Anonymous wrote:He's also empowered by how passive his parents have become in the last couple of years. I've been surprised by how little pushback he seems to have had in the wake of the highest teacher turnover I've seen in the BASIS DC high school, by a long shot.

+1

I posted about the number of teachers who left Basis HS last year (almost the entire math department for starters) but one poster kept arguing it wasn’t true.

Anonymous wrote:How long have you been at BASIS? You're not all wrong, but you sound like a MS parent.

Many of the HS parents don't care for the current HoS, and not because he can be cold. We think he's wrong for the school because he's a bully, and not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. His intellectual limitations seem to power his intransigence over a range of issues he can't quite grasp, great and small. His brilliant and good-natured predecessor is sorely missed by 11th and 12th grade families.

If I could do it over again, like the mom who took her marbles to a parochial school, I'd have left after the current head's first year for a HS led by a capable, and cerebral, grown-up.

Stabilizing BASIS' leadership by installing a mediocre insider at the top was a mistake on the part of Arizona HQ that isn't necessarily apparent to relative newcomers. The program would have been far better off led by an internal hire from out West (like the previous HoS) with the intellectual wattage and integrity to lead DC's most academic public HS. What's undeniable is that turnover of strong HS teachers has risen steadily during this head's tenure, and not just because of Covid (as a variety of stakeholders likes to claim). I predict a dip in college admissions success in 2-3 years mainly due to the exodus of a gaggle of beloved teachers.

I think everything you said is fair and logical. You are correct that I did not know his predecessor. I don't question you when you say how wonderful she was. My understanding is that she departed of her own volition; they did not fire her in favor of him. I hear you when you say they should have filled the job with someone from AZ. I would reply to that feedback from parents of older kids that the school has loosened the reigns over the past few years and adapted; a bit less focus on testing and homework and a bit more consideration for mental health of the kids. Obviously I don't have personal experience with what preceded him. What I would say is that a HoS who has been in BASISDC is much more likely to understand the population and culture of DC than a central AZ employee. I am 100% certain that a hire from AZ would have been lambasted as some as further evidence of a for profit company operating a business from 2k miles away. I think they would have been criticized no matter what they did.

I don't know that the current HoS is unintelligent. My reflexive reaction to people declaring someone "smart" or "not" and crediting or blaming their success as a leader thusly is that it is too easy. Great leaders are rarely dumb, but they needn't be the smartest person in the room (whatever that means). It is about emotional IQ, empathy and communication. My impression of the HoS is that he is insecure and his reactions and interactions are informed by that insecurity. I think this also manifests as tone deaf when he fails to read a room. I admit I find it odd that the school doesn't understand that fundraising appeals are more likely to be successful when you embrace your prospects and make them feel valued. There is a way to make people feel heard even if you don't do what they asked. He would do well to learn those skills.

The criticism of lost teachers is hard to react to since the entire teaching profession is hemorrhaging teachers and admins across the US. While that doesn't make it less stressful or problematic when it is your kids' teachers who depart, it makes it difficult to assess how much of it is internal and how much societal and external.

That said, the quality of the instruction, academic rigor and all business approach at BASIS is one for which I am eternally grateful. Without it we would have left the city schools, and perhaps DC. It is not perfect, but I know of no school that is. My experience is that HS parents see the school through a different prism; you all had a choice to depart for application HS in 9th and elected to stay. That's an entirely different animal than MS where viable options are slim to none.

He's also empowered by how passive his parents have become in the last couple of years. I've been surprised by how little pushback he seems to have had in the wake of the highest teacher turnover I've seen in the BASIS DC high school, by a long shot.

+1. He’s slow, arrogant, inflexible and empowered the length of his wait list.

How long have you been at BASIS? You're not all wrong, but you sound like a MS parent.

Many of the HS parents don't care for the current HoS, and not because he can be cold. We think he's wrong for the school because he's a bully, and not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. His intellectual limitations seem to power his intransigence over a range of issues he can't quite grasp, great and small. His brilliant and good-natured predecessor is sorely missed by 11th and 12th grade families.

If I could do it over again, like the mom who took her marbles to a parochial school, I'd have left after the current head's first year for a HS led by a capable, and cerebral, grown-up.

