Reply to Basis Charter School - Experience and Insight Requested

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]BASIS DC only has 47 in the graduating class but here is a selection of colleges to which kids were admitted (some were admitted to more than one of these).

Per capita, no other public school in DC comes close to these results.

Bryn Mawr
Carnegie Mellon
Cornell
Dartmouth
Duke
Edinburgh
Elon
Emory
Georgetown
GW
Harvard
NYU
Northeastern
Northwestern
Oxford
Pomona
Smith
St. Andrews
Tufts
UC Berkeley
UPenn
U Mich
UT-Austin
UVA
Wesleyan
Wisconsin-Madison
Yale

[/quote]

If you kicked out all of the kids who aren’t in AP classes at the other high schools they’d have similar numbers.

BASIS does a good job on those 47, but the real advantage is shaking off the ones who aren’t top tier students.

It’s such a simple sleight of hand trick, it’s amazing that a school so famous for its math slips it by so many people. [/quote]

You keep saying that. But here are a few questions for you:

Can you acknowledge that the curriculum at BASIS differs from DCPS? (Requires you to just take a cursory look at the required classes to know this is true, but if you saw the syllabus, as parents do, you would know it's dramatically different and BASIS teaches much more content).

Do you acknowledge that it's possible that the kids who survive BASIS might be learning more than they would have through DCPS?

Can you acknowledge that many of the kids who make it through 8th and then decide to leave for Walls or Private (about half the kids who start) were actually pretty well served by the middle school curriculum?

And now these 50 kids who make it all the way through to graduate -- yes, I agree that these 50 probably would have been successful anywhere. But maybe, just maybe, they actually like the curriculum at BASIS. Maybe they had opportunities there they wouldnt have had at a different school. 
[/quote]

Can you acknowledge that a lot of kids leave basis feeling hurt and disillusioned and discouraged from learning?

It’s an intriguing idea and clearly works for some kids, but when dcps has so many problems, pouring money into a system that works for so few - and is frankly designed to work for so few - is disturbing. It seems like a great idea for a private school, where a specific model can be implemented and if you don’t fit the curriculum and the culture, you’re free to leave - not a public school system which is supposed to serve everyone.

I’ve got no problem with a curriculum with heavy emphasis on math and science and testing, and it’s nice to see those who suceed, but the cost, both financially and in terms of those who don’t succeed seems awfully high. [/quote]

Then don't send your kids.[/quote]

NP, we looked at Basis last year and decided no, did not list them in lottery.
Our child tests in 98-99% in math.

DS is heading to DCI in the fall.  They offer tracking and advance math for Calculus in 10th in addition to advance languages great facilities, and tons is sport and extracurriculars.  And actual science labs.

So if you have a math kid, there are other, more balanced options.

[/quote]

75% of DCI kids are BELOW grade level in math.

Buena suerte.[/quote]

yeah, but if you want to compare apples to apples with BASIS, cut out those 75 percent, and judge the school by the remaining 25 percent who are at or above grade level. [/quote]

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