BASIS high school versus middle school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS enthusiasts have been claiming that the HS is poised for strong growth for years and years. It never does. At least they’ve piped down lately.

It has been growing exponentially because there was a leading year issue. Full growth should be seen by next year. I don’t get your point.

Growing exponentially? I'm not seeing that. Data to support this claim?

I remember admins telling us that the BASIS HS would soon enroll more than 200 at an open house. That was pre-Covid. Hasn't happened.

You are confusing what you feel with data. Here are the actual HS enrollment #s.

SY 17-18: 160
SY 18-19: 194
SY 19-20: 199
SY 20-21: 211
SY 21-22: 214
SY 22-23: 233 (unaudited)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd rather have my children in a school where two-thirds of the families don't vote with their feet between the entry year and the terminal year.

Attrition is not voting with your feet.

People leave Basis for different reasons. And there is no social promotion or backfill.

I would rather have my kids at a school where they are challenged and taught above grade level.

Yes. BASIS DC is the only public school in DC that doesn’t socially promote and backfill. So, of course, the upper grades are much smaller than the lower grades. Not sure how that is a bad thing for a 100% lottery school.

100% lottery school is a misleading descriptor that's been bandied about on DCUM for more than a decade. Fact is, BASIS DC overwhelmingly attracts families whose children can easily handle both the middle and high school curricula. What this means is that no more than 3% of 6th-8th graders being asked to repeat a grade to remain in the program annually (down from around 15% in the first few years). Claims that most families leave in the face of unstainable rigor is a tired canard.

Words have meaning. The enrollment is 100% lottery. That is a statement of fact. You destroy any credibility for everything that follows with such a silly statement.

[Anonymous]

No position on this discussion but interesting that generally Basis supporters make cogent arguments based on actual facts and data and Basis detractors make subjective unsupported claims.

[Anonymous]

NP who is a teacher who has taught many Basis kids who left after 8th grade. The vast majority speak of their time at the school fondly and seem to have received a solid middle school education. Some left for a more’typical’ HS experience, some were burned out by the intense academics and for some they left because friends left. But none of them bash the school so to me it seemed like a positive MS experience.

[Anonymous]

Yes, because they left after 8th grade. The unhappy students tend to leave sooner. Not too difficult to look back on BASIS fondly once you've left and not always easy to attend a school without space to run around or all that much in the way of enrichment (no music program bothered us most). My kids are thriving post BASIS in a way they didn't in the program. Not uncommon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because they left after 8th grade. The unhappy students tend to leave sooner. Not too difficult to look back on BASIS fondly once you've left and not always easy to attend a school without space to run around or all that much in the way of enrichment (no music program bothered us most). My kids are thriving post BASIS in a way they didn't in the program. Not uncommon.

What?

You post a lot. And you seem really angry. You left. You didn't like it. That's cool. Move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No position on this discussion but interesting that generally Basis supporters make cogent arguments based on actual facts and data and Basis detractors make subjective unsupported claims.

Or they just make sh*t up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS enthusiasts have been claiming that the HS is poised for strong growth for years and years. It never does. At least they’ve piped down lately.

It has been growing exponentially because there was a leading year issue. Full growth should be seen by next year. I don’t get your point.

Growing exponentially? I'm not seeing that. Data to support this claim?

I remember admins telling us that the BASIS HS would soon enroll more than 200 at an open house. That was pre-Covid. Hasn't happened.

Someone posted the audited enrollment data. Seems like they've been over 200 for a couple of years now. Care to revise your BS statement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because they left after 8th grade. The unhappy students tend to leave sooner. Not too difficult to look back on BASIS fondly once you've left and not always easy to attend a school without space to run around or all that much in the way of enrichment (no music program bothered us most). My kids are thriving post BASIS in a way they didn't in the program. Not uncommon.

Um okay? I have plenty of kids from other MSs that do not look back fondly. They make it sound like a sh**show. I get that you don’t like Basis, but these kids have diverse experiences at the school and don’t complain about their time there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP who is a teacher who has taught many Basis kids who left after 8th grade. The vast majority speak of their time at the school fondly and seem to have received a solid middle school education. Some left for a more’typical’ HS experience, some were burned out by the intense academics and for some they left because friends left. But none of them bash the school so to me it seemed like a positive MS experience.

Are you a teacher at Walls?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because they left after 8th grade. The unhappy students tend to leave sooner. Not too difficult to look back on BASIS fondly once you've left and not always easy to attend a school without space to run around or all that much in the way of enrichment (no music program bothered us most). My kids are thriving post BASIS in a way they didn't in the program. Not uncommon.

What?

You post a lot. And you seem really angry. You left. You didn't like it. That's cool. Move on.

Move on from the passive aggressive gaslighting already.

Any critical remark about enrichment or music or lack of space on a BASIS thread, wham, it's all down to a single disgruntled poster.

It isn't. A bunch of families leave BASIS after almost every grade. Who knows why; nobody in the chain of command collects data on leaving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because they left after 8th grade. The unhappy students tend to leave sooner. Not too difficult to look back on BASIS fondly once you've left and not always easy to attend a school without space to run around or all that much in the way of enrichment (no music program bothered us most). My kids are thriving post BASIS in a way they didn't in the program. Not uncommon.

Um okay? I have plenty of kids from other MSs that do not look back fondly. They make it sound like a sh**show. I get that you don’t like Basis, but these kids have diverse experiences at the school and don’t complain about their time there.

It's a fair point. From what I observed, kids who leave BASIS after 6th or 7th often end up at privates or in the burbs. Presumably, you're not teaching those kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because they left after 8th grade. The unhappy students tend to leave sooner. Not too difficult to look back on BASIS fondly once you've left and not always easy to attend a school without space to run around or all that much in the way of enrichment (no music program bothered us most). My kids are thriving post BASIS in a way they didn't in the program. Not uncommon.

Um okay? I have plenty of kids from other MSs that do not look back fondly. They make it sound like a sh**show. I get that you don’t like Basis, but these kids have diverse experiences at the school and don’t complain about their time there.

It's a fair point. From what I observed, kids who leave BASIS after 6th or 7th often end up at privates or in the burbs. Presumably, you're not teaching those kids.

NP. Just chill out. Obviously this teacher doesn't teach every kid who leaves BASIS. The teacher's point is that the kids she has taught didn't leave BASIS because they were unhappy.

[Anonymous]

The happy BASIS 8th graders we know have stayed for HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because they left after 8th grade. The unhappy students tend to leave sooner. Not too difficult to look back on BASIS fondly once you've left and not always easy to attend a school without space to run around or all that much in the way of enrichment (no music program bothered us most). My kids are thriving post BASIS in a way they didn't in the program. Not uncommon.

Um okay? I have plenty of kids from other MSs that do not look back fondly. They make it sound like a sh**show. I get that you don’t like Basis, but these kids have diverse experiences at the school and don’t complain about their time there.

It's a fair point. From what I observed, kids who leave BASIS after 6th or 7th often end up at privates or in the burbs. Presumably, you're not teaching those kids.

NP. Just chill out. Obviously this teacher doesn't teach every kid who leaves BASIS. The teacher's point is that the kids she has taught didn't leave BASIS because they were unhappy.

This! Plus, you are comparing apples to oranges by suggesting that kids who leave the DCPS system are happier than kids who remain. I don't think anyone other than your ilk are or ever suggested BASIS was the best school ever. That's a construct and red herring created by you.