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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I won't say? Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase NW though we're not Catholic.

12K, worth it for much better humanities instruction, stable faculty, active parent organization, good facilities and electives, language instruction from 4th grade, sports and music programs. STEM not as good, but we can live with that.[/quote]

What will you do for high school?  More parochial?[/quote]

Keep an open mind. Apply to Walls and Banneker, possibly rent IB for JR.  We'll apply to a few parochial schools charging in the low 20s, all we can afford.

We didn't care for the controlling, top down feel of BASIS: the franchise way or the highway. Parochial school has been a breath of fresh air by comparison, although we're protestant and not v. religious. Teachers and administrators are more with-it, meaning better classroom management. The curriculum is richer and more open, with a stronger intellectual bent. [/quote]

Controlling?  Sounds like this is more about you than your kid.[/quote]

Maybe, but my kid likes his new school much better. He likes having more of a say in what he learns. [/quote]
Do you have examples of what choices your son was missing, and the ways the rigidity was bothering him at BASIS?[/quote]

Sorry, I don't. No point in being slammed by BASIS adherents going forward. Suffice it say that we're a bilingual family that's grateful for how our kid's new school values his bilingualism, not the case at BASIS. We didn't care for the BASIS focus on AP test prep, marching in step academically, grade competition and college admissions from the middle school years.  There weren't enough Eureka moments for us, not enough emphasis on joy of learning. I've been surprised and pleased by how much more open-minded and, frankly, fun and welcoming, the Blessed Sacrament vibe has been. Good luck to those who stick with BASIS.[/quote]

Those are all valid things to want from a school. No BASIS parent would quibble. But you chose a school that offers the polar opposite of what you wanted from a school. There was no bait and switch. BASIS does not excel in languages and they are not open to accommodating families that want them to. That goes for bilingual and English only speakers alike. BASIS proudly boasts about the number of AP exams every kid has to take to graduate. You may not think it is useful or a positive thing, but that's how BASIS structures the curriculum.

You remind me of a person who writes a review of a restaurant called "Bob's House of Beef and Meat Products" and complains that the menu was filled with mostly meat options when what you wanted was sushi and farm to table veggie entrees. The issue is not that sushi isn't delicious or that you don't have the right to want those things, but you walked into a restaurant that was all about meat and complained that they didn't change their menu to your tastes. Worse still, then you carry a grudge and loudly complain about how inflexible they were. No introspection or moment of ownership that the poor choice you made may have contributed to the poor outcome.

I'm pleased you found a school that met your needs. Good for you.      [/quote]

NP. What a drag you BASIS parents can be. Loudly complained? More like PP made a few decent points succinctly. Poor choice, poor outcome? Try unappealing choices all around.

My spouse was a Latin major who could have helped the kids with Latin. Thing is, our lottery numbers for both Latins were in....outer space. We couldn't even get into Stuart Hobson, Hardy or DCI (one of us speaks fluent French). We tried for fi aid at several privates and struck out.

So we would up at BASIS ourselves but won't stay. We won't miss you and you won't miss us. Good choice, good outcome, right?

No secret that we don't actually have school choice in DC. We have lottery luck or we don't. What you have is a bad case of holier than thou BS.[/quote]

You had bad lottery luck. That sucks. You are angry about your lousy luck. I feel you. You can't afford private and the financial aid didn't come through. I'm sure that's a terrible feeling. Those factors combine to anger you. Makes sense to anyone with kids and a heart.  What you are looking for in a school is not what BASIS offers (foreign language focus, etc.) Here's where you (and others like you) lose me.  Your anger is misplaced. You knew (or should have known) that BASIS was not a good fit for your kid and family. You took it because it was better than whatever else you had. BASIS turned out to be exactly what it told you it was - AP heavy, test heavy, science and math heavy, limited foreign language and arts focus and unwilling to entertain parental suggestions for curriculum changes. And somehow it is BASIS's fault that they are what they told you they were and that isn't what you wanted?

You are understandably angry. Lashing out as BASIS (or me) is like kicking the dog because you are mad at your husband. May feel good in that moment but not productive. I hope you find what you are looking for.   
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