What will you do if you don't get into BASIS/Latin?

[Anonymous]

I have a kid who is not sporty and all the good things I hear about EH have to do with the sports and extracurriculars. He already has his own outside extras. What EH parents won't say, and perhaps they don't know, is how watered down is the curriculum to accommodate 80% of the kids not on grade level? That is what I care about, not the "free" bus that takes them to swim meets and to golf or whatever other sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How can you be ok with Inspired Teaching and SWWFS and not BASIS?

May as well keep them at EH then.

BASIS has such high attrition rates that you can be ok with BASIS for 5th grade, but there's a good chance it's not going to turn out to be the full middle school plan. It's on my list, but that concerns me -- that a lot of families that go to BASIS initially wind up having to figure out alternatives in a couple of years later anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can you be ok with Inspired Teaching and SWWFS and not BASIS?

May as well keep them at EH then.

BASIS has such high attrition rates that you can be ok with BASIS for 5th grade, but there's a good chance it's not going to turn out to be the full middle school plan. It's on my list, but that concerns me -- that a lot of families that go to BASIS initially wind up having to figure out alternatives in a couple of years later anyway.

I have a theory about this. The attrition comes from the kids who did not want to go to BASIS in the first place, but didn't get into Latin, and parents felt they should give BASIS a shot when offered a spot. BASIS is not for everyone. I know lots of families who did not put it on their list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can you be ok with Inspired Teaching and SWWFS and not BASIS?

May as well keep them at EH then.

BASIS has such high attrition rates that you can be ok with BASIS for 5th grade, but there's a good chance it's not going to turn out to be the full middle school plan. It's on my list, but that concerns me -- that a lot of families that go to BASIS initially wind up having to figure out alternatives in a couple of years later anyway.

I have a theory about this. The attrition comes from the kids who did not want to go to BASIS in the first place, but didn't get into Latin, and parents felt they should give BASIS a shot when offered a spot. BASIS is not for everyone. I know lots of families who did not put it on their list.

All of the Basis charter schools across the country have extremely high attrition rates and count on attrition to get the "right" students in their public programs. It's weird (and maybe illegal)? We have Basis on our list but I'm deeply ambivalent about it (even though I actually have a kid who might like extreme math and science acceleration).

[Anonymous]

From the open house, I understood that they routinely hold kids back. If a child does not want to repeat the grade, they have to leave, so technically you cannot fault the school or call the practice illegal, as the parent is choosing to withdraw.

Most public schools do not hold kids back even if they are way behind. Both are problematic in their own different ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the open house, I understood that they routinely hold kids back. If a child does not want to repeat the grade, they have to leave, so technically you cannot fault the school or call the practice illegal, as the parent is choosing to withdraw.

Most public schools do not hold kids back even if they are way behind. Both are problematic in their own different ways.

Yeah, I also heard this at the open house (maybe we were at the same one)... She said that around 20 percent of the kids don't pass their comps, and while they have a chance to retake it (or repeat), the student often leaves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who is not sporty and all the good things I hear about EH have to do with the sports and extracurriculars. He already has his own outside extras. What EH parents won't say, and perhaps they don't know, is how watered down is the curriculum to accommodate 80% of the kids not on grade level? That is what I care about, not the "free" bus that takes them to swim meets and to golf or whatever other sport.

That is a valid point, and I think some of the reason parents were/are listing the 'extra' offerings, is because other parents come on these forums saying that school 'x,y,z' does/does not offer all the same bells and whistles as the other schools. Parents can/should ask the school directly with any questions, but to respond to the non-sports/extracurricular questions - they are now offering the same math track/options as other schools, with options to enter 8th grade on level, in algebra, or in geometry. They are reading full novels (not the excerpts) and based on what my child shares with me (and what I can see in Canvas) are learning about/writing about/completing age appropriate assignments. I am sure folks have heard conversation recently about truancy and chronically absent students in the city overall, which is a whole other challenge for schools. From my perspective, kids who are in seats and completing assignments get appropriate levels of work. They have extra things like Young Authors Initiative, Creative Writing Workshops, Higher Achievement, and Debate, which aren't during class time, but don't fall in the 'sports' bucket.
I know this has gotten on an EH tangent, but I would assume other schools are similar. The way our school report cards are so focused on PARCC/test scores, it is hard to scratch beneath the surface sometimes. That combined with having (IMO) too many options does make it really tricky for parents to navigate when choosing a school.

[Anonymous]

Oyster was taking kids off the waitlist through August last year for 5th. We got a call but declined because ultimately was not a convenient commute for us. Will go to DCI instead next year. But could be an option to look into.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The test scores at EH are high for white students who aren't ell and don't have disabilities. But they are high for that population at any dcps that has enough of such kids to report. But getting a 4 or 5 on parcc isn't the same as having good language and arts classes, sports and other extracurriculars, and a group of classmates from stable and highly educated families. Some people are happy or ok without those things. Some see the economic diversity at a school like EH as a positive that outweighs any negatives, or at least something tolerable because it allows them to stay in their home on the Hill. Some kids will thrive and others will wish their parents moved to MoCo. There isn't one right answer.

