Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

I say this gently, but I was struck by how quickly you seemed to write off BASIS as a place where your daughter—who you describe as smart, hardworking, above grade level—would surely “fail.” She’s only in third grade! There’s a lot of time between now and middle school. And I say that not to push BASIS as the perfect fit for every child (it isn’t), but because I think it’s worth pausing on why the assumption of failure comes so quickly—even when the descriptors you’ve used for your daughter suggest she has all the qualities to do well with the right preparation and mindset.

If you’re at all interested in keeping the BASIS door open, I’d offer something constructive: consider looking into Beast Academy or even Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) workbooks. These resources are designed to build deep math reasoning—often through puzzles, comics, and fun visual formats. A child who enjoys stories and has an artistic streak might actually find Beast Academy surprisingly engaging. And even if she doesn’t master every concept, just getting early exposure to rigorous problem-solving can make a big difference over the next two years.

In short: even if you ultimately decide BASIS isn’t the best fit, it would be a shame to assume she couldn’t handle it—especially if that assumption is based on a fixed image of what a “BASIS kid” looks like or the idea that strong ELA and strong math somehow can’t go together. They absolutely can.

You’ve got time. And you’ve got a daughter who sounds capable. Why not see what she can do?

PP here and no need to "say it gently" because I never said my smart, capable kid would "surely" fail. She might do great at BASIS, I don't know. What concerns me is that if she struggled, we might be in a difficult situation if the school couldn't help us get her on track. I do not want to be in the situation of having to move her in the middle of middle school, and I especially don't want her feeling that we moved her because she "couldn't hack it." I also know my daughter and know she can be really tough on herself, and always compares herself to the top students in any setting. It's something we work on a lot and know she has to figure out in order to live a fulfilled life. I worry that in a testing-focused environment, this tendency could be very exacerbated and undermining. Especially if the school tilts towards STEM, when her passions and biggest strengths are in ELA, writing, and the arts.

She already does Beast Academy, we're familiar with it. But she does it because she likes having a math challenge, not because I'm grooming her for BASIS. And I don't force her to do it or put her on an intense schedule of math supplementing, because she has other interests and I like a more balanced approach. She might finish a whole BA workbook over holiday break, but then won't touch it for months and instead work on short stories or do extra ballet practice at home to perfect a skill.

She might do great at BASIS but she also might hate it. It's hard to know because I feel like I'm getting two very different stories about what BASIS is and what kind of kid it is for.

Are you at LT? If so, and if you are trying to figure out if SH is a viable option, I’d suggest you talk to some of the parents of 5th graders now. Most of the high achieving kids are back this year (virtually all of the girls) and planning on SH. (Over 40% of LT 4th graders last year got 5s on the ELA CAPE, so maybe similar strengths to your kid.) Some of them lost out in the lottery, some have older siblings at SH and chose to stay. They can also put you in touch with last year’s 5th graders who are now at SH — big contingent in and loving the drama program. At the very least, it may make you feel better about SH as a backup option.

What is their HS plan?

Walls. Increasingly, Banneker. Duke. Private (especially, for boys, Gonzaga, which is walkable/bike-able from our part of the Hill and half the price of some privates). At a push, moving during the summer between 8th grade graduation & 9th. (I know people are starting to say McKinley or Eastern IB on this forum, but that is not true of people I know at LT yet.)

But also, only about 1/3rd of BASIS kids end up in HS there, so at best that adds one more to the imperfect list. I would never head to BASIS thinking HS was sorted.

Decent # of options for boys in Hill proximate NE: Gonzaga, St. Anselm's, DeMatha a bit further out. Not so much for girls…

There is no way I would count on Gonzaga. If coming from Catholic school and legacy then possibly.

But if not, it is very competitive and don’t get your hopes up. Expect to be disappointed. Far, far from sure thing these days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

I say this gently, but I was struck by how quickly you seemed to write off BASIS as a place where your daughter—who you describe as smart, hardworking, above grade level—would surely “fail.” She’s only in third grade! There’s a lot of time between now and middle school. And I say that not to push BASIS as the perfect fit for every child (it isn’t), but because I think it’s worth pausing on why the assumption of failure comes so quickly—even when the descriptors you’ve used for your daughter suggest she has all the qualities to do well with the right preparation and mindset.

If you’re at all interested in keeping the BASIS door open, I’d offer something constructive: consider looking into Beast Academy or even Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) workbooks. These resources are designed to build deep math reasoning—often through puzzles, comics, and fun visual formats. A child who enjoys stories and has an artistic streak might actually find Beast Academy surprisingly engaging. And even if she doesn’t master every concept, just getting early exposure to rigorous problem-solving can make a big difference over the next two years.

