Reply to Thoughts on DCI, Latin or BASIS

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Thoughts on DCI, Latin or BASIS"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Re phones - at BASIS middle schoolers can't be seen with a phone during the day (they are confiscated if spotted), even during lunch.

High schoolers can use phones during lunch and certain sites are blocked on the wifi. High school students can have a phone confiscated for the day if spotted during class. [/quote]

Re phones at BASIS - kids find a way, and there is rampant cheating - even on the comps in MS.  Former HOS admitted it and shrugged shoulders.  Fact is BASIS knows but they have a pyramid model - they lose over half their kids between 8th grade and HS.  Last year they lost over half of the academically "advanced" kids from 8th grade, and many others are staying for a year because at Wilson you cannot take APs in 9th grade.

Re disruption - it is incredible, and they make no attempt to sort out kids.  Even when you have 14 Algebra I students in 5th grade (automatically put in the same section, and half a section on their own), they made NO effort in 6th to give this half section a group of well behaved kids in 6th grade either in their section or in their Algebra II class.  We are really truly discouraged.

Re discipline at BASIS - it is punitive beyond belief.  They actually seem to think that peer pressure will work when there are at least 3 types of kids - the well behaved and grade wise successful, the well behaved but academically struggling, and the badly behaved.  There are at least some white kids who fit into the latter category.  But  they need the 5th through 8th continued attendance to financially sustain them, so they accept misbehavior, cheating on the comps, whatever, before HS - but they do punish them.  Imagine an academically exceptional kid, slated to do AP Calculus AB in 8th grade, being treated like a criminal.

Right now they are losing the kids they intended to keep - probably because of the one fits all discipline model - treating these kids academically as adults (no ability to supervise) vs Washington Latin where parents can check - and mistreating generally well behaved kids which really creates an environment that is not conducive to intellectual development or a desire to stay through high school.  Neither is putting the 5th grade Algebra I kids in with kids who have failed Algebra I and are in 7th grade a good idea.

Obviously I have been there...

buyer beware - they expect 40% attrition between 8th and 9th grade, but those were supposed to be the kids who were not "college oriented, or wanted a broader high school experience."  The highest performing kid in 8th grade left last year, and I don't get the impression the parents of that kid were particularly happy with the decision.  But I get it.  And I accepted, albeit reluctantly, the decision that my kid made as well - not to go to HS at BASIS DC.

I anticipate that my younger kid will make the same decision - we have had 4 Heads of School in 4 years, and we only had two decent ones and they are both gone.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics