Anonymous wrote:19:39, you make an interesting case for the environment being somewhat unpleasant for an 11 year-old already worried that new friends will get weeded out, even if he won't. Your kid can't be the only one feeling the heat socially.

I can see how a parent who could pay for privates might strongly prefer a school where kids are screened for apptitude, and attitude, BEFORE they start, then retained as a matter of course. Why would that approach be so horrible? It's just depressing to think in terms of most of the kids leaving well before 12th grade, while nobody seems to know quite what the story is on replacing drop-outs. How does a school build great esprit de corps when most of the young kids won't make it through HS?

BASIS reminds me of the high caliber competitive ice skating program/school I was involved in as a child, in Moscow, before I immigrated to the US as a teenager. The fact that we were told upfront that most of us would be culled somewhere between ages 10 and 15 didn't provide for a very happy atmosphere. Although I lasted until we immigrated, and might actually have made it as internationally ranked skater, I didn't miss the program from my new home. And I wouldn't donate to it now.

The rigorous private prep school I went to was test in school and most certainly did not retain kids as a matter of course. The course work was very rigorous and there were students were left the school or repeated a grade I attended as a result. The fact is that DC charter schools are legally not allowed to test in students. Basis is providing an opportunity to many students who might not otherwise get an opportunity for a rigorous education.

Strong esprit de corps can also be formed through trials, for example kids getting together to support each other, to get together for pre-comp study dates, and so on. It's not as though they are competing against each other as with competetive sports, they are all in it together, they have the opportunity to help each other out and make it through. The intent isn't to have attrition, attrition is incidental to the process. And - is it more important to have a hundred casual acquaintances or a few really great friends? My graduating class was huge, but I really only ever kept in touch with a small handful of close friends - who were generally of like mind and focus academically.

19:39, you make an interesting case for the environment being somewhat unpleasant for an 11 year-old already worried that new friends will get weeded out, even if he won't. Your kid can't be the only one feeling the heat socially.

I can see how a parent who could pay for privates might strongly prefer a school where kids are screened for apptitude, and attitude, BEFORE they start, then retained as a matter of course. Why would that approach be so horrible? It's just depressing to think in terms of most of the kids leaving well before 12th grade, while nobody seems to know quite what the story is on replacing drop-outs. How does a school build great esprit de corps when most of the young kids won't make it through HS?

BASIS reminds me of the high caliber competitive ice skating program/school I was involved in as a child, in Moscow, before I immigrated to the US as a teenager. The fact that we were told upfront that most of us would be culled somewhere between ages 10 and 15 didn't provide for a very happy atmosphere. Although I lasted until we immigrated, and might actually have made it as internationally ranked skater, I didn't miss the program from my new home. And I wouldn't donate to it now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good points, PP. You won't be the last with these issues. It clearly isn't going to be the happiest school on earth but it sure beats Eliot-Hine.

This sums it up. At least your kid won't get beat up at BASIS.

Of course, there are some of us who want more in terms of education for our children.

If you are sending your kid to BASIS for the sole reason of "not getting beat up" then you are totally missing the boat.

And what exactly is "more in terms of education"? The BASIS accelerated course offerings and progression will take kids farther in terms of overall education than virtually any other public school in the district. Perhaps you meant to say something other than "in terms of education"?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We decided to try BASIS for 5th, then move on to a private for MS if it didn't work out well. The school has too much of a test tube feel for us - more than a bit disorganized, chaotic, too many inexperienced teachers, too much memorization, an even an atmosphere that's too PC for us (no screening of kids due to the DC Charter law and a lack of honesty about what this really means). My kid likes structure, but a different sort than BASIS provides. The money for a private isn't a big deal for us. If we felt that parents had any real input into how the school is run, or felt confident that most of the upper-middle-class families would stay the course through high school, or that adding an upper school population wouldn't compound the existing crowding, we'd stay. But we've become skeptics and DC hasn't been very happy. I'm not sure if he's gifted or not, but handling the work load isn't his issue. He sometimes does more math than required - he plays software games for fun. He already worries about new friends failing comps and so forth. I now want him in a school with a stable student body as much as anything else. Good luck at BASIS one and all.

I totally disagree. I attended numerous parent information sessions. Basis was quite clear about the fact that their school offered a rigorous European style education that would require a good amount of work on the part of students. They also discussed the comprehensive exams and the need to pass them to be promoted on to the next grade from 6th grade onward. They discussed the accelerated nature of the program in comparison to what is typically offered in many US schools. It was also known by the charter school board that their would be a certain amount of attrition and was also the subject of numerous newspaper articles. The fact is that every child is different and not every child will like Basis. I know that there were schools in my child's past that were not a good fit and now Basis is a tremendous fit.

On the flip side, Basis has offered many supports to struggling students such as tutoring, Stars and Boss programs, math labs, reading labs, teacher hours, etc. Basis is truly committed to helping every child succeed.

It is European in style, and by American standards that generally means rigorous and the students are not babied like they typically are in a public school. You move up based on mastery,not on the fact you "tried hard". "came to school on time", "did your DO NOW and EXIT TICKET", etc. For some students it is a good fit, for others not so; also depends on what the parents philosophy and requirements are for an academic education. Don't know why we spend endless hours debating this. "Horses for courses".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good points, PP. You won't be the last with these issues. It clearly isn't going to be the happiest school on earth but it sure beats Eliot-Hine.

This sums it up. At least your kid won't get beat up at BASIS.

Of course, there are some of us who want more in terms of education for our children.

Actually, I have a friend whose DC had a knife pulled on DC in school, another who was just telling me that she moved her DC to another school after DC was jumped 3 times at school. Yes, I still think it's better than E-H, but I don't think it's nearly what it could/should be.

