Our child feels connected and loved at Washington Latin High School, both with peers and the really with-it faculty. The education is stimulating, but the connection is the 'intangible'. I do think you can find that connection in larger schools with some teachers, who are really special and you remember for a lifetime. Our child seems to have this feeling for what appears to be just about everyone. I consider HS years when kids can wander, sometimes to harsh consequences. I love how emotionally plugged in WL High School keeps our child. I do know that there are other fine high schools in DC, so it's not an either/or.

Can anyone comment credibly on how the two compare in terms of teaching style? I'd like to know how classrooms operate, what kind of teaching style dominates. And before anyone thinks I'm fishing for a "right" answer here, I actually believe that "right" is how well at teaching style matches up with the student's learning habits.
From the little I know I'd expect Basis to be more "Lecture & Practice" based and Latin more "Socratic". Is that so? What does that look like in the everyday classroom?

Nobody ever challenges the Latin boosters like they do the Basis boosters. I see this repeated "Latin's not perfect" but no details provided, and the downsides presented are all defused. Sheesh! Can't we hear a non-cheerleader provide facts so people can decide which is a better fit for their child?

Latin! Strong and challenging academics, personal attention from committed teachers who truly value and respect the kids, a great community. No, not perfect, but the administration is accessible and responsive, and committed to making sure Latin is a terrific school for all its students. My son has been there for three years, and we love it. Choose Latin, you will be so glad you did.

Anonymous wrote:I have read through the threads on BASIS over the past few months. While the posts have been informative, many have focused on alternatives to BASIS such as privates, Deal, Montgomery County and Fairfax. I've also read the recent threads on Latin.

At this point, we are committed to public school in DC for our middle schooler. If you had the choice of either Washington Latin or BASIS DC for your middle schooler -- and no other options -- which would you choose and why?

Thanks

Greetings. We are parents of a current 5th grade student at Washington Latin. I wrote this summary of our thoughts on WL on another stream a few weeks ago, but I thought I'd include it here, too. We considered Basis (as well as Deal) -- in part because we have family who attend Basis Tucson and are thriving there. I think the primary reasons we didn't explore Basis further are: 1) We didn't want to go through the school's growing years; and 2) We were immediately impressed with WL's leadership team and didn't have the same level of connection to Basis' leadership team

We thought we would recap what we love about Washington Latin:
• School leadership -- ambitious, competent, professional, accessible, and warm
• Small school size (roughly 80 per grade), creating a very warm, family-like atmosphere
• Small class sizes (18-20 students per class), allowing opportunities for individualized attention
• Close relations between students & teachers
• Highly dedicated and energetic teachers, many of whom give considerable time to students outside of class
• A good number of very talented male teachers
• Clear mission that organizes everyone's efforts
• Rigorous, organized curriculum where every student is challenged
• Its emphasis on critical thinking, dialogue (using Socratic seminars), oral expression, written expression, and public speaking
• The 5th grade Latin teacher and grade level head is spectacular: Who would have thought that our son would love Latin and discover how relevant it is?
• Tremendous diversity in student population. Our son has good friends who live in all wards of the city.
• As our son has become more aware of associations between clothing and status, we appreciate the school’s simple uniform
• Clear academic & behavioral expectations (and consistent follow through)
• Easy parent/teacher collaboration -- with online tools and teacher responsiveness (to calls/emails)
• Easy tracking of student progress -- again, with online tools and teacher responsiveness
• A pervasive, clear spirit of fun and positive humor
• Educational and very fun community-wide events (the annual Roman banquet, Fibonacci Day, etc..)

Downsides?
• The current facility is too crowded, a bit grungy, and under-resourced. By September of 2013, it will be moving into a beautiful, fully renovated facility.
• With a high-energy, athletic son, we wish he had more opportunities to exercise during the day. Again, we expect he'll spend more time exercising in the new facility.
• Many of the teachers are relatively young and inexperienced, but clearly the administration has a knack for picking natural talent, and they seem to do a great job supporting their teachers.
• The arts program is less developed than we'd like, but it's good enough. We supplement with private lessons and classes.
• We wish that the school offered Spanish, but it’s not in their charter to do so.
• We live east of the park. It takes us 8-10 minutes to get there. Next year the drive will be roughly 20 minutes (one way). We might continue our carpool arrangement. Alternatively, many kids take a school bus. He might take a dedicated school bus that goes from Tenleytown to school (and back). There will also be a shuttle from the Fort Totten metro to the school.

