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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]BASIS is extremely honest about the rigor there.  There is no hiding the ball.  Parents should know what they are getting their kids into.  I can see how parents might think that even if their kid is not the best student going in that they might rise to the occasion with the right supports and peer group.  Unfortunately the lack of good middle school options in DC, however, means some parents send kids to BASIS who don’t stand much of a chance at doing well there.  [/quote]
 
But they're not honest about the quality of instruction. No secret that families of means tend to leave because too many of the teachers aren't great. The best teachers tend to leave after just 2-3 years in search of better pay and working conditions. Rigor without inspired teaching across the board is only so rigorous. My straight-A kid was often bored at BASIS, not for lack of challenge but for lack of excellent teaching. He's much better off at a private with more dynamic, hands-on and personalized instruction. In our experience, BASIS hides the ball on teacher training, support and turnover issues. Just don't look a gift horse in the mouth if you're not prepared to move and can't pay for a private.[/quote]

Lots to unpack here. I will start by observing that arguing that your private school is better than BASIS is not the hit you think it is. Kind of falls under the category of "no sh*t Sherlock." The fact that your kid was bored at the most rigorous public MS in DC is not an indictment of BASIS. The fact that private school is "more dynamic, hands-on and personalized" also not a shock. If it wasn't you should demand your money back!

Sounds like your kid is advanced. Good for you. How would your nonspecific "inspired teaching" change that? Are you looking for Robin Williams and Oh Captain My Captain moments? Seems like what you wanted was more advanced material.
  
BASIS is not perfect. The physical infrastructure is cr*ppy and I think the HoS can be tone deaf to his and BASIS's detriment. But you contribute [b]very little to the discussion by arguing that BASIS isn't as good as your kid's private school.[/b] [/quote]

NP. I'm going to argue that BASIS isn't as good as my PUBLIC school, Boston Latin. You can throw out barbs about silly parents seeking Oh Captain My Captain moments and more advanced material. Alternatively, you can address the problem of how the faculty, particularly in the middle school, is, overall, poorly trained, poorly compensated and, in too many cases, poorly motivated.  BL wasn't like that.

The BASIS franchise itself probably isn't the primary culprit, because BASIS can't afford to pay competitive salaries in competing with the better-resourced public school systems in this metro area. The crappy aspects of BASIS go far beyond a tone deaf HoS (immature guy a few years out of grad school).

We had the experience of trying to organize low cost after-school Spanish classes at BASIS for ms immersion grads, with like-minded parents. The project seemed harmless enough. Unfortunately, admins wouldn't talk to us, wouldn't let us or the kids meet on the premises, or advertise through school channels. We were shut down before we started. Our family moved on, to a different PUBLIC school.[/quote]

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