BASIS McLean HOS resigned

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny how the school is okay with operating without a real HoS for the majority of the school year but can’t operate for a few more days (weeks?) without the LS Director who was trying to extend maternity leave a bit to care for a newborn. In a pandemic. The rough decision to deny saved PTO could very well end in in a lawsuit, adding to the financial stress that the school is already feeling.

This has to send a bad vibe to faculty/staff and parents alike. Probably a wake up call to those not already looking for other jobs for next school year, which appear to be plentiful especially for those who demonstrated teaching in person during the past year.

Or, it’s possible the employee didn’t understand how FMLA works. It’s unpaid, but you’re able to use PTO while on unpaid leave. And you don’t accrue PTO while on FMLA. And you have to use 2 weeks of leave before short term disability starts. (I’m assuming that the employee handbook is fairly standard, but that’s how it generally works unless the company gives you greater benefits). So, like many employees who aren’t employment lawyers or HR professionals, she probably didn’t realize how all this worked and miscalculated what she had to work with and used all of her PTO during her leave. Happens all the time. They probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago but had to wait until the leave was finished.

Bad vibe? Maybe, but probably not illegal.

Uh, you can't eliminate the director of the entire Lower School. Somebody has to do the job in their only growth cohort. This person had been doing the job for a while (not sure if she was there at the opening or not).

[Anonymous]

Misunderstanding on the part of the director, very possible, but as someone said, how much PTO time could this even be? Even if not illegal it looks especially questionable in light of other position absences, like running the entire school with a HoS vacancy for most of the year.

[Anonymous]

One of the many problems with BIM is that they treat everyone as replaceable. Relationships between faculty, children, and their parents are important and take time to build. Then BIM wipes that away in an instant without explanation. It has happened over and over again. The administration thinks it does not matter, but every time someone leaves it causes problems for everyone. Things slip through the cracks and the cracks get bigger.

Any parent who still thinks the academics are good enough to pay for such a poorly run business should take a hard look at that decision. how many times your kid can lose their favorite teacher or their teacher lose their director before you realize that the chaos takes a toll?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the many problems with BIM is that they treat everyone as replaceable. Relationships between faculty, children, and their parents are important and take time to build. Then BIM wipes that away in an instant without explanation. It has happened over and over again. The administration thinks it does not matter, but every time someone leaves it causes problems for everyone. Things slip through the cracks and the cracks get bigger.

Any parent who still thinks the academics are good enough to pay for such a poorly run business should take a hard look at that decision. how many times your kid can lose their favorite teacher or their teacher lose their director before you realize that the chaos takes a toll?

Look, they’re trimming administration to focus on teaching and keeping kids in-person. Not everyone was wowed by every member of the administration, nor the program’s ability to communicate. So you have to balance relationships with the good of the program. One person cut this year was directly responsible for the departure of the teacher that convinced us to come to the school, so not sad about some of this.

But lots of parents are impressed enough with their kids’ progress that they’re willing to pay. And if they wanted a school that was a well-run business, they would choose a HoS who had experience building a business.

I think the toll comes from trolls on this site who come on to insult parents who made a different choice. Not defending the school (lots of unforced errors there) but we haven’t seen turnover that really troubled us other than the teacher who convinced us to come. Not every person there is sacred, nor would I want them to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the many problems with BIM is that they treat everyone as replaceable. Relationships between faculty, children, and their parents are important and take time to build. Then BIM wipes that away in an instant without explanation. It has happened over and over again. The administration thinks it does not matter, but every time someone leaves it causes problems for everyone. Things slip through the cracks and the cracks get bigger.

Any parent who still thinks the academics are good enough to pay for such a poorly run business should take a hard look at that decision. how many times your kid can lose their favorite teacher or their teacher lose their director before you realize that the chaos takes a toll?

Look, they’re trimming administration to focus on teaching and keeping kids in-person. Not everyone was wowed by every member of the administration, nor the program’s ability to communicate. So you have to balance relationships with the good of the program. One person cut this year was directly responsible for the departure of the teacher that convinced us to come to the school, so not sad about some of this.

