Anonymous
07/10/2025 13:13
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Give us a break, it's the rare BASIS junior who's taken a dozen AP courses and exams. Few BASIS seniors bother with more APs.
PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.
PP above obviously meant anywhere where many AP or IB Diploma classes are taught to a high standard to a high-achieving cohort.
Anonymous
07/10/2025 13:02
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have had a good experience at basis. Much of the loss is just people moving, as they focus on new starts in grade 5. They don’t generally add new students in later years. I am very thankful for the school.
They lose a lot after 8th.
About half that leave attend Walls, Banneker, or go elite private. That’s a great result overall. And the core that stays seems to do fantastic in terms of college admissions. From a parent perspective, these are the metrics that matter in the main, especially when compared to other DC middle schools (which are oddly off the hook).
It's just not a great result overall. No secret that many of the BASIS 8th graders leave in search of halfway decent school facilities, extra-curriculars and electives, much better. BASIS also loses students after 9th, 10th and even 11th grades to greener pastures, and not just because families move. Clued-in BASIS parents know that college admissions don't always go well for students with weak extra-curriculars, particularly if they're white and UMC students, no matter how many AP exams they may have aced.
It’s a great result if those who leave indeed find greener pastures (which most do) and those who stay get great college admissions (which they do). What’s the complaint?
The complaint is that BASIS is not in fact all that green a pasture. And the kids who stick it out and get into good colleges are not necessarily getting in because of anything about BASIS. They'd probably be fine at any number of schools.
Bingo!
Basis boots the kids who don’t get high scores and keeps the strong students and markets themselves as a place to turn your kid into a great student… but it’s not. Statistically, your kid won’t make it through - most kids leave - and if they’re one of the minority who is going to do well, they could do it anywhere and possibly be better off not going to a school run for profit and the benefit of shareholders in Phoenix. It’s a place for great students to do what they can do elsewhere, at a much lower cost to dc taxpayers.
Bitter much?
Too bad the facts contradict your lunatic ravings.
https://enrollbasis.com/2024-us-news-rankings/
+1. Bunch of Basis haters here who didn’t do their research and whose kids washed out. Pathetic.
Total BS. We did our research. Plenty. We lasted four years. Our eldest was in the top math group the entire time but made few friends and felt isolated socially. The leadership was more miserable, and the teaching more uneven, than we could have imagined. Our kids certainly didn't wash out academically. No, all three made 90s Club or better the entire time. They simply disliked BASIS. When the eldest refused to stay for high school we bailed for J-R and Deal for the younger sibs by moving to a small house we own in NW. Not great options but much happier ones. The dreary program should not expand.
This is it.
Basis lures hopeful parents in with promises of high achieving - but those kids who will high achieve there can do it anywhere - why not send them somewhere that makes them happy? Everyone else will wash out and be discouraged by the process … such a shame.
But hey - those shareholders want their money!!!
Do you really think that most smart, motivated kids who would take a dozen AP courses will "high achieve" at any neighborhood DCPS HS? Or even say, McKinley? Yes, they might do fine at Walls, JR, private schools, or some schools in MD or VA, but that's not "anywhere."
Anonymous
07/10/2025 04:55
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
BASIS also lures parents with promises of great teaching, but the teaching is remarkably uneven. They're not paying, or treating, teachers well enough to keep many of the good ones for very long. We got fed up with how BASIS serves as a training program for teachers who soon find better working conditions in the burbs or DCPS. This isn't a model that should be expanded in DC for your tax dollars.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 21:18
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have had a good experience at basis. Much of the loss is just people moving, as they focus on new starts in grade 5. They don’t generally add new students in later years. I am very thankful for the school.
They lose a lot after 8th.
About half that leave attend Walls, Banneker, or go elite private. That’s a great result overall. And the core that stays seems to do fantastic in terms of college admissions. From a parent perspective, these are the metrics that matter in the main, especially when compared to other DC middle schools (which are oddly off the hook).
