Anonymous wrote:PP continued.... In other words, I think to the extent BASIS is a good school it is so despite many aspects of the curriculum, admin control and institutional design, not because of it. And, ultimately, I cannot rate BASIS highly and am compelled to speak out against it because of the damage I saw it inflict on a not insubstantial percentage of its student body. I get very angry when I hear BASIS defenders say, "well BASIS is not for everyone." I think it is OK to have niche public schools - one size does not fit all - but don't market BASIS as a school for all when it so clearly is not. When they say attrition is built into the program to me that means harm is built into the program (both for those that leave and those that struggle unhealthily but remain). That is completely unacceptable for a school no matter how strong other aspects of the program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard that at BASIS they shove little old ladies into traffic, spit on babies and set kittens on fire! Worst school EVER!

</sarcasm> Again, so much of what keeps getting posted here just keeps coming across as incredibly narrowly focused, shrill, and overcritical, and really doesn't provide full perspective, or pros and cons from a big picture standpoint. It's nothing that any outsider could ever use for making a sound and reasoned decision whether to send their kid there or not since it's lacking balance. And it also doesn't particularly help current families or staff, since most I know have been turned away by the tone of it and just tune the listserv and discussions like these out and ignore them. While some of the posters may be trying to be earnest, helpful and productive, they need to realize that pushing this hard ends up being counterproductive.

So how about some balance?

Hey, just like EVERY OTHER school in DC, not everyone is going to agree with how they do things, and it's not going to be a perfect fit for every child.

So it begs the question that I'd put out to all the apparent detractors and bashers, if you seemingly hate it so much, but are still there, then why? Obviously part of you must still think the pros outweigh the cons if you haven't left. How about laying those out? And if you aren't a current BASIS family or otherwise involved, then why are you so fixated on it, to the point of joining in on the bashing and detracting? Likewise, obviously there's some degree of fascination there, some pros or other considerations that haven't been expressed?

Also, do we all view it the same?

Is it all just memorization and standardized testing? I'd disagree, from our experience. Does it make kids work really hard and expect a lot of them? Yes, I'd definitely agree there. Could a kid burn out? Maybe. Are there still some rough edges and kinks to work out? Sure - but remember, they only have two years under their belt and are just a tiny way into their third. No fun or creativity? There's no less creative stuff than what I had in school as a kid, DC's done a lot of really great writing so far, along with some really interesting Art projects and fun extracurriculars.

So, it all has to be taken in perspective, and in comparison to the alternatives.

Again, while yes, there is obviously a small but very vocal handful of people who are bashing it, consider that it does draw and retain a lot of families, that while we have dozens and dozens of charters and public schools to pick from, BASIS has become the second largest charter middle school in DC, and that there are hundreds of kids and families there who are not joining in this online fray because they are happy with the school and are fine with how it is, and are confident that the rough spots will be worked out, and who signed up for this, eyes wide open - and who would be far more upset if the school were to be watered down, or to have diminished expectations, whether academic or behavior, or in any other way changed to be just like any other school in DC.

The general point you seem to be making is don't criticize BASIS in a way that you find unhelpful. That doesn't seem reasonable to expect on a discussion forum about charter schools. Unhappy parents want to vent. And don't forget of course the yang in BASIS boosters. If you are really happy about your school, why hang out of internet fora defending it?

As a teacher the fact of the matter is that I saw many many students leave (almost 15% of one 9th grade class) but for each student that leaves many more struggle on for whatever reason. Leaving a school is a difficult choice for many parents and kids, there are limited options, there are many pros about BASIS, tough to leave friends, etc. Some parents even forced their kids to remain. It happens. In short, I personally was very distressed as an educator and human being seeing the damage inflicted on more than a few students by the BASIS program. No hyperbole, not even pointing fingers since the faculty and admin at my school by and large were excellent. Just the simple fact that a sizable number of kids are not able to thrive, and in fact barely could survive the BASIS curriculum. That is what I saw. That is why I left.

So as an educator with first hand knowledge I feel that it is my duty to chime in against the PR BASIS puts out (the solution for what ails American public education, #1 ranked, etc). To me what makes BASIS a good school is that it has a reputation for excellence and for that reason attracts excellent teachers and highly motivated and above-average students. But BASIS admin thinks it is excellent because of its "world-renown" program that it devised from on high. They take away initiative and discretion from teachers (and make sure we know that we a replaceable) and adopt a take it or leave it mentality with parents.

