Sports at Basis?

[Anonymous]

This is stupid. It is a small school. It has the offerings it has. Some kids love them. It wouldn’t be great for all. Carry on with life.

[Anonymous]

If you’re new to the middle school lottery scene, you want to take all manner of BASIS boosting with a pinch of salt. Common sense says that sports are only going to be so good in a program without playing fields, tennis courts, a basketball court, gym, a weight room, a pool, full-time coaches etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re new to the middle school lottery scene, you want to take all manner of BASIS boosting with a pinch of salt. Common sense says that sports are only going to be so good in a program without playing fields, tennis courts, a basketball court, gym, a weight room, a pool, full-time coaches etc.

Who cares! The middles school girls are playing at Audi field tonight - how cool is that? Aren't you jealous? I am!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re new to the middle school lottery scene, you want to take all manner of BASIS boosting with a pinch of salt. Common sense says that sports are only going to be so good in a program without playing fields, tennis courts, a basketball court, gym, a weight room, a pool, full-time coaches etc.

Thanks for sharing, Captain Obvious.

Amazing how Basis has the top academics of any public DC middle school with no library, and is now excelling in sports with no playing fields.

Wow, maybe those things are overrated, if kids can just go to the nearby Library of Congress or MLK, and practice on the mall, which is just a short distance from the school.

[Anonymous]

Some parents on DCUM are brand new to the DC MS lottery scene. Let them learn the basics about BASIS DC if they wish.

The program doesn't lack basic sports facilities because it's a "small school" as stated on this thread. It lacks them for several other reasons:

*DCPS/the Mayor's Office seldom shares real estate with the charter sector, meaning that charters commonly wind up in buildings not fit for purpose, warehouses or office buildings w/out green space.
*The city council still won't allocate the same per capita/student allocations for DCPS schools as for charters, meaning that the latter run on shoestring budgets even if they fundraise constantly and successfully.
*Arizona HQ selected a cramped building for BASIS DC to renovate in a central location downtown more than a decade ago. The renovation could have created a basketball court on the roof (the architectural firm involved proposed this) but wasn't designed that way. Nobody involved in the campus selection and development has been on the scene in DC for years. BASIS DC has had 8 principals in 12 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some parents on DCUM are brand new to the DC MS lottery scene. Let them learn the basics about BASIS DC if they wish.
...
The program doesn't lack basic sports facilities because it's a "small school" as stated on this thread. It lacks them for several other reasons:

*DCPS/the Mayor's Office seldom shares real estate with the charter sector, meaning that charters commonly wind up in buildings not fit for purpose, warehouses or office buildings w/out green space.
*The city council still won't allocate the same per capita/student allocations for DCPS schools as for charters, meaning that the latter run on shoestring budgets even if they fundraise constantly and successfully.
*Arizona HQ selected a cramped building for BASIS DC to renovate in a central location downtown more than a decade ago. The renovation could have created a basketball court on the roof (the architectural firm involved proposed this) but wasn't designed that way. Nobody involved in the campus selection and development has been on the scene in DC for years. BASIS DC has had 8 principals in 12 years.

Bowser doesn't "share" real estate with the charter sector. She wholeclothe throws DCPS students under the bus and gives their facilities away to charter and private schools... Read Valerie Jablow's column sometime: https://educationdc.net/author/vjablow/

And for those complaining about Basis' sports offerings, if you're not at Deal, I don't think you would be blown away by the sports offerings at DCPS middle schools...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, you second it because you can't afford a private with decent facilities, extra curriculars and a stable faculty and don't want to move to the burbs.

You can't fool us. We schlepped our kids all over the Metro area for competitive baseball, basketball and lacrosse when they were at BASIS. The drill was as exhausting as it was expensive.

Oh weirdo, if I seconded the statement, I'd say so, but I don't speak in purity level or adulteration of magic. My kid seconds the statement, enthusiastically. My kid is over the moon giddy about their school and is the happiest they've been at any school yet. Pure, unadulterated magic is literally something my 5th grader would say. But then, sure, I can't afford private and I don't want to move to the burbs. Your powers of perception are pure and unadulterated. Weirdo.

[Anonymous]

These threads are so weird. Some families like BASIS, and some don't. No one needs to defend their choices. Just own your choice and be happy with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some parents on DCUM are brand new to the DC MS lottery scene. Let them learn the basics about BASIS DC if they wish.
...
The program doesn't lack basic sports facilities because it's a "small school" as stated on this thread. It lacks them for several other reasons:

*DCPS/the Mayor's Office seldom shares real estate with the charter sector, meaning that charters commonly wind up in buildings not fit for purpose, warehouses or office buildings w/out green space.
*The city council still won't allocate the same per capita/student allocations for DCPS schools as for charters, meaning that the latter run on shoestring budgets even if they fundraise constantly and successfully.
*Arizona HQ selected a cramped building for BASIS DC to renovate in a central location downtown more than a decade ago. The renovation could have created a basketball court on the roof (the architectural firm involved proposed this) but wasn't designed that way. Nobody involved in the campus selection and development has been on the scene in DC for years. BASIS DC has had 8 principals in 12 years.