It's just not a great result overall. No secret that many of the BASIS 8th graders leave in search of halfway decent school facilities, extra-curriculars and electives, much better. BASIS also loses students after 9th, 10th and even 11th grades to greener pastures, and not just because families move. Clued-in BASIS parents know that college admissions don't always go well for students with weak extra-curriculars, particularly if they're white and UMC students, no matter how many AP exams they may have aced.
It’s a great result if those who leave indeed find greener pastures (which most do) and those who stay get great college admissions (which they do). What’s the complaint?
The complaint is that BASIS is not in fact all that green a pasture. And the kids who stick it out and get into good colleges are not necessarily getting in because of anything about BASIS. They'd probably be fine at any number of schools.
Bingo!
Basis boots the kids who don’t get high scores and keeps the strong students and markets themselves as a place to turn your kid into a great student… but it’s not. Statistically, your kid won’t make it through - most kids leave - and if they’re one of the minority who is going to do well, they could do it anywhere and possibly be better off not going to a school run for profit and the benefit of shareholders in Phoenix. It’s a place for great students to do what they can do elsewhere, at a much lower cost to dc taxpayers.
Bitter much?
Too bad the facts contradict your lunatic ravings.
https://enrollbasis.com/2024-us-news-rankings/
+1. Bunch of Basis haters here who didn’t do their research and whose kids washed out. Pathetic.
Total BS. We did our research. Plenty. We lasted four years. Our eldest was in the top math group the entire time but made few friends and felt isolated socially. The leadership was more miserable, and the teaching more uneven, than we could have imagined. Our kids certainly didn't wash out academically. No, all three made 90s Club or better the entire time. They simply disliked BASIS. When the eldest refused to stay for high school we bailed for J-R and Deal for the younger sibs by moving to a small house we own in NW. Not great options but much happier ones. The dreary program should not expand.
This is it.
Basis lures hopeful parents in with promises of high achieving - but those kids who will high achieve there can do it anywhere - why not send them somewhere that makes them happy? Everyone else will wash out and be discouraged by the process … such a shame.
But hey - those shareholders want their money!!!
Anonymous
07/09/2025 18:57
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have had a good experience at basis. Much of the loss is just people moving, as they focus on new starts in grade 5. They don’t generally add new students in later years. I am very thankful for the school.
They lose a lot after 8th.
About half that leave attend Walls, Banneker, or go elite private. That’s a great result overall. And the core that stays seems to do fantastic in terms of college admissions. From a parent perspective, these are the metrics that matter in the main, especially when compared to other DC middle schools (which are oddly off the hook).
It's just not a great result overall. No secret that many of the BASIS 8th graders leave in search of halfway decent school facilities, extra-curriculars and electives, much better. BASIS also loses students after 9th, 10th and even 11th grades to greener pastures, and not just because families move. Clued-in BASIS parents know that college admissions don't always go well for students with weak extra-curriculars, particularly if they're white and UMC students, no matter how many AP exams they may have aced.
It’s a great result if those who leave indeed find greener pastures (which most do) and those who stay get great college admissions (which they do). What’s the complaint?
The complaint is that BASIS is not in fact all that green a pasture. And the kids who stick it out and get into good colleges are not necessarily getting in because of anything about BASIS. They'd probably be fine at any number of schools.
Bingo!
Basis boots the kids who don’t get high scores and keeps the strong students and markets themselves as a place to turn your kid into a great student… but it’s not. Statistically, your kid won’t make it through - most kids leave - and if they’re one of the minority who is going to do well, they could do it anywhere and possibly be better off not going to a school run for profit and the benefit of shareholders in Phoenix. It’s a place for great students to do what they can do elsewhere, at a much lower cost to dc taxpayers.
Bitter much?
Too bad the facts contradict your lunatic ravings.
https://enrollbasis.com/2024-us-news-rankings/
+1. Bunch of Basis haters here who didn’t do their research and whose kids washed out. Pathetic.
