Basis DC

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The kids don't really "start taking physics, chemistry and biology in 6th grade." BASIS just claims they do. What they take is the regular middle school science kids get at good suburban middle schools around the country on a campus without the facilities for hands-on science learning, like a greenhouse or space to fly kites, test DIY rockets or drones or a real robotics lab. They also take what amounts to the same science over and over for years until they're bored silly with it. The curriculum is narrow primarily because electives are so weak, largely a function of the hopeless facilities, and because BASIS won't let kids study languages before 8th grade (much too little, too late here in the 21st century). A lot of these posts aren't in fact sour grapes. They're simply brutally factual. You don't really know what you're in for at BASIS, because you don't know what kind of admins or teachers your kids will get, or what sort of element (middle school cohorts) they'll land in either. There are decent admins and awful ones, there are well-behaved cohorts and rowdy ones. There are woefully inexperienced and overwhelmed teachers who quit mid-year and experienced teachers who don't.

Okay, this made me laugh out loud, because I graduated from one of our highly-rated suburban high schools in FCPS and we also were not blessed with greenhouses or kites or a robotics lab. We theoretically had a chem lab, but I took AP chem there and we used those tables to write on, not to do bench chemistry. I expect that I'll pay through the nose for my kid to be a college student somewhere with these facilities, but I have more modest expectations for publicly-funded middle schools. Meanwhile, we fly drones and model rockets (although not in DC airspace, sigh) and do our own gardening and chemistry experiments.

My rising fifth-grader is looking forward to BASIS because he's brilliant at math. He would rather scrub bathrooms than perform on stage or play football, and he hates the language learning he's done already. He rises to clearly-defined expectations and wants to know all the science things. Is there probably a more perfect school for him somewhere in this country? Sure. Is BASIS the best choice for us, given what we know right now? Yes. Any school experience anywhere can be changed by bad administrators or a particularly difficult cohort of students, so that's not really a deciding factor. We would rather have a better building. We'll see how the homework and comps shake out. It's a school, not a prison, and we're open to changing course as needed.

Maybe we could all take a deep breath? BASIS isn't the best school since Harvard, and it's not child abuse. It's just a school.

You haven't even had a child attend the school yet, and you're dishing out advice. Classic DCUM. Talk to us when your kid is two years in, is frustrated and bored in science and math and is complaining because the teachers can't control their classroom due to inexperience.

Oh, please, get off your pedestal. Do you even have a kid at BASIS? If you do, you should have done your research first and sent him or her someplace else. Sounds like BASIS wasn't a good fit for your kid, and you sent your kid to BASIS for the wrong reasons. Stop blaming the curriculum and teachers for your own kid's lack of interest and/or ability.

My kids have been at BASIS for years and haven't been frustrated and bored in science or math or had teachers lose control of classrooms due to inexperience. The science and math courses have been extremely interesting and challenging and the teachers (for the most part) good. I have no doubt whatsoever that the kids would have been worse off in any other public school in DC.

This is just a flagrant lie. Teachers struggling to control the classroom is probably the most discussed subject among BASIS parents.

DP. Not in my parent group. Do you even have kids at the school?

+1. Maybe a 5th grade parent?

Do people know the school is 5th through 12th with lots of teachers and classes?

People tend to universalize their own limited, subjective experience.

NP. The current 7th grade class has experienced multiple teachers leaving mid-year, disruptive classrooms (and many silent lunches as punishment) over their short tenure.

The silent lunches on top of the grind and subpar teachers who got fired was a bummer for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids don't really "start taking physics, chemistry and biology in 6th grade." BASIS just claims they do. What they take is the regular middle school science kids get at good suburban middle schools around the country on a campus without the facilities for hands-on science learning, like a greenhouse or space to fly kites, test DIY rockets or drones or a real robotics lab. They also take what amounts to the same science over and over for years until they're bored silly with it. The curriculum is narrow primarily because electives are so weak, largely a function of the hopeless facilities, and because BASIS won't let kids study languages before 8th grade (much too little, too late here in the 21st century). A lot of these posts aren't in fact sour grapes. They're simply brutally factual. You don't really know what you're in for at BASIS, because you don't know what kind of admins or teachers your kids will get, or what sort of element (middle school cohorts) they'll land in either. There are decent admins and awful ones, there are well-behaved cohorts and rowdy ones. There are woefully inexperienced and overwhelmed teachers who quit mid-year and experienced teachers who don't.

