Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 12:31     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
If a BASIS parent would do whatever it takes, wouldn't they move to the suburbs in the first place?
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 12:30     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Hmm. I'm looking at the 2023 outplacement instagram for Latin, and I see Princeton, UVA, Bucknell, Boulder, GWU, Georgetown, Bryn Mawr, Richmond, Trinity, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Northeastern, Penn, USC, Middlebury, Boston College, to name a few.

It's not a large class. What more are we asking for here? And you get this all from "laid-back," well-rounded and HAPPY kids? I'll take it.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 12:18     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:One of the nicest things about sending kids to Latin is that Latin parents aren’t DCUM posters.


Ironic


Not really, as I don't have kids old enough to send to Latin. My neighbor told me this, and seeing this thread, I see what she means.


I think some of this is parent self-selection. BASIS has more hyperacheiving Type A parents who want their kids to be the same & are more likely to have kids capable of being the same. Latin parents tend to be a bit more laid back about academics. Latin seems like a lovely, well-run school where kids are happy, but I look at the college outcomes and cringe. Why is virtually no one getting into the kind of school my DH & I went to? BASIS seems to have many issues, but some kids are getting into such schools. Most normal, laid back parents rank Latin over BASIS given everything else... I'd love to be one of those parents. BUT... I have this decision to make very soon & I'm not sure I can be.


Because times have changed and the college landscape has changed. It's a generational thing, it's not just Latin. The kids I interview for my alma mater come from all different schools, are 1000x better than I ever was, and don't get in.


+1, if you went to an Ivy or a place like Williams or University of Michigan and have the expectation that your child can perform as you did in school and in extra-curriculars and have the same outcome, you are going to be very, very frustrated by the college application experience.

I think the PP is right that there is a self-selection bias with BASIS but she's not following it through to it's conclusion. Yes, BASIS tends to attract much more hyper achieving (not merely high achieving) Type A parents. But their kids aren't getting into elite colleges because of BASIS, nor because they are inherently smarter. They are getting in because these families do whatever it takes. Fourteen years of piano lessons plus camp for composing? Okay. Private fencing coaches and traveling to meets all over the country to get ranked status in a sport that gets recruited at elite colleges? Okay. Helping DC found a non-profit at age 15 in an interest area? Sure. Oh, and this stuff is a give: college consultants and private tutors to ensure perfect applications and perfect grades. And it's easier to justify this stuff when your kid is at BASIS because you aren't paying for private school tuition, and your kid gets a boost from that too.

If you think simply sending your kid to BASIS and being laid back will result in your kid getting into Princeton or whatever? No. First you will wind up dealing with BASIS hounding you if your kid's test scores drop. Second, since BASIS does not offer a super well rounded education, your kid won't have the additional extra-curriculars necessary for admission to a school like that through school, so you have to provide it.

If you are cringing about Latin kids who wind up at UMD or JMU or University of Denver or Sarah Lawrence of whatever, then you need to decide. Do you want to do whatever it takes to get your kid into what you consider to be an elite college? Or are you willing to accept the new reality of college education, where simply being a smart and hardworking kid who is above average at one sport and also does great on the debate team doesn't mean you get to go to a top school, and decide that maybe that means you can still give your kid that same upbringing and be okay with them going to a school that would have been considered a let down when you attended college.

BASIS attracts whatever it takes parents. That might be good or bad depending on who you are.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 12:11     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:One of the nicest things about sending kids to Latin is that Latin parents aren’t DCUM posters.


Ironic


Not really, as I don't have kids old enough to send to Latin. My neighbor told me this, and seeing this thread, I see what she means.


I think some of this is parent self-selection. BASIS has more hyperacheiving Type A parents who want their kids to be the same & are more likely to have kids capable of being the same. Latin parents tend to be a bit more laid back about academics. Latin seems like a lovely, well-run school where kids are happy, but I look at the college outcomes and cringe. Why is virtually no one getting into the kind of school my DH & I went to? BASIS seems to have many issues, but some kids are getting into such schools. Most normal, laid back parents rank Latin over BASIS given everything else... I'd love to be one of those parents. BUT... I have this decision to make very soon & I'm not sure I can be.


Because times have changed and the college landscape has changed. It's a generational thing, it's not just Latin. The kids I interview for my alma mater come from all different schools, are 1000x better than I ever was, and don't get in.