In short: even if you ultimately decide BASIS isn’t the best fit, it would be a shame to assume she couldn’t handle it—especially if that assumption is based on a fixed image of what a “BASIS kid” looks like or the idea that strong ELA and strong math somehow can’t go together. They absolutely can.

You’ve got time. And you’ve got a daughter who sounds capable. Why not see what she can do?

PP here and no need to "say it gently" because I never said my smart, capable kid would "surely" fail. She might do great at BASIS, I don't know. What concerns me is that if she struggled, we might be in a difficult situation if the school couldn't help us get her on track. I do not want to be in the situation of having to move her in the middle of middle school, and I especially don't want her feeling that we moved her because she "couldn't hack it." I also know my daughter and know she can be really tough on herself, and always compares herself to the top students in any setting. It's something we work on a lot and know she has to figure out in order to live a fulfilled life. I worry that in a testing-focused environment, this tendency could be very exacerbated and undermining. Especially if the school tilts towards STEM, when her passions and biggest strengths are in ELA, writing, and the arts.

She already does Beast Academy, we're familiar with it. But she does it because she likes having a math challenge, not because I'm grooming her for BASIS. And I don't force her to do it or put her on an intense schedule of math supplementing, because she has other interests and I like a more balanced approach. She might finish a whole BA workbook over holiday break, but then won't touch it for months and instead work on short stories or do extra ballet practice at home to perfect a skill.

She might do great at BASIS but she also might hate it. It's hard to know because I feel like I'm getting two very different stories about what BASIS is and what kind of kid it is for.

Are you at LT? If so, and if you are trying to figure out if SH is a viable option, I’d suggest you talk to some of the parents of 5th graders now. Most of the high achieving kids are back this year (virtually all of the girls) and planning on SH. (Over 40% of LT 4th graders last year got 5s on the ELA CAPE, so maybe similar strengths to your kid.) Some of them lost out in the lottery, some have older siblings at SH and chose to stay. They can also put you in touch with last year’s 5th graders who are now at SH — big contingent in and loving the drama program. At the very least, it may make you feel better about SH as a backup option.

What is their HS plan?

Walls. Increasingly, Banneker. Duke. Private (especially, for boys, Gonzaga, which is walkable/bike-able from our part of the Hill and half the price of some privates). At a push, moving during the summer between 8th grade graduation & 9th. (I know people are starting to say McKinley or Eastern IB on this forum, but that is not true of people I know at LT yet.)

But also, only about 1/3rd of BASIS kids end up in HS there, so at best that adds one more to the imperfect list. I would never head to BASIS thinking HS was sorted.

Decent # of options for boys in Hill proximate NE: Gonzaga, St. Anselm's, DeMatha a bit further out. Not so much for girls…

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of valid reasons to choose Basis. I dont think being scared of a non-JR IB high school is a good one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

You obviously didn’t read this thread.

They aren’t allowed to backfill in DC.

Please educate yourself before posting.

Oh the irony. You are exactly wrong, but stating it with such confidence and condescension.

Yes, they are allowed to backfill, just as Latin and DCI backfill. There is no rule in DC against it.

What they are not allowed to do is institute an admissions test -- charters are not allowed to screen candidates for admission and must take whatever students the lottery gives them. BASIS *chooses* not to backfill. They likely would backfill if they could screen candidates in older grades, but they can't so they don't.

Of course, BASIS boosters on this thread claim that BASIS offers tons of support to kids who are struggling to keep up, so it's a bit of a mystery why they couldn't just offer that support to students coming in at higher grades who struggled with the work. And others have pointed out that likely there are students in DC who could come into BASIS at 7th, 8th, or 9th and handle the coursework at their grade level. But BASIS has chosen instead to not backfill at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

I say this gently, but I was struck by how quickly you seemed to write off BASIS as a place where your daughter—who you describe as smart, hardworking, above grade level—would surely “fail.” She’s only in third grade! There’s a lot of time between now and middle school. And I say that not to push BASIS as the perfect fit for every child (it isn’t), but because I think it’s worth pausing on why the assumption of failure comes so quickly—even when the descriptors you’ve used for your daughter suggest she has all the qualities to do well with the right preparation and mindset.

If you’re at all interested in keeping the BASIS door open, I’d offer something constructive: consider looking into Beast Academy or even Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) workbooks. These resources are designed to build deep math reasoning—often through puzzles, comics, and fun visual formats. A child who enjoys stories and has an artistic streak might actually find Beast Academy surprisingly engaging. And even if she doesn’t master every concept, just getting early exposure to rigorous problem-solving can make a big difference over the next two years.

In short: even if you ultimately decide BASIS isn’t the best fit, it would be a shame to assume she couldn’t handle it—especially if that assumption is based on a fixed image of what a “BASIS kid” looks like or the idea that strong ELA and strong math somehow can’t go together. They absolutely can.

