Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1. I went to an Ivy on a Pell Grant after having had a great deal of fun in HS, playing sports and in a marching band, acting in plays, participating in student government, goofing around with friends. I don't remember doing four hours of homework a night, at least not on a regular basis.

well said. BASIS parent here who is shocked by the amount of homework in high school at places like TJ, BASIS DC, and the top private schools in DC - but has figured out that the only way to escape may be by going to Wilson - but I think the kids there who get into Ivies from Wilson probably also have a similar amount of work as well by high school............

I went to a top DC private, had a good deal of fun in high school doing drama and other activities and also do not remember 4 hours of homework ever unless it was because I had procrastinated on a huge essay or something. Also got into an Ivy, and had a blast there. OTOH, husband went to top serious school in NYC and said that he was "overprepared" for our Ivy (and he did quite a lot of homework). I definitely did not feel "overprepared" but maybe that was a confidence issue. We were there at the same time. So who knows.

If you were in a marching band, you probably were in the suburbs............ but maybe I am wrong.

All I am saying is that the times have changed, the workload has increased (but at least at BASIS there is no busy work) and kids at Walls constantly complain about their homework load as well.

And I was quite relieved to see that the times had also changed at my old private where they are complaining about 4 hours of homework a night by 11th grade. And my BASIS 8th grader had nowhere near 4 hours of homework a night, but if we are competing with the private schools, and that is what they do, makes sense that BASIS does and has top nationally ranked schools..........

The only school that may have more homework is Banneker, and I think only the top kids there do as well. But moving from BASIS to Banneker or Walls to reduce work load or get a "normal high school experience" makes no sense. The kids at Banneker and Walls have their own culture and just as much work........ and not a "normal" experience - not to say a bad one, just different.

Anonymous wrote:+1. I went to an Ivy on a Pell Grant after having had a great deal of fun in HS, playing sports and in a marching band, acting in plays, participating in student government, goofing around with friends. I don't remember doing four hours of homework a night, at least not on a regular basis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The kids that have left are so much happier and well-adjusted, have tons of friends, and are doing well academically in their new schools. They find school to be a fun and balanced place to learn, as well as to grow physically and socially without the dreaded surprise of failing a class during the last week of school.

Very revealing -- you have no clue. My child is one of the 7th graders who left despite all was going very well and learning was exciting and fast-paced. None of those things are true where my child is now, and I rue the day we left for private. Basis will not take back students who have left.

Anonymous wrote:It appears that this is the business model for the BASIS franchise (not unique to DC). According the news report, "During the 2012 to 2013 school year, BASIS Scottsdale had 144 students in the sixth grade, but only 32 in the 12th grade. Other BASIS schools show a similar pattern." But BASIS explains that the cohort classes in some of these instances were small to begin with. Who to believe?

http://www.kpho.com/story/29731806/basis-schools-fight-criticism-work-to-increase-student-retention

Anonymous wrote:OMG OP, we couldn't ALL get into Latin like your DC! And for whatever anyone says about the obnoxious BASIS booster and basher parents, I'm up.to.here with the smugness of the Latin families. Please, please write more about balancing the whole child.

Whether or not we stay at BASIS through high school, I cannot wait to compare where the first graduating seniors will be accepted in comparison to Latin.

You guys seem clueless.

My next door neighbor's kid, a very hard working young man whom I have known for many years attended DC BASIS since its inception.
The first year, he was a very happy 8th grader.

Year two was alright, except for the end of the year when one teacher decided to fail him without giving any prior notice for supposed plagiarism on a final exam. When hid parents asked for proof which could not be provided, the story changed; they were told that the "F" was the result of his final exam not reflecting his writing style. During a meeting, the principal promised he would retake the exam, but after postponing the test several times, he was told point blank it would not happen. As for this year, he showed me his "CJ" notebook where his end of year grade was a 93 in that English. A couple weeks later, the grade was lower by 20% in the report card.

[/b]This young man and another classmate are totally convinced that the report cards and even the AP exams are being manipulated by BASIS data person who has the ultimate control over students' grades. This is a case of the truth being stranger than fiction.[b]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several months ago, one of the BASIS admins told me, a volunteer, that we "want half the MS kids to leave before HS on every campus because they're not cut out for the academic challenges ahead, and the federal charter law won't let us screen for the right types."

The law, as written, is half the problem. Why not let BASIS create the charter versions of Stuyvesant, Bronx Sci and Boston Latin in various states and DC, as long as a good many low-income kids are being served in the process? What would be so horrible about that?

I think if there are going to be magnet schools, they should be run by the city. If there's something to learn from Basis, or contract with Basis for management of one, that'd be fine. But it's a little creepy to me to think of giving private sector the right to run something like that. The general direction for something like that should be accountable to a public official.

I also think it's creepy that they're skirting the law... "the right types"...

Anonymous wrote:Several months ago, one of the BASIS admins told me, a volunteer, that we "want half the MS kids to leave before HS on every campus because they're not cut out for the academic challenges ahead, and the federal charter law won't let us screen for the right types."

The law, as written, is half the problem. Why not let BASIS create the charter versions of Stuyvesant, Bronx Sci and Boston Latin in various states and DC, as long as a good many low-income kids are being served in the process? What would be so horrible about that?

Anonymous wrote:Several months ago, one of the BASIS admins told me, a volunteer, that we "want half the MS kids to leave before HS on every campus because they're not cut out for the academic challenges ahead, and the federal charter law won't let us screen for the right types."

The law, as written, is half the problem. Why not let BASIS create the charter versions of Stuyvesant, Bronx Sci and Boston Latin in various states and DC, as long as a good many low-income kids are being served in the process? What would be so horrible about that?