Anonymous
04/27/2021 08:44
Subject: BASIS McLean HOS resigned
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Agreed that the two deans under the director who was pushed out after her maternity leave are some of the strongest in the building, but am concerned to see that both of their jobs have been posted...are they leaving, too?
I used to work at BIM. I adored most of my students, but working there was a nightmare. I started making a get-out plan after a few months. I eventually learned that many of my colleagues were feeling the same way, and were making plans to leave. I don't know the particulars behind these two deans, but if I had to bet I would say they are either (a) being shuffled to a new position at BIM or elsewhere in the network, or (b) are leaving the school altogether.
I am still friends with a few of the teachers that work there, and they regularly send me updates. The news is never good, usually enraging, and I am crossing my fingers that they'll get out soon.
More broadly, I think the Basis education model is one of the worst things that's happened to education in the States in the last few decades. The number one priority is test scores and prestige (this is especially for the schools that have made rankings; the situation for the schools that have not made the rankings is different, but that's another story). My students were great, but they were so strung out on getting good grades, which they saw as the only avenue to getting into an Ivy school (and going to any school that wasn't ranked highly was viewed as a failure), that it really had a bad effect on them. One of the most brilliant students I've ever taught said to me one day: "It's ok if I'm miserable during my teenage years, b/c I need have a good career when I'm an adult." We were having a more philosophical conversation about grades and tests during class, and most of the students agreed. It still makes me sad when I remember that conversation.
Curious - you say many of your colleagues were making plans to leave. Have they? If not, what is stopping them? Do you think BIM turnover will be higher this year given the greater number of openings at other schools?
Just look at the job listings, 8-10 openings for faculty and academic managers in a staff that must be under 80 after all the other cuts. And that's only the teachers that have announced so far. This is still interview season for fall jobs, so parents have no way of knowing how many other staff may be job hunting quietly.
Anonymous
04/26/2021 18:11
Subject: BASIS McLean HOS resigned
Anonymous wrote:Agreed that the two deans under the director who was pushed out after her maternity leave are some of the strongest in the building, but am concerned to see that both of their jobs have been posted...are they leaving, too?
I used to work at BIM. I adored most of my students, but working there was a nightmare. I started making a get-out plan after a few months. I eventually learned that many of my colleagues were feeling the same way, and were making plans to leave. I don't know the particulars behind these two deans, but if I had to bet I would say they are either (a) being shuffled to a new position at BIM or elsewhere in the network, or (b) are leaving the school altogether.
I am still friends with a few of the teachers that work there, and they regularly send me updates. The news is never good, usually enraging, and I am crossing my fingers that they'll get out soon.
More broadly, I think the Basis education model is one of the worst things that's happened to education in the States in the last few decades. The number one priority is test scores and prestige (this is especially for the schools that have made rankings; the situation for the schools that have not made the rankings is different, but that's another story). My students were great, but they were so strung out on getting good grades, which they saw as the only avenue to getting into an Ivy school (and going to any school that wasn't ranked highly was viewed as a failure), that it really had a bad effect on them. One of the most brilliant students I've ever taught said to me one day: "It's ok if I'm miserable during my teenage years, b/c I need have a good career when I'm an adult." We were having a more philosophical conversation about grades and tests during class, and most of the students agreed. It still makes me sad when I remember that conversation.
Curious - you say many of your colleagues were making plans to leave. Have they? If not, what is stopping them? Do you think BIM turnover will be higher this year given the greater number of openings at other schools?
Anonymous
04/25/2021 15:37
Subject: BASIS McLean HOS resigned
Agreed that the two deans under the director who was pushed out after her maternity leave are some of the strongest in the building, but am concerned to see that both of their jobs have been posted...are they leaving, too?
I used to work at BIM. I adored most of my students, but working there was a nightmare. I started making a get-out plan after a few months. I eventually learned that many of my colleagues were feeling the same way, and were making plans to leave. I don't know the particulars behind these two deans, but if I had to bet I would say they are either (a) being shuffled to a new position at BIM or elsewhere in the network, or (b) are leaving the school altogether.
I am still friends with a few of the teachers that work there, and they regularly send me updates. The news is never good, usually enraging, and I am crossing my fingers that they'll get out soon.
More broadly, I think the Basis education model is one of the worst things that's happened to education in the States in the last few decades. The number one priority is test scores and prestige (this is especially for the schools that have made rankings; the situation for the schools that have not made the rankings is different, but that's another story). My students were great, but they were so strung out on getting good grades, which they saw as the only avenue to getting into an Ivy school (and going to any school that wasn't ranked highly was viewed as a failure), that it really had a bad effect on them. One of the most brilliant students I've ever taught said to me one day: "It's ok if I'm miserable during my teenage years, b/c I need have a good career when I'm an adult." We were having a more philosophical conversation about grades and tests during class, and most of the students agreed. It still makes me sad when I remember that conversation.