I don't put too much faith into BASIS being touted as the cure-all for American education, and I don't think most other people do - and it would certainly be misguided for parents to think BASIS has the equivalent of a shimmering sparkly wand that can magically fix all kids - it doesn't.

But again, consider context - You brought up 15% leaving the schools - unlike monolithic school districts where there's little or no choice, when given a choice like charters, it's VERY common for kids to switch schools at high school, regardless of it being BASIS or any other school system. The beauty of DC is that we now have dozens upon dozens of choices. Also, consider that 40% also currently leave DCPS high schools to drop out altogether, which certainly is quite damaging in terms of life prospects.

As for your previous comment about the "rare" student populace, consider this: unlike some of the other BASIS locations, DC also has a very unusually skewed populace at both ends - while we have 40%, predominantly low SES who drop out, at the other end, given Washington DC's unique position and role where it comes to national and international policy, it's filled with think tanks, research organizations, et cetera and has a disproportionately high number of A-type, and PhD type families (one of the highest concentrations of PhDs in the nation) who've come to DC from all over the nation, and all over the world - that are highly motivated and driven and who are perfectly fine with the acceleration, expectations and workload that BASIS puts on kids - it's not such a "rare" thing here, and certainly a very different demographic, culture and mindset from the southwest, where I also lived for a while.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard that at BASIS they shove little old ladies into traffic, spit on babies and set kittens on fire! Worst school EVER!

</sarcasm> Again, so much of what keeps getting posted here just keeps coming across as incredibly narrowly focused, shrill, and overcritical, and really doesn't provide full perspective, or pros and cons from a big picture standpoint. It's nothing that any outsider could ever use for making a sound and reasoned decision whether to send their kid there or not since it's lacking balance. And it also doesn't particularly help current families or staff, since most I know have been turned away by the tone of it and just tune the listserv and discussions like these out and ignore them. While some of the posters may be trying to be earnest, helpful and productive, they need to realize that pushing this hard ends up being counterproductive.

So how about some balance?

Hey, just like EVERY OTHER school in DC, not everyone is going to agree with how they do things, and it's not going to be a perfect fit for every child.

So it begs the question that I'd put out to all the apparent detractors and bashers, if you seemingly hate it so much, but are still there, then why? Obviously part of you must still think the pros outweigh the cons if you haven't left. How about laying those out? And if you aren't a current BASIS family or otherwise involved, then why are you so fixated on it, to the point of joining in on the bashing and detracting? Likewise, obviously there's some degree of fascination there, some pros or other considerations that haven't been expressed?

Also, do we all view it the same?

Is it all just memorization and standardized testing? I'd disagree, from our experience. Does it make kids work really hard and expect a lot of them? Yes, I'd definitely agree there. Could a kid burn out? Maybe. Are there still some rough edges and kinks to work out? Sure - but remember, they only have two years under their belt and are just a tiny way into their third. No fun or creativity? There's no less creative stuff than what I had in school as a kid, DC's done a lot of really great writing so far, along with some really interesting Art projects and fun extracurriculars.

So, it all has to be taken in perspective, and in comparison to the alternatives.

Again, while yes, there is obviously a small but very vocal handful of people who are bashing it, consider that it does draw and retain a lot of families, that while we have dozens and dozens of charters and public schools to pick from, BASIS has become the second largest charter middle school in DC, and that there are hundreds of kids and families there who are not joining in this online fray because they are happy with the school and are fine with how it is, and are confident that the rough spots will be worked out, and who signed up for this, eyes wide open - and who would be far more upset if the school were to be watered down, or to have diminished expectations, whether academic or behavior, or in any other way changed to be just like any other school in DC.

The general point you seem to be making is don't criticize BASIS in a way that you find unhelpful. That doesn't seem reasonable to expect on a discussion forum about charter schools. Unhappy parents want to vent. And don't forget of course the yang in BASIS boosters. If you are really happy about your school, why hang out of internet fora defending it?

As a teacher the fact of the matter is that I saw many many students leave (almost 15% of one 9th grade class) but for each student that leaves many more struggle on for whatever reason. Leaving a school is a difficult choice for many parents and kids, there are limited options, there are many pros about BASIS, tough to leave friends, etc. Some parents even forced their kids to remain. It happens. In short, I personally was very distressed as an educator and human being seeing the damage inflicted on more than a few students by the BASIS program. No hyperbole, not even pointing fingers since the faculty and admin at my school by and large were excellent. Just the simple fact that a sizable number of kids are not able to thrive, and in fact barely could survive the BASIS curriculum. That is what I saw. That is why I left.

