Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny how the school is okay with operating without a real HoS for the majority of the school year but can’t operate for a few more days (weeks?) without the LS Director who was trying to extend maternity leave a bit to care for a newborn. In a pandemic. The rough decision to deny saved PTO could very well end in in a lawsuit, adding to the financial stress that the school is already feeling.

This has to send a bad vibe to faculty/staff and parents alike. Probably a wake up call to those not already looking for other jobs for next school year, which appear to be plentiful especially for those who demonstrated teaching in person during the past year.

Or, it’s possible the employee didn’t understand how FMLA works. It’s unpaid, but you’re able to use PTO while on unpaid leave. And you don’t accrue PTO while on FMLA. And you have to use 2 weeks of leave before short term disability starts. (I’m assuming that the employee handbook is fairly standard, but that’s how it generally works unless the company gives you greater benefits). So, like many employees who aren’t employment lawyers or HR professionals, she probably didn’t realize how all this worked and miscalculated what she had to work with and used all of her PTO during her leave. Happens all the time. They probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago but had to wait until the leave was finished.

Bad vibe? Maybe, but probably not illegal.

I work at the school and can share what our "maternity leave" policy is. FMLA is unpaid for 12 weeks, Short-Term Disability is 2/3 pay for half of that time. You must use 5 days of PTO at the start of your FMLA while waiting for STD to kick-in. If you have PTO left after that, it is up to the HOS whether or not to approve you using it once your FMLA has expired. There have been other BASIS employees who have been able to take PTO post FMLA leave either to either extend their time off or to ease back part-time. I'm not sure how many days the Director had left or was requesting, but given her level of seniority and the length of time she worked at the school, it was definitely more than 5 days. She had the days but the interim HOS would not give permission for her to take them, even given this unique situation in the middle of a pandemic. This place is heartless and just unfortunately doesn't care about employees like they are human beings. I agree with the previous poster that they had probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago and this made it easy for the school to follow-through with that It will be interesting to see what the leadership team looks like next year...

That's the typical BIM management culture that many parents never see; they blow happy smoke up everyone's backside and make tons of promises, then when it's time to wield the axe, the interim HOS (former Head of Ops) sits down and tells people with no warning that they have been canned. There are no contracts at BIM, just at will employment.

I'm amazed that anyone stays there given the atmosphere of a sword always ready to drop on the next unwitting victim.

So.... there is a lot of truth to this, but the other reality is that those decisions are frequently made at the central level - meaning it's BASIS Independent Schools management that makes them, not necessarily the staff in McLean. This is a big part of why those decisions can seem so cold and detached - they're not being made in the building but they are being executed in the building.

True. The net result is that BIM faculty can never rely on anything they are told in the building. It creates the "toxic work culture" that gets referred to so often there. Plus it indicates an organization with zero class or integrity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny how the school is okay with operating without a real HoS for the majority of the school year but can’t operate for a few more days (weeks?) without the LS Director who was trying to extend maternity leave a bit to care for a newborn. In a pandemic. The rough decision to deny saved PTO could very well end in in a lawsuit, adding to the financial stress that the school is already feeling.

This has to send a bad vibe to faculty/staff and parents alike. Probably a wake up call to those not already looking for other jobs for next school year, which appear to be plentiful especially for those who demonstrated teaching in person during the past year.

Or, it’s possible the employee didn’t understand how FMLA works. It’s unpaid, but you’re able to use PTO while on unpaid leave. And you don’t accrue PTO while on FMLA. And you have to use 2 weeks of leave before short term disability starts. (I’m assuming that the employee handbook is fairly standard, but that’s how it generally works unless the company gives you greater benefits). So, like many employees who aren’t employment lawyers or HR professionals, she probably didn’t realize how all this worked and miscalculated what she had to work with and used all of her PTO during her leave. Happens all the time. They probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago but had to wait until the leave was finished.

Bad vibe? Maybe, but probably not illegal.

I work at the school and can share what our "maternity leave" policy is. FMLA is unpaid for 12 weeks, Short-Term Disability is 2/3 pay for half of that time. You must use 5 days of PTO at the start of your FMLA while waiting for STD to kick-in. If you have PTO left after that, it is up to the HOS whether or not to approve you using it once your FMLA has expired. There have been other BASIS employees who have been able to take PTO post FMLA leave either to either extend their time off or to ease back part-time. I'm not sure how many days the Director had left or was requesting, but given her level of seniority and the length of time she worked at the school, it was definitely more than 5 days. She had the days but the interim HOS would not give permission for her to take them, even given this unique situation in the middle of a pandemic. This place is heartless and just unfortunately doesn't care about employees like they are human beings. I agree with the previous poster that they had probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago and this made it easy for the school to follow-through with that It will be interesting to see what the leadership team looks like next year...