That doesn't change the fact that SOME of them come from BASIS and virtually none seem to come from Latin. I don't disagree at all that it's much harder to get into such schools these days. Absolutely true.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 12:05     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:One of the nicest things about sending kids to Latin is that Latin parents aren’t DCUM posters.


Ironic


Not really, as I don't have kids old enough to send to Latin. My neighbor told me this, and seeing this thread, I see what she means.


I think some of this is parent self-selection. BASIS has more hyperacheiving Type A parents who want their kids to be the same & are more likely to have kids capable of being the same. Latin parents tend to be a bit more laid back about academics. Latin seems like a lovely, well-run school where kids are happy, but I look at the college outcomes and cringe. Why is virtually no one getting into the kind of school my DH & I went to? BASIS seems to have many issues, but some kids are getting into such schools. Most normal, laid back parents rank Latin over BASIS given everything else... I'd love to be one of those parents. BUT... I have this decision to make very soon & I'm not sure I can be.


Because times have changed and the college landscape has changed. It's a generational thing, it's not just Latin. The kids I interview for my alma mater come from all different schools, are 1000x better than I ever was, and don't get in.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 12:02     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:One of the nicest things about sending kids to Latin is that Latin parents aren’t DCUM posters.


Ironic


Not really, as I don't have kids old enough to send to Latin. My neighbor told me this, and seeing this thread, I see what she means.


I think some of this is parent self-selection. BASIS has more hyperacheiving Type A parents who want their kids to be the same & are more likely to have kids capable of being the same. Latin parents tend to be a bit more laid back about academics. Latin seems like a lovely, well-run school where kids are happy, but I look at the college outcomes and cringe. Why is virtually no one getting into the kind of school my DH & I went to? BASIS seems to have many issues, but some kids are getting into such schools. Most normal, laid back parents rank Latin over BASIS given everything else... I'd love to be one of those parents. BUT... I have this decision to make very soon & I'm not sure I can be.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 08:49     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
I've noticed that parents of Walls/Banneker/Duke Ellington/McKinley also don't post much on here.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 08:45     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:One of the nicest things about sending kids to Latin is that Latin parents aren’t DCUM posters.


Ironic


Not really, as I don't have kids old enough to send to Latin. My neighbor told me this, and seeing this thread, I see what she means.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 08:42     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:One of the nicest things about sending kids to Latin is that Latin parents aren’t DCUM posters.


Latin parents don't post much because their school is balanced and quite well-run in a decent facility. Some of the strongest Latin 8th graders still leave for Walls and it's not a great school for STEM, but other than that, Latin's pretty OK. BASIS seems to have much bigger problems, permanent ones.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 08:37     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s your plan? Do you feel lien you can keep your kids in DCPS after elementary?


How old are your kids? Your plan depends on how close they are to MS.


This matters a lot for some options. We were encouraged at the progress at EH when we toured recently even though ours ended up other places. It probably still won't be a first choice for most for a few more years, but it's changing. In fact, I'd suspect (without having dug into the numbers) that the changing student body is part of the reason for the point that the wpost was touting in the articles from the president's visit that EH is one of the few schools with higher scores post pandemic than pre. (If that's not a factor, surely someone here will weigh in to DCUMsplain)

Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 08:18     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:One of the nicest things about sending kids to Latin is that Latin parents aren’t DCUM posters.


Ironic
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 07:09     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
One of the nicest things about sending kids to Latin is that Latin parents aren’t DCUM posters.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2023 06:53     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m new to the area. Can someone help?

DCI?
Latin?
Basis?
ITS?

Can you give me the general gist if these schools?

Thank you.


Lol, I hope this is a joke, but here:

DCI: Dual language with tracks in Spanish, French, and Chinese. You will not get in unless your child attends one of the feeder elementaries, especially if you are Spanish track, as feeders get preference in the lottery (lots of Spanish feeders, only one Chinese and a couple French). Most of those are hard to get into via the lottery, especially for PK. So this may come down to your willingness to send your kid to immersion in 1st or 2nd grade. YMMV.

Latin: People seem to like it ok. Better option than Eastern for sure. Two campuses, the newer one (Cooper) is closer to the Hill, though a temporary space that isn't that great. They have an IB diploma program. You have to lottery for this and there are no feeders, and lots of people don't get spots.