So as an educator with first hand knowledge I feel that it is my duty to chime in against the PR BASIS puts out (the solution for what ails American public education, #1 ranked, etc). To me what makes BASIS a good school is that it has a reputation for excellence and for that reason attracts excellent teachers and highly motivated and above-average students. But BASIS admin thinks it is excellent because of its "world-renown" program that it devised from on high. They take away initiative and discretion from teachers (and make sure we know that we a replaceable) and adopt a take it or leave it mentality with parents.

Anonymous wrote:OK, I am not a teacher at Basis but I do teach middle school science and I am cracking up at this thread. This teacher made such a rookie mistake-- I learned long ago that if you are going to use food in a lab, you better make sure it's uncooked beans or something similar, because if you use candy it's not coming back. LOL. Once one of my colleagues had raw potato slices in salt water to show hyper-, hypo-, and isotonic solutions, and a kid actually ate a raw potato slice! Kids that age are nuts, man. (Excuse the pun.) I'm not saying it's okay, and obviously if a kid stole something he or she should be disciplined, but I can believe a kid taking some candy has blown up into some kind of federal case. Goodness.

Anonymous wrote:I heard that at BASIS they shove little old ladies into traffic, spit on babies and set kittens on fire! Worst school EVER!

</sarcasm> Again, so much of what keeps getting posted here just keeps coming across as incredibly narrowly focused, shrill, and overcritical, and really doesn't provide full perspective, or pros and cons from a big picture standpoint. It's nothing that any outsider could ever use for making a sound and reasoned decision whether to send their kid there or not since it's lacking balance. And it also doesn't particularly help current families or staff, since most I know have been turned away by the tone of it and just tune the listserv and discussions like these out and ignore them. While some of the posters may be trying to be earnest, helpful and productive, they need to realize that pushing this hard ends up being counterproductive.

So how about some balance?

Hey, just like EVERY OTHER school in DC, not everyone is going to agree with how they do things, and it's not going to be a perfect fit for every child.

So it begs the question that I'd put out to all the apparent detractors and bashers, if you seemingly hate it so much, but are still there, then why? Obviously part of you must still think the pros outweigh the cons if you haven't left. How about laying those out? And if you aren't a current BASIS family or otherwise involved, then why are you so fixated on it, to the point of joining in on the bashing and detracting? Likewise, obviously there's some degree of fascination there, some pros or other considerations that haven't been expressed?

Also, do we all view it the same?

Is it all just memorization and standardized testing? I'd disagree, from our experience. Does it make kids work really hard and expect a lot of them? Yes, I'd definitely agree there. Could a kid burn out? Maybe. Are there still some rough edges and kinks to work out? Sure - but remember, they only have two years under their belt and are just a tiny way into their third. No fun or creativity? There's no less creative stuff than what I had in school as a kid, DC's done a lot of really great writing so far, along with some really interesting Art projects and fun extracurriculars.

So, it all has to be taken in perspective, and in comparison to the alternatives.

Again, while yes, there is obviously a small but very vocal handful of people who are bashing it, consider that it does draw and retain a lot of families, that while we have dozens and dozens of charters and public schools to pick from, BASIS has become the second largest charter middle school in DC, and that there are hundreds of kids and families there who are not joining in this online fray because they are happy with the school and are fine with how it is, and are confident that the rough spots will be worked out, and who signed up for this, eyes wide open - and who would be far more upset if the school were to be watered down, or to have diminished expectations, whether academic or behavior, or in any other way changed to be just like any other school in DC.

Anonymous wrote:OK, I am not a teacher at Basis but I do teach middle school science and I am cracking up at this thread. This teacher made such a rookie mistake-- I learned long ago that if you are going to use food in a lab, you better make sure it's uncooked beans or something similar, because if you use candy it's not coming back. LOL. Once one of my colleagues had raw potato slices in salt water to show hyper-, hypo-, and isotonic solutions, and a kid actually ate a raw potato slice! Kids that age are nuts, man. (Excuse the pun.) I'm not saying it's okay, and obviously if a kid stole something he or she should be disciplined, but I can believe a kid taking some candy has blown up into some kind of federal case. Goodness.