You’ve got time. And you’ve got a daughter who sounds capable. Why not see what she can do?

PP here and no need to "say it gently" because I never said my smart, capable kid would "surely" fail. She might do great at BASIS, I don't know. What concerns me is that if she struggled, we might be in a difficult situation if the school couldn't help us get her on track. I do not want to be in the situation of having to move her in the middle of middle school, and I especially don't want her feeling that we moved her because she "couldn't hack it." I also know my daughter and know she can be really tough on herself, and always compares herself to the top students in any setting. It's something we work on a lot and know she has to figure out in order to live a fulfilled life. I worry that in a testing-focused environment, this tendency could be very exacerbated and undermining. Especially if the school tilts towards STEM, when her passions and biggest strengths are in ELA, writing, and the arts.

She already does Beast Academy, we're familiar with it. But she does it because she likes having a math challenge, not because I'm grooming her for BASIS. And I don't force her to do it or put her on an intense schedule of math supplementing, because she has other interests and I like a more balanced approach. She might finish a whole BA workbook over holiday break, but then won't touch it for months and instead work on short stories or do extra ballet practice at home to perfect a skill.

She might do great at BASIS but she also might hate it. It's hard to know because I feel like I'm getting two very different stories about what BASIS is and what kind of kid it is for.

Are you at LT? If so, and if you are trying to figure out if SH is a viable option, I’d suggest you talk to some of the parents of 5th graders now. Most of the high achieving kids are back this year (virtually all of the girls) and planning on SH. (Over 40% of LT 4th graders last year got 5s on the ELA CAPE, so maybe similar strengths to your kid.) Some of them lost out in the lottery, some have older siblings at SH and chose to stay. They can also put you in touch with last year’s 5th graders who are now at SH — big contingent in and loving the drama program. At the very least, it may make you feel better about SH as a backup option.

What is their HS plan?

Walls. Increasingly, Banneker. Duke. Private (especially, for boys, Gonzaga, which is walkable/bike-able from our part of the Hill and half the price of some privates). At a push, moving during the summer between 8th grade graduation & 9th. (I know people are starting to say McKinley or Eastern IB on this forum, but that is not true of people I know at LT yet.)

But also, only about 1/3rd of BASIS kids end up in HS there, so at best that adds one more to the imperfect list. I would never head to BASIS thinking HS was sorted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

I say this gently, but I was struck by how quickly you seemed to write off BASIS as a place where your daughter—who you describe as smart, hardworking, above grade level—would surely “fail.” She’s only in third grade! There’s a lot of time between now and middle school. And I say that not to push BASIS as the perfect fit for every child (it isn’t), but because I think it’s worth pausing on why the assumption of failure comes so quickly—even when the descriptors you’ve used for your daughter suggest she has all the qualities to do well with the right preparation and mindset.

If you’re at all interested in keeping the BASIS door open, I’d offer something constructive: consider looking into Beast Academy or even Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) workbooks. These resources are designed to build deep math reasoning—often through puzzles, comics, and fun visual formats. A child who enjoys stories and has an artistic streak might actually find Beast Academy surprisingly engaging. And even if she doesn’t master every concept, just getting early exposure to rigorous problem-solving can make a big difference over the next two years.

In short: even if you ultimately decide BASIS isn’t the best fit, it would be a shame to assume she couldn’t handle it—especially if that assumption is based on a fixed image of what a “BASIS kid” looks like or the idea that strong ELA and strong math somehow can’t go together. They absolutely can.

You’ve got time. And you’ve got a daughter who sounds capable. Why not see what she can do?

PP here and no need to "say it gently" because I never said my smart, capable kid would "surely" fail. She might do great at BASIS, I don't know. What concerns me is that if she struggled, we might be in a difficult situation if the school couldn't help us get her on track. I do not want to be in the situation of having to move her in the middle of middle school, and I especially don't want her feeling that we moved her because she "couldn't hack it." I also know my daughter and know she can be really tough on herself, and always compares herself to the top students in any setting. It's something we work on a lot and know she has to figure out in order to live a fulfilled life. I worry that in a testing-focused environment, this tendency could be very exacerbated and undermining. Especially if the school tilts towards STEM, when her passions and biggest strengths are in ELA, writing, and the arts.

She already does Beast Academy, we're familiar with it. But she does it because she likes having a math challenge, not because I'm grooming her for BASIS. And I don't force her to do it or put her on an intense schedule of math supplementing, because she has other interests and I like a more balanced approach. She might finish a whole BA workbook over holiday break, but then won't touch it for months and instead work on short stories or do extra ballet practice at home to perfect a skill.

She might do great at BASIS but she also might hate it. It's hard to know because I feel like I'm getting two very different stories about what BASIS is and what kind of kid it is for.

