Maybe it's not such an apples-and-oranges comparison, considering some of the Basis kids are on track to be taking Calculus in 8th or 9th grade, whereas Blair, the fancy suburban magnet high school doesn't even offer it until 10th grade at the earliest. And yes, the Basis high school is coming...

Anonymous wrote:@ 11:26, me neither. I grew up in the DMV, and initially DC did not have "middle schools". We had PK-6 (elementary), junior high school (7-9 grades) with most kids leaving in 8th to get into selective high schools, and HS (9-12 grades). We too had a fully equipped playground and blacktop area to play on for 30 minutes in ES.

I know of a charter school in DC that starts their middle school in 4th grade...imagine my shock. Times sure have changed. Kids just need to be kids.

This is a total aside but my understanding is that the advent of middle school stems from the fact that no one quite knows what to do with 6th graders. They are way too big and old to be in school with the truly little kids but also not nearly mature enough for the social or academic life that 7th and 8th graders have. And the maturity/size can differ within the grade too (especially comparing girls to boys). The whole grade is kindof a world to itself and educators have been struggling with how to handle them. Personally I kind of like having the 5th graders in the middle school as long as 5th and 6th grade is one cohort and 7th and 8th grade is another. That would give the 5th and 6th graders space to be "kids" away from the much more developed and academic 7th and 8th graders and also separate them from the truly little kids in the lower grades.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, but the quoted poster was talking about a comparison that is apples to oranges. I don't think Basis will ever have a varsity sports team. But robotics as a for-credit class in middle school is pretty darn unusual in public school and makes up for a lot of missing amenities.

Yes, robotics is certainly unusual for a DC public middle school but standard fare at independents and in suburban schools in affluent areas.

I don't get the impression that PPs are concerned about the Basis MS. It's the HS situation that worries people in a city with only a handful of high schools attracting upper-middle-class families, all in NW with very little room to spare. How many kids will leave Basis before the AP level? Why will none be replaced if all goes to plan, with a tiny HS resulting, when suitable replacements could test in? Why no varsity sports planned for HS? Will we see the sort of dramatic white flight (more than half) Latin experiences between 8th and 9th? These are good questions, albeit awkward ones, and I, for one, are glad they're being asked.

Yeah, but the quoted poster was talking about a comparison that is apples to oranges. I don't think Basis will ever have a varsity sports team. But robotics as a for-credit class in middle school is pretty darn unusual in public school and makes up for a lot of missing amenities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:@13:58: a.) You are conflating expensive and unaffordable privates with with public schools, and are trying to present a fictitious perfect public school option that doesn't really even exist, whether in the burbs, or in DC. A lofty goal, but it doesn't actually exist anywhere yet.

Huh? My brother's boy plays two varsity sports at Blair in MoCo as a student in the math and science magnet. He's applying early admission to MIT and I'll be surprised if he isn't admitted - he designs solar powered cars. TJ also supports varsity teams. It certainly does exist, a few miles from Basis. No plausible deniability in your corner, PP.

All that, plus 10 AP courses in middle school? You are after all comparing it to Basis, which is a MIDDLE school, only going 5th to 8th grade... Reality check here...

My bad. I thought the aspiration was to be an MS/HS. Isn't the the Basis HS that you boosters get so hot and bothered about? Was I wrong? What say you, Basis booster?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:@13:58: a.) You are conflating expensive and unaffordable privates with with public schools, and are trying to present a fictitious perfect public school option that doesn't really even exist, whether in the burbs, or in DC. A lofty goal, but it doesn't actually exist anywhere yet.

Huh? My brother's boy plays two varsity sports at Blair in MoCo as a student in the math and science magnet. He's applying early admission to MIT and I'll be surprised if he isn't admitted - he designs solar powered cars. TJ also supports varsity teams. It certainly does exist, a few miles from Basis. No plausible deniability in your corner, PP.

All that, plus 10 AP courses in middle school? You are after all comparing it to Basis, which is a MIDDLE school, only going 5th to 8th grade... Reality check here...

BASIS will expand a grade a year, in 2013-14 it will be grades 5 to 9, eventually grades 5 to 12. The AP classes start in high school grades, I think.

@ 11:26, me neither. I grew up in the DMV, and initially DC did not have "middle schools". We had PK-6 (elementary), junior high school (7-9 grades) with most kids leaving in 8th to get into selective high schools, and HS (9-12 grades). We too had a fully equipped playground and blacktop area to play on for 30 minutes in ES.

