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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There is no really great middle school option in this area.  Read some of the posts about Basis.  It has a for-profit parent company, high teacher turnover rate, and a not so great facility.  It also self-selects for a smart and motivated peer group which makes it the overall best option for some students but being self-motivated and willing to do a large volume of homework is important and a lot of kids are not developmentally going to be ready for or happy at that type of middle school program.[/quote]

Never fails that a BASIS hater comes out of the blue.  You probably don't even have a kid at BASIS/

OP- BASIS is fine, great even. Convenient location, likeminded peers, sports, a Spring musical. Yes, the building sucks, but it goes through 12th grade, so you don't need to deal with the HS application process.  If your child is smart and likes to learn, I don't see why you wouldn't at least apply.[/quote]

Why not apply? No outdoor space, uninspired leadership, high teacher turnover, essentially no performing arts, weak sports/no playing fields, essentially no recognition of kids' talents outside a narrowly academic sphere, no languages taught before 8th grade (then just for beginners). Need I go on? The truth is that SH offers most of what BASIS is lacking outside serious academics. [b]If only there was a way to meld BASIS academics and SH enrichment with a stable faculty and a good Head in this obnoxious DC political climate. I'd sign up for that in-boundary middle school fast[/b].[/quote]

Yes. Same. I guess this is why these middle school threads tend to all end with "pay for private or move to the burbs," since they offer that.

(one small quibble is that BASIS actually does have sports and performing arts -- the middle school girls soccer team beat latin last week! the auditions for "Anything Goes" are in early December! -- and it helps me understand why BASIS families feel compelled to weigh in. many factually incorrect misconceptions about the school are spread on this forum. The building is horrible -- that one is true.)[/quote]

What I find on these threads is that any legit criticism of BASIS invariably meets with a defensive post rooted in embarrassment, or perhaps parental guilt, shouting "misconception!" or "troll!"  I say this as a parent who worked at BASIS DC for a school year but couldn't stomach sending my 5th grader, a good student, later on.

Right, BASIS stages the odd school play. Factually correct. The fact remains that their drama program is bottom of the barrel, without a stage, auditorium or even a decent sound system let alone an instrumental music program supporting a drama program (go to a suburban school musical where a decent school orchestra plays the score and weep). It's all a bit hopeless. Sure, the not-so-great BASIS MS girls soccer team beat the even worse Latin team last week.

You'd be much better off singing BASIS' praises for what they do well, like teaching middle school science, unlike SH.[/quote]

Huh?  Basis has a drama program.  They do as much regarding drama as SH.

Stop parroting falsehoods.

[/quote]

It's not a falsehood. I have a now-high school kid at BASIS who was involved in the spring musical in the past and we have also been to many, many SH drama productions. There is no comparison. None. BASIS "productions" are in the mini-cafeteria, students forget their lines (or whole scenes), there is no sound or stage equipment. The school forgets to advertise the musical until the week before. Parental involvement is actively discouraged. The drama teacher is newer and energetic and I think is trying to get something more robust going -- I can't speak to that but perhaps others have insight into her plans -- but it will never be like SH which has a longstanding established program where dozens of students and families are involved in every aspect of the process -- sets, sound, lights, costumes, dancing, music, acting. BASIS is the right fit for my kid, but it's not because of the drama program. OP, if that aspect of the school experience is important to your kid, SH has it in spades. There are plenty of other challenges but the drama program is excellent.

I will also add that I know many very bright and academically advanced kids who have quite recently gone through SH and then gone on to Walls or various private schools. As others have said, the academic experience is mixed, but it is not an automatic recipe for disaster. [/quote]

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