Are you at LT? If so, and if you are trying to figure out if SH is a viable option, I’d suggest you talk to some of the parents of 5th graders now. Most of the high achieving kids are back this year (virtually all of the girls) and planning on SH. (Over 40% of LT 4th graders last year got 5s on the ELA CAPE, so maybe similar strengths to your kid.) Some of them lost out in the lottery, some have older siblings at SH and chose to stay. They can also put you in touch with last year’s 5th graders who are now at SH — big contingent in and loving the drama program. At the very least, it may make you feel better about SH as a backup option.

What is their HS plan?

Walls. Increasingly, Banneker. Duke. Private (especially, for boys, Gonzaga, which is walkable/bike-able from our part of the Hill and half the price of some privates). At a push, moving during the summer between 8th grade graduation & 9th. (I know people are starting to say McKinley or Eastern IB on this forum, but that is not true of people I know at LT yet.)

But also, only about 1/3rd of BASIS kids end up in HS there, so at best that adds one more to the imperfect list. I would never head to BASIS thinking HS was sorted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

I say this gently, but I was struck by how quickly you seemed to write off BASIS as a place where your daughter—who you describe as smart, hardworking, above grade level—would surely “fail.” She’s only in third grade! There’s a lot of time between now and middle school. And I say that not to push BASIS as the perfect fit for every child (it isn’t), but because I think it’s worth pausing on why the assumption of failure comes so quickly—even when the descriptors you’ve used for your daughter suggest she has all the qualities to do well with the right preparation and mindset.

If you’re at all interested in keeping the BASIS door open, I’d offer something constructive: consider looking into Beast Academy or even Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) workbooks. These resources are designed to build deep math reasoning—often through puzzles, comics, and fun visual formats. A child who enjoys stories and has an artistic streak might actually find Beast Academy surprisingly engaging. And even if she doesn’t master every concept, just getting early exposure to rigorous problem-solving can make a big difference over the next two years.

In short: even if you ultimately decide BASIS isn’t the best fit, it would be a shame to assume she couldn’t handle it—especially if that assumption is based on a fixed image of what a “BASIS kid” looks like or the idea that strong ELA and strong math somehow can’t go together. They absolutely can.

You’ve got time. And you’ve got a daughter who sounds capable. Why not see what she can do?

PP here and no need to "say it gently" because I never said my smart, capable kid would "surely" fail. She might do great at BASIS, I don't know. What concerns me is that if she struggled, we might be in a difficult situation if the school couldn't help us get her on track. I do not want to be in the situation of having to move her in the middle of middle school, and I especially don't want her feeling that we moved her because she "couldn't hack it." I also know my daughter and know she can be really tough on herself, and always compares herself to the top students in any setting. It's something we work on a lot and know she has to figure out in order to live a fulfilled life. I worry that in a testing-focused environment, this tendency could be very exacerbated and undermining. Especially if the school tilts towards STEM, when her passions and biggest strengths are in ELA, writing, and the arts.

She already does Beast Academy, we're familiar with it. But she does it because she likes having a math challenge, not because I'm grooming her for BASIS. And I don't force her to do it or put her on an intense schedule of math supplementing, because she has other interests and I like a more balanced approach. She might finish a whole BA workbook over holiday break, but then won't touch it for months and instead work on short stories or do extra ballet practice at home to perfect a skill.

She might do great at BASIS but she also might hate it. It's hard to know because I feel like I'm getting two very different stories about what BASIS is and what kind of kid it is for.

Are you at LT? If so, and if you are trying to figure out if SH is a viable option, I’d suggest you talk to some of the parents of 5th graders now. Most of the high achieving kids are back this year (virtually all of the girls) and planning on SH. (Over 40% of LT 4th graders last year got 5s on the ELA CAPE, so maybe similar strengths to your kid.) Some of them lost out in the lottery, some have older siblings at SH and chose to stay. They can also put you in touch with last year’s 5th graders who are now at SH — big contingent in and loving the drama program. At the very least, it may make you feel better about SH as a backup option.

What is their HS plan?

Walls. Increasingly, Banneker. Duke. Private (especially, for boys, Gonzaga, which is walkable/bike-able from our part of the Hill and half the price of some privates). At a push, moving during the summer between 8th grade graduation & 9th. (I know people are starting to say McKinley or Eastern IB on this forum, but that is not true of people I know at LT yet.)

But also, only about 1/3rd of BASIS kids end up in HS there, so at best that adds one more to the imperfect list. I would never head to BASIS thinking HS was sorted.

