Can't a answer about SES at Basis, but fewer than half of the families in my kid's class showed up for Back to School night (7th). That says something, not sure what, tho. Personally I would have moved heaven and earth to be there to meet the teachers and hear their presentations. Apparently not the majority view.

^^your dilemna is real, but don't expect straight answers on politically correct DCUM. the boosters will simply insist that all it takes is drive on the part of students and parents, coupled with great teaching and school management, to bring droves of low-SES kids, and academically average high-SES kids, up to par. although a good many poor and "average" kids will surely pass those notorious end-of-year tests with lots of extra help, many high-SES families will run off before high school anyway, as at Latin, for lack of stellar academics and extra curriculars. DC still needs a test-in middle school, and suruban quality high school programs, in a big way, but won't get them in time for any kid who's older than a fetus...

Question about demographics at Basis, if I dare. Is the 5th grade cohort more high-SES/white than the 6th? Much more so? What about 7th and 8th? Are most of the higher grades students mostly low-SES or what?

When PPs talk about a school willing to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations, what about one willing to challenge the hard bigotry of driving out most high-SES parents before HS by catering mainly to low-SES kids, hurting the brightest and most disciplined poor kids by depriving them of middle-class peers? How can the teachers at Basis differentiate without leaving advanced/GT kids behind? They're only tracking for math, right? In all grades? How much tracking for math?

I ask this in all seriousness -we've got a shy 4th grader in DCPS EotP who's bored about half the time at school, although he loves his Johns Hopkins CTY summer classes (which we've done for two summers now). Paying for privates would be a real stretch, leaving us to wonder whether moving to take advantage of suburban test-in programs might be our best route to challenge for him. We're not crazy about Deal for now - still too many tough and low-performing kids being bused in, and not enough tracking/ability grouping.

Our son may or may not get a spot at Basis for 5th, all depends what the lottery looks like in 2013, but he would probably test-in to a suburban GT program. And even if he didn't test in, he could take advanced classes at a suburban middle school. He doesn't need a strong emphasis on organizational or life skills--we're two PhDs who provide that at home--but he does need tougher subject matter and a faster pace if he isn't going to become a discipline problem at school...

Anonymous wrote:I am not a Basis booster, but have a kid at Dcps and at Latin. It is hard to describe the vast difference between the DCPS looset gooosey approach to 4th and 5th grade: ie, spelling doesn't matter, "partner" math, no grading of homework because that would be "unfair" to those who don't get help at home, no real consequences for individuals who are late or disrespectful or distruptive or slacking. Instead the whole class gets to miss recess or endlessly march up and down stairs. ( guess that's more "fair").

Then you have got Latin and now Basis perhaps to an even greater degree, who emphasize personal responsibility, accuracy, hard work, pride in excellence: guess what? Spelling and grammar does matter, in fact, points off for misspelled words.

It's another world, one where students are held to high standards and given a chance to excel. Make no mistake, these charters are worth the cross city commute from wherever you are.

Couldn't agree more, PP. Latin and BASIS are truly "challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations."

I am not a Basis booster, but have a kid at Dcps and at Latin. It is hard to describe the vast difference between the DCPS looset gooosey approach to 4th and 5th grade: ie, spelling doesn't matter, "partner" math, no grading of homework because that would be "unfair" to those who don't get help at home, no real consequences for individuals who are late or disrespectful or distruptive or slacking. Instead the whole class gets to miss recess or endlessly march up and down stairs. ( guess that's more "fair").

Then you have got Latin and now Basis perhaps to an even greater degree, who emphasize personal responsibility, accuracy, hard work, pride in excellence: guess what? Spelling and grammar does matter, in fact, points off for misspelled words.

It's another world, one where students are held to high standards and given a chance to excel. Make no mistake, these charters are worth the cross city commute from wherever you are.

Well okay. Sarcasm aside, even the English teacher 12 year veteran teacher (at Back to School night tonite for 7th/8th parents) seemed to be amazed and chagrined at the emphasis on grammar she has to teach. Oh well, and there's the fact that all seventh graders have Biology, Chemistry, Physics that distinguishes the school. Oh and Critical Thinking for all 7th graders. Basis' zero tolerance for lateness and unpreparedness will kick in soon (no lab prep? you don't do the lab. Unexcused late for class? no entry. No homework? You get a zero but you still have to do the homework.) The way they do math is really great: 30 problems a night, but the child grades it himself, then class time includes five or ten minutes for students to correct the ones got wrong, so you actually learn from the homework. Amazing extracurriculars difficult to choose between after-school offerings.

