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[quote=Anonymous]From OP - a number of you have written encouraging comments and I just wanted to thank you all given that it didn't make sense to keep doing so individually.

I appreciated your comments on English at BASIS too. In 5th and 6th grade I have found it to require reading that I think was often too advanced - with vocabulary most do not know until high school or college and taht did not help the child comprehend or do their best. Also I did not think it was easy. I agree there was not enough done to teach writing though I think my son's 6th grade teacher did a better job on that. Are parents of hte older students saying that 76th and 8th grade English were not good? or maybe my child had new teachers - in fact I thnk he did each year.

I have been pleased with the math in 5th and 6th, for those looking at Basis. I can see a problem if you get to high school and have not had all of geometry but most high schools don't expect any geometry so i would think your child can take it in 9th, though it may be hard to convince them to go from 9th to pre-cal in 10th.  I am told that when Basis kids leave they find they know some of the math being taught in other schools at their grade level but not all. I don't know if that is true.

Personally, I don't feel that we are being run out of BASIS due to any bias (someone referred to that phenomenon), nor do I think what I have heard other parents who have left say "BASIS was not right for my child or my child is not a serious enough student for BASIS". Instead, right now, I think the  BASIS system is not flexible enough to accomodate different learning needs, though I think they could absoutely do so without watering down their standards. TThere are good people there though, trying to do their best to educate and help kids despite their lack of flexibilty as teachers and administrators. As a public school I think they need to develop more flexibility, especially in DC where they came in touting to the charter board the ability to teach all kids and elevate all kids academically. A weed-out testing system paid for with public taxpayer money is not fair or appropriate, in my view, certainly not at this age. In a private school it would be acceptable and it makes sense that their newer schools are private. But the DC school is not so I believe they have an obligation to successfully educate all whom they admit.

While kids in Europe take A and O level exams they do so at age 16 or 17 and many other kids are weeded out of the college bound system after middle school. That is not the American way and I am glad it is not. I don't think BASIS or any American school should emulate that.  - My two cents.[/quote]

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