The 8th to 9th transition and rush to find a high school is the worst part of living on the Hill right now. Staring down that situation even several years away, as we are, is anxiety-inducing. I did not realize it was this bad when we chose to live here and what I did know about the situation, I assumed could change by the time my kids were older. We are considering middle schools and one of the most helpful things someone pointed out to me recently is that Basis is not the answer to all of your high school worries, even if it does fill the gap for MS for you.

I have many friends whose kids went to Deal, but did not want to go on to Jackson-Reed, so this is not a Hill-only problem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

I say this gently, but I was struck by how quickly you seemed to write off BASIS as a place where your daughter—who you describe as smart, hardworking, above grade level—would surely “fail.” She’s only in third grade! There’s a lot of time between now and middle school. And I say that not to push BASIS as the perfect fit for every child (it isn’t), but because I think it’s worth pausing on why the assumption of failure comes so quickly—even when the descriptors you’ve used for your daughter suggest she has all the qualities to do well with the right preparation and mindset.

If you’re at all interested in keeping the BASIS door open, I’d offer something constructive: consider looking into Beast Academy or even Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) workbooks. These resources are designed to build deep math reasoning—often through puzzles, comics, and fun visual formats. A child who enjoys stories and has an artistic streak might actually find Beast Academy surprisingly engaging. And even if she doesn’t master every concept, just getting early exposure to rigorous problem-solving can make a big difference over the next two years.

In short: even if you ultimately decide BASIS isn’t the best fit, it would be a shame to assume she couldn’t handle it—especially if that assumption is based on a fixed image of what a “BASIS kid” looks like or the idea that strong ELA and strong math somehow can’t go together. They absolutely can.

You’ve got time. And you’ve got a daughter who sounds capable. Why not see what she can do?

PP here and no need to "say it gently" because I never said my smart, capable kid would "surely" fail. She might do great at BASIS, I don't know. What concerns me is that if she struggled, we might be in a difficult situation if the school couldn't help us get her on track. I do not want to be in the situation of having to move her in the middle of middle school, and I especially don't want her feeling that we moved her because she "couldn't hack it." I also know my daughter and know she can be really tough on herself, and always compares herself to the top students in any setting. It's something we work on a lot and know she has to figure out in order to live a fulfilled life. I worry that in a testing-focused environment, this tendency could be very exacerbated and undermining. Especially if the school tilts towards STEM, when her passions and biggest strengths are in ELA, writing, and the arts.

She already does Beast Academy, we're familiar with it. But she does it because she likes having a math challenge, not because I'm grooming her for BASIS. And I don't force her to do it or put her on an intense schedule of math supplementing, because she has other interests and I like a more balanced approach. She might finish a whole BA workbook over holiday break, but then won't touch it for months and instead work on short stories or do extra ballet practice at home to perfect a skill.

She might do great at BASIS but she also might hate it. It's hard to know because I feel like I'm getting two very different stories about what BASIS is and what kind of kid it is for.

Are you at LT? If so, and if you are trying to figure out if SH is a viable option, I’d suggest you talk to some of the parents of 5th graders now. Most of the high achieving kids are back this year (virtually all of the girls) and planning on SH. (Over 40% of LT 4th graders last year got 5s on the ELA CAPE, so maybe similar strengths to your kid.) Some of them lost out in the lottery, some have older siblings at SH and chose to stay. They can also put you in touch with last year’s 5th graders who are now at SH — big contingent in and loving the drama program. At the very least, it may make you feel better about SH as a backup option.

What is their HS plan?

Walls. Increasingly, Banneker. Duke. Private (especially, for boys, Gonzaga, which is walkable/bike-able from our part of the Hill and half the price of some privates). At a push, moving during the summer between 8th grade graduation & 9th. (I know people are starting to say McKinley or Eastern IB on this forum, but that is not true of people I know at LT yet.)

But also, only about 1/3rd of BASIS kids end up in HS there, so at best that adds one more to the imperfect list. I would never head to BASIS thinking HS was sorted.

The 8th to 9th transition and rush to find a high school is the worst part of living on the Hill right now. Staring down that situation even several years away, as we are, is anxiety-inducing. I did not realize it was this bad when we chose to live here and what I did know about the situation, I assumed could change by the time my kids were older. We are considering middle schools and one of the most helpful things someone pointed out to me recently is that Basis is not the answer to all of your high school worries, even if it does fill the gap for MS for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

I say this gently, but I was struck by how quickly you seemed to write off BASIS as a place where your daughter—who you describe as smart, hardworking, above grade level—would surely “fail.” She’s only in third grade! There’s a lot of time between now and middle school. And I say that not to push BASIS as the perfect fit for every child (it isn’t), but because I think it’s worth pausing on why the assumption of failure comes so quickly—even when the descriptors you’ve used for your daughter suggest she has all the qualities to do well with the right preparation and mindset.