Anonymous wrote:We decided to try BASIS for 5th, then move on to a private for MS if it didn't work out well. The school has too much of a test tube feel for us - more than a bit disorganized, chaotic, too many inexperienced teachers, too much memorization, an even an atmosphere that's too PC for us (no screening of kids due to the DC Charter law and a lack of honesty about what this really means). My kid likes structure, but a different sort than BASIS provides. The money for a private isn't a big deal for us. If we felt that parents had any real input into how the school is run, or felt confident that most of the upper-middle-class families would stay the course through high school, or that adding an upper school population wouldn't compound the existing crowding, we'd stay. But we've become skeptics and DC hasn't been very happy. I'm not sure if he's gifted or not, but handling the work load isn't his issue. He sometimes does more math than required - he plays software games for fun. He already worries about new friends failing comps and so forth. I now want him in a school with a stable student body as much as anything else. Good luck at BASIS one and all.

I totally disagree. I attended numerous parent information sessions. Basis was quite clear about the fact that their school offered a rigorous European style education that would require a good amount of work on the part of students. They also discussed the comprehensive exams and the need to pass them to be promoted on to the next grade from 6th grade onward. They discussed the accelerated nature of the program in comparison to what is typically offered in many US schools. It was also known by the charter school board that their would be a certain amount of attrition and was also the subject of numerous newspaper articles. The fact is that every child is different and not every child will like Basis. I know that there were schools in my child's past that were not a good fit and now Basis is a tremendous fit.

On the flip side, Basis has offered many supports to struggling students such as tutoring, Stars and Boss programs, math labs, reading labs, teacher hours, etc. Basis is truly committed to helping every child succeed.

Anonymous wrote:Good points, PP. You won't be the last with these issues. It clearly isn't going to be the happiest school on earth but it sure beats Eliot-Hine.

This sums it up. At least your kid won't get beat up at BASIS.

Of course, there are some of us who want more in terms of education for our children.

Good points, PP. You won't be the last with these issues. It clearly isn't going to be the happiest school on earth but it sure beats Eliot-Hine.

We decided to try BASIS for 5th, then move on to a private for MS if it didn't work out well. The school has too much of a test tube feel for us - more than a bit disorganized, chaotic, too many inexperienced teachers, too much memorization, an even an atmosphere that's too PC for us (no screening of kids due to the DC Charter law and a lack of honesty about what this really means). My kid likes structure, but a different sort than BASIS provides. The money for a private isn't a big deal for us. If we felt that parents had any real input into how the school is run, or felt confident that most of the upper-middle-class families would stay the course through high school, or that adding an upper school population wouldn't compound the existing crowding, we'd stay. But we've become skeptics and DC hasn't been very happy. I'm not sure if he's gifted or not, but handling the work load isn't his issue. He sometimes does more math than required - he plays software games for fun. He already worries about new friends failing comps and so forth. I now want him in a school with a stable student body as much as anything else. Good luck at BASIS one and all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ right, talking apples and oranges to compare selective magnets with a generic high school.

I'd agree with you people if we had at least one stellar selective magnet in DC, including a MS magnet. It's a fair point, same sort of kids (not apples and oranges, apples and apples and oranges and oranges with the right inputs), very different sort of education and prospects at the end. DC strenous efforts to be "fair" to all the kids still means being really unfair to the strongest students. BASIS DC isn't hard for my kid, merely stressful and dull too much of the time. We'll be at a private in the fall. One month until we know which. All the best to the rest.

A little OT, but what guarantee do you have that $30k is going to make your DC still not find school "dull"? Couldn't that happen just by being "school" for some kids? Now stressful, you can control for, to some extent. . .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ right, talking apples and oranges to compare selective magnets with a generic high school.

I'd agree with you people if we had at least one stellar selective magnet in DC, including a MS magnet. It's a fair point, same sort of kids (not apples and oranges, apples and apples and oranges and oranges with the right inputs), very different sort of education and prospects at the end. DC strenous efforts to be "fair" to all the kids still means being really unfair to the strongest students. BASIS DC isn't hard for my kid, merely stressful and dull too much of the time. We'll be at a private in the fall. One month until we know which. All the best to the rest.

My kid's experience at Basis is the opposite. He finds his classes interesting and fun despite his testing into the gifted range. He is happy everyday and is challenged. So you see, every kid is different.

Anonymous wrote:^^ right, talking apples and oranges to compare selective magnets with a generic high school.

I'd agree with you people if we had at least one stellar selective magnet in DC, including a MS magnet. It's a fair point, same sort of kids (not apples and oranges, apples and apples and oranges and oranges with the right inputs), very different sort of education and prospects at the end. DC strenous efforts to be "fair" to all the kids still means being really unfair to the strongest students. BASIS DC isn't hard for my kid, merely stressful and dull too much of the time. We'll be at a private in the fall. One month until we know which. All the best to the rest.

^^ right, talking apples and oranges to compare selective magnets with a generic high school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's a bit broad. I know for sure Latin has. A senior this year accepted to Brown, and would venture that Wilson, Banneker and SWW have ivy league acceptances as well

Yes, but precious few. I used to interview Wilson, Banneker and SWW kids for my Ivy as an alum volunteer, did it for over a decade then burned out. Never saw a kid admitted and must have interviewed two dozen from the several DCPS programs. Around half the kids from TJ and Blair MoCo magnets I interveiw get in and these are the same sort of 17 and 18 year olds, some low-SES, some high-SES, different races, all bright, very hardworking. The DCPS parents love to kid themselves that their kids' applications are stellar, rarely the case. Not offering much challenge or push for advanced learners at the ES and MS levels in DCPS until very recently, and not having HS school cultures in which Ivy League admissions are emphasized, still takes a toll.

TJ is an application school.