So Basis doesn't have girls who wear makeup?

Or act like normal middle school children? We have all heard about the problems in the halls and the fight(s) after school. Sounds actually quite normal to me!

BASIS is still accepting applications for fifth grade.

In choosing schools, for me high school sports and the environment it creates was a big issue. So I would also like to add that for non jock kids, BASIS is ideal. I recently read a thread on the Deal cheer leading squad (don't remember where, sorry, maybe someone else can help) where folks were arguing over the issue of skimpy uniforms for 7th grade girls and just realized again how blessed we are to be in BASIS.

I have a couple of kids, including a very big boy who looks like perfect football material but is not athletic at all. I am very happy about the prospect of him being educated at a school where, while after school sports are available to blow off steam, PE becomes an elective before middle school starts, and the only BMOC possibly this year are the kids who won the science bowl in the DC region or something akin to that.

As for my girl who is already there, I well remember the uncomfortable feelings I had as a girl in 7th and 8th grade changing in the locker room when I was not even nearing puberty and some girls were definitely already in it. Wondering if I would get teased if I started wearing what we used to call a "training bra" instead of a camisol/undershirt. Watching girls reapply makeup that I did not and did not want to wear. And the jocks were in PE as well - you could not escape them. Not that they were mean to me. I was just invisible.

While I admired the gymnastics involved in the cheer leading both in middle and high school, the overtly sexualized nature of it appalled my parents and I could not imagine dressing that way (I came from a deeply religious family). And both the football team and the cheer leading squads created a pecking order/ popular crowd that I had no chance at being a part of. And the kids on the It's Academic team, even the year they did really well, were also still invisible.

I LOVE watching the kids come up every grading period and get applause for honors, the 90's club, and top 5%. And most improved. While it may not be as loud as a pep rally (they only do one grade at each ceremony), there are a lot of parents who come each time and the parents and the students really enthusiastically and loudly honor them. They are not restrained and verging on rowdy. I love it. I hope my son ends up being able to walk up on that stage, at least off and on. THAT is the kind of applause and cheering I want him to hear, for accomplishments that required as much work as spending hours and hours on a football field, risking life and limb, but doing something that we really want and is obviously respected by others at the school.

If he were really talented at a sport (potential scholarship material) I would have to think really hard about BASIS and depriving him of those opportunities. Fortunately my kids are as clumsy as I am. The cool kids at BASIS are actually the smart ones, and while there are mostly no grades for class participation, there is no incentive for a girl to hide her intelligence. And they come up on stage really smiling and proud just like the boys.

For us, BASIS has solved a few problems/concerns that moving to Montgomery County would not have. And I knew that the problems were on the horizon, and I worried about it for many years. My husband did not have the same experiences I did in high school, and was not anxious about many of the things that I was. He does not have a sister, has always been very secure about who he is, and just did not care.

Thank you to everyone who brought BASIS to DC.

Some of us really wanted and needed this type of environment for our children, and I am delighted at how happy my daughter is. We could not afford a private school that would provide it (and there are not many where the sport issues do not exist).

We did not have to argue about whether our child is gifted and talented and belonged in a separate program (a school within a school), which I have heard is a real struggle in the neighboring states that have those programs. And we will not have to argue again for our younger child.

Our child even ended up in the right math class for her! (I am kind of joking, but I think they did a pretty good job of placing people, and I have seen no signs of competitive parents which is what I would expect at a place like TJ.)

Finally, I am so glad that last year I did not have to become a nervous wreck wondering whether my child would get in to fifth grade (I heard somewhere that for fifth at Latin there are 900 applications for 100 spots, and the charter school scene for younger kids (which we skipped) sounds even worse). And we are extremely glad that we are now guaranteed sibling preference.

As I said at the start, BASIS is still accepting applications for fifth grade. I encourage any parent with whom this post resonates to apply and have their child attend the STARS program if that is still possible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grade clases: https://www.basisschools.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=399

Physical Geography is not Physics. 6th Grade Science is not Biology and Chemistry. You can tout the virtues of Basis--there seem to be many virtues, without just wildly exaggerating. It actually drives reasonably savvy people away from the school.

Are you able to read, PP?

Anonymous wrote:Physical Geography is not Physics. 6th Grade Science is not Biology and Chemistry. You can tout the virtues of Basis--there seem to be many virtues, without just wildly exaggerating. It actually drives reasonably savvy people away from the school.

And some not-so-savvy people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grade clases: https://www.basisschools.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=399

Physical Geography is not Physics. 6th Grade Science is not Biology and Chemistry. You can tout the virtues of Basis--there seem to be many virtues, without just wildly exaggerating. It actually drives reasonably savvy people away from the school.

DISCIPLINE SUBJECT

English English 6

Science Biology, Chemistry, and Physics
Math Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, or Algebra 2
Social Science U.S. History
Foreign Language Latin
Fine Arts Fine Arts (Music, Art, or Drama focus)
Physical Education P.E.
Elective No Elective


Student has to pass all comprehensive exams and receive passing grade in all courses to be promoted to the next grade level.