If you’re at all interested in keeping the BASIS door open, I’d offer something constructive: consider looking into Beast Academy or even Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) workbooks. These resources are designed to build deep math reasoning—often through puzzles, comics, and fun visual formats. A child who enjoys stories and has an artistic streak might actually find Beast Academy surprisingly engaging. And even if she doesn’t master every concept, just getting early exposure to rigorous problem-solving can make a big difference over the next two years.

In short: even if you ultimately decide BASIS isn’t the best fit, it would be a shame to assume she couldn’t handle it—especially if that assumption is based on a fixed image of what a “BASIS kid” looks like or the idea that strong ELA and strong math somehow can’t go together. They absolutely can.

You’ve got time. And you’ve got a daughter who sounds capable. Why not see what she can do?

PP here and no need to "say it gently" because I never said my smart, capable kid would "surely" fail. She might do great at BASIS, I don't know. What concerns me is that if she struggled, we might be in a difficult situation if the school couldn't help us get her on track. I do not want to be in the situation of having to move her in the middle of middle school, and I especially don't want her feeling that we moved her because she "couldn't hack it." I also know my daughter and know she can be really tough on herself, and always compares herself to the top students in any setting. It's something we work on a lot and know she has to figure out in order to live a fulfilled life. I worry that in a testing-focused environment, this tendency could be very exacerbated and undermining. Especially if the school tilts towards STEM, when her passions and biggest strengths are in ELA, writing, and the arts.

She already does Beast Academy, we're familiar with it. But she does it because she likes having a math challenge, not because I'm grooming her for BASIS. And I don't force her to do it or put her on an intense schedule of math supplementing, because she has other interests and I like a more balanced approach. She might finish a whole BA workbook over holiday break, but then won't touch it for months and instead work on short stories or do extra ballet practice at home to perfect a skill.

She might do great at BASIS but she also might hate it. It's hard to know because I feel like I'm getting two very different stories about what BASIS is and what kind of kid it is for.

Are you at LT? If so, and if you are trying to figure out if SH is a viable option, I’d suggest you talk to some of the parents of 5th graders now. Most of the high achieving kids are back this year (virtually all of the girls) and planning on SH. (Over 40% of LT 4th graders last year got 5s on the ELA CAPE, so maybe similar strengths to your kid.) Some of them lost out in the lottery, some have older siblings at SH and chose to stay. They can also put you in touch with last year’s 5th graders who are now at SH — big contingent in and loving the drama program. At the very least, it may make you feel better about SH as a backup option.

What is their HS plan?

Walls. Increasingly, Banneker. Duke. Private (especially, for boys, Gonzaga, which is walkable/bike-able from our part of the Hill and half the price of some privates). At a push, moving during the summer between 8th grade graduation & 9th. (I know people are starting to say McKinley or Eastern IB on this forum, but that is not true of people I know at LT yet.)

But also, only about 1/3rd of BASIS kids end up in HS there, so at best that adds one more to the imperfect list. I would never head to BASIS thinking HS was sorted.

The 8th to 9th transition and rush to find a high school is the worst part of living on the Hill right now. Staring down that situation even several years away, as we are, is anxiety-inducing. I did not realize it was this bad when we chose to live here and what I did know about the situation, I assumed could change by the time my kids were older. We are considering middle schools and one of the most helpful things someone pointed out to me recently is that Basis is not the answer to all of your high school worries, even if it does fill the gap for MS for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

I say this gently, but I was struck by how quickly you seemed to write off BASIS as a place where your daughter—who you describe as smart, hardworking, above grade level—would surely “fail.” She’s only in third grade! There’s a lot of time between now and middle school. And I say that not to push BASIS as the perfect fit for every child (it isn’t), but because I think it’s worth pausing on why the assumption of failure comes so quickly—even when the descriptors you’ve used for your daughter suggest she has all the qualities to do well with the right preparation and mindset.

If you’re at all interested in keeping the BASIS door open, I’d offer something constructive: consider looking into Beast Academy or even Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) workbooks. These resources are designed to build deep math reasoning—often through puzzles, comics, and fun visual formats. A child who enjoys stories and has an artistic streak might actually find Beast Academy surprisingly engaging. And even if she doesn’t master every concept, just getting early exposure to rigorous problem-solving can make a big difference over the next two years.

In short: even if you ultimately decide BASIS isn’t the best fit, it would be a shame to assume she couldn’t handle it—especially if that assumption is based on a fixed image of what a “BASIS kid” looks like or the idea that strong ELA and strong math somehow can’t go together. They absolutely can.

You’ve got time. And you’ve got a daughter who sounds capable. Why not see what she can do?