Total BS. We did our research. Plenty. We lasted four years. Our eldest was in the top math group the entire time but made few friends and felt isolated socially. The leadership was more miserable, and the teaching more uneven, than we could have imagined. Our kids certainly didn't wash out academically. No, all three made 90s Club or better the entire time. They simply disliked BASIS. When the eldest refused to stay for high school we bailed for J-R and Deal for the younger sibs by moving to a small house we own in NW. Not great options but much happier ones. The dreary program should not expand.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 18:46
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have had a good experience at basis. Much of the loss is just people moving, as they focus on new starts in grade 5. They don’t generally add new students in later years. I am very thankful for the school.
They lose a lot after 8th.
About half that leave attend Walls, Banneker, or go elite private. That’s a great result overall. And the core that stays seems to do fantastic in terms of college admissions. From a parent perspective, these are the metrics that matter in the main, especially when compared to other DC middle schools (which are oddly off the hook).
It's just not a great result overall. No secret that many of the BASIS 8th graders leave in search of halfway decent school facilities, extra-curriculars and electives, much better. BASIS also loses students after 9th, 10th and even 11th grades to greener pastures, and not just because families move. Clued-in BASIS parents know that college admissions don't always go well for students with weak extra-curriculars, particularly if they're white and UMC students, no matter how many AP exams they may have aced.
It’s a great result if those who leave indeed find greener pastures (which most do) and those who stay get great college admissions (which they do). What’s the complaint?
The complaint is that BASIS is not in fact all that green a pasture. And the kids who stick it out and get into good colleges are not necessarily getting in because of anything about BASIS. They'd probably be fine at any number of schools.
Bingo!
Basis boots the kids who don’t get high scores and keeps the strong students and markets themselves as a place to turn your kid into a great student… but it’s not. Statistically, your kid won’t make it through - most kids leave - and if they’re one of the minority who is going to do well, they could do it anywhere and possibly be better off not going to a school run for profit and the benefit of shareholders in Phoenix. It’s a place for great students to do what they can do elsewhere, at a much lower cost to dc taxpayers.
Bitter much?
Too bad the facts contradict your lunatic ravings.
https://enrollbasis.com/2024-us-news-rankings/
+1. Bunch of Basis haters here who didn’t do their research and whose kids washed out. Pathetic.
Most people "wash out"... statisically your kids will as well.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 15:58
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have had a good experience at basis. Much of the loss is just people moving, as they focus on new starts in grade 5. They don’t generally add new students in later years. I am very thankful for the school.
They lose a lot after 8th.
About half that leave attend Walls, Banneker, or go elite private. That’s a great result overall. And the core that stays seems to do fantastic in terms of college admissions. From a parent perspective, these are the metrics that matter in the main, especially when compared to other DC middle schools (which are oddly off the hook).
It's just not a great result overall. No secret that many of the BASIS 8th graders leave in search of halfway decent school facilities, extra-curriculars and electives, much better. BASIS also loses students after 9th, 10th and even 11th grades to greener pastures, and not just because families move. Clued-in BASIS parents know that college admissions don't always go well for students with weak extra-curriculars, particularly if they're white and UMC students, no matter how many AP exams they may have aced.
It’s a great result if those who leave indeed find greener pastures (which most do) and those who stay get great college admissions (which they do). What’s the complaint?
The complaint is that BASIS is not in fact all that green a pasture. And the kids who stick it out and get into good colleges are not necessarily getting in because of anything about BASIS. They'd probably be fine at any number of schools.
Bingo!
Basis boots the kids who don’t get high scores and keeps the strong students and markets themselves as a place to turn your kid into a great student… but it’s not. Statistically, your kid won’t make it through - most kids leave - and if they’re one of the minority who is going to do well, they could do it anywhere and possibly be better off not going to a school run for profit and the benefit of shareholders in Phoenix. It’s a place for great students to do what they can do elsewhere, at a much lower cost to dc taxpayers.
Bitter much?
Too bad the facts contradict your lunatic ravings.
https://enrollbasis.com/2024-us-news-rankings/
+1. Bunch of Basis haters here who didn’t do their research and whose kids washed out. Pathetic.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 14:21
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Agreed, the most galling part.
We couldn't wait to leave BASIS, our stressed out straight-A kids most of all, so glad we did.
It's not worth it... except for the shareholders in Phoenix.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 14:18
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Agreed, the most galling part.