We considered Deal very seriously (our neighborhood school). As a solid student who has considerable social ease and many extracurricular interests, we think our child would have done just fine there, but we doubt that he would have thrived there. This year he comes home raving about teachers and learning. He said that his old school "used to hammer stuff into his brain over and over until you got bored," while this year "the teachers throw stuff at you, hope that it sticks, and make learning interesting." We knew that our son would feel challenged and learn a lot this year. What we didn't anticipate, though, is how much fun he would have and how proud he would feel. Finally, since it's a small school, we expect he will continue to have many leadership opportunities --- in the classroom, on competitive athletic teams (beginning in 7th grade), and in other extracurricular areas.

I agree, so great to have both. Both set high standards, but approach it a little differently. My son is happy at Basis and also enjoyed his two years at Latin.

I think except for one silly post on here, there already is a friendly dynamic between the schools. It's nice. Live and let live.

I have a child at BASIS and lots of close friends with kids at Latin. We like our school very much. They like their school a whole lot. I think it's great that there are two more good choices for all our kids. Rather than animosity, I think it would be great if a friendly rivalry emerges down the road.

Anonymous wrote:My son is at Latin, and we wouldn't consider moving him to ANY other school. He is quite gifted, and the school meets his intellectual and academic needs; equally important, he is happy. A good school is much, much more than its curriculum--Latin is a school with a heart and a soul. Yes, it's too bad Latin is moving, and yes, I love BASIS's location, but I want my son to be both well-educated and happy. Don't fall for the BASIS hype!

Sounds like a troll is trying to stir things up.

With good friends at Latin and BASIS, my sense is that parents have a good handle on what they are doing. I don't see any reason for there to be animosity between the communities.

I do, however, see an insidious plot to foment agitation . . .

My son is at Latin, and we wouldn't consider moving him to ANY other school. He is quite gifted, and the school meets his intellectual and academic needs; equally important, he is happy. A good school is much, much more than its curriculum--Latin is a school with a heart and a soul.

Yes, it's too bad Latin is moving, and yes, I love BASIS's location, but I want my son to be both well-educated and happy. Don't fall for the BASIS hype!

DS said this about having switched from Latin to Basis: "At Latin, everybody knew everybody else pretty much right away. I wish it were so at Basis." Are you sorry you switched? "NO!" His elective may be a good part of why.

The lobby and the playground at Latin brought kids together. My observation is that Basis is a little more institutional, not as relaxed and family-like as Latin. But the day apparently goes super-fast, 9 classes, occasional PE, and 1/2 hour lunch. Less homework than Latin, at least so far.

I will say this: both are fantastic schools. Way way more interesting than my middle school in suburban NJ.

It's not naive it's about trying to make a school better and supporting our neighborhoods. Yes we're in bounds for Jeff. but it's your tone that gets me. ..that folks only do Deal, Hardy or Stuart Hobson. We can't all go to those schools. The city needs many more viable middle schools, I agree with you there. But they won't get better if we alljust try to get into the schools you talk about. Are you suggesting that we just give up? We don't all make enough money to just leave our homes, buy elsewhere or pay for privates. We don't all think the charters are that great and maybe we couldn't get in. But I believe that if more of my SE and SW, Cap Hill neighbors sent their kids to Jefferson it would be a better school. It's small, the teachers care and there is some good there. IT could be MUCH better.

And was it your first choice it a backup after not getting a spot at the others?

This isn't about being smug. It's about being real. Parents know quality and dcps is full of low quality middle schools. Your suggestion that we just all need to send our kids to our local school and all will be fine is astoundingly naive.

And is Jefferson your neighborhood school?

Anonymous wrote:and we're not all white!

But don't you know that on DCUM it only matters if you are white. Especially if you are talking about public schools in the District.