Basis DC feedback sought
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Anonymous
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Can anyone provide perspectives on this school? I am a prospective parent for Fifth Grade and am attracted by the possibility to complete advanced coursework. I understand that BASIS is somewhat "sink or swim" and is not for every student. I realize that facilities and sports are limited. I think that my child might be the right profile, as she needs more challenge and gets through homework quickly. I am looking at this as an option to attend throughout middle and high school.
I would love to hear more about the teacher quality, school climate, leadership and whether learning is dynamic and engaged from current parents or teachers. Also, can anyone provide details about which colleges the current graduating class are attending? Thank you! |
Anonymous
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BDC parent - 2 kids attend. One has been there since school opened so we're in year 6 (high school). My younger plans to go elsewhere for high school, which is fine with us.
There are some excellent teachers, and some below average teachers. There's been tons of turnover in terms of the school administration. The current Head of School is new to the role this year, but has been at the school for 4 years. I'm a huge fan of hers and seeing some improvements in terms of communication with families and student support (social emotional and academic). School does more to build community now than when we started -- eg 5th grade week long camping trips. The middle school students will stage the school's first school play next month -- the musical Into the Woods. There are frequent assessments -- if your child has any sort of test anxiety, don't send them. If your child has a specific learning disablity, I'd proceed with caution. Seriously. But it's not just a 'drill and kill' environment. There are projects and hands on science work as well. I'd strongly encourage you to attend an open house and send your child for a shadow day. They will be paired with a student and get a good feel for the school. The first graduating class last spring was only 16 or 17 students so it's hard to read too much into their college choices. Their college acceptances were posted here last spring (and ripped apart) you can probably find it in a search. Off the top of my head I recall students being admitted and attending Yale, Barnard, Boston College, William and Mary, Haverford, Univ of Dallas, Johnson & Wales. There was lots of merit aid for a class of that size. |
Anonymous
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BASIS class of 2017 college acceptances
Total Number of Graduates: 16 Total Number of College Acceptances: 60 Total Merit Aid Awarded: $2,464,910 (based on self-reported amounts) Allegheny College Arizona State University Barnard College Boston College (Honors College) Bowie State University City College of NY (Macaulay Honors College) College of William and Mary Coppin State University The Culinary Institute of America (NY) Fisk University Franklin and Marshall College Furman University George Mason University Georgia State University Georgetown University Gonzaga University Hampshire College Haverford College High Point University Hollins University Howard University Ithaca College Johnson and Wales University (Providence) Lincoln University Morgan State University Montgomery College The New School NC A&T State University Ohio Wesleyan University Pace University NYC Princeton University Saint Augustine’s University Saint Louis University St. John’s College Shaw University Spelman University SUNY ESF SUNY Purchase SUNY Stony Brook Trinity University University of Dallas University of the District of Columbia University of Maine University of Maryland Eastern Shore University of Pittsburgh (Honors College) Virginia Commonwealth University Washington College Western New England University Western Oregon State University |
Anonymous
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New 5th grade parent here. School has exceeded my expectations. Curriculum is good and teachers are engaged according to my child. School is strict regarding behavior so if your child is a trouble maker, don’t send them.
Homework gets proceedingly tougher and time consuming post 5th grade but there is enough in 5th grade that a lazy student will have trouble. |
Anonymous
| Thanks so much for the feedback! |
Anonymous
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Another new 5th grade parent here. The school has been a good fit for our kid. Curriculum is overall interesting and enough of a challenge, but not too much.
Re: Math: The 5th graders are tested at the beginning of school and placed into one of three (or four? not positive) math levels. They use Saxon Math, and the classes are either Math 7/6, Math 8/7, or Pre-Algebra. I believe it may also be able to test into Algebra at 5th grade. They do periodic tests to check back in and make sure they have each kid placed at the right level for them, so if your kid landed in a level that is not working for them, they are not locked in for the rest of the year. Also, as the math teacher explained to me, they are not necessarily locked into a certain track - at the end of the year the math teachers look at the right next step for each kid. For example, my kid is in Math 8/7, and will either go on to Pre-Algebra or Algebra for 6th. Re: Homework: The homework load has been much less and much more manageable than we anticipated. Most nights DC is done in half an hour. Once or twice a week it's an hour. There is a little time to do homework during school and that helps. DC loves math and that helps too. I think if a child really struggled with math, that could stretch out the homework time. There are 30 problems per night, which is the biggest and most consistent homework assignment. Agree with PP that this may not be a great fit for a child who has test anxiety. There are regular quizzes and tests in most subjects. For my child, this has been fine and if anything has reduced test anxiety, as it is just routine checking in of what they know and what to work on. The downsides are well known. Small facility Limited sports, though they seem to have great cross country and some soccer. But obviously, don't have a large athletic field or gymnasium. Also, they just don't have the space for orchestra and band. But as a PP mentioned, they are doing their first ever school musical for the lower school. And they had a science-based three day camp, which was interesting and a good bonding experience. The school population is quite diverse, which we love. Teachers overall seem fairly young, but very engaged. My child loves nearly all of them. I can't speak to the older kids, but the student population seems to lean towards the nerdy-studious vibe, which is more than fine with us! The location is great. I strongly recommend that prospective students do a shadow day. People have strong opinions about the various school options in the area, and ultimately it's about finding the best fit for your kid and your family. |
Anonymous
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Our DC is in the upper school at BASIS and has been doing well. For sure it's been a lot of work. 5th wasn't bad but it ramped up considerably over the next couple of years but surprisingly now DC has less homework than in previous years despite having a pretty big number of AP courses. I think those first couple of years laid down a good foundation and DC built up organizational skills and self discipline along with getting a good handle on essay writing and mechanics of AP testing. We honestly don't know what good alternative there'd be. We know a few families that left for Walls, but there are distinctly mixed reviews there - in many cases, Walls actually had kids going backward and retaking stuff they had already mastered which bewildered and frustrated families, I suspect because Walls can't really support accelerated students.
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Anonymous
| All of this is very helpful. Thank you! |
Anonymous
| Yet another thread started by BASIS boosters. |
Anonymous
You sound a little nutty with that comment. It's not as though there are desperate BASIS boosters out there trying to market BASIS to scrounge up prospective families to keep it from going under. They have one of the biggest waitlists of any charter and the waitlist just keeps getting deeper each year. |
Anonymous
You sound more than a little defensive. BASIS still gets through its "deep" WL in September. Everybody who wants to try BASIS still can, but you're seeing more families, particularly from Cap Hill, who would have gone 2 or 3 years ago pass. BASIS has developed a reputation for narrow one-size fits all solutions for 5th-8th graders (shut up and take the required Latin, shut up and do your 30 math programs a night even if it's overkill, want advanced language classes in middle school, shut up and take basic classes in a new language, don't expect to have a say in how the school works as a parent etc.). Everybody isn't impressed, even if their children could clearly handle the work load. |
Anonymous
^^ this +1000 |
Anonymous
The BASIS put-up-or-shut-up approach to middle school structure goes a long way toward explaining why we had 9 kids stay from 4th to 5th grade at Brent only 2 years ago, and 40 staying this year. All 40 who've stayed could be at BASIS right now. A few tried BASIS and have come back. |
Anonymous
That's great for Brent. Are they going to Jefferson next year? |
Anonymous
| Nobody seems to know, but at least they're having a good year in 5th. |