Anonymous wrote:Upon reading further upthread I'd like to withdraw any comment I have made from this ridiculous discussion. It is beneath my dignity to argue with people that think this way. You're embarrassing yourself and your school, really you are.

Think what way???

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grade clases: https://www.basisschools.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=399

Physical Geography is not Physics. 6th Grade Science is not Biology and Chemistry. You can tout the virtues of Basis--there seem to be many virtues, without just wildly exaggerating. It actually drives reasonably savvy people away from the school.

Ummm. Try going to the link again and actually click on the 6th grade tab. What you saw was the 5th grade. Then if you need to further satisfy yourself, call the school and ask. Better yet why not tour the school?

6th graders do indeed take Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, each class comprising 3 hours weekly for a total of 9 hours a week.

In fact, 5th graders do as well since there Intro to Science which meets daily covers Biology, Chemistry, and currently Physics over the course of the year. The 5th grade Physical geography which meets daily covers geography and earth science.

Upon reading further upthread I'd like to withdraw any comment I have made from this ridiculous discussion. It is beneath my dignity to argue with people that think this way. You're embarrassing yourself and your school, really you are.

Anonymous wrote:6th grade clases: https://www.basisschools.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=399

Physical Geography is not Physics. 6th Grade Science is not Biology and Chemistry. You can tout the virtues of Basis--there seem to be many virtues, without just wildly exaggerating. It actually drives reasonably savvy people away from the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All grand sounding 21:58 but I'm waiting to see who's left in 12th grade (my kids are in preschool). If most of the white and Asian kids who started in 5th are gone by then, forget it. Linear algebra at age 15, fabulous, still don't want the ghetto social issues.

I wouldn't want my child around you dirty white people that smell like dogs!

I am AA and I doubt very seriously this was written by someone white ao please don't respond to this poster or get sucked in to her inferiority issues. It sounds like the AA person whose has asserted that both her and her husband have "Ivy League" degrees and live in Petworth. She seems to have some type of "Clarence Thomas" issue that either came from her parents or her Ivy League education. BTW - White parents are not generally inolved in "ghetto social issues", hence the different experiences at Deal for white students versus black students. Being a native Washingtonian, I will be very pleased if my DC can go to school with as many high-performing AA boys and girls as possible. I don't want him to get the message that the school has to be majority white in order to receive a quality education. However, my experience may be different from others - I have cousins that attended Dunbar during segreation when it was the highest performing high school in the District white or black. For those not familiar with D.C. history, at that time AA Harvard and other Ivy League graduates had a choice upon returning to D.C. to either work at the Post Office or teach at Dunbar. The school was off the chain and 100% AA.

I will be at Basis next year for 5th and will be avoiding this parent, her child and others of her ilk like a plague. I will also be embracing the low-SES high performing kids. From my experience, I find them to be highly moral and motivated, with parents with high standards, which they have to be in order to achieve under their circumstances. LOL

Anonymous wrote:6th grade clases: https://www.basisschools.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=399

Anonymous wrote:I am very excited about what I read here about Basis. It almost sounds too good to be true. I am the OP, by the way. What is the catch?

Anonymous wrote:No recess. That's what my 5th grader complains about.

There is no recess, and PE is not five days a week, but there are calorie burning extracurriculars. For example, today my DD is doing this:

Everything on the Mall - This club is a great way to get the students out and running around! Every Wednesday, two faculty members will take students out onto the national mall to play a variety of games, including kickball, Frisbee, and whiffle ball.

DD also does Step Dancing. Plus there is Fencing, tennis and others to choose from.

Also the stairs, always the stairs . . .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grade clases: https://www.basisschools.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=399

I am very excited about what I read here about Basis. It almost sounds too good to be true. I am the OP, by the way. What is the catch?

No recess.
That's what my 5th grader complains about.

Anonymous wrote:To clarify my post about algebra 1

I think all algebra classes not just Basis have an element of review. I meant that as a response to the comment on how can kids do 3 science classes and algebra 1 in 6th grade

Basis algebra is definitely full fledged



Separate point, the saxonhomeschool website just sells the regular texts to homeschool parents. Saxon is not a homeschool curriculum. Not that there's anything wrong with homeschooling three of my siblings have stem doctorates after being homeschooled

+1

To clarify my post about algebra 1

I think all algebra classes not just Basis have an element of review. I meant that as a response to the comment on how can kids do 3 science classes and algebra 1 in 6th grade

Basis algebra is definitely full fledged



Separate point, the saxonhomeschool website just sells the regular texts to homeschool parents. Saxon is not a homeschool curriculum. Not that there's anything wrong with homeschooling three of my siblings have stem doctorates after being homeschooled

Here is the HMH school web site for Saxon math:

http://www.hmheducation.com/implementation/saxon-math-high-school.php