Okay, this made me laugh out loud, because I graduated from one of our highly-rated suburban high schools in FCPS and we also were not blessed with greenhouses or kites or a robotics lab. We theoretically had a chem lab, but I took AP chem there and we used those tables to write on, not to do bench chemistry. I expect that I'll pay through the nose for my kid to be a college student somewhere with these facilities, but I have more modest expectations for publicly-funded middle schools. Meanwhile, we fly drones and model rockets (although not in DC airspace, sigh) and do our own gardening and chemistry experiments.

My rising fifth-grader is looking forward to BASIS because he's brilliant at math. He would rather scrub bathrooms than perform on stage or play football, and he hates the language learning he's done already. He rises to clearly-defined expectations and wants to know all the science things. Is there probably a more perfect school for him somewhere in this country? Sure. Is BASIS the best choice for us, given what we know right now? Yes. Any school experience anywhere can be changed by bad administrators or a particularly difficult cohort of students, so that's not really a deciding factor. We would rather have a better building. We'll see how the homework and comps shake out. It's a school, not a prison, and we're open to changing course as needed.

Maybe we could all take a deep breath? BASIS isn't the best school since Harvard, and it's not child abuse. It's just a school.

You haven't even had a child attend the school yet, and you're dishing out advice. Classic DCUM. Talk to us when your kid is two years in, is frustrated and bored in science and math and is complaining because the teachers can't control their classroom due to inexperience.

Oh, please, get off your pedestal. Do you even have a kid at BASIS? If you do, you should have done your research first and sent him or her someplace else. Sounds like BASIS wasn't a good fit for your kid, and you sent your kid to BASIS for the wrong reasons. Stop blaming the curriculum and teachers for your own kid's lack of interest and/or ability.

My kids have been at BASIS for years and haven't been frustrated and bored in science or math or had teachers lose control of classrooms due to inexperience. The science and math courses have been extremely interesting and challenging and the teachers (for the most part) good. I have no doubt whatsoever that the kids would have been worse off in any other public school in DC.

Plenty of the teachers could not keep control of the classroom. We left after 8th for private. And there was no issue of being able to "cut it" DD was consistently on the Distinguished Honor Roll. And yes, chemistry was boring because he cohort kept losing teacher (DD is currently in 9th - any other parent in their year would agree) Bio was challenging enough as the curriculum varied. Physics 6 and 7 were identical for DD - literally the same pre comp and comp study guide (granted this was also the class that had 6th grade as distance learning) and 8th grade physics was fine.

But the behavior and discipline of the kids constantly causing trouble was awful

Teachers leave sometimes. It happens.

What school is your kid at now?

NCS and thriving

The private school threads on NCS make it sound miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are now pursuing therapy after our experience at middle school level here. The testing, pressure, anxiety and focus on grades is too much. Please do your homework and be aware before you accept a spot and make sure it is the right fit for your child.

I also think the issue is compounded because there is not much of a release outlet with arts, music, sports, or extracurriculars. So it’s a never-ending joyless grind.

If that is what your kid is experiencing, get them out asap. Absolutely not the experience we have had over the past 6 years. My kid is joyful and thriving and absolutely loves all her classmates. If you insist on keeping your kid in a school that is a bad fit lit, at least have them join one of the sports teams. The school spirit is incredible!

Is that you, Mr. Cobalt?

Not in the slightest. I too am happy Mr. Rose has left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are now pursuing therapy after our experience at middle school level here. The testing, pressure, anxiety and focus on grades is too much. Please do your homework and be aware before you accept a spot and make sure it is the right fit for your child.

I also think the issue is compounded because there is not much of a release outlet with arts, music, sports, or extracurriculars. So it’s a never-ending joyless grind.

If that is what your kid is experiencing, get them out asap. Absolutely not the experience we have had over the past 6 years. My kid is joyful and thriving and absolutely loves all her classmates. If you insist on keeping your kid in a school that is a bad fit lit, at least have them join one of the sports teams. The school spirit is incredible!