Stabilizing BASIS' leadership by installing a mediocre insider at the top was a mistake on the part of Arizona HQ that isn't necessarily apparent to relative newcomers. The program would have been far better off led by an internal hire from out West (like the previous HoS) with the intellectual wattage and integrity to lead DC's most academic public HS. What's undeniable is that turnover of strong HS teachers has risen steadily during this head's tenure, and not just because of Covid (as a variety of stakeholders likes to claim). I predict a dip in college admissions success in 2-3 years mainly due to the exodus of a gaggle of beloved teachers.

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Anonymous wrote:I won't say? Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase NW though we're not Catholic.

12K, worth it for much better humanities instruction, stable faculty, active parent organization, good facilities and electives, language instruction from 4th grade, sports and music programs. STEM not as good, but we can live with that.

What will you do for high school? More parochial?

Keep an open mind. Apply to Walls and Banneker, possibly rent IB for JR. We'll apply to a few parochial schools charging in the low 20s, all we can afford.

We didn't care for the controlling, top down feel of BASIS: the franchise way or the highway. Parochial school has been a breath of fresh air by comparison, although we're protestant and not v. religious. Teachers and administrators are more with-it, meaning better classroom management. The curriculum is richer and more open, with a stronger intellectual bent.

Controlling? Sounds like this is more about you than your kid.

Maybe, but my kid likes his new school much better. He likes having more of a say in what he learns.

Do you have examples of what choices your son was missing, and the ways the rigidity was bothering him at BASIS?

Sorry, I don't. No point in being slammed by BASIS adherents going forward. Suffice it say that we're a bilingual family that's grateful for how our kid's new school values his bilingualism, not the case at BASIS. We didn't care for the BASIS focus on AP test prep, marching in step academically, grade competition and college admissions from the middle school years. There weren't enough Eureka moments for us, not enough emphasis on joy of learning. I've been surprised and pleased by how much more open-minded and, frankly, fun and welcoming, the Blessed Sacrament vibe has been. Good luck to those who stick with BASIS.

Those are all valid things to want from a school. No BASIS parent would quibble. But you chose a school that offers the polar opposite of what you wanted from a school. There was no bait and switch. BASIS does not excel in languages and they are not open to accommodating families that want them to. That goes for bilingual and English only speakers alike. BASIS proudly boasts about the number of AP exams every kid has to take to graduate. You may not think it is useful or a positive thing, but that's how BASIS structures the curriculum.

You remind me of a person who writes a review of a restaurant called "Bob's House of Beef and Meat Products" and complains that the menu was filled with mostly meat options when what you wanted was sushi and farm to table veggie entrees. The issue is not that sushi isn't delicious or that you don't have the right to want those things, but you walked into a restaurant that was all about meat and complained that they didn't change their menu to your tastes. Worse still, then you carry a grudge and loudly complain about how inflexible they were. No introspection or moment of ownership that the poor choice you made may have contributed to the poor outcome.

I'm pleased you found a school that met your needs. Good for you.

I'm not the PP you're responding to but I'm going to chime in to note that things haven't been that cut and dried at BASIS DC. Good grief, the program has seen 8 or 9 heads come and go in 13 years. Each head did things somewhat differently.

The previous HoS wasn't pushing AP prep and college admissions on the middle school crew like this guy. She was livelier intellectually, less interested in conformity and more open to input from parents and kids. I used to hear her complement students for all sorts of achievements, including being bilingual. By contrast, the current HoS was a way of shutting down innovation. Respect for individual learning styles and backgrounds just isn't his forte.

It's too easy to point the finger at parents who hope for the best at BASIS but wind up disappointed a year or two in. No wonder, the school hasn't had stable leadership, or a stable faculty, since its inception (though things are improving). It sounds like the parent who left for parochial school found the constancy she was looking for as much as anything else.

Some "introspection" and a "moment of ownership" about BASIS' unstable leadership might not go amiss on your part, PP. Yes, I know that the current head is, gasp, in his 3rd year.

Seems like you are conflating stability with the fact that you don't like the current HoS. You have a right not like him. I would respectfully suggest that what you are actually doing is shoehorning our dislike for him and his approach into a BS argument about "stability". Let's start with the fact that he is (as you admit) in his 3rd year. The only way to have a long tenured HoS is to build that tenure over time. He can't be in his 3rd year if he didn't have his 2nd. Misplaced ("gasp") sarcasm aside I'm not sure how you want him or BASIS to solve for the passage of time. Also seems weird that you seem to be at once arguing this guy is terrible and needs to go, but also that instability in the role is a problem. Those two things seem at odds with each other. The current HoS has been at BASISDC for @10 years in a variety of roles. Your dislike for him seems to have blinded you to the possibility that BASIS may have been concerned about turnover and culture and selected an internal candidate precisely to try and address the issue of change. You seem also to be unaware that teacher and admin retention across education is greatly suffering across the US; this is not specific to BASIS.

