Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:that is a very solid list. if anyone believes basis or any dc public school is some golden elite college admissions ticket, that is obviously ridiculously incorrect.
I think the larger point is that no school is, not even the so-called Big 3 DC area private schools. All schools are comprised of different communities, have varying levels of resources, and their own models or cultures. BASIS is not the only way, and it may not be the best way. But if your kid thrives there, "elite" colleges are on the table. For good or ill, the results bear that out.
+1. No school is a golden ticket. The point is simply that it is possible to get into an elite college from BASIS. Why so many haters in this thread want to keep stating the opposite is a mystery.
There's also the idea that public school students will often base their matriculation decisions on factors other than just the name/ranking of a college.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Eastern has low utilization and low in-boundary numbers. They also have a very low percentage of students at grade level. If they have advanced offerings - like, real academic differentiation across the subjects beginning in the 9th grade - that's a huge potential draw.
These aren't going to be advanced offerings. They will be "advanced" in the sense that the teacher won't have to stop as often to deal with behavior issues and everyone in the class will be able to read, but I wouldn't hope for more than that. They get a few field trips and guest speakers per year and do some modules on https://www.university-startups.com/ but that's not going to teach them anything a kid from a home with two college-educated parents wouldn't already know. There's no secret TJ or even Banneker or Walls buried within Eastern.
The IB program is still growing, and I have to guess this comment is based on no firsthand information. I’ve been really encouraged to talk to friends with kids in the program that say they love it. With the enrollments increasing for HS across DCPS, and in-bound enrollment increasing at the feeder MSs, it seems like this is a program that can offer a great option for many families.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You're the one who should let it go.
Fact is, most DC BASIS families still leave before the terminal grade. I used to teach at NCS (um, no need to ask friends). Hardly anybody leaves NCS. I overestimate nothing. BASIS did work for my family by your definition, worked well in fact. Kid had nice friends, kid performed at "an extremely high level," kid got a 5 on BC Calc in 10th grade. But he certainly wasn't able to shine as he could have done at a school where students were encouraged to run with their particular interests and strengths, and where the faculty was stable. Thank goodness we had the means to go.
You should probably pipe down about how terrific BASIS. Tolerable for somewhere between 40 and 50% of the families to the bitter end, I'll grant you that.
Spare us a factory BASIS elementary school.
This is so funny. I hate that your vitriol makes me feel obligated to defend the school when i have plenty of bad things to say about it, but I am compelled. Of course families don't leave NCS. If you taught there then you are obviously familiar with the overwhelming sense of prestige and superiority that courses through the school. Families wear it like a badge of honor. There are huge societal pressures in some communities in this city to be a part of that world and to be perceived as thriving. My point was that if you think places like NCS are some Xanadu where every child is happy, met on their own terms, and all their needs met I think you're kidding yourself. I suspect you know that though. Plenty of kids there aren't able to "shine" with their particular interests, especially if you are an athlete, for example. I never said BASIS was perfect. It works for many. You seem intent on speaking on behalf of a community you were unhappy with and decided to leave. I'm simply suggesting you are in no position to speak for us now and you should probably keep our names out of your mouth. I think one thing we can agree on though is that thank goodness you had the means to go. Good luck to your kid at his highly selective college! I'm glad you found something that worked for them.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:that is a very solid list. if anyone believes basis or any dc public school is some golden elite college admissions ticket, that is obviously ridiculously incorrect.
I think the larger point is that no school is, not even the so-called Big 3 DC area private schools. All schools are comprised of different communities, have varying levels of resources, and their own models or cultures. BASIS is not the only way, and it may not be the best way. But if your kid thrives there, "elite" colleges are on the table. For good or ill, the results bear that out.
+1. No school is a golden ticket. The point is simply that it is possible to get into an elite college from BASIS. Why so many haters in this thread want to keep stating the opposite is a mystery.
There's also the idea that public school students will often base their matriculation decisions on factors other than just the name/ranking of a college.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:that is a very solid list. if anyone believes basis or any dc public school is some golden elite college admissions ticket, that is obviously ridiculously incorrect.
I think the larger point is that no school is, not even the so-called Big 3 DC area private schools. All schools are comprised of different communities, have varying levels of resources, and their own models or cultures. BASIS is not the only way, and it may not be the best way. But if your kid thrives there, "elite" colleges are on the table. For good or ill, the results bear that out.
+1. No school is a golden ticket. The point is simply that it is possible to get into an elite college from BASIS. Why so many haters in this thread want to keep stating the opposite is a mystery.
Anonymous wrote:You're the one who should let it go.
Fact is, most DC BASIS families still leave before the terminal grade. I used to teach at NCS (um, no need to ask friends). Hardly anybody leaves NCS. I overestimate nothing. BASIS did work for my family by your definition, worked well in fact. Kid had nice friends, kid performed at "an extremely high level," kid got a 5 on BC Calc in 10th grade. But he certainly wasn't able to shine as he could have done at a school where students were encouraged to run with their particular interests and strengths, and where the faculty was stable. Thank goodness we had the means to go.
You should probably pipe down about how terrific BASIS. Tolerable for somewhere between 40 and 50% of the families to the bitter end, I'll grant you that.
Spare us a factory BASIS elementary school.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:that is a very solid list. if anyone believes basis or any dc public school is some golden elite college admissions ticket, that is obviously ridiculously incorrect.
I think the larger point is that no school is, not even the so-called Big 3 DC area private schools. All schools are comprised of different communities, have varying levels of resources, and their own models or cultures. BASIS is not the only way, and it may not be the best way. But if your kid thrives there, "elite" colleges are on the table. For good or ill, the results bear that out.
Anonymous wrote:You're the one who should let it go.
Fact is, most DC BASIS families still leave before the terminal grade. I used to teach at NCS (um, no need to ask friends). Hardly anybody leaves NCS. I overestimate nothing. BASIS did work for my family by your definition, worked well in fact. Kid had nice friends, kid performed at "an extremely high level," kid got a 5 on BC Calc in 10th grade. But he certainly wasn't able to shine as he could have done at a school where students were encouraged to run with their particular interests and strengths, and where the faculty was stable. Thank goodness we had the means to go.
You should probably pipe down about how terrific BASIS. Tolerable for somewhere between 40 and 50% of the families to the bitter end, I'll grant you that.
Spare us a factory BASIS elementary school.
Anonymous wrote:In 2023, no BASIS seniors were admitted to Ivies. One was admitted to CalTech, one to Johns Hopkins.
When I see the college list above, I think of all the charter immersion language grads in the BASIS ms who aren't permitted to study the languages they learned young until the 8th grade, and then just at the beginning level. These include kids who could have scored 5s on AP language exams as early as 9th grade if they'd had one iota of support for advanced language learning from BASIS.
I also think of all the dough parents shelled out for decent extra high school curriculars, and all the running around town they did in the process, because the program's EC's are chronically weak, along with electives. And I remember the grind of students repeating much of what they learn in chem, physics and bio every year for 5 or 6 years.
BASIS could do better by its high-achieving students if a critical ingredient weren't missing from the program: respect for individual learning styles and preferences on the road to the sort of academic achievement that leads to excellent college outcomes. Without this respect, most families who are willing to leave, or can afford DMV privates, do. We bailed after 10th grade after receiving a financial windfall, so our eldest could complete HS on a happy note. He landed at a college admitting in the single digits that not on your list.
You can sugarcoat the experience at a dreary test prep program all you like, PP, without altering the experience.
Anonymous wrote:that is a very solid list. if anyone believes basis or any dc public school is some golden elite college admissions ticket, that is obviously ridiculously incorrect.