Is that you, Mr. Cobalt?

Not in the slightest. I too am happy Mr. Rose has left.

We are sad he left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are now pursuing therapy after our experience at middle school level here. The testing, pressure, anxiety and focus on grades is too much. Please do your homework and be aware before you accept a spot and make sure it is the right fit for your child.

I also think the issue is compounded because there is not much of a release outlet with arts, music, sports, or extracurriculars. So it’s a never-ending joyless grind.

If that is what your kid is experiencing, get them out asap. Absolutely not the experience we have had over the past 6 years. My kid is joyful and thriving and absolutely loves all her classmates. If you insist on keeping your kid in a school that is a bad fit lit, at least have them join one of the sports teams. The school spirit is incredible!

Is that you, Mr. Cobalt?

Not in the slightest. I too am happy Mr. Rose has left.

We are sad he left.

Fact check: false. Nobody is sad he left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are now pursuing therapy after our experience at middle school level here. The testing, pressure, anxiety and focus on grades is too much. Please do your homework and be aware before you accept a spot and make sure it is the right fit for your child.

I also think the issue is compounded because there is not much of a release outlet with arts, music, sports, or extracurriculars. So it’s a never-ending joyless grind.

If that is what your kid is experiencing, get them out asap. Absolutely not the experience we have had over the past 6 years. My kid is joyful and thriving and absolutely loves all her classmates. If you insist on keeping your kid in a school that is a bad fit lit, at least have them join one of the sports teams. The school spirit is incredible!

Is that you, Mr. Cobalt?

Not in the slightest. I too am happy Mr. Rose has left.

We are sad he left.

Fact check: false. Nobody is sad he left.

You don’t speak for everyone at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are now pursuing therapy after our experience at middle school level here. The testing, pressure, anxiety and focus on grades is too much. Please do your homework and be aware before you accept a spot and make sure it is the right fit for your child.

I also think the issue is compounded because there is not much of a release outlet with arts, music, sports, or extracurriculars. So it’s a never-ending joyless grind.

If that is what your kid is experiencing, get them out asap. Absolutely not the experience we have had over the past 6 years. My kid is joyful and thriving and absolutely loves all her classmates. If you insist on keeping your kid in a school that is a bad fit lit, at least have them join one of the sports teams. The school spirit is incredible!

Is that you, Mr. Cobalt?

Not in the slightest. I too am happy Mr. Rose has left.

We are sad he left.

Fact check: false. Nobody is sad he left.

You don’t speak for everyone at the school.

+1. PP speaks only for his or her own embittered self.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids don't really "start taking physics, chemistry and biology in 6th grade." BASIS just claims they do. What they take is the regular middle school science kids get at good suburban middle schools around the country on a campus without the facilities for hands-on science learning, like a greenhouse or space to fly kites, test DIY rockets or drones or a real robotics lab. They also take what amounts to the same science over and over for years until they're bored silly with it. The curriculum is narrow primarily because electives are so weak, largely a function of the hopeless facilities, and because BASIS won't let kids study languages before 8th grade (much too little, too late here in the 21st century). A lot of these posts aren't in fact sour grapes. They're simply brutally factual. You don't really know what you're in for at BASIS, because you don't know what kind of admins or teachers your kids will get, or what sort of element (middle school cohorts) they'll land in either. There are decent admins and awful ones, there are well-behaved cohorts and rowdy ones. There are woefully inexperienced and overwhelmed teachers who quit mid-year and experienced teachers who don't.

Okay, this made me laugh out loud, because I graduated from one of our highly-rated suburban high schools in FCPS and we also were not blessed with greenhouses or kites or a robotics lab. We theoretically had a chem lab, but I took AP chem there and we used those tables to write on, not to do bench chemistry. I expect that I'll pay through the nose for my kid to be a college student somewhere with these facilities, but I have more modest expectations for publicly-funded middle schools. Meanwhile, we fly drones and model rockets (although not in DC airspace, sigh) and do our own gardening and chemistry experiments.