That's the typical BIM management culture that many parents never see; they blow happy smoke up everyone's backside and make tons of promises, then when it's time to wield the axe, the interim HOS (former Head of Ops) sits down and tells people with no warning that they have been canned. There are no contracts at BIM, just at will employment.

I'm amazed that anyone stays there given the atmosphere of a sword always ready to drop on the next unwitting victim.

So.... there is a lot of truth to this, but the other reality is that those decisions are frequently made at the central level - meaning it's BASIS Independent Schools management that makes them, not necessarily the staff in McLean. This is a big part of why those decisions can seem so cold and detached - they're not being made in the building but they are being executed in the building.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny how the school is okay with operating without a real HoS for the majority of the school year but can’t operate for a few more days (weeks?) without the LS Director who was trying to extend maternity leave a bit to care for a newborn. In a pandemic. The rough decision to deny saved PTO could very well end in in a lawsuit, adding to the financial stress that the school is already feeling.

This has to send a bad vibe to faculty/staff and parents alike. Probably a wake up call to those not already looking for other jobs for next school year, which appear to be plentiful especially for those who demonstrated teaching in person during the past year.

Or, it’s possible the employee didn’t understand how FMLA works. It’s unpaid, but you’re able to use PTO while on unpaid leave. And you don’t accrue PTO while on FMLA. And you have to use 2 weeks of leave before short term disability starts. (I’m assuming that the employee handbook is fairly standard, but that’s how it generally works unless the company gives you greater benefits). So, like many employees who aren’t employment lawyers or HR professionals, she probably didn’t realize how all this worked and miscalculated what she had to work with and used all of her PTO during her leave. Happens all the time. They probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago but had to wait until the leave was finished.

Bad vibe? Maybe, but probably not illegal.

I work at the school and can share what our "maternity leave" policy is. FMLA is unpaid for 12 weeks, Short-Term Disability is 2/3 pay for half of that time. You must use 5 days of PTO at the start of your FMLA while waiting for STD to kick-in. If you have PTO left after that, it is up to the HOS whether or not to approve you using it once your FMLA has expired. There have been other BASIS employees who have been able to take PTO post FMLA leave either to either extend their time off or to ease back part-time. I'm not sure how many days the Director had left or was requesting, but given her level of seniority and the length of time she worked at the school, it was definitely more than 5 days. She had the days but the interim HOS would not give permission for her to take them, even given this unique situation in the middle of a pandemic. This place is heartless and just unfortunately doesn't care about employees like they are human beings. I agree with the previous poster that they had probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago and this made it easy for the school to follow-through with that It will be interesting to see what the leadership team looks like next year...

That's the typical BIM management culture that many parents never see; they blow happy smoke up everyone's backside and make tons of promises, then when it's time to wield the axe, the interim HOS (former Head of Ops) sits down and tells people with no warning that they have been canned. There are no contracts at BIM, just at will employment.

I'm amazed that anyone stays there given the atmosphere of a sword always ready to drop on the next unwitting victim.

So.... there is a lot of truth to this, but the other reality is that those decisions are frequently made at the central level - meaning it's BASIS Independent Schools management that makes them, not necessarily the staff in McLean. This is a big part of why those decisions can seem so cold and detached - they're not being made in the building but they are being executed in the building.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny how the school is okay with operating without a real HoS for the majority of the school year but can’t operate for a few more days (weeks?) without the LS Director who was trying to extend maternity leave a bit to care for a newborn. In a pandemic. The rough decision to deny saved PTO could very well end in in a lawsuit, adding to the financial stress that the school is already feeling.

This has to send a bad vibe to faculty/staff and parents alike. Probably a wake up call to those not already looking for other jobs for next school year, which appear to be plentiful especially for those who demonstrated teaching in person during the past year.

Or, it’s possible the employee didn’t understand how FMLA works. It’s unpaid, but you’re able to use PTO while on unpaid leave. And you don’t accrue PTO while on FMLA. And you have to use 2 weeks of leave before short term disability starts. (I’m assuming that the employee handbook is fairly standard, but that’s how it generally works unless the company gives you greater benefits). So, like many employees who aren’t employment lawyers or HR professionals, she probably didn’t realize how all this worked and miscalculated what she had to work with and used all of her PTO during her leave. Happens all the time. They probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago but had to wait until the leave was finished.

