How to help child succeed at BASIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on your child, but in our experience, the challenge wasn't the academics in general, but the organizational skills - keeping track of assignments, etc. There's a summer program for incoming 5th graders that's helpful but not necessary.

Also, experiences vary a lot, depending on both the child's abilities and the child and parents' standards. I literally have never seen my sixth grader do a minute of homework; he does it all in school. His grades are all over the place but average out to a B+. Reasonably smart kid, low standards=not much work. Some kids and parents report spending large amounts of time on homework; they probably have higher standards and the academics might not come as naturally.

This is such an interesting comment. Do you have any sense why your child manages to get it all done in school? Do they have a study hall period that he uses, that the other kids don't use? My kid is pretty good at doing his homework but he HATES homework. He loves getting it done it school. But I was always led to believe that BASIS had so much homework, the kids were inevitably stuck with hours of it.

My child is in high school but also has always done their homework in school. Very rarely will they have something to do at home. They are efficient and use every minute of their time at school to get their work done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on your child, but in our experience, the challenge wasn't the academics in general, but the organizational skills - keeping track of assignments, etc. There's a summer program for incoming 5th graders that's helpful but not necessary.

Also, experiences vary a lot, depending on both the child's abilities and the child and parents' standards. I literally have never seen my sixth grader do a minute of homework; he does it all in school. His grades are all over the place but average out to a B+. Reasonably smart kid, low standards=not much work. Some kids and parents report spending large amounts of time on homework; they probably have higher standards and the academics might not come as naturally.

This is such an interesting comment. Do you have any sense why your child manages to get it all done in school? Do they have a study hall period that he uses, that the other kids don't use? My kid is pretty good at doing his homework but he HATES homework. He loves getting it done it school. But I was always led to believe that BASIS had so much homework, the kids were inevitably stuck with hours of it.

My child is in high school but also has always done their homework in school. Very rarely will they have something to do at home. They are efficient and use every minute of their time at school to get their work done.

Now I'm feeling mad I didn't try to lottery in to BASIS. Although with my horrible WL for Latin, probably didn't make a difference. So what leads to the impression that BASIS is so hard? Just that they really emphasize the testing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have two middle schoolers, both with averages ranging from 97 to 98.

One spends about 20 minutes per night on homework. The other spends none. They both get their homework done at school. And neither studies for tests.

I’m the poster with the two high performing middle schoolers. I don’t assume my kids’ experience is the norm. But both kids are super bright, learn easily and retain information. They listen in class, crank out their work quickly, and get good grades with little effort. No special tricks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on your child, but in our experience, the challenge wasn't the academics in general, but the organizational skills - keeping track of assignments, etc. There's a summer program for incoming 5th graders that's helpful but not necessary.

Also, experiences vary a lot, depending on both the child's abilities and the child and parents' standards. I literally have never seen my sixth grader do a minute of homework; he does it all in school. His grades are all over the place but average out to a B+. Reasonably smart kid, low standards=not much work. Some kids and parents report spending large amounts of time on homework; they probably have higher standards and the academics might not come as naturally.

This is such an interesting comment. Do you have any sense why your child manages to get it all done in school? Do they have a study hall period that he uses, that the other kids don't use? My kid is pretty good at doing his homework but he HATES homework. He loves getting it done it school. But I was always led to believe that BASIS had so much homework, the kids were inevitably stuck with hours of it.

My child is in high school but also has always done their homework in school. Very rarely will they have something to do at home. They are efficient and use every minute of their time at school to get their work done.

Now I'm feeling mad I didn't try to lottery in to BASIS. Although with my horrible WL for Latin, probably didn't make a difference. So what leads to the impression that BASIS is so hard? Just that they really emphasize the testing?

NP here - The Basis curriculum is light years ahead of DCPS. My child did well in 5th, but we decided to leave for our IB for 6th. He was assigned books in 6th that Basis covered in 5th. In 6th, he was moved ahead to 7th grade math, and again those concepts were covered in 5th at Basis. I don’t even say this to make DCPS look bad. I recall one day looking at the standard courses for Basis 7th and 8th graders, and they were courses I took in 10th and 11th grade in MCPS.

We have no regrets in leaving nor any ill will towards Basis. I’m glad there is a school in DC that can serve high performing students who need the challenge, it just wasn’t right for DS.

[Anonymous]

No need to prepare. Send the kid to “boss camp” this summer to get oriented. 5th grade is heavy on study skills. Over 50% of kids end up in the “90s club” or A average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on your child, but in our experience, the challenge wasn't the academics in general, but the organizational skills - keeping track of assignments, etc. There's a summer program for incoming 5th graders that's helpful but not necessary.