Bowser doesn't "share" real estate with the charter sector. She wholeclothe throws DCPS students under the bus and gives their facilities away to charter and private schools... Read Valerie Jablow's column sometime: https://educationdc.net/author/vjablow/

And for those complaining about Basis' sports offerings, if you're not at Deal, I don't think you would be blown away by the sports offerings at DCPS middle schools...

It's true that it's almost impossible difficult for DC charters to get their hands on available DCPS real estate. Latin did ten years ago in Petworth, explaining why Latin has playing fields/green space and a gym (added on to the building's footprint), but it almost never happens now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you second it because you can't afford a private with decent facilities, extra curriculars and a stable faculty and don't want to move to the burbs.

You can't fool us. We schlepped our kids all over the Metro area for competitive baseball, basketball and lacrosse when they were at BASIS. The drill was as exhausting as it was expensive.

Oh weirdo, if I seconded the statement, I'd say so, but I don't speak in purity level or adulteration of magic. My kid seconds the statement, enthusiastically. My kid is over the moon giddy about their school and is the happiest they've been at any school yet. Pure, unadulterated magic is literally something my 5th grader would say. But then, sure, I can't afford private and I don't want to move to the burbs. Your powers of perception are pure and unadulterated. Weirdo.

The poster is a "weirdo" because of they shared their experience of squiring their kids to play normal team sports outside of BASIS, activities they had to pay for?

That's just how it works for many BASIS families. The arrangement isn't ideal.

We're at BASIS and I don't get this criticism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you second it because you can't afford a private with decent facilities, extra curriculars and a stable faculty and don't want to move to the burbs.

You can't fool us. We schlepped our kids all over the Metro area for competitive baseball, basketball and lacrosse when they were at BASIS. The drill was as exhausting as it was expensive.

Oh weirdo, if I seconded the statement, I'd say so, but I don't speak in purity level or adulteration of magic. My kid seconds the statement, enthusiastically. My kid is over the moon giddy about their school and is the happiest they've been at any school yet. Pure, unadulterated magic is literally something my 5th grader would say. But then, sure, I can't afford private and I don't want to move to the burbs. Your powers of perception are pure and unadulterated. Weirdo.

The poster is a "weirdo" because of they shared their experience of squiring their kids to play normal team sports outside of BASIS, activities they had to pay for?

That's just how it works for many BASIS families. The arrangement isn't ideal.

We're at BASIS and I don't get this criticism.

The poster is a weirdo for yelling at me that I am lying about my kid's opinions, yelling at me that I am unsarcastically seconding a childish hyperbolic sarcastic statement, and yelling at me that I cannot afford private school and don't want to move to the burbs, as if those last facts invalidated my and my kid's opinions and choices and school. That's why that poster is a weirdo.

[Anonymous]

You might want to get a grip. Would you have taken the post personally if there weren't a kernel of truth to it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These threads are so weird. Some families like BASIS, and some don't. No one needs to defend their choices. Just own your choice and be happy with it.

True enough but not surprising. Other schools socially promote, don't require advanced courses for all students, and have massive grade inflation. Parents don't develop grudges against those schools and spend their time attacking them. If their kid changes school, no big deal. Parents don't waste time bashing the old school.

At BASIS, a significant percentage of kids and some teachers wash out because they can't handle the rigor, the curriculum, and the structure. Some of the parents of these kids and the former teachers then haunt the DCUM public school thread. Whenever they see anything remotely favorable about BASIS, they launch into attack mode. Why? Partly sour grapes, partly revenge, and partly regret about their choices.

You see the same phenomenon when people are fired from a job. Some people move on but others make it their mission to bash their old employer.

Just ignore the dumb criticism, do your own research, and make your choice. The school isn't perfect but for many families it is by far the best choice in DC.

[Anonymous]

Then there are the parents like you who "haunt" these threads to vehemently deny every problem with BASIS DC. It's just not true that a "significant percentage of kids wash out," not in 2022. Few middle school students leave BASIS DC these days. Most even stay for high school. The reality is that some of the strongest students leave for greener pastures where schools offer better facilities, a wider range of advanced classes, better electives, more flexibility in the curriculum and more serious sports and extra curriculars. These students generally move on to Walls, Banneker, privates, other Metro areas, even schools abroad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basis middle school girls soccer playoff game against Latin at Audi field tomorrow evening at 5pm - so that is pretty darn cool!

Championship I mean!

Wow! But how is this possible if Basis doesn’t have a big sports field?

It’s the reason they will lose.

BASIS girls won!