We couldn't wait to leave BASIS, our stressed out straight-A kids most of all, so glad we did.
Where did you go?
Anonymous
07/09/2025 14:11
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Agreed, the most galling part.
We couldn't wait to leave BASIS, our stressed out straight-A kids most of all, so glad we did.
We couldn't wait to leave BASIS, our stressed out straight-A kids most of all, so glad we did.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 13:34
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:From where I sit, it's not that BASIS students aren't working hard enough to do a lot of extra independent work. The problem is that they aren't encouraged to take much initiative as students from the get-go, because the program exists for AP test prep. The result is that students aren't encouraged to study any subject past the AP level. A dynamic intellectual environment for teens can't emerge from this picture along with much in the way of joy of learning or character/ethics training.
The non-democratic BASIS parents organization (the BASIS Arizona franchise bans formal PTAs or parent organizations) hits you up for a donation to top up teachers' pay at least once a month. You can ignore them, but they do their utmost to shame you into submissions. The arrangement is warped, sad and downright weird.
the most galling part is that it's a for-profit operation, so you're making donations because they don't have a big enough profit margin.
And before you say it, yeah, yeah, yeah the local charter is operated by a non-profit, but they pay the for-profit for curriculum and management and rent.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 12:34
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
From where I sit, it's not that BASIS students aren't working hard enough to do a lot of extra independent work. The problem is that they aren't encouraged to take much initiative as students from the get-go, because the program exists for AP test prep. The result is that students aren't encouraged to study any subject past the AP level. A dynamic intellectual environment for teens can't emerge from this picture along with much in the way of joy of learning or character/ethics training.
The non-democratic BASIS parents organization (the BASIS Arizona franchise bans formal PTAs or parent organizations) hits you up for a donation to top up teachers' pay at least once a month. You can ignore them, but they do their utmost to shame you into submissions. The arrangement is warped, sad and downright weird.
The non-democratic BASIS parents organization (the BASIS Arizona franchise bans formal PTAs or parent organizations) hits you up for a donation to top up teachers' pay at least once a month. You can ignore them, but they do their utmost to shame you into submissions. The arrangement is warped, sad and downright weird.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 12:13
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have had a good experience at basis. Much of the loss is just people moving, as they focus on new starts in grade 5. They don’t generally add new students in later years. I am very thankful for the school.
They lose a lot after 8th.
About half that leave attend Walls, Banneker, or go elite private. That’s a great result overall. And the core that stays seems to do fantastic in terms of college admissions. From a parent perspective, these are the metrics that matter in the main, especially when compared to other DC middle schools (which are oddly off the hook).
It's just not a great result overall. No secret that many of the BASIS 8th graders leave in search of halfway decent school facilities, extra-curriculars and electives, much better. BASIS also loses students after 9th, 10th and even 11th grades to greener pastures, and not just because families move. Clued-in BASIS parents know that college admissions don't always go well for students with weak extra-curriculars, particularly if they're white and UMC students, no matter how many AP exams they may have aced.
It’s a great result if those who leave indeed find greener pastures (which most do) and those who stay get great college admissions (which they do). What’s the complaint?
The complaint is that BASIS is not in fact all that green a pasture. And the kids who stick it out and get into good colleges are not necessarily getting in because of anything about BASIS. They'd probably be fine at any number of schools.
Bingo!
Basis boots the kids who don’t get high scores and keeps the strong students and markets themselves as a place to turn your kid into a great student… but it’s not. Statistically, your kid won’t make it through - most kids leave - and if they’re one of the minority who is going to do well, they could do it anywhere and possibly be better off not going to a school run for profit and the benefit of shareholders in Phoenix. It’s a place for great students to do what they can do elsewhere, at a much lower cost to dc taxpayers.