Also, experiences vary a lot, depending on both the child's abilities and the child and parents' standards. I literally have never seen my sixth grader do a minute of homework; he does it all in school. His grades are all over the place but average out to a B+. Reasonably smart kid, low standards=not much work. Some kids and parents report spending large amounts of time on homework; they probably have higher standards and the academics might not come as naturally.

Parent of a current 5th grader. Organization is the key. Do everything possible for it to be successful. Grades depend on your child. Amount of homework to do and time spent, depend on your child. Make sure you communicate with your child and check the CJ to know of upcoming assignments, quizzes, and assessments. Students are learning how to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are also making a hard choice between sticking around for DCI or departing for Basis. I’d be curious to hear your thought process if you don’t mind sharing, PP. Also, do you plan to maintain the foreign language outside of Basis? I don’t mean to derail this thread. I have concerns about potentially preparing for Basis coming out of an immersion school where most of the academic challenge derived from the foreign language component.

I think most parents don't realize that the academic challenge, especially in math and science, comes in the form of your ES didn't do enough. As a math and science teacher, the 5th grade is much more than the DCPS 5th grade, but basically builds on what each child should have mastered in 4th grade. Science is not taught in many DCPS schools so the science and physical geography might also come as a shock as both are taught for 50 minutes every day. That being said, it can be a successful year for your child. It has been a great year for our child. Keep up the language outside of school as there is nothing next year, not even Latin. That is what we are doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Supplementing language would be very important, but I am curious if there are any BASIS families on this thread who have been successful in this area to maintain continued language acquisition for their child.

We speak it at home. We watch films and listen to CDs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on your child, but in our experience, the challenge wasn't the academics in general, but the organizational skills - keeping track of assignments, etc. There's a summer program for incoming 5th graders that's helpful but not necessary.

Also, experiences vary a lot, depending on both the child's abilities and the child and parents' standards. I literally have never seen my sixth grader do a minute of homework; he does it all in school. His grades are all over the place but average out to a B+. Reasonably smart kid, low standards=not much work. Some kids and parents report spending large amounts of time on homework; they probably have higher standards and the academics might not come as naturally.

This is such an interesting comment. Do you have any sense why your child manages to get it all done in school? Do they have a study hall period that he uses, that the other kids don't use? My kid is pretty good at doing his homework but he HATES homework. He loves getting it done it school. But I was always led to believe that BASIS had so much homework, the kids were inevitably stuck with hours of it.

My child is in high school but also has always done their homework in school. Very rarely will they have something to do at home. They are efficient and use every minute of their time at school to get their work done.

Now I'm feeling mad I didn't try to lottery in to BASIS. Although with my horrible WL for Latin, probably didn't make a difference. So what leads to the impression that BASIS is so hard? Just that they really emphasize the testing?

BASIS is considered "hard" because it has the most advanced curriculum in DC public schools.

But each year builds on the previous year so if your kid keeps up, he or she will do fine.

To make sure each kid keeps up, there are a lot of checks along the way including lots of quizzes, tests, pre-comps, and comps.

My kids do almost no homework and minimal studying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

This is the regressive posture that keeps most Americans monolingual. To somebody from another part of the world, studying a language seriously from the upper elementary grades is as routine as studying math.
Educators around the world follow the science behind learning languages young, since it's much easier to teach a child to speak a language than an older teen or an adult. Viewing middle school language learning as a liability in college admissions wouldn't make sense elsewhere. What BASIS does is let the 5th grade immersion graduates' language skills slide, only to endeavor to teach them languages from scratch from 8th grade, without providing anything like appropriate challenge. The result is that 5s on AP language exams aren't nearly as common as they could be at BASIS DC.

What BASIS DC parents don't know is that some of the BASIS Arizona campuses allow modern languages to be learned in middle school, including at the advanced level, but on a voluntary basis. They also offer serious instrumental music programs. BASIS Scottsdale certainly does. BASIS DC is hardly the jewel in the BASIS crown, for several reasons. The building isn't among the worst and the franchise, admins and parents aren't raising money for enrichment as they do elsewhere, and the school's leadership has changed repeatedly (what is it now, 8 Heads of School in 10 years?). Parent contributions in DC go only to top up teachers' salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

This is the regressive posture that keeps most Americans monolingual. To somebody from another part of the world, studying a language seriously from the upper elementary grades is as routine as studying math.
Educators around the world follow the science behind learning languages young, since it's much easier to teach a child to speak a language than an older teen or an adult. Viewing middle school language learning as a liability in college admissions wouldn't make sense elsewhere. What BASIS does is let the 5th grade immersion graduates' language skills slide, only to endeavor to teach them languages from scratch from 8th grade, without providing anything like appropriate challenge. The result is that 5s on AP language exams aren't nearly as common as they could be at BASIS DC.

