Moving to Basis from dual language school
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Anonymous
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Anyone make this move willing to comment on how it went? Did your child continue to study their second language? Do you feel like other academic options made it worth losing the dual language education?
We're currently on track for DCI, but live closer to Basis and have a high Parcc scoring kid (for whatever that's worth) who seems to thrive on academic challenge. Kid also has never had a lot of required homework, though, and has several extra curricular activities (music and swimming) that they'd like to keep up. |
Anonymous
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Basis is not for children who want to have a semblance of a life of normalcy and extracurricular activities. It can work but if and only if your child and your family are extremely organized, have rigid schedules with time built into being able to complete all the homework required as your child goes through the upper levels. I would suggest allowing your child to focus on extracurricular activities or building volunteering hours which can lead to a scholarship and/or admissions at a top school. Do colleges like rigorous courses ? Yes, but you know what they want even more? Something different, like maybe he studied aviation in a HS magnet program and wants to use this set of skills to one day deliver medicine by air to impoverished countries -- and aforementioned said kid volunteer in an impoverished shelter 2-3 times a month.
Stories like this compel college admissions officers. to grant a yes, not a monotonous drain of academic courses with not much else in sight. I'd focus on DC magnets, the DCI language track or suburban magnets. |
Anonymous
The homework load is exaggerated by some disgruntled former families that were there’s in the early years. It is great that your student has outside activities, since there aren’t as many extracurricular options until 6th Andy then 9th grade. Students from families who speak another language at home seem to be fine. Latin is required for the first few years, no matter what. |
Anonymous
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We made this move. Your kid will not be able to continue their language at an advanced level, and they will do 2 years of Latin before being able to choose something else. For children coming from dual language they recommend starting a new one.
(Whatever you do, stay away from Spanish at BASIS; it's like that department is cursed with turnover each year, and sometimes mid-year). There really is not the same problem with French, Chinese or Latin. Our kid did not enjoy dual language at all, and we decided not to push it into middle and high school. They also were ready for more challenge and the accelerated pace worked for them. Now in high school they sometimes lament not continuing the language, but for the most part have moved on. |
Anonymous
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BASIS doesn't teach advanced languages before HS for no good reason I've ever been able to understand. They require bilingual students who may not be biliterate to study third languages from 7th grade, rather than giving them the option of focusing on become fully bilingual AND biliterate in the foreign language they already speak well. Alternatively, they encourage kids who arrive proficient or fluent in French, Chinese and Spanish to beginning classes in these languages with classmates who start at zero for scheduling purposes. Totally unreasonable.
BASIS' approach to serving students who arrive with advanced proficiency or fluency in a second language is narrow-minded, short-sighted and paternalistic which non plusses bilingual families, encouraging them to leave. Raise the issues with admins and you're told you're free to find another school. |
Anonymous
I know you will call me a booster, but I have to respond to this. There are NO real magnets in DC, and the ones that exist are not available until 9th grade, not MS. As for college admissions and scholarships, the BASIS class of 2023 earned 2x as much in merit (not need based) scholarships as students in other DC schools, such as Latin and sent a high percentage of students to highly ranked colleges (my kid is one of them). BASIS' extracurricular offerings have expanded considerably in the last few years (thankfully) AND you can get BASIS credit (P/F) and leave school an hour early to pursue outside options (sports, music, drama). OP can spend some time on the school Instagram page to get a flavor and ask about it at an open house, have her kid do a shadow day. For the right kid, it works. And the very same can be said for DCI or a DCPS application high school. OP should consider all her options, and especially in the case of BASIS. A student shadow day is a must. |
Anonymous
Dear PP, Newsflash! All kids can leave high school early to complete internships, work or volunteer service provided that they have completed most of their high school credits. Most kids will get lots of financial aid if the kid applies to lots of scholarships with excellent grades or the parents pay a small fee for private college admissions officer. BASIS truly isn’t an anomaly. BASIS isn’t offering anything special in that front. OP mentioned her child is into extracurriculars, does BASIS compete in the athletic divisions where scouts can come visit her child? What are BASIS middle schools offering that the OP cannot get at a suburban middle school magnet or DC charter middle school? The advantage the suburbs and DC Publics have over BASIS is an agreement that some college level courses from community colleges in MD/VA can be transferred to state schools. Does BASIS have such advantage? In the case of MD/VA, the entire state is working together for a path of college affordability for middle class students and it’s less likely to change whereas BASIS is a single entity. OP, really needs to think this through. I would hard pass on BASIS but do a shadow day anyway to get rid of all doubts. |
Anonymous
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"What are BASIS middle schools offering that the OP cannot get at a suburban middle school magnet "
A good education at a school within DC? The OP didn't say she was willing to move, so why are suburban magnets even coming into this conversation? |
Anonymous
BASIS lets students do this starting in MS, not just high school once most high school credits are completed. Right now there are students who leave to take ballet or music lessons, participate in regional orchestras and theatre productions, or go to travel sports team practices. And they get school credit for doing so. And BASIS competes in the charter school athletic association with schools like Latin, Haynes, Cap City, DCI and others I'm sure I am forgetting - basketball, baseball, soccer, cross country. I have no clue whether scouts go to those games but many scouts concentrate on travel teams anyway. And while OP said 'extra-curriculars' who knows if her kid is an athlete. They could just as well be into Science Bowl, debate, community service, or another thing that BASIS offers. None of this is to say that you can get everything under the sun at BASIS -- you clearly can't. But there is more flexibility and more opportunities than you are aware of. |
Anonymous
| WRT Basis MS students leaving early for school credit - what year can they start doing this? |
Anonymous
| What is your hesitation with continuing to DCI? |
Anonymous
Last year I know students in 7th who were doing it. I'd be shocked if it were allowed for 5th because it kicked in when students began to have some choice over their electives, which were generally the last period of the day. You need to approach school with a plan, have a leader in the outside group willing to agree to provide reports to the school that the student showed up regularly and participated. The handful I know who did it were very strong students -- unclear to me if a student who was struggling academically would be given permission. Of course sometimes stuff changes at BASIS as they churn through admins, so I wouldn't choose the school based on this one policy alone. I have no reason to think it could change but who knows. |
Anonymous
OP here. Thanks to people who replied! This is helpful. My hesitation about DCI is largely about rigor and lack of tracking in the middle school years. Will my child be challenged appropriately? And also scared we might miss out on other options if we wait till sixth to lottery. I had been going through the last few years assuming that we'd do DCI, but hasn't done any sort of rigorous comparison of schools. Also it's really now in fourth grade that my kid has been seeking out harder material, especially in math, than what's coming through the school. Since my op, I've realized that I should also be checking out Latin. At least there they'd get textbooks, right? It sounds like DCI and maybe also basis are more computer focused? |
Anonymous
But not where advanced language study goes. When we asked if we could continue to have our bilingual Chinese-speaking child home schooled and weekend schooled in advanced Chinese, without having her forced to study a third language at BASIS from 7th grade, or forced to take beginning Chinese classes at BASIS from 7th grade for scheduling purposes, the answer from admins was ABSOLUTELY NOT. Find a different school if that's what you want. I get it, very few BASIS DC families are intent on raising their kids to be fully bilingual and biliterate in a major world language so our situation is unusual, and irrelevant. We will find a greener pasture. |
Anonymous
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^^ Basis doesn’t claim to be everything for everyone.
But if OP is looking for a rigorous curriculum that will challenge her math-oriented child, it’s likely her best choice short of moving from DC. |