PP here and no need to "say it gently" because I never said my smart, capable kid would "surely" fail. She might do great at BASIS, I don't know. What concerns me is that if she struggled, we might be in a difficult situation if the school couldn't help us get her on track. I do not want to be in the situation of having to move her in the middle of middle school, and I especially don't want her feeling that we moved her because she "couldn't hack it." I also know my daughter and know she can be really tough on herself, and always compares herself to the top students in any setting. It's something we work on a lot and know she has to figure out in order to live a fulfilled life. I worry that in a testing-focused environment, this tendency could be very exacerbated and undermining. Especially if the school tilts towards STEM, when her passions and biggest strengths are in ELA, writing, and the arts.

She already does Beast Academy, we're familiar with it. But she does it because she likes having a math challenge, not because I'm grooming her for BASIS. And I don't force her to do it or put her on an intense schedule of math supplementing, because she has other interests and I like a more balanced approach. She might finish a whole BA workbook over holiday break, but then won't touch it for months and instead work on short stories or do extra ballet practice at home to perfect a skill.

She might do great at BASIS but she also might hate it. It's hard to know because I feel like I'm getting two very different stories about what BASIS is and what kind of kid it is for.

Are you at LT? If so, and if you are trying to figure out if SH is a viable option, I’d suggest you talk to some of the parents of 5th graders now. Most of the high achieving kids are back this year (virtually all of the girls) and planning on SH. (Over 40% of LT 4th graders last year got 5s on the ELA CAPE, so maybe similar strengths to your kid.) Some of them lost out in the lottery, some have older siblings at SH and chose to stay. They can also put you in touch with last year’s 5th graders who are now at SH — big contingent in and loving the drama program. At the very least, it may make you feel better about SH as a backup option.

What is their HS plan?

Walls. Increasingly, Banneker. Duke. Private (especially, for boys, Gonzaga, which is walkable/bike-able from our part of the Hill and half the price of some privates). At a push, moving during the summer between 8th grade graduation & 9th. (I know people are starting to say McKinley or Eastern IB on this forum, but that is not true of people I know at LT yet.)

But also, only about 1/3rd of BASIS kids end up in HS there, so at best that adds one more to the imperfect list. I would never head to BASIS thinking HS was sorted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

I say this gently, but I was struck by how quickly you seemed to write off BASIS as a place where your daughter—who you describe as smart, hardworking, above grade level—would surely “fail.” She’s only in third grade! There’s a lot of time between now and middle school. And I say that not to push BASIS as the perfect fit for every child (it isn’t), but because I think it’s worth pausing on why the assumption of failure comes so quickly—even when the descriptors you’ve used for your daughter suggest she has all the qualities to do well with the right preparation and mindset.

If you’re at all interested in keeping the BASIS door open, I’d offer something constructive: consider looking into Beast Academy or even Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) workbooks. These resources are designed to build deep math reasoning—often through puzzles, comics, and fun visual formats. A child who enjoys stories and has an artistic streak might actually find Beast Academy surprisingly engaging. And even if she doesn’t master every concept, just getting early exposure to rigorous problem-solving can make a big difference over the next two years.

In short: even if you ultimately decide BASIS isn’t the best fit, it would be a shame to assume she couldn’t handle it—especially if that assumption is based on a fixed image of what a “BASIS kid” looks like or the idea that strong ELA and strong math somehow can’t go together. They absolutely can.

You’ve got time. And you’ve got a daughter who sounds capable. Why not see what she can do?

PP here and no need to "say it gently" because I never said my smart, capable kid would "surely" fail. She might do great at BASIS, I don't know. What concerns me is that if she struggled, we might be in a difficult situation if the school couldn't help us get her on track. I do not want to be in the situation of having to move her in the middle of middle school, and I especially don't want her feeling that we moved her because she "couldn't hack it." I also know my daughter and know she can be really tough on herself, and always compares herself to the top students in any setting. It's something we work on a lot and know she has to figure out in order to live a fulfilled life. I worry that in a testing-focused environment, this tendency could be very exacerbated and undermining. Especially if the school tilts towards STEM, when her passions and biggest strengths are in ELA, writing, and the arts.

She already does Beast Academy, we're familiar with it. But she does it because she likes having a math challenge, not because I'm grooming her for BASIS. And I don't force her to do it or put her on an intense schedule of math supplementing, because she has other interests and I like a more balanced approach. She might finish a whole BA workbook over holiday break, but then won't touch it for months and instead work on short stories or do extra ballet practice at home to perfect a skill.

She might do great at BASIS but she also might hate it. It's hard to know because I feel like I'm getting two very different stories about what BASIS is and what kind of kid it is for.

Are you at LT? If so, and if you are trying to figure out if SH is a viable option, I’d suggest you talk to some of the parents of 5th graders now. Most of the high achieving kids are back this year (virtually all of the girls) and planning on SH. (Over 40% of LT 4th graders last year got 5s on the ELA CAPE, so maybe similar strengths to your kid.) Some of them lost out in the lottery, some have older siblings at SH and chose to stay. They can also put you in touch with last year’s 5th graders who are now at SH — big contingent in and loving the drama program. At the very least, it may make you feel better about SH as a backup option.