BASIS: Very math/science focused, very testing focused. Lots of stuff on the Basis approach online, go look it up. People who really care about high math scores like Basis a lot because that can be hard to find in DC. Campus is in Chinatown, reasonable commute from the Hill. But not a great fit if you really care about things like having access to arts, athletics, foreign language at school (many BASIS families do those, but outside school). It's kind of a love it or hate it situation. Also incredibly hard to get into via the lottery.

ITS: This is a fairly progressive charter with emphasis on social justice and socio-emotional learning, though they have decent test scores. Elementary feeds to middle, if you don't get into ITS in PK there are opportunities to lottery in during middle elementary or even just for middle school, and you don't have the immersion issue if you do. MS is very small, which is not for everyone (limits activities and certain course offerings as well). Like BASIS, this school is either a good fit for you or it's really not a good fit for you. Know yourself.

Five years ago, most people would have put every one of these schools above the Ward 6 middle schools. Now, there are more people who would argue the proximity, size, and offerings of Stuart Hobson, Eliot-Hine, and Jefferson Academy make them better options for many students. They all have better IB buy-in than they used to, and it will likely increase as competition for spots at charters gets harder.

However, pretty much everyone still prefers any of these over Eastern High School (save ITS, which only goes through middle), so even people who are open minded about the DCPS middle schools will lottery for spots at these schools in order to have a more concrete HS path.


Whoever wrote this doesn’t know much about BASIS, and is just parroting points they read on DCUM:

1) BASIS has a lot of advanced math/science but the ELA is advanced as well. If you look at high school, they have among the top ELA PARCC scores in DC. If you exclude at-risk students (they are 100% lottery), they have the best ELA PARCC scores in DC. BASIS also has the top average SAT scores of any public school in DC.

2) BASIS is not in Chinatown. It is downtown though.

3) Access to arts? The school is a block from the National Portrait Gallery and easily walkable to the main Smithsonian art museums on the mall. There are plenty of art classes as well.

4) BASIS is pretty small and not particularly sports focused but they have plenty of sports for their size. But, yes, if you want to play tackle football or lacrosse, go someplace else.

5) Foreign languages? BASIS requires 2 years of linguistics (which covers different languages) plus 5 years of a specific foreign language. That is 7 years total. DCPS requires 2 years of a foreign language to graduate.


Just another booster claiming that BASIS is strong across the board when it's not. Yes, BASIS is far better than DCPS academically, because DCPS is mediocre at best, particularly at the MS level. The far more useful and valid comparison is how BASIS measures up to the ready alternatives for its families: the Latins, if families have lottery luck, the better suburban high schools in this Metro area if families move, and strong Metro area privates if families can afford them, perhaps with fi aid.

Speaking from personal experience, ELA at BASIS isn't too hot. Their arts program is weak for a glaringly obvious reason: their arts facilities stink. The program makes poor use of the Smithsonian museums nearby, almost never taking students to them, something I used to complain about to admins when my kids were at BASIS. Yes, BASIS has plenty of sports, unserious sports. Which sports at BASIS are high-octane, varsity, highly competitive? Arguably, none. Foreign languages? Lousy. No language instruction prior to 8th grade. The 2 years of linguistics doesn't cover anything but kiddie linguistics of dubious value. All language instruction is at the beginning level in from 8th grade, meaning that former immersion students routinely end up studying languages they speak, read and write well at the beginning level, completely ridiculous. The reality is that high teacher turnover and weak fundraising by the franchise bogs down almost everything but math instruction at BASIS. Hint: advanced math is cheap to teach.
Anonymous
Post 09/07/2023 22:07     Subject: Re:Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:New USN&WR rankings are out.

BASIS DC retained its rankings as #1 middle public middle school in DC, #1 charter school in DC, and #1 non-selective high school in DC.

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/middle-schools/district-of-columbia


My kids are at BASIS. And I care not at all about USN&WR.


+1. The fact that BASIS itself cares about it so much is hilarious.


Their trumpeting of those rankings is one of the things I don't like about the school. - Another Basis parent.
Anonymous
Post 09/07/2023 20:29     Subject: Capitol Hill - middle school and beyond?
You should start a new thread to compare the schools you want to know about. But before you do, try to search threads already on here discussing all of the schools you mentioned. You will get a good sense of what people think about those schools and may be able to ultimately ask more nuanced questions about them. Also, get ready for a lot of complaining and school bashing. Middle School is an especially touchy subject on this forum and is somehow brought into every other post.