I know of a charter school in DC that starts their middle school in 4th grade...imagine my shock. Times sure have changed. Kids just need to be kids.

I went tothe same school from 12-18n and though there was no playground, we had a 15 minute break midmorning and outdoor time. Even in a job, you get a 15 minute break and a lunch hour...
I wouldn't send my 12 year old to a school with no breaks

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you were growing up did your middle school have a playground or recess? Mine definitely did not. Of course no one ever thought that middle schoolers needed aftercare either so maybe different time, different place? We did still have recess in 5th grade but the boys mainly fought and the girls mainly stood around forming cliques and excludIng each other do maybe no recess is for the best.

Where I grew up, I never heard the term "middle school" and hadn't heard the term until I came on DCUM. We had elementary school, K-6, Jr high school, 7-8, and high school, like most of the country. "Middle school" seems to be a DC invention or does MD and VA have it too?

Yup, we had recess in 5th and 6th grade in the playground with concrete under the monkey bars, see saws, swings, etc. How times have changed...

You don't get out much. Many places throughout the country have middle schools, and many places have junior high. Middle schools often include 6,7, and 8, whereas Jr. High usually has 7 and 8, sometimes with 9 too. But these aren't strict rules.

True, I have a three yr old and never paid much attention to all the ways middle school can be structured.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you were growing up did your middle school have a playground or recess? Mine definitely did not. Of course no one ever thought that middle schoolers needed aftercare either so maybe different time, different place? We did still have recess in 5th grade but the boys mainly fought and the girls mainly stood around forming cliques and excludIng each other do maybe no recess is for the best.

Where I grew up, I never heard the term "middle school" and hadn't heard the term until I came on DCUM. We had elementary school, K-6, Jr high school, 7-8, and high school, like most of the country. "Middle school" seems to be a DC invention or does MD and VA have it too?

Yup, we had recess in 5th and 6th grade in the playground with concrete under the monkey bars, see saws, swings, etc. How times have changed...

You don't get out much. Many places throughout the country have middle schools, and many places have junior high. Middle schools often include 6,7, and 8, whereas Jr. High usually has 7 and 8, sometimes with 9 too. But these aren't strict rules.

Anonymous wrote:When you were growing up did your middle school have a playground or recess? Mine definitely did not. Of course no one ever thought that middle schoolers needed aftercare either so maybe different time, different place? We did still have recess in 5th grade but the boys mainly fought and the girls mainly stood around forming cliques and excludIng each other do maybe no recess is for the best.

Where I grew up, I never heard the term "middle school" and hadn't heard the term until I came on DCUM. We had elementary school, K-6, Jr high school, 7-8, and high school, like most of the country. "Middle school" seems to be a DC invention or does MD and VA have it too?

Yup, we had recess in 5th and 6th grade in the playground with concrete under the monkey bars, see saws, swings, etc. How times have changed...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:@13:58: a.) You are conflating expensive and unaffordable privates with with public schools, and are trying to present a fictitious perfect public school option that doesn't really even exist, whether in the burbs, or in DC. A lofty goal, but it doesn't actually exist anywhere yet.

Huh? My brother's boy plays two varsity sports at Blair in MoCo as a student in the math and science magnet. He's applying early admission to MIT and I'll be surprised if he isn't admitted - he designs solar powered cars. TJ also supports varsity teams. It certainly does exist, a few miles from Basis. No plausible deniability in your corner, PP.

All that, plus 10 AP courses in middle school? You are after all comparing it to Basis, which is a MIDDLE school, only going 5th to 8th grade... Reality check here...

FYI, If your school does not offer the sport that you want to play, you can play the sport at another school!

FYI, If your school does not offer the sport that you want to play, you can play the sport at another school!

Anonymous wrote:@13:58: a.) You are conflating expensive and unaffordable privates with with public schools, and are trying to present a fictitious perfect public school option that doesn't really even exist, whether in the burbs, or in DC. A lofty goal, but it doesn't actually exist anywhere yet.

Huh? My brother's boy plays two varsity sports at Blair in MoCo as a student in the math and science magnet. He's applying early admission to MIT and I'll be surprised if he isn't admitted - he designs solar powered cars. TJ also supports varsity teams. It certainly does exist, a few miles from Basis. No plausible deniability in your corner, PP.