Bad vibe? Maybe, but probably not illegal.

I work at the school and can share what our "maternity leave" policy is. FMLA is unpaid for 12 weeks, Short-Term Disability is 2/3 pay for half of that time. You must use 5 days of PTO at the start of your FMLA while waiting for STD to kick-in. If you have PTO left after that, it is up to the HOS whether or not to approve you using it once your FMLA has expired. There have been other BASIS employees who have been able to take PTO post FMLA leave either to either extend their time off or to ease back part-time. I'm not sure how many days the Director had left or was requesting, but given her level of seniority and the length of time she worked at the school, it was definitely more than 5 days. She had the days but the interim HOS would not give permission for her to take them, even given this unique situation in the middle of a pandemic. This place is heartless and just unfortunately doesn't care about employees like they are human beings. I agree with the previous poster that they had probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago and this made it easy for the school to follow-through with that It will be interesting to see what the leadership team looks like next year...

That's the typical BIM management culture that many parents never see; they blow happy smoke up everyone's backside and make tons of promises, then when it's time to wield the axe, the interim HOS (former Head of Ops) sits down and tells people with no warning that they have been canned. There are no contracts at BIM, just at will employment.

I'm amazed that anyone stays there given the atmosphere of a sword always ready to drop on the next unwitting victim.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny how the school is okay with operating without a real HoS for the majority of the school year but can’t operate for a few more days (weeks?) without the LS Director who was trying to extend maternity leave a bit to care for a newborn. In a pandemic. The rough decision to deny saved PTO could very well end in in a lawsuit, adding to the financial stress that the school is already feeling.

This has to send a bad vibe to faculty/staff and parents alike. Probably a wake up call to those not already looking for other jobs for next school year, which appear to be plentiful especially for those who demonstrated teaching in person during the past year.

Or, it’s possible the employee didn’t understand how FMLA works. It’s unpaid, but you’re able to use PTO while on unpaid leave. And you don’t accrue PTO while on FMLA. And you have to use 2 weeks of leave before short term disability starts. (I’m assuming that the employee handbook is fairly standard, but that’s how it generally works unless the company gives you greater benefits). So, like many employees who aren’t employment lawyers or HR professionals, she probably didn’t realize how all this worked and miscalculated what she had to work with and used all of her PTO during her leave. Happens all the time. They probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago but had to wait until the leave was finished.

Bad vibe? Maybe, but probably not illegal.

I work at the school and can share what our "maternity leave" policy is. FMLA is unpaid for 12 weeks, Short-Term Disability is 2/3 pay for half of that time. You must use 5 days of PTO at the start of your FMLA while waiting for STD to kick-in. If you have PTO left after that, it is up to the HOS whether or not to approve you using it once your FMLA has expired. There have been other BASIS employees who have been able to take PTO post FMLA leave either to either extend their time off or to ease back part-time. I'm not sure how many days the Director had left or was requesting, but given her level of seniority and the length of time she worked at the school, it was definitely more than 5 days. She had the days but the interim HOS would not give permission for her to take them, even given this unique situation in the middle of a pandemic. This place is heartless and just unfortunately doesn't care about employees like they are human beings. I agree with the previous poster that they had probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago and this made it easy for the school to follow-through with that It will be interesting to see what the leadership team looks like next year...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny how the school is okay with operating without a real HoS for the majority of the school year but can’t operate for a few more days (weeks?) without the LS Director who was trying to extend maternity leave a bit to care for a newborn. In a pandemic. The rough decision to deny saved PTO could very well end in in a lawsuit, adding to the financial stress that the school is already feeling.

This has to send a bad vibe to faculty/staff and parents alike. Probably a wake up call to those not already looking for other jobs for next school year, which appear to be plentiful especially for those who demonstrated teaching in person during the past year.

Or, it’s possible the employee didn’t understand how FMLA works. It’s unpaid, but you’re able to use PTO while on unpaid leave. And you don’t accrue PTO while on FMLA. And you have to use 2 weeks of leave before short term disability starts. (I’m assuming that the employee handbook is fairly standard, but that’s how it generally works unless the company gives you greater benefits). So, like many employees who aren’t employment lawyers or HR professionals, she probably didn’t realize how all this worked and miscalculated what she had to work with and used all of her PTO during her leave. Happens all the time. They probably made the decision to eliminate the position a while ago but had to wait until the leave was finished.

Bad vibe? Maybe, but probably not illegal.