What is their HS plan?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

What does your gut tell you? Go with that. You know your kid, you know where they will fit best. It doesn't matter what all the different narratives say. They shouldn't be what you listen to anyway. Will she potentially struggle? She could potentially struggle at any school, unless you send her somewhere that has no challenge at all. What I can tell you is that help is offered for kids who struggle. Will that help be enough? Only you would know, and the best way to find that out is to go to the school and ask what kind of help is offered and think about whether that will be enough for your child. Will the school feel well-rounded for your kid? Again, it depends on your kid. There is ELA, writing, and the arts, at the school -- my son who loves writing felt that the 5th grade writing teacher is one of the best writing teachers he has ever had. But will your child think the same? Only you would know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the end of the day, every school has its pros and cons. I don't like the IB curriculum so I didn't want DCI, and I'm not a fan of "Classical/Latin" education so I didn't want Latin. I do like the BASIS model, even though many hate it, so I lotteried for it and my child got a seat, and has been happy. She is now at the BASIS high school.

The real problem here is that there are not enough seats to guarantee that a person gets the type of education they want. I lucked out. I would have been unhappy if my kid had to go to DCI or Latin. Lucky for me they didn't, but that is why you see so many posts like this.

Basis has seats but refuses to backfill them. If they offer so much support as described above, why can’t they backfill and provide that support to new students? In a system with so few opportunities for bright kids, esp those “far from opportunity,” why doesn’t Basis even try?

This is what drives me nuts. You hear two very different narratives about BASIS and they cannot both be true.

On the one hand, there is the argument that BASIS is a needed school for high achieving students who are ready for, and in fact need, accelerated math and high standards. Under this argument, attrition is blamed on kids who can't cut it under the system and the attrition is viewed as a positive -- it weeds out the kids who would hold the students who thrive at BASIS back. And the reason they can't backfill is that BASIS has a system and you have to come up through that system in order to succeed -- backfilling wouldn't be fair to the kids who have been there from the start, nor the new kids coming in who would be set up to fail because they didn't get the accelerated foundations. People who argue this narrative will emphasize that BASIS isn't for everyone but is a godsend for the kids who do well there. There have been many examples of this narrative on this thread.

The other narrative is that, actually, BASIS is just doing what most schools *used* to do, that it's not exclusionary and not just for a specific kind of kid. This narrative will emphasize that BASIS does a lot to help struggling kids via tutoring and summer academy, and combines high standards with lots and lots of support for those who need it so they can keep up. This narrative will also emphasize that BASIS actually has plenty of specials and extra-curriculars, that it's not just laser focused on STEM and that kids get a well rounded education there. In this narrative, the attrition is viewed as just the natural result of kids moving around in the DC system to find a "good fit" and will emphasize that some of that attrition is kids going to other strong public and private high schools after being well prepared by BASIS in middle. This narrative doesn't really address the lack of backfilling, just kind of sidesteps it, likely because it's much harder to justify if BASIS is merely a well-rounded school with high expectations, just with a more math and testing based approach than DCI or Latin. Both DCI and Latin backfill, so the argument gets a bit muddy there.

Both of these cannot be true and it's strange to me to see both arguments on this thread. Which is it? I am not a BASIS parent but I have a 3rd grader at a CH elementary and am looking at middle schools so I'm interested. Which is it? If I send my smart, above-grade-level, very academic kid there, will she potentially struggle with a sink-or-swim approach that could be hard on a kid who is tough on herself and somewhat prone to anxiety? If she struggles will she get help or be pushed out to make room for kids who can succeed there without help? Will she feel like the school is well-rounded as a kid who loves ELA and writing and the arts? And importantly, if we got a spot at BASIS but not Latin or DCI, would it make more sense to take that spot or stick with S-H even though the test scores are lower and it's less academically demanding?

I really don't know.

What does your gut tell you? Go with that. You know your kid, you know where they will fit best. It doesn't matter what all the different narratives say. They shouldn't be what you listen to anyway. Will she potentially struggle? She could potentially struggle at any school, unless you send her somewhere that has no challenge at all. What I can tell you is that help is offered for kids who struggle. Will that help be enough? Only you would know, and the best way to find that out is to go to the school and ask what kind of help is offered and think about whether that will be enough for your child. Will the school feel well-rounded for your kid? Again, it depends on your kid. There is ELA, writing, and the arts, at the school -- my son who loves writing felt that the 5th grade writing teacher is one of the best writing teachers he has ever had. But will your child think the same? Only you would know.