I don't think BASIS is perfect. I wish it had some focus on arts and music. I knew going in it did not so I don't complain that HoS has ignored my entreaties regarding changing the curriculum for more of an arts focus. And that's my issue. I dislike when people blame others for their own decisions or when people are unwilling to be honest about their criticisms. For instance, you don't like the current HoS or his approach. That's fine. I personally find him insincere and a bit cold. I'm sure lots of people with whom I work don't love me, as is their right. But own it; don't hide behind this "unstable" thing. You'd be thrilled if HoS left and they hired someone more to your liking.

P.S. You are trying to fit prior poster's info into your narrative; the facts don't align. You suggest that they left for parochial school because of instability. Nowhere in their post did they say that. Since the school they went to ends in 8th grade and they seem to have departed BASI very recently after a short stay, they likely were at BASIS with only one HoS.

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Anonymous wrote:I won't say? Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase NW though we're not Catholic.

12K, worth it for much better humanities instruction, stable faculty, active parent organization, good facilities and electives, language instruction from 4th grade, sports and music programs. STEM not as good, but we can live with that.

What will you do for high school? More parochial?

Keep an open mind. Apply to Walls and Banneker, possibly rent IB for JR. We'll apply to a few parochial schools charging in the low 20s, all we can afford.

We didn't care for the controlling, top down feel of BASIS: the franchise way or the highway. Parochial school has been a breath of fresh air by comparison, although we're protestant and not v. religious. Teachers and administrators are more with-it, meaning better classroom management. The curriculum is richer and more open, with a stronger intellectual bent.

Controlling? Sounds like this is more about you than your kid.

Maybe, but my kid likes his new school much better. He likes having more of a say in what he learns.

Do you have examples of what choices your son was missing, and the ways the rigidity was bothering him at BASIS?

Sorry, I don't. No point in being slammed by BASIS adherents going forward. Suffice it say that we're a bilingual family that's grateful for how our kid's new school values his bilingualism, not the case at BASIS. We didn't care for the BASIS focus on AP test prep, marching in step academically, grade competition and college admissions from the middle school years. There weren't enough Eureka moments for us, not enough emphasis on joy of learning. I've been surprised and pleased by how much more open-minded and, frankly, fun and welcoming, the Blessed Sacrament vibe has been. Good luck to those who stick with BASIS.

Those are all valid things to want from a school. No BASIS parent would quibble. But you chose a school that offers the polar opposite of what you wanted from a school. There was no bait and switch. BASIS does not excel in languages and they are not open to accommodating families that want them to. That goes for bilingual and English only speakers alike. BASIS proudly boasts about the number of AP exams every kid has to take to graduate. You may not think it is useful or a positive thing, but that's how BASIS structures the curriculum.

You remind me of a person who writes a review of a restaurant called "Bob's House of Beef and Meat Products" and complains that the menu was filled with mostly meat options when what you wanted was sushi and farm to table veggie entrees. The issue is not that sushi isn't delicious or that you don't have the right to want those things, but you walked into a restaurant that was all about meat and complained that they didn't change their menu to your tastes. Worse still, then you carry a grudge and loudly complain about how inflexible they were. No introspection or moment of ownership that the poor choice you made may have contributed to the poor outcome.

I'm pleased you found a school that met your needs. Good for you.

NP. What a drag you BASIS parents can be. Loudly complained? More like PP made a few decent points succinctly. Poor choice, poor outcome? Try unappealing choices all around.

My spouse was a Latin major who could have helped the kids with Latin. Thing is, our lottery numbers for both Latins were in....outer space. We couldn't even get into Stuart Hobson, Hardy or DCI (one of us speaks fluent French). We tried for fi aid at several privates and struck out.

So we would up at BASIS ourselves but won't stay. We won't miss you and you won't miss us. Good choice, good outcome, right?

No secret that we don't actually have school choice in DC. We have lottery luck or we don't. What you have is a bad case of holier than thou BS.