But lots of parents are impressed enough with their kids’ progress that they’re willing to pay. And if they wanted a school that was a well-run business, they would choose a HoS who had experience building a business.

I think the toll comes from trolls on this site who come on to insult parents who made a different choice. Not defending the school (lots of unforced errors there) but we haven’t seen turnover that really troubled us other than the teacher who convinced us to come. Not every person there is sacred, nor would I want them to be.

Their management level was thin, mostly inexperienced. and unable to cope with the load they had before they started cutting and losing people.

You will find out in a couple of months how many more of those teachers you came for are staying or not. Morale in a climate like that heads for the basement. And lots of schools are advertising lots of openings for teachers in this area for next fall. How will BIM be competitive with tight budgets and their current rep?

Oh yeah, just wait for the new HOS next year to fix it all. That's the school motto now.

[Anonymous]

Right. “Just wait for the amazing (insert here)” has been the motto since day 1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the many problems with BIM is that they treat everyone as replaceable. Relationships between faculty, children, and their parents are important and take time to build. Then BIM wipes that away in an instant without explanation. It has happened over and over again. The administration thinks it does not matter, but every time someone leaves it causes problems for everyone. Things slip through the cracks and the cracks get bigger.

Any parent who still thinks the academics are good enough to pay for such a poorly run business should take a hard look at that decision. how many times your kid can lose their favorite teacher or their teacher lose their director before you realize that the chaos takes a toll?

Look, they’re trimming administration to focus on teaching and keeping kids in-person. Not everyone was wowed by every member of the administration, nor the program’s ability to communicate. So you have to balance relationships with the good of the program. One person cut this year was directly responsible for the departure of the teacher that convinced us to come to the school, so not sad about some of this.

But lots of parents are impressed enough with their kids’ progress that they’re willing to pay. And if they wanted a school that was a well-run business, they would choose a HoS who had experience building a business.

I think the toll comes from trolls on this site who come on to insult parents who made a different choice. Not defending the school (lots of unforced errors there) but we haven’t seen turnover that really troubled us other than the teacher who convinced us to come. Not every person there is sacred, nor would I want them to be.

Your post is very unclear. Why would any school have to trim admin to have teachers? That makes no sense. I am not aware of even one added teacher at BIM since COVID began. I am pretty sure student turnover was around 20-25% last year. I think that’s too high to be a few trolls. The poorly run business is impacting faculty, staff, and families alike. Admit it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the many problems with BIM is that they treat everyone as replaceable. Relationships between faculty, children, and their parents are important and take time to build. Then BIM wipes that away in an instant without explanation. It has happened over and over again. The administration thinks it does not matter, but every time someone leaves it causes problems for everyone. Things slip through the cracks and the cracks get bigger.

Any parent who still thinks the academics are good enough to pay for such a poorly run business should take a hard look at that decision. how many times your kid can lose their favorite teacher or their teacher lose their director before you realize that the chaos takes a toll?

Look, they’re trimming administration to focus on teaching and keeping kids in-person. Not everyone was wowed by every member of the administration, nor the program’s ability to communicate. So you have to balance relationships with the good of the program. One person cut this year was directly responsible for the departure of the teacher that convinced us to come to the school, so not sad about some of this.

But lots of parents are impressed enough with their kids’ progress that they’re willing to pay. And if they wanted a school that was a well-run business, they would choose a HoS who had experience building a business.

I think the toll comes from trolls on this site who come on to insult parents who made a different choice. Not defending the school (lots of unforced errors there) but we haven’t seen turnover that really troubled us other than the teacher who convinced us to come. Not every person there is sacred, nor would I want them to be.

Your post is very unclear. Why would any school have to trim admin to have teachers? That makes no sense. I am not aware of even one added teacher at BIM since COVID began. I am pretty sure student turnover was around 20-25% last year. I think that’s too high to be a few trolls. The poorly run business is impacting faculty, staff, and families alike. Admit it.

