<p>I’m from AZ. My kid goes to public high school. She has lots of Basis friends (current juniors) and also lots of classmates who were in Basis in middle school. In many ways it’s a great program. But a lot of kids do Basis for middle school and then come back to public high school for various reasons. Those reasons might include wanting more of a traditional public high school experience with a wider range of extracurriculars. The kids who are left at Basis in high school tend to be from very dedicated, involved, and affluent families and it’s no surprise they excel at SAT’s and AP’s. But it’s also true that a lot of kids who go back to traditional high school haven’t learned their math classes with adequate rigor and are placed back at more appropriate levels of math classes.</p>
<p>By pushing your son so early you are denying him the opportunity to “find the fire in his belly”. In other words, it’s better for him to discover his abilities and then drive to achieve on his own, and not just because you put him on a fast-track at a young age. </p>
<p>My son completed multivariable calc plus another post-AP math class as a HS senior - and he only started with geometry in 9th grade. He was able to do so by taking summer classes - but it was because HE wanted to - not because his parents pushed him. </p>
<p>When a child or teenager takes on a goal of their own they gain tremendous strength and satisfaction from the achievement of that goal. I would urge you not to deny your son the opportunity to find the fire in his belly. </p>
<p>@Corinthian, what you say makes a lot of sense to me. I think in many areas, it’s the middle schools which are lacking in academics more than the high schools and I could see parents sending their kids to BASIS for middle school to get higher-level academics than what may be available at their school, then pulling them out after 8th grade to attend a high school with broader offerings and a more complete school experience. But that might also result in some kids getting pushed too fast in middle school. </p>
<p>Can you enlighten us on how geometry is handled in BASIS schools–do they really just skip over it?</p>
<p>I would definitely say that in my school district the middle schools are the weak link, and that’s when a lot of parents look for other options including charter schools. Here’s a link to the Basis math sequence for the AZ charter schools: <a href=“http://basisschools.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2013%20course%20sequences_0913_math.pdf”>http://basisschools.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2013%20course%20sequences_0913_math.pdf</a> You can see they go from Algebra 1 to Algebra 2 to Pre-Calculus A or AB. (No mention of Geometry!) But I am told by our math teachers that the kids who switch back to the public high school for 9th grade think they can enroll in AP Calculus BC for 9th grade. But they are rarely ready and usually need to be placed in a lower level math class like Geometry/Trigonometry Honors.</p>
<p>Interesting, even though that sequence is for an existing school, they’re still not going to say what the classes past AP might be. I notice they also have an unusual practice of splitting precalculus into two parts and offering it as a 2 year sequence. So while the kids on the slowest math track may be taking algebra2 in 8th grade, they never do get geometry, and they still only finish BC calculus in 12th grade. Overall, not any better than our public school manages to do with the top quarter of their kids.</p>
<p>It just seems like there’s such a rush to cram as many AP classes into hs as possible. The OP is not from this country - I wonder if this reflects the )mistaken) belief that admission at highly selective college is the “reward” for tons of APs. </p>
<p>I agree that’s a misconception. But it’s also true that in many public high schools, the AP classes are the upper-level honors courses and kids have to choose between AP classes and being in regular classes with kids who don’t care at all about academics and may even be repeating the class because they failed it the first time. I also haven’t heard of any fights breaking out in any of our AP classes but that certainly has happened in the regular classes. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is certainly true with D’s school. I call it “diverse.” But that’s not really true—it’s two schools in one building, split by SES/ethnicity. Theoretically, the opportunity to take up to 14 AP classes exists for everybody, but in reality it doesn’t work that way. A recent NHS induction ceremony is a good example, in a school that is almost 50% hispanic, fewer than 3% of the juniors inducted this year fell into that ethnic group (and in this case, ethnicity is basically a proxy for SES). </p>
<p>Oh for heavens sake! This is a young kid. One science course and one math course per year is fine. He isn’t going to have to take remedial courses in college if he “only” takes one of each every year.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I understand the OP’s reasons for pushing his very young kiddo into this STEM or bust track at a young age. You know, there are plenty of other ways to be a strong student. </p>
<p>And FYI to the OP, I agree with posters upstream who say that your local proven strong (at least that is what you are saying) public school is likely fine. And as noted by others, there is no shortage of well established private schools in the Bay Area that cater to STEM students.</p>
<p>I would give this new school a pass.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>People keep posting stuff like this as if the OP is obsessed with pushing her kid, but I don’t see it. It seems like she/he is just gathering info to me.</p>