You had bad lottery luck. That sucks. You are angry about your lousy luck. I feel you. You can't afford private and the financial aid didn't come through. I'm sure that's a terrible feeling. Those factors combine to anger you. Makes sense to anyone with kids and a heart. What you are looking for in a school is not what BASIS offers (foreign language focus, etc.) Here's where you (and others like you) lose me. Your anger is misplaced. You knew (or should have known) that BASIS was not a good fit for your kid and family. You took it because it was better than whatever else you had. BASIS turned out to be exactly what it told you it was - AP heavy, test heavy, science and math heavy, limited foreign language and arts focus and unwilling to entertain parental suggestions for curriculum changes. And somehow it is BASIS's fault that they are what they told you they were and that isn't what you wanted?

You are understandably angry. Lashing out as BASIS (or me) is like kicking the dog because you are mad at your husband. May feel good in that moment but not productive. I hope you find what you are looking for.

No school is perfect, or for every family. We don't like the direction BASIS has taken under the current HoS either. Had we known what he'd be like, our eldest would have left for Walls before he arrived on the scene.

The main problem with the current head is that a good many of his most capable and longest serving high school teachers don't like working for him. Boosters can come to DCUM intent on shouting down fellow parents who point out that he's a controlling ass without changing the fact that he is. Teacher turnover in the high school has increased measurably in the last couple years. Few of the middle school parents are clued into the problem.

This thread inspired me to read some of the Blessed Sacrament postings in the private school forum. While I have no motivation to read more than a fraction of them, there’s nothing I read that suggests “open mindedness.” (Rather, there’s quite the hornet’s nest of accusations!)

But I’m glad PP’s kid is happier.

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Anonymous wrote:I won't say? Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase NW though we're not Catholic.

12K, worth it for much better humanities instruction, stable faculty, active parent organization, good facilities and electives, language instruction from 4th grade, sports and music programs. STEM not as good, but we can live with that.

What will you do for high school? More parochial?

Keep an open mind. Apply to Walls and Banneker, possibly rent IB for JR. We'll apply to a few parochial schools charging in the low 20s, all we can afford.

We didn't care for the controlling, top down feel of BASIS: the franchise way or the highway. Parochial school has been a breath of fresh air by comparison, although we're protestant and not v. religious. Teachers and administrators are more with-it, meaning better classroom management. The curriculum is richer and more open, with a stronger intellectual bent.

Controlling? Sounds like this is more about you than your kid.

Maybe, but my kid likes his new school much better. He likes having more of a say in what he learns.

Do you have examples of what choices your son was missing, and the ways the rigidity was bothering him at BASIS?

Sorry, I don't. No point in being slammed by BASIS adherents going forward. Suffice it say that we're a bilingual family that's grateful for how our kid's new school values his bilingualism, not the case at BASIS. We didn't care for the BASIS focus on AP test prep, marching in step academically, grade competition and college admissions from the middle school years. There weren't enough Eureka moments for us, not enough emphasis on joy of learning. I've been surprised and pleased by how much more open-minded and, frankly, fun and welcoming, the Blessed Sacrament vibe has been. Good luck to those who stick with BASIS.

Those are all valid things to want from a school. No BASIS parent would quibble. But you chose a school that offers the polar opposite of what you wanted from a school. There was no bait and switch. BASIS does not excel in languages and they are not open to accommodating families that want them to. That goes for bilingual and English only speakers alike. BASIS proudly boasts about the number of AP exams every kid has to take to graduate. You may not think it is useful or a positive thing, but that's how BASIS structures the curriculum.

You remind me of a person who writes a review of a restaurant called "Bob's House of Beef and Meat Products" and complains that the menu was filled with mostly meat options when what you wanted was sushi and farm to table veggie entrees. The issue is not that sushi isn't delicious or that you don't have the right to want those things, but you walked into a restaurant that was all about meat and complained that they didn't change their menu to your tastes. Worse still, then you carry a grudge and loudly complain about how inflexible they were. No introspection or moment of ownership that the poor choice you made may have contributed to the poor outcome.

I'm pleased you found a school that met your needs. Good for you.

I'm not the PP you're responding to but I'm going to chime in to note that things haven't been that cut and dried at BASIS DC. Good grief, the program has seen 8 or 9 heads come and go in 13 years. Each head did things somewhat differently.