I wish my son had this tightly organized school in fourth grade, when his habits were being solidified. There is still room in the eighth grade, and maybe in the seventh grade too, so go for it.

Anonymous wrote:Agreed! Underlining subjects and DOUBLE underlining verbs truly enriches the curriculum and distinguishes BASIS from every other school!

Way to trivialize an insightful post about the well planned curriculum, PP! You must be fun at parties!

Agreed! Underlining subjects and DOUBLE underlining verbs truly enriches the curriculum and distinguishes BASIS from every other school!

Anonymous wrote:With regard to the richness of the curriculum, there seems to be some good planning and cross-pollination on curriculum. Classics, for example, reinforces some of the history, as they go from ancient history progressively into modern history as the grades progress. Latin, in turn is also reflected in Classics, as well as in the English class, which delves here and there into Greek and Latin root words as well - they have many word lists in common between classes. There's a lot of contextual add-ons and connecting the dots going on from class to class, which adds to the richness. Outside of BASIS, what I have seen has generally been that classes are far more disconnected and disjointed, from class to class and from grade to grade.

I completely agree with this. I was told by my daughter last night re her latin homework that it was "standard Basis notation" to underline subjects, double underline verbs, and circle direct objects. I looked at her folder and they are teaching grammar in English too (Washington Latin only stuck it in Latin class), Saw the same underlines, circles, etc. I agree that they really seem to have a tried and true curriculum that pulls together many classes and I really like that. At Washington Latin everyone was free to design their own curric and there was no overlap. The teachers at both schools seem overall to be very good and dedicated, but I am really glad to see the grammar because it will help her with any foreign language and the crossovers are pretty impressive as pp said

Did anyone attend the sixth grade back to school night? What were your thoughts?

Anonymous wrote:
So how exactly does DCPS "mitigate home circumstances" for low-SES students?

They are after all the ones with far more resources to include twice as much money per student to put toward such things...


how about starting your own thread with this question, and keeping this one for basis parents to repond to the questions above

PP, instead of trying to police the thread for only posts you want to see, try simply ignoring posters that are of no concern to you. This is an anonymous forum and people can talk about whatever they want and if they want thread drift, or if they want to challenge Basis, they can.

Anonymous wrote:I've an idea. Basis parents: any thoughts on the following:
1. did everybody on the attendance list show up? My kid tells me there's one name in his class that never showed.
2. how is your child's commute to school?
3. how much homework so far?
4. is your still kid excited to go to school?

I don't know if everyone showed up; I just asked her if there's anyone from her former school (yes) and if she likes anyone there (yes).
Her commute takes about 20 minutes from door to door - her dad or I drop her at the metro and it takes about 12 minutes to get to the closest metro strop, then another 5 minutes to get to her building.
She has had 30-60 math problems and history homework pretty consistently.
She is excited, and much more excited than she thought she'd be. She likes not having to wear a uniform for the first time in 5 years, and she likes more of her classes and teachers than I've ever heard her describe since having multiple teachers for each grade (also the past 5 years). She also just learned she could potentially play her sport with another school that offers the sport since BASIS doesn't, so she is really excited about that, as well.

Great and useful feedback. Thank you!

With regard to the richness of the curriculum, there seems to be some good planning and cross-pollination on curriculum. Classics, for example, reinforces some of the history, as they go from ancient history progressively into modern history as the grades progress. Latin, in turn is also reflected in Classics, as well as in the English class, which delves here and there into Greek and Latin root words as well - they have many word lists in common between classes. There's a lot of contextual add-ons and connecting the dots going on from class to class, which adds to the richness. Outside of BASIS, what I have seen has generally been that classes are far more disconnected and disjointed, from class to class and from grade to grade.

Op here. Thanks for the feedback everyone. Sounds like its been overwhelmingly positive so far. That's great. Just to play devil's advocate, I'm not super interested in the study skills and organization piece that folks are raving about. I never had that and have managed to do pretty well in life and in academia (which is not to say that it's not helpful, just not a priority for us). Not overly into the accelerated curriculum either - we're fine with an average pace for our child. Am very intrigued by whether or not the curriculum is richer and teachers more engaging, however. Would love to hear about your experiences with these things throughout the year. Also about whether homework load, stress levels, etc. outweigh the benefits or vice versa. Thanks again!