Reply to Basis fills a gap that shouldn’t exist.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.[/quote]

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?
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This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.[/quote]

What does your gut tell you? Go with that. You know your kid, you know where they will fit best. It doesn't matter what all the different narratives say. They shouldn't be what you listen to anyway. Will she potentially struggle? She could potentially struggle at any school, unless you send her somewhere that has no challenge at all. What I can tell you is that help is offered for kids who struggle. Will that help be enough? Only you would know, and the best way to find that out is to go to the school and ask what kind of help is offered and think about whether that will be enough for your child. Will the school feel well-rounded for your kid? Again, it depends on your kid. There is ELA, writing, and the arts, at the school -- my son who loves writing felt that the 5th grade writing teacher is one of the best writing teachers he has ever had. But will your child think the same? Only you would know.[/quote]

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