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry but compare the Arts, sports, stem related, theatre-related activities of other independent schools to limited offerings of BASIS and then tell me what you think. BASIS is utterly not in the same league as others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who said “net can’t even see any loss whatsoever” how is it not a loss for the community, students/friendships, and the academic environment at a school that prides itself on an advanced curriculum when it seems to continually replace outgoing students with new students?

Since you have a close source, it would be interesting to know how many students didn’t re-enroll in February? How many remain of the original 400 founding students? How many of the (only a handful in the entire school) students that opted for online will be returning in the fall? If there are truly no concerns then this information should be very helpful to those considering the school and reading the threads that seem to contradict what you are saying.

There were around 276 founding students in PK-10. Less than 100 founding students remain, and about 35 students in the initial high school group stayed through graduation. They added the toddler group and gave them substantial credits to stay after Covid. The high school is very small- less than 120 total, I think.

Admissions has done a great job bringing in new families every year despite the ongoing challenges at the school. Unfortunately, administration does not do well keeping people happy once they are in. I have read on here before that it’s the kids “who couldn’t keep up” who leave, but our personal experience was the exact opposite. The top kids in the grade were the ones who left, year after year. I would love to see the school grow, but they can’t grow until they offer more, and they can’t offer much until they bring in more $$$. Social, sports and extracurricular opportunities are very limited.

Absolutely agree- it is the highly qualified students that leave because they realize how little BASIS offers. No social, sport and arts related activities- all run by an super unqualified acting HOS with no background in independent school management. The hole continues to be dug deeper...........

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who said “net can’t even see any loss whatsoever” how is it not a loss for the community, students/friendships, and the academic environment at a school that prides itself on an advanced curriculum when it seems to continually replace outgoing students with new students?

Since you have a close source, it would be interesting to know how many students didn’t re-enroll in February? How many remain of the original 400 founding students? How many of the (only a handful in the entire school) students that opted for online will be returning in the fall? If there are truly no concerns then this information should be very helpful to those considering the school and reading the threads that seem to contradict what you are saying.

There were around 276 founding students in PK-10. Less than 100 founding students remain, and about 35 students in the initial high school group stayed through graduation. They added the toddler group and gave them substantial credits to stay after Covid. The high school is very small- less than 120 total, I think.

Admissions has done a great job bringing in new families every year despite the ongoing challenges at the school. Unfortunately, administration does not do well keeping people happy once they are in. I have read on here before that it’s the kids “who couldn’t keep up” who leave, but our personal experience was the exact opposite. The top kids in the grade were the ones who left, year after year. I would love to see the school grow, but they can’t grow until they offer more, and they can’t offer much until they bring in more $$$. Social, sports and extracurricular opportunities are very limited.

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who said “net can’t even see any loss whatsoever” how is it not a loss for the community, students/friendships, and the academic environment at a school that prides itself on an advanced curriculum when it seems to continually replace outgoing students with new students?

Since you have a close source, it would be interesting to know how many students didn’t re-enroll in February? How many remain of the original 400 founding students? How many of the (only a handful in the entire school) students that opted for online will be returning in the fall? If there are truly no concerns then this information should be very helpful to those considering the school and reading the threads that seem to contradict what you are saying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More than 100 per year? I wonder how many hundreds of students have cycled through this 400 person school over the last five years?

Unreleased enrollment numbers were mid-400s in 2018-2019 headed to mid-500s the next fall until they announced the sale to the Chinese private equity group. Actual enrollment in fall 2019 was low 400s.

Then they pulled the "let's sublet half the building" stunt in spring 2020, and the actual enrollment for fall 2020 was low 300s.

Not that you will ever hear this or see this on any BIM media source. All very hush hush. So they can announce "120 new families!" without pointing out how many they lost at the same time.

Fall 2020 didn’t see a 25% drop and this is complete hogwash. And it’s not 120 new families, it’s around 120 new students. Pretty pleased to see that.

Yes, it did. If BASIS released its top secret enrollment info, you would have to admit that. The DL helped them conceal the reality. But that number comes from senior management levels. Not my problem if you don't like it.

Still call BS. They had some students move to DL for online, but I’m seeing them come back for next year. Nowhere near 25%, net can’t even see any loss whatsoever. Nowhere near an apologist for this admin, but your numbers are crap—make them public with sourcing or take a walk.

There is no public sourcing for BASIS enrollment numbers, only what management people choose to tell individuals. My data was sourced there.

I suggest you call up the school and ask for their enrollment numbers for the last five years then post them here, or tell us why you can't.

Then take the playground "call BS" and "take a walk" talk and work on growing up a bit.