The previous HoS wasn't pushing AP prep and college admissions on the middle school crew like this guy. She was livelier intellectually, less interested in conformity and more open to input from parents and kids. I used to hear her complement students for all sorts of achievements, including being bilingual. By contrast, the current HoS was a way of shutting down innovation. Respect for individual learning styles and backgrounds just isn't his forte.

It's too easy to point the finger at parents who hope for the best at BASIS but wind up disappointed a year or two in. No wonder, the school hasn't had stable leadership, or a stable faculty, since its inception (though things are improving). It sounds like the parent who left for parochial school found the constancy she was looking for as much as anything else.

Some "introspection" and a "moment of ownership" about BASIS' unstable leadership might not go amiss on your part, PP. Yes, I know that the current head is, gasp, in his 3rd year.

+100!!!

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I won't say? Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase NW though we're not Catholic.

12K, worth it for much better humanities instruction, stable faculty, active parent organization, good facilities and electives, language instruction from 4th grade, sports and music programs. STEM not as good, but we can live with that.

What will you do for high school? More parochial?

Keep an open mind. Apply to Walls and Banneker, possibly rent IB for JR. We'll apply to a few parochial schools charging in the low 20s, all we can afford.

We didn't care for the controlling, top down feel of BASIS: the franchise way or the highway. Parochial school has been a breath of fresh air by comparison, although we're protestant and not v. religious. Teachers and administrators are more with-it, meaning better classroom management. The curriculum is richer and more open, with a stronger intellectual bent.

Controlling? Sounds like this is more about you than your kid.

Maybe, but my kid likes his new school much better. He likes having more of a say in what he learns.

Do you have examples of what choices your son was missing, and the ways the rigidity was bothering him at BASIS?

Sorry, I don't. No point in being slammed by BASIS adherents going forward. Suffice it say that we're a bilingual family that's grateful for how our kid's new school values his bilingualism, not the case at BASIS. We didn't care for the BASIS focus on AP test prep, marching in step academically, grade competition and college admissions from the middle school years. There weren't enough Eureka moments for us, not enough emphasis on joy of learning. I've been surprised and pleased by how much more open-minded and, frankly, fun and welcoming, the Blessed Sacrament vibe has been. Good luck to those who stick with BASIS.

Those are all valid things to want from a school. No BASIS parent would quibble. But you chose a school that offers the polar opposite of what you wanted from a school. There was no bait and switch. BASIS does not excel in languages and they are not open to accommodating families that want them to. That goes for bilingual and English only speakers alike. BASIS proudly boasts about the number of AP exams every kid has to take to graduate. You may not think it is useful or a positive thing, but that's how BASIS structures the curriculum.

You remind me of a person who writes a review of a restaurant called "Bob's House of Beef and Meat Products" and complains that the menu was filled with mostly meat options when what you wanted was sushi and farm to table veggie entrees. The issue is not that sushi isn't delicious or that you don't have the right to want those things, but you walked into a restaurant that was all about meat and complained that they didn't change their menu to your tastes. Worse still, then you carry a grudge and loudly complain about how inflexible they were. No introspection or moment of ownership that the poor choice you made may have contributed to the poor outcome.

I'm pleased you found a school that met your needs. Good for you.

NP. What a drag you BASIS parents can be. Loudly complained? More like PP made a few decent points succinctly. Poor choice, poor outcome? Try unappealing choices all around.

My spouse was a Latin major who could have helped the kids with Latin. Thing is, our lottery numbers for both Latins were in....outer space. We couldn't even get into Stuart Hobson, Hardy or DCI (one of us speaks fluent French). We tried for fi aid at several privates and struck out.

So we would up at BASIS ourselves but won't stay. We won't miss you and you won't miss us. Good choice, good outcome, right?

No secret that we don't actually have school choice in DC. We have lottery luck or we don't. What you have is a bad case of holier than thou BS.

Yes, I’m sure Blessed Sacrament is full of Robin Williams..

Anonymous wrote:Glad to hear that Blessed Sacrament is open-minded and full of Eureka moments.

But we’ll stick with BASIS.

P.s.: What’s a Eureka moment anyway and how does one measure it?

Oh Captain My Captain!

P.s.: I do in fact know the formal definition of a Eureka moment—I just wonder how you determined that Blessed Sacrament has them and BASIS doesn’t.