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.
Looks like you have too many choices. If you were in the suburbs, you’d have your zoned HS and privates, and that’s it. Most people just make the best of it.
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.
Keep trying other schools, because BASIS is really a horrible fit for you. I feel sorry for you and your kids. There’s Duke Ellington, Bard Early College, MacArthur, Coolidge has an application program…did you try DCI? Sojourner Truth? In your shoes, I’d even try for the IB program at Eastern. The mental health aspects are worth it.
Anonymous wrote: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.
Again, do parents get to tell the administrations at Jackson Reed, St. John’s, or STA how things are gonna go? Like all schools BASIS has plenty of warts, but is this unique to that school? People just want to hate it so much.
Anonymous wrote: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.
Again, do parents get to tell the administrations at Jackson Reed, St. John’s, or STA how things are gonna go? Like all schools BASIS has plenty of warts, but is this unique to that school? People just want to hate it so much.
Well, J-R does have a parent organization and has for a long time. Unlike BASIS. It's not nothing.
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.
Keep trying other schools, because BASIS is really a horrible fit for you. I feel sorry for you and your kids. There’s Duke Ellington, Bard Early College, MacArthur, Coolidge has an application program…did you try DCI? Sojourner Truth? In your shoes, I’d even try for the IB program at Eastern. The mental health aspects are worth it.
Why was McKinley not worth it? They do take a few 10th graders if you want to add them in next year.
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.
Keep trying other schools, because BASIS is really a horrible fit for you. I feel sorry for you and your kids. There’s Duke Ellington, Bard Early College, MacArthur, Coolidge has an application program…did you try DCI? Sojourner Truth? In your shoes, I’d even try for the IB program at Eastern. The mental health aspects are worth it.
Why was McKinley not worth it? They do take a few 10th graders if you want to add them in next year.
+1. I’d like to know this too. We are thinking of applying because it looks great.
Anonymous wrote: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.
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.
You are just complaining and refusing to take action. And then you bring up the fact that you pay taxes as if that entitles you to some sort of special educational privilege.
NP. Good grief, what a miserable school BASIS really is. And what a judgmental parent group. In our experience, there's no shortage of families who want out, but, yeah, where do you go? Raise the relevant issues and you're "complaining."
You guys can't see the forest for the trees. We deserve higher-performing and well-resourced schools in this city that are accessible to strong students. Nobody should have to put up with BASIS crappy facilities or obnoxiously top-down management to get their kids a decent education in this city.
Ech. Given the chance, I might vote to end Home Rule at this point. Worth a try.
Anonymous wrote:NP. Good grief, what a miserable school BASIS really is. And what a judgmental parent group. In our experience, there's no shortage of families who want out, but, yeah, where do you go? Raise the relevant issues and you're "complaining."
You guys can't see the forest for the trees. We deserve higher-performing and well-resourced schools in this city that are accessible to strong students. Nobody should have to put up with BASIS crappy facilities or obnoxiously top-down management to get their kids a decent education in this city.
Ech. Given the chance, I might vote to end Home Rule at this point. Worth a try.
Agree. If DCPS could provide a challenging, structured and low-screens middle school education for our kids, we would come back from BASIS. How do we make that happen?
Yes, McKinley does. To my knowledge, these kids are low-income, first gen minority kids who deservedly get a break in admissions. Get real. Your UMC kid with parents with grad degrees won't.
Anonymous wrote:NP. Good grief, what a miserable school BASIS really is. And what a judgmental parent group. In our experience, there's no shortage of families who want out, but, yeah, where do you go? Raise the relevant issues and you're "complaining."
You guys can't see the forest for the trees. We deserve higher-performing and well-resourced schools in this city that are accessible to strong students. Nobody should have to put up with BASIS crappy facilities or obnoxiously top-down management to get their kids a decent education in this city.
Ech. Given the chance, I might vote to end Home Rule at this point. Worth a try.
Agree. If DCPS could provide a challenging, structured and low-screens middle school education for our kids, we would come back from BASIS. How do we make that happen?
We can't make that happen as long as Bowser is Mayor. She simply doesn't care if DCPS retains high-performing students, mostly from UMC backgrounds. Fenty cared. Even Mayor Gray cared but this Mayor does not and she's our education czar.
Anonymous wrote:NP. Good grief, what a miserable school BASIS really is. And what a judgmental parent group. In our experience, there's no shortage of families who want out, but, yeah, where do you go? Raise the relevant issues and you're "complaining."
You guys can't see the forest for the trees. We deserve higher-performing and well-resourced schools in this city that are accessible to strong students. Nobody should have to put up with BASIS crappy facilities or obnoxiously top-down management to get their kids a decent education in this city.
Ech. Given the chance, I might vote to end Home Rule at this point. Worth a try.
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