I'm a Basis parent who tries not to be a "booster." The facilities suck, the extracurriculars are often good but definitely limited because it's a small school with lousy facilities, the teacher quality is generally good but highly variable, and yes, it's inflexible. But 1) the cost to DC taxpayers is the same as other charters and more importantly, 2) the students could not do what they do elsewhere. Middle school academics are much stronger than any DCPS and all but a few other charters, and HS academics are much stronger than all but JR and the best selective schools. My kids are smart enough and hard working enough to do well at Basis. But they are definitely not hard working enough to do a lot of extra independent work, which is what they would have to do to get to the level they are at other schools.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 09:26
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have had a good experience at basis. Much of the loss is just people moving, as they focus on new starts in grade 5. They don’t generally add new students in later years. I am very thankful for the school.
They lose a lot after 8th.
About half that leave attend Walls, Banneker, or go elite private. That’s a great result overall. And the core that stays seems to do fantastic in terms of college admissions. From a parent perspective, these are the metrics that matter in the main, especially when compared to other DC middle schools (which are oddly off the hook).
It's just not a great result overall. No secret that many of the BASIS 8th graders leave in search of halfway decent school facilities, extra-curriculars and electives, much better. BASIS also loses students after 9th, 10th and even 11th grades to greener pastures, and not just because families move. Clued-in BASIS parents know that college admissions don't always go well for students with weak extra-curriculars, particularly if they're white and UMC students, no matter how many AP exams they may have aced.
It’s a great result if those who leave indeed find greener pastures (which most do) and those who stay get great college admissions (which they do). What’s the complaint?
The complaint is that BASIS is not in fact all that green a pasture. And the kids who stick it out and get into good colleges are not necessarily getting in because of anything about BASIS. They'd probably be fine at any number of schools.
Bingo!
Basis boots the kids who don’t get high scores and keeps the strong students and markets themselves as a place to turn your kid into a great student… but it’s not. Statistically, your kid won’t make it through - most kids leave - and if they’re one of the minority who is going to do well, they could do it anywhere and possibly be better off not going to a school run for profit and the benefit of shareholders in Phoenix. It’s a place for great students to do what they can do elsewhere, at a much lower cost to dc taxpayers.
I think a lot of the criticism here is based on a completely different conceptual framework than the one many families bring to BASIS—especially those who are being well-served by it.
Yes, not every student thrives at BASIS. And yes, it’s not designed to mold every child into a “top scorer.” But for families with students who are ready for and seeking true academic rigor, BASIS offers something that very few DC middle schools provide: a serious, structured, and accelerated curriculum—not perfect, but not interchangeable with what’s available elsewhere either.
This isn’t about test scores or college branding for many of us. It’s about whether the school provides an environment where kids who are hungry for challenge can actually get it. And frankly, those kids often are underserved at schools with broader, slower-paced models.
No one’s pretending BASIS is ideal for everyone, and many of us are fine with that. The right question isn’t “Does BASIS serve all kids equally well?”—because no school does. It’s “Does it serve a critical mass of students well who otherwise wouldn’t find what they need in this system?” And the answer to that is clearly yes.
The fact that some students leave doesn’t invalidate the value for those who stay and thrive. In DC, where middle school options are thin, BASIS fills a vital role for families who are not asking to co-author the school’s pedagogy, but rather seeking a coherent and serious academic experience, even if imperfect in some dimensions.
What you're saying here is that BASIS students find what they need in this system because the system is lousy overall (fine by you).
Do they really find what they need in the crappy building with many inexperienced teachers and a gratingly top-down management structure? My BASIS middle school students found what they needed, and much of what they wanted, mainly because I provided so many of their academic and extra-curricular inputs. We ran around town after school accessing basic sports, enrichment and performance opportunities. I practically taught them entire subjects when their right-out-of-grad school-teachers couldn't or didn't. The coherent and serious academic experience you describe just isn't what it's cracked up to be. Imperfect is too tame a word for teaching a BASIS student who's practically fluent in Spanish being forced to take beginning Spanish for several years, for what amounts to weak English instruction, and for parents being compelled, egads, to top up teachers' inadequate pay every year they have children in the program.
What we don't have in DC are great public schools. Not at Walls, not at BASIS, not at J-R, not at DCI, not at Banneker. We settle for BASIS for as long as we can stand it because it beats moving to MoCo, Fairfax or Arlington. Nothing more.
What’s this about paying the teachers?
Parent donations go to top off teacher pay, is my understanding.