My rising fifth-grader is looking forward to BASIS because he's brilliant at math. He would rather scrub bathrooms than perform on stage or play football, and he hates the language learning he's done already. He rises to clearly-defined expectations and wants to know all the science things. Is there probably a more perfect school for him somewhere in this country? Sure. Is BASIS the best choice for us, given what we know right now? Yes. Any school experience anywhere can be changed by bad administrators or a particularly difficult cohort of students, so that's not really a deciding factor. We would rather have a better building. We'll see how the homework and comps shake out. It's a school, not a prison, and we're open to changing course as needed.

Maybe we could all take a deep breath? BASIS isn't the best school since Harvard, and it's not child abuse. It's just a school.

You haven't even had a child attend the school yet, and you're dishing out advice. Classic DCUM. Talk to us when your kid is two years in, is frustrated and bored in science and math and is complaining because the teachers can't control their classroom due to inexperience.

Oh, please, get off your pedestal. Do you even have a kid at BASIS? If you do, you should have done your research first and sent him or her someplace else. Sounds like BASIS wasn't a good fit for your kid, and you sent your kid to BASIS for the wrong reasons. Stop blaming the curriculum and teachers for your own kid's lack of interest and/or ability.

My kids have been at BASIS for years and haven't been frustrated and bored in science or math or had teachers lose control of classrooms due to inexperience. The science and math courses have been extremely interesting and challenging and the teachers (for the most part) good. I have no doubt whatsoever that the kids would have been worse off in any other public school in DC.

Plenty of the teachers could not keep control of the classroom. We left after 8th for private. And there was no issue of being able to "cut it" DD was consistently on the Distinguished Honor Roll. And yes, chemistry was boring because he cohort kept losing teacher (DD is currently in 9th - any other parent in their year would agree) Bio was challenging enough as the curriculum varied. Physics 6 and 7 were identical for DD - literally the same pre comp and comp study guide (granted this was also the class that had 6th grade as distance learning) and 8th grade physics was fine.

But the behavior and discipline of the kids constantly causing trouble was awful

Teachers leave sometimes. It happens.

What school is your kid at now?

NCS and thriving

So you came here to tell us your $60k/yr private school has fewer challenging children and behavioral problems than an open enrollment public charter school? And better facilities? Shocking revelation. Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Silent lunches???

Is this a victorian era workhouse? WTF is going on there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Silent lunches???

Is this a victorian era workhouse? WTF is going on there?

Group punishment. Terrible. Glum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silent lunches???

Is this a victorian era workhouse? WTF is going on there?

Group punishment. Terrible. Glum.

Is that legal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silent lunches???

Is this a victorian era workhouse? WTF is going on there?

Group punishment. Terrible. Glum.

Found the parent/troll with the disruptive kid.

Silent lunch is just a mild individual punishment used by many schools in lieu of, say, detention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silent lunches???

Is this a victorian era workhouse? WTF is going on there?

Group punishment. Terrible. Glum.

Found the parent/troll with the disruptive kid.

Silent lunch is just a mild individual punishment used by many schools in lieu of, say, detention.

This is not factual. The entire 7th grade was forced to have silent lunch at least a half a dozen times or more this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silent lunches???

Is this a victorian era workhouse? WTF is going on there?

Group punishment. Terrible. Glum.

Found the parent/troll with the disruptive kid.

Silent lunch is just a mild individual punishment used by many schools in lieu of, say, detention.

This is not factual. The entire 7th grade was forced to have silent lunch at least a half a dozen times or more this year.

+1 if it were an individual punishment in lieu of detention I wouldn’t be opposed to it. But it was punishment for all kids and unfair to the well behaved kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silent lunches???

Is this a victorian era workhouse? WTF is going on there?

Group punishment. Terrible. Glum.

Found the parent/troll with the disruptive kid.

Silent lunch is just a mild individual punishment used by many schools in lieu of, say, detention.

This is not factual. The entire 7th grade was forced to have silent lunch at least a half a dozen times or more this year.

+1 if it were an individual punishment in lieu of detention I wouldn’t be opposed to it. But it was punishment for all kids and unfair to the well behaved kids.

Hmmm... it feels like when you turn your kids over to people who's primary focus is paying down some of the massive debt they've incurred in developing their for-profit school network they might not actually have your kid's best interest in mind.