I’m an EH parent and I can tell you my kid is having a great time, teachers have been very responsive, and some of the admins are flat-out wonderful. It’s not a fancy private school where you can pay to filter out real life. Given the US will be majority-minority for our kids I actually think this is crucial for white boys. It is FAR from perfect but calling it “terrible” is ridiculous. PS the kids love the extra curriculars.

(also LOL at the idea that the school has no “stable and highly educated families.” I’d list the credentials we all have but that would be obnoxious. It’s just not dominated by “us” which makes people uncomfortable in theory I get it. But in practice it’s absolutely the least of my concerns.)

No one said the school was completely lacking in stable and highly educated families. But if you compare it to some suburban school districts, including ones that have a lot of diversity and transit and cheaper housing, the difference is marked. Same with the arts instruction. What a school can do with a bunch of kids who started lessons in early elementary (and often private lessons before that) is different than what can be done at EH.

If you’re in that rat race you should just be all-in and go move to Potomac or whatever. Not sure why you are here.

The choice isn't just Hill East v. Potomac. There are plenty of places with metro access, more diversity, better achievement across various demographics, lower housing costs, and lower crime than the EH zone. Some people would rather stay on the Hill. That's fine. Different schools and living situations work for different kids. But don't pretend that the only two options are a school where 2/3 of the kids aren't proficient in reading and 4/5 in math (there are more non- proficient kids than economically disadvantaged so it's not "just" poverty that's an issue) or Potomac.

My point is that it is a pointless discussion. It’s like blathering about McMansions and plentiful parking in the suburbs. Yes I know that’s the burbs but I am here in my rowhouse and street parking. Yes there are more affluent school than EH but that doesn’t make EH terrible. It makes it different. You’re not choosing that path which is fine. I’m not some idiot ignorant about the fact that there are wealthier schools elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who is not sporty and all the good things I hear about EH have to do with the sports and extracurriculars. He already has his own outside extras. What EH parents won't say, and perhaps they don't know, is how watered down is the curriculum to accommodate 80% of the kids not on grade level? That is what I care about, not the "free" bus that takes them to swim meets and to golf or whatever other sport.

There are a ton of other clubs the kids have a lot of fun with not just sports. If you need your kid to be in a gifted program it’s probably not for you. My smart kid is very engaged by many of his classes. Someone else mentioned ELA which I am also pleasantly surprised by. Frankly I’m not sure the academic experience is that different from the other DCPS MS. And the teachers are incredibly accessible and supportive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who is not sporty and all the good things I hear about EH have to do with the sports and extracurriculars. He already has his own outside extras. What EH parents won't say, and perhaps they don't know, is how watered down is the curriculum to accommodate 80% of the kids not on grade level? That is what I care about, not the "free" bus that takes them to swim meets and to golf or whatever other sport.

There are a ton of other clubs the kids have a lot of fun with not just sports. If you need your kid to be in a gifted program it’s probably not for you. My smart kid is very engaged by many of his classes. Someone else mentioned ELA which I am also pleasantly surprised by. Frankly I’m not sure the academic experience is that different from the other DCPS MS. And the teachers are incredibly accessible and supportive.

I need my kid to be held accountable and to high expectations and my worry is that this will not happen at EH. It's barely happening at the ES level as he know how to get by and do well enough with the minimum effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From the open house, I understood that they routinely hold kids back. If a child does not want to repeat the grade, they have to leave, so technically you cannot fault the school or call the practice illegal, as the parent is choosing to withdraw.

Most public schools do not hold kids back even if they are way behind. Both are problematic in their own different ways.

Yeah, I also heard this at the open house (maybe we were at the same one)... She said that around 20 percent of the kids don't pass their comps, and while they have a chance to retake it (or repeat), the student often leaves.

DP. I think the attrition is more nuanced than that. Yes, there are kids who don’t pass the comps and choose to leave rather than repeat a grade (although some can do summer school to avoid being held back). A lot of other students leave after 8th grade to go to an application high school or private. The high school curriculum is different than most high schools and I can see how that plus small class sizes wouldn’t appeal to everyone. But oddly, there are more than a few 5th graders who have been doing private school tours since the beginning of the school year. In other words, these kids were at Basis for all of 4 weeks or so before embarking on the private school tour circuit last fall. It led me to think that maybe some families put their kid at Basis for 5th knowing/hoping they’ll leave in 6th. It seems odd to me to move your kid to Basis for only one year, but maybe I’m an outlier in that regard.

[Anonymous]

Maybe they hated those 4 weeks?

[Anonymous]

i would guess the family had a lot of uncertainty with respect to either basis or the private school admissions (the admissions process, paying for it etc.) and felt obligated to lock basis or the private school in as their backup. you dont actually commit to attending a private school until about february.

[Anonymous]

this is yet another illustration of why the charters should not start in 5th and only 5th