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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]13:54, since you asked:

Do not send your child to this school. They are not what they pretend to be. They are getting grant money from the government and not using it on the children. Their way of helping the children that are in need is by putting them all in one room and isolating them from the rest. 
—Submitted by a parent

I wish I could take my child out of this school. Its just not the place for my child. Its too far in the school year to transfer out. 
—Submitted by a parent

Since teachers are given a lot of freedom to use any method they want, quality of instruction varies greatly from class to class and from one teacher to another. Even in math, skipping chapters, rushing through the book and barely allowing a day for each new concept is becoming overwhelming. These are not refresher courses at the university level. It is taking its toll even on children with an aptitude for math. 
—Submitted by a parent

My son was excited to leave this school and so was the rest of the family. My son was being pushed way too hard! My son stayed after school every day. He even went to school on Saturday s. But to no avail. he received almost all F s in every class. If you expect the teachers to communicate with you...forget it! My son self-esteem was broken. He didn t even get a D for showing up and participating. When I removed my son from the school no-one did not ask why nor did anyone come out to speak with me. I was one of almost 20 parents that removed their children from the school. If I kept my son in this school he would have repeated the same grade twice.

My son is struggling at this school and I have heard many parents have been transferring out of Basis. They do have a good curriculum, but the level of independence that is expected of students at 11 and 12 is ridiculous.There is no teacher parent conference, so if your child is struggling, you have to manage all contact with teachers via email and phone, practically everyday. So that is 8 extra emails, a day to eight different teachers. There is also constant testing and they never tell the parents when the testing occurs. I had a two hour meeting with the school and have repeatedly asked for a schedule of tests, so that I could keep my son on track and received nothing. My son is miserable and has told me he has seen lots of children crying in the bathrooms and in the stairwell. The adults there need to be more supportive and help students manage their workload. If there are weekly tests then parents need to see this on a monthly time-table or schedule, so we can help our child's prepare. Its not rocket science, its management of a child's academic workload. 
—Submitted by a parent

Pretty amazing amount of negative stuff for a school that's only been open since August.

Of course I've heard even worse things about BASIS from families who've fled, which I find very troubling.[/quote]

These comments break my heart, but, as a parent of a student who is succeeding at BASIS, I have to say that while the school technically has only been open since August, the STARS program started last year as soon as everyone was admitted and had done the diagnostic testing.  That was a solid couple of hours of instruction either on Monday or Wednesday beginning in February.  And they had summer school.  And they had the BOSS program for everyone to get acclimated.  So saying that the school has only been open since August is not really accurate, since they started helping and preparing their future students starting in FEBRUARY, FOR FREE.

So I have to ask: did these kids do the STARS program that was offered free of charge Mon or  Wed afternoons starting last year once students were admitted?  That would have avoided a lot of grief for these parents because the students would have gotten a clear sense they were not up to the challenge, and presumably told their parents that they did not want to go on to school there in the fall.  The STARS program gave my child a great experience and a way to make an informed decision about whether or not to leave the school he was at early instead of staying for fifth and going to the IB middle school.  It also allowed my child to get to know some of his teachers beforehand.

Did they go to the summer school that was offered?  That also would have given them a heads up that maybe they should stay at their school or look at other options.

Did they attend the BOSS program, recommended for all students?  I think my child would have been absolutely lost without the basic organization and systems that were introduced there, like the proper use of the CJ.

We know that our kid has tests in two subjects one day a week, and the day of the week does not vary.

We also know that our child gets quizzed on a regular basis so he must stay on top of the subject matter in every class at all times.

There are unfortunately kids who were unprepared, and parents who did not put them in the STARS program or summer school.  The lowest level of math offered is pre-algebra.  Again, STARS and summer school would have helped a lot.

But I guess, assuming that the parents did STARS and summer school, and did not get a clear message that their child was not up to the challenge, that is a failure of communication on the part of BASIS.  And if that is the case, BASIS should definitely have done a better job of telling parents BEFORE school begins that they should seriously consider other options for their child, and I hope they do so in the future.

The unfortunate fact is that some children maybe cannot be caught up and be ready for fifth grade, despite STARS and summer school, which is a pathetic reflection on the school those kids came from, because BASIS really does in my experience try to do everything they can for kids who are trying, but sometimes it will never be enough.

BASIS accepted children after count day, and did not receive any money for them.  I think that, and all the remedial help they offered during the last school year and the summer and once school began, says a lot about how committed they are to children who are profoundly behind but are ready to work hard to try to catch up and have the potential to do so.

I think any parent whose child did not do well on the diagnostic testing last fall who did not send their kid to STARS and summer school and the BOSS program were setting their kids up for potentially the kind of experiences that were described above.  They were setting their kids up for failure.

And I think if BASIS really thought after STARS and summer school that some kids no matter how hard they tried would not succeed and did not communicate that to the kids and the parents BASIS was also at fault.  But I have a hard time believing that BASIS did this.  They are not into child cruelty.  What they are into and do expect is that 11 or 12 year olds are capable of rising to the challenge.  And many have.  If BASIS knew that a child just could not cut it after STARS and summer school, I have a hard time believing that they would have led the child and the parents on by encouraging them to come in the fall.

Not all kids are cut out for BASIS, and if the parents did what they needed to do so that they and their child could get an accurate sense, starting with STARS and summer school, whether they were not cut out for BASIS and feel that they were misled, they are definitely owed an apology and I feel really sorry for the kids in question. [/quote]

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