<p>It certainly looks like “pushing” since the kid, while advanced in math by normal US standards, is behind the lowest math track that the BASIS school offers. So the kid would either have to play “catch up” or “fail” out of the BASIS school. In contrast, a more normal good public or private school would offer the opportunity for the kid to move ahead if he wants, but not mark the kids as a failure if he does not move ahead.</p>
<p>^Yeah, but the OP’s son seems to be more advanced than their current placement indicates. SAT math isn’t good for placement, but getting 660 is just about impossible without algebra 1. And the OP estimated that their son already knows a good deal about algebra and geometry. How the OP’s son knows this extra stuff might help us all give them advice? </p>
<p>Taking a class so you can fit into a higher track is not a big deal or necessarily a sign of a pushy parent if you do it for the right reasons. I took a summer class so I would have time to take the interesting math electives at my high school my last semester. </p>
<p>I don’t know about BASIS personally. My hunch is that it’s not the best school available, especially considering that silicon valley probably has a bunch of good schools. However, I think the alarm that people seem to be expressing is unwarranted… When I read the OP’s posts, I don’t see any signs of an excessive emotional attachment to how advanced the child is. I think we may all be a little super-sensitive to red flags, including issues on the value of your kid being slightly more advanced.</p>
<p>i checked out this school last week and seems pretty good. Yes it is highly aggressive. I might consider it because my daughters current public (excellent one in the state) doesn’t allow skipping until 7th nor they accept any outside programs like community college, CTY, EPGY etc. My daughter too SAT (6th grade) and got 610 in Math , 420 in Reading and 430 in writing. </p>
<p>If you choose it, tell us how it goes. </p>
<p>Thinking about it some more today, our big public district allowed kids to test for advanced math placement at the end of elementary school. A good advanced placement score would let kids take Algebra in seventh grade. The district hoped to offer Multivariable Calc to these advanced kids as seniors if they wanted more math. Both my kids received the advanced math placement. </p>
<p>The reality of the placement? Well, first off the district couldn’t find enough Multivariable teachers, so math topped off at Cal BC. Kids could take more math elsewhere, but didn’t. Having finished all the math early DID allow kids to take more AP science courses, and more electives in general, however. The advanced math sequence was popular among athletes, for example, because they could focus on their sports as upperclassmen. </p>
<p>One of my kids was the ideal candidate for the program. He aced the test and went on to ace all the math he took. He used the extra class time to take more advanced science courses. The other child was a strong candidate for the placement—he was smart enough—but not always mature enough to fully utilize his advantages. He always made As, but some were high As, some were low As. Some years he was more interested in sports and girls than in math…I think his experience was more typical of the math accelerated kids. </p>
<p>The district doesn’t offer this program anymore. Interest waned. I was surprised given that older son’s class was quite large. </p>
<p>@caambitiousmom, what do you mean '“accept”? Our school will give placement for such things but they don’t give credit. But that’s unlikely to be a problem–you probably will end up with way more credits than you need.</p>
<p>What i mean by ‘accept’ is in our school they won’t even give placement. IT is not just about the AP, i am thinking the entire environment will be better for high achieving kids. Any comments anyone? Has anyone compared this with Harker, CPS, Menlo, Bell, St. Francis, Notre Dame? The graduating class has 40-50 kids. Isn’t that a very low number or is it usual that private schools have such small class</p>
<p>I am all for a good academic environment for high-achieving kids but I’d be concerned about how narrowly focused the curriculum seems, and definitely look into how many/what quality of EC’s this school offers, and how happy the kids are. And I’d be hesitant to pull a kid out of an “excellent” public school, away from their friends, to go to a school which may offer certain acceleration but also does have a very high attrition rate, and is very expensive. What does your child think? Happy or bored to tears?</p>
<p>Unless the OP is wealthy, I’d stick to the public school and
use the tuition $ to supplement with ECs, summer activities, and college tuition. I imagine the SV HS’s to have excellent teachers and STEM classes.</p>
<p>NOT being overwhelmed with tough HS classes allowed my son to have time to pursue his interests, and he still did well with college admissions.</p>
<p>My kid is not bored to tears because of friends, but yes on math class. She would finish things in 5 min and teach other kids. The teacher says it is a great leadership skill but i think she wastes 45 min where she can actual learn for her benefit. Also i like the physics, chemistry, biology in Basis. My child is willing to try out Basis. She attended multiple classroom mocks, interviews etc and she compared it with her current school and said no way this is happening in my current school! </p>
<p>I’m not sure you can compare a brand new, not well established school to Harker, or any of the other well known private prep schools in the Bay Area. Harker, and others like it, have a track record in certain areas. Basis has NO track record at this new school. </p>