Anonymous wrote:we received and email and txt on Monday offering our son a 5th grade spot. We turned it down immediately, so hopefully they quickly moved on.

What was your original number?

we received and email and txt on Monday offering our son a 5th grade spot. We turned it down immediately, so hopefully they quickly moved on.

Not really. Have you ever visited an in-demand public middle schools in Fairfax, Arlington or MoCo? Many of those schools have significant high SES, low SES, white, Asian, AA and Latino representation. They also offer strong music and fine arts programs, fine libraries and computer labs, green playing fields, a great variety of competitive and non-competitive extra-curriculars, flexibility on language instruction for bilingual students...all sorts of things BASIS doesn't offer. What BASIS does offer are small, tight-knit high school cohorts and decent college counseling, I'll grant you that.

For families that value diversity it offers more than private and suburban schools.

I’m in the Basis booster camp and I can certainly acknowledge that a number of the area’s rigorous private schools have more to offer than Basis. Ditto some of the neighboring suburban publics.

But private school or suburbia are not in the mix for most of us. That said good for you.

Don't bother with BASIS threads, PP. A big pack of desperate boosters loves the school because it offers real rigor. Most of the rest of us aren't impressed because it offers little more. Complete waste of time to post.

Anonymous wrote:PP@15:32 - Why did you turn it down? DL? Found a better school? I’m assuming it was on your list because you thought it would be a good fit for your kid.

We've decided that we don't care for BASIS' one-size fits all middle school curriculum, particularly where language instruction goes, although our child excels at math. Child is bilingual in Russian and English but not fully biliterate. We don't want Latin or child forced to study a 3rd language. Admins told us their way or the highway, and we got turned off. Yes, found better school with equal rigor, more individualized learning. Child has been admitted on sizeable scholarship, on basis of strength in languages and math. Expensive for us, but worth it. Good luck to the rest of you.

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Anonymous wrote:Are folks worried about their building having enough space and ventilation to be safe?

They had a town hall monday. They haven't rolled out their plan yet, but one thing they did touch on was that students would not be in the halls at the same time. They have definitely been working on it all summer.

Oh right, more than 600 kids crammed into an office building and "students won't be in the halls at the same time." Not buying it. Cave-like building, top down franchise, who bloody knows what they'll do in response to Covid.

Glad we passed on our spot, for VA.

Godspeed, PP.

Not the poster you're responding to but PP above is right. It's glaringly obvious that BASIS could easily become a hot mess of Covid with in-person learning because of the problematic layout building. Easy to imagine that more parents will pass on 5th, or hit the road mainly because of it.

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about.

Unfortunately. s/he probably does. There's plenty of talk about among BASIS parents of how the building situation portends for covid spread right now. Admins can claim what they like, but there is no denying that the BASIS DC building is unusually cramped, crowded and poorly ventilated as compared to most MS and HS buildings.

PP@15:32 - Why did you turn it down? DL? Found a better school? I’m assuming it was on your list because you thought it would be a good fit for your kid.

I was originally #102 on the WL; got in on Monday; turned it down. Good luck OP!

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Anonymous wrote:Are folks worried about their building having enough space and ventilation to be safe?

They had a town hall monday. They haven't rolled out their plan yet, but one thing they did touch on was that students would not be in the halls at the same time. They have definitely been working on it all summer.

Oh right, more than 600 kids crammed into an office building and "students won't be in the halls at the same time." Not buying it. Cave-like building, top down franchise, who bloody knows what they'll do in response to Covid.

Glad we passed on our spot, for VA.

Godspeed, PP.

Not the poster you're responding to but PP above is right. It's glaringly obvious that BASIS could easily become a hot mess of Covid with in-person learning because of the problematic layout building. Easy to imagine that more parents will pass on 5th, or hit the road mainly because of it.

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about.

I just moved by 20 spots in the waitlist.

Yes, I think their plan is a good one.

When Basis returns to in-person (hybrid model) it will be 11 kids max per classroom and kids will stay in the same room all day, with teachers transitioning.

It will be fine.

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Anonymous wrote:Are folks worried about their building having enough space and ventilation to be safe?

They had a town hall monday. They haven't rolled out their plan yet, but one thing they did touch on was that students would not be in the halls at the same time. They have definitely been working on it all summer.

Oh right, more than 600 kids crammed into an office building and "students won't be in the halls at the same time." Not buying it. Cave-like building, top down franchise, who bloody knows what they'll do in response to Covid.

Glad we passed on our spot, for VA.

Godspeed, PP.

Not the poster you're responding to but PP above is right. It's glaringly obvious that BASIS could easily become a hot mess of Covid with in-person learning because of the problematic layout building. Easy to imagine that more parents will pass on 5th, or hit the road mainly because of it.