The last act of a failing startup is cutting useful personnel to try to stem the tide of red ink. This is obviously that same futile step. It doesn't bring more paying customers through the doors; it just harms the quality of the product further.

Some things never change.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely- this is NOT about trolls. This school has had unimaginable problems with administration which has only worsened since the acting HOS (former receptionist) took over. I agree with the previous poster- they have treated personnel as irreplaceable. There is no heart and soul or value system to back up decisions. The morale is beyond horrible, and I see this place ultimately closing it's doors because of the poor administration. Instead of getting a qualified acting HOS with substantial experience in independent school administration, they went for an underqualified individual who is just not up to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Absolutely- this is NOT about trolls. This school has had unimaginable problems with administration which has only worsened since the acting HOS (former receptionist) took over. I agree with the previous poster- they have treated personnel as irreplaceable. There is no heart and soul or value system to back up decisions. The morale is beyond horrible, and I see this place ultimately closing it's doors because of the poor administration. Instead of getting a qualified acting HOS with substantial experience in independent school administration, they went for an underqualified individual who is just not up to it.

Haha! The level of drama on this site is hilarious. Imagine the damage that loosing his favorite teacher will cause your precious child. The horror! Our child has been at basis through all of those "unimaginable changes" ( seriously?). He knows nothing about it. Thriving academically and very happy. Having fun with his classmates in and out of class. Enjoying student socials, the house system, and clubs. Everyone just needs to get some perspective. You don't like the school? That's ok. Leave and find one you like. The commitment of some people to post negative reviews about the school speaks of disgruntled employee and as everyone with a job knows, those are found everywhere and are not always the business fault. So again, perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Absolutely- this is NOT about trolls. This school has had unimaginable problems with administration which has only worsened since the acting HOS (former receptionist) took over. I agree with the previous poster- they have treated personnel as irreplaceable. There is no heart and soul or value system to back up decisions. The morale is beyond horrible, and I see this place ultimately closing it's doors because of the poor administration. Instead of getting a qualified acting HOS with substantial experience in independent school administration, they went for an underqualified individual who is just not up to it.

Haha! The level of drama on this site is hilarious. Imagine the damage that loosing his favorite teacher will cause your precious child. The horror! Our child has been at basis through all of those "unimaginable changes" ( seriously?). He knows nothing about it. Thriving academically and very happy. Having fun with his classmates in and out of class. Enjoying student socials, the house system, and clubs. Everyone just needs to get some perspective. You don't like the school? That's ok. Leave and find one you like. The commitment of some people to post negative reviews about the school speaks of disgruntled employee and as everyone with a job knows, those are found everywhere and are not always the business fault. So again, perspective.

The available data from its first five years indicates that BIM works for some and not so much for many others who left or declined to go there in the first place. These threads present a balance sheet of evidence over time for all of the schools discussed. If your kid is doing well there, great, because BIM has some fine teachers. I hope that your child remains untouched by the front office's periodic seismic activity.

It's still fair game for discussion for everyone else with experience there or deciding whether to make a commitment to send a child.

[Anonymous]

They have accepted over 120 new families this year. No parent cares about front office issues. The teachers and academics are stellar and it’s way better than public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have accepted over 120 new families this year. No parent cares about front office issues. The teachers and academics are stellar and it’s way better than public school.

How many will they lose? Will they tell you?

Of course not. Their enrollment is a big state secret, not to be divulged to anyone because it looks bad.

They need 600+ students there to begin to break even. Best case is they get back over 400 next year, if that.

[Anonymous]

The complaints are NOT about "front office" BUT complete overall mismanagement. Current acting HOS has almost no experience in the management of Independent Schools. Sure, she came in as a receptionist and worked her way up, but I am not going to spend money going at a school that is currently run by a person with limited experience AND a proven track record of inability to manage and no credentials. It would be impossible for her to have gotten that job at any other independent school EXCEPT one like Basis that is headed for the basement. Wait and see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have accepted over 120 new families this year. No parent cares about front office issues. The teachers and academics are stellar and it’s way better than public school.

WRONG. In your dreams!