Reply to BASIS to Private

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "BASIS to Private"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP who has a couple weeks to decide if we take our BASIS spot for a kid who excels in math and Spanish or stay at Oyster-Adams with a view to going private at some point, trying to lottery into DCI (which sounds impossible for Spanish), or moving to the burbs. We haven't been happy with STEM or humanities challenge in DCPS thus far.

I just read through this thread, and a couple other recent BASIS threads. Reading between the lines, BASIS sounds militant about what students learn and don't learn. The business of demanding that kids who came up through immersion language study take beginning languages sounds a big detour from best ed practices. Why can't middle school kids with the background to study a particular AP subject offered at BASIS do so long before 11th grade, be it calculus (which, apparently, is allowed), or a humanities subject, or a language? Who would be hurt by some flexibility, particularly where like-minded parents are prepared to organize and pay for after-school instruction? I also don't get why there's no PTA at BASIS, if I got that right.

On a call with a BASIS admin to ask these questions this past week, I was told that the obstacles to middle school students who are ready for AP work from pursuing it outside math are threefold. In a nutshell, "scheduling and resource obstacles and a policy not to overwhelm students pursuing rigor in other areas." This approach doesn't sound like a 21st century solution. Before anybody jumps on me for being entitled in wanting "preferential treatment," consider the fact that the highest-performing middle schools in this country aren't prone to require their most advanced students to take beginning classes in subjects they've long since mastered.[/quote]

I say this in an effort to help you avoid a huge mistake. DO NOT ENROLL AT BASIS. When you start your post describing the defined curriculum as "militant" and then conclude that what they do and how they do it doesn't match your expectations, when you are focused on Spanish and know up front your kid won't be able to jump ahead, what decision do you have to make? You are a bad fit for what they do, and they a bad fit for what you want. I would respectfully suggest that you view as militant is actually the school trying to be transparent so that people like you go in with eyes wide open. If you enroll, you will be back here daily to complain about the things you knew going in. Caveat emptor.

P.S. You are never going to be happy at DCPS or any charter. Enroll in private school now. Or move to Fairfax.  [/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