Reply to How was the meeting with the admin meeting last week at BASIS?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

NP here: That may be the case, but many of us who do have a Ph.D. don't support the mad rush to teach calculus to 8th graders, to take 5 AP classes in 10th grade, etc. We want and expect our kids to excel academically but to also have time and energy to be in the school play, join the cross country team, learn to paint, read for leisure, and yes, even play travel soccer. We don't want to raise automatons who can excel in cram schools (see the many articles about kids pushed too far, too fast by these in, for instance, S. Korea); we want well-rounded, well-adjusted, and happy children who can do quite well in math and science while also writing 20-page papers on Plato, learning an instrument or two, and having some semblance of a normal teenage lifestyle. I know Basis has a plan for the math and science, but I am much less sure about the other things. Having visited the school fairly recently, it's quite clear that the other departments--especially English, visual arts, music, and languages--are way behind the game vs. many other schools (public, private, and charter) in the area. Yes, I know that they have a drama club, etc., but what they're offering is not going to meet the standards of many parents who want well-rounded kids AND who have choices, and that may well be why they're losing rising 9th graders. The program just seems very extreme and one-dimensional.

Since there are now, happily, several good choices available for many incoming high schoolers, there's no reason that Basis wouldn't be carefully considered by those who are exclusively interested in STEM--except that Basis doesn't accept ninth graders. In the end, Basis in DC might have a very, very small group of kids, and so might not be able to weather the storm financially.

[b]You have the facts wrong on what BASIS is "pushing" students to do. Most students take Algebra 2 in 8th grade and literally only a handful of students take AP Calculus in 8th grade. Second BASIS only requires the successful completion of 6 AP courses by graduation with one taken in 9th grade, two taken on 10th grade, and 3 taken in 11th grade. This may seem like a lot but the lower school curricula is designed to gradually prepare students for these courses. We found the courses offered our child for the past 3 years in the lower school to be age appropriate. It does sound like a lot to have Biology, Chemistry, and Physics for grades 6, 7, and 8 but the material is presented in an age appropriate manner and a slower manner than a typical high school course. I was told that the Chemistry courses taken over 6 through 8 grades is equivalent to a regular high school course which seems quite reasonable to me. Plus, in 5th grade students take science overview everyday which covers Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Science again in an age appropriate way. The teachers also try to make it engaging and fun as well. I think many kids are quite capable for this sort of curricula and we underestimate their abilities. Now unfortunately DCPS has done such a bang up job with many kids that may have a hard time with the material when they are years behind academically.I will say though that the school offers a ton of support. Is BASIS the right school for everyone? No, it is not, but neither is any other school.

As for finances I am not concerned. BASIS has been doing this successfully since that late 1990's. I do not think some attrition is going to hurt them at all.
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