Agree that the public school options in DC are not great. BASIS at least has a very good curriculum, and once parents have exposure to it, it's becomes really hard to go backwards to DCPS, even though BASIS is full of flaws.
Anonymous
07/09/2025 09:06
Subject: Does anyone know the status of the Proposed BASIS Expansion
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have had a good experience at basis. Much of the loss is just people moving, as they focus on new starts in grade 5. They don’t generally add new students in later years. I am very thankful for the school.
They lose a lot after 8th.
About half that leave attend Walls, Banneker, or go elite private. That’s a great result overall. And the core that stays seems to do fantastic in terms of college admissions. From a parent perspective, these are the metrics that matter in the main, especially when compared to other DC middle schools (which are oddly off the hook).
It's just not a great result overall. No secret that many of the BASIS 8th graders leave in search of halfway decent school facilities, extra-curriculars and electives, much better. BASIS also loses students after 9th, 10th and even 11th grades to greener pastures, and not just because families move. Clued-in BASIS parents know that college admissions don't always go well for students with weak extra-curriculars, particularly if they're white and UMC students, no matter how many AP exams they may have aced.
It’s a great result if those who leave indeed find greener pastures (which most do) and those who stay get great college admissions (which they do). What’s the complaint?
The complaint is that BASIS is not in fact all that green a pasture. And the kids who stick it out and get into good colleges are not necessarily getting in because of anything about BASIS. They'd probably be fine at any number of schools.
Bingo!
Basis boots the kids who don’t get high scores and keeps the strong students and markets themselves as a place to turn your kid into a great student… but it’s not. Statistically, your kid won’t make it through - most kids leave - and if they’re one of the minority who is going to do well, they could do it anywhere and possibly be better off not going to a school run for profit and the benefit of shareholders in Phoenix. It’s a place for great students to do what they can do elsewhere, at a much lower cost to dc taxpayers.
I think a lot of the criticism here is based on a completely different conceptual framework than the one many families bring to BASIS—especially those who are being well-served by it.
Yes, not every student thrives at BASIS. And yes, it’s not designed to mold every child into a “top scorer.” But for families with students who are ready for and seeking true academic rigor, BASIS offers something that very few DC middle schools provide: a serious, structured, and accelerated curriculum—not perfect, but not interchangeable with what’s available elsewhere either.
This isn’t about test scores or college branding for many of us. It’s about whether the school provides an environment where kids who are hungry for challenge can actually get it. And frankly, those kids often are underserved at schools with broader, slower-paced models.
No one’s pretending BASIS is ideal for everyone, and many of us are fine with that. The right question isn’t “Does BASIS serve all kids equally well?”—because no school does. It’s “Does it serve a critical mass of students well who otherwise wouldn’t find what they need in this system?” And the answer to that is clearly yes.
The fact that some students leave doesn’t invalidate the value for those who stay and thrive. In DC, where middle school options are thin, BASIS fills a vital role for families who are not asking to co-author the school’s pedagogy, but rather seeking a coherent and serious academic experience, even if imperfect in some dimensions.
What you're saying here is that BASIS students find what they need in this system because the system is lousy overall (fine by you).
Do they really find what they need in the crappy building with many inexperienced teachers and a gratingly top-down management structure? My BASIS middle school students found what they needed, and much of what they wanted, mainly because I provided so many of their academic and extra-curricular inputs. We ran around town after school accessing basic sports, enrichment and performance opportunities. I practically taught them entire subjects when their right-out-of-grad school-teachers couldn't or didn't. The coherent and serious academic experience you describe just isn't what it's cracked up to be. Imperfect is too tame a word for teaching a BASIS student who's practically fluent in Spanish being forced to take beginning Spanish for several years, for what amounts to weak English instruction, and for parents being compelled, egads, to top up teachers' inadequate pay every year they have children in the program.
What we don't have in DC are great public schools. Not at Walls, not at BASIS, not at J-R, not at DCI, not at Banneker. We settle for BASIS for as long as we can stand it because it beats moving to MoCo, Fairfax or Arlington. Nothing more.
What’s this about paying the teachers?