. If the kid becomes miserable, sure, we'll have to come up with something else, probably send her to live with relatives where there's a good high school.

My lease favorite aspect of BASIS is that when you have concerns, fellow parents and admins tell you to leave. There's really no working anything out for your tax dollars.

[Anonymous]

I you can't make your peace with the reality that you will have no say in how anything works at BASIS as a parent while your kid is there, don't enroll.