What BASIS DC parents don't know is that some of the BASIS Arizona campuses allow modern languages to be learned in middle school, including at the advanced level, but on a voluntary basis. They also offer serious instrumental music programs. BASIS Scottsdale certainly does. BASIS DC is hardly the jewel in the BASIS crown, for several reasons. The building isn't among the worst and the franchise, admins and parents aren't raising money for enrichment as they do elsewhere, and the school's leadership has changed repeatedly (what is it now, 8 Heads of School in 10 years?). Parent contributions in DC go only to top up teachers' salaries.

If you want language immersion in DC, you should look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

This is the regressive posture that keeps most Americans monolingual. To somebody from another part of the world, studying a language seriously from the upper elementary grades is as routine as studying math.
Educators around the world follow the science behind learning languages young, since it's much easier to teach a child to speak a language than an older teen or an adult. Viewing middle school language learning as a liability in college admissions wouldn't make sense elsewhere. What BASIS does is let the 5th grade immersion graduates' language skills slide, only to endeavor to teach them languages from scratch from 8th grade, without providing anything like appropriate challenge. The result is that 5s on AP language exams aren't nearly as common as they could be at BASIS DC.

What BASIS DC parents don't know is that some of the BASIS Arizona campuses allow modern languages to be learned in middle school, including at the advanced level, but on a voluntary basis. They also offer serious instrumental music programs. BASIS Scottsdale certainly does. BASIS DC is hardly the jewel in the BASIS crown, for several reasons. The building isn't among the worst and the franchise, admins and parents aren't raising money for enrichment as they do elsewhere, and the school's leadership has changed repeatedly (what is it now, 8 Heads of School in 10 years?). Parent contributions in DC go only to top up teachers' salaries.

If you want language immersion in DC, you should look elsewhere.

No kids at Basis but why not demand better with the school with languages especially since other sites offer it? Improve the overall curriculum instead the status quo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS doesn't withhold language. If language is important to you then choose a school that prioritizes language or as other posters have said, supplement. No school can be all things to all people. If you want a school to teach your child languages in 5th then pick a school that teaches languages in 5th. If that's not BASIS then pick another school. If you absolutely want BASIS and want languages, then supplement languages. Why is this so hard.

I know why it is so hard, they went the study languages route rather than the rigorous academics when in school.

This is the regressive posture that keeps most Americans monolingual. To somebody from another part of the world, studying a language seriously from the upper elementary grades is as routine as studying math.
Educators around the world follow the science behind learning languages young, since it's much easier to teach a child to speak a language than an older teen or an adult. Viewing middle school language learning as a liability in college admissions wouldn't make sense elsewhere. What BASIS does is let the 5th grade immersion graduates' language skills slide, only to endeavor to teach them languages from scratch from 8th grade, without providing anything like appropriate challenge. The result is that 5s on AP language exams aren't nearly as common as they could be at BASIS DC.

What BASIS DC parents don't know is that some of the BASIS Arizona campuses allow modern languages to be learned in middle school, including at the advanced level, but on a voluntary basis. They also offer serious instrumental music programs. BASIS Scottsdale certainly does. BASIS DC is hardly the jewel in the BASIS crown, for several reasons. The building isn't among the worst and the franchise, admins and parents aren't raising money for enrichment as they do elsewhere, and the school's leadership has changed repeatedly (what is it now, 8 Heads of School in 10 years?). Parent contributions in DC go only to top up teachers' salaries.

If you want language immersion in DC, you should look elsewhere.

No kids at Basis but why not demand better with the school with languages especially since other sites offer it? Improve the overall curriculum instead the status quo

No other public school in DC has the equivalent academics.

You want your kid to be a polyglot, send them to boarding school in Switzerland.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think it could hurt to inquire with BASIS about the possibility of altering the language curriculum, especially since they clearly just altered it to substitute linguistics for Latin at 5th grade. The worst that can happen is they don’t allow it, but if other BASIS locations have that option (as a PP mentioned), perhaps it can be looked into. But even if there’s no hope of allowing earlier modern language study at advanced levels at BASIS, at the very least I don’t see why language clubs can’t be formed (even if they must be outside the school) by connecting like-minded immersion families. There must be a critical mass of students who either came from an immersion ES or otherwise have foreign language experience…Does anyone know if BASIS provides a general family directory for the school? I realize parents are less involved with their students in MS than ES, but perhaps they can coordinate on this matter?
In general, how well/often do parents communicate? Do they set up any text/chat groups or online platforms?