BASIS Schools

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BASIS Schools, Inc. is an Arizonan charter school operator that operates sixteen schools in Arizona, Texas and the District of Columbia.

History

The first BASIS charter school was founded in Tucson in 1998 by Michael Block, Ph.D. and Olga Block, Ph.D. They decided to open a school that would educate students at an internationally competitive level.

In 2003, BASIS Scottsdale was opened. In 2010 BASIS Oro Valley was founded. A year later, BASIS opened three schools at once in Chandler, Peoria,and Flagstaff.[1] BASIS continued its expansion by opening another school in Tucson and one in Phoenix proper in fall 2012, along with their first non-Arizona school located in Washington, D.C. In 2013, BASIS opened their tenth and eleventh Arizona campuses in Ahwatukee and Mesa, and the second non-Arizona campus was added in San Antonio, Texas. BASIS also began its primary (K-4) program at their BASIS Tucson site. BASIS opened its first private schools, BASIS Independent Silicon Valley and BASIS Independent Brooklyn, in 2014.[2]In 2015, BASIS opened its 16th Arizona school in Goodyear, AZ.[3]

Model

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. BASIS Educational Group built and manages the BASIS model and utilizes the same BASIS Culture and BASIS.ed Curriculum in classrooms across all campuses. The BASIS Primary School academic program includes humanities, math, science, Mandarin, art, music, drama, and physical education. They also participate in "Connections", which brings all their studies together. The Primary School program also offers a unique approach to instruction. There are two professional teachers with the children at any given time--a Learning Expert Teacher and a Subject Expert Teacher. The Lower School program, which serves grades 5-7, prepares students for the Upper School program and college level achievements. The Upper School, which serves grades 8-12, offers an accelerated science and liberal arts program. The Upper School is AP-based, meaning all students are required to take AP courses and exams as part of the core curriculum. In 12th grade, students are able to enroll in Capstone courses and to complete a Senior Project.

Praise and media attention

BASIS Schools have been noted for their performance on standardized tests such as AP, IGCSE Exams, and the AIMS.[4] 100% of BASIS graduates attend four-year universities upon receiving their BASIS diploma.[5]

U.S. News & World Report rated both BASIS Tucson and BASIS Scottsdale (the only two BASIS schools open long enough to be eligible for rankings) as two of the top five schools in the nation.[6]

BASIS was also featured in the documentary film 2 Million Minutes: A 21st Century Solution. The film contrasts charter school's curriculum with a typical public school curriculum.[7] In the wake of the documentary's success, Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton visited BASIS' campus to deliver speeches on the importance of education in America.[8][9][10][11]

Criticisms and controversies

Both BASIS schools and their parent organization have been the subject of criticism and controversy. Critics contend that BASIS is failing to provide adequate financial transparency and accountability as it uses for-profit management company.[12] Another investigative article in 2010 questioned the founders' salary compared to the teachers and other public school administrators.[13]

Other critics take issue with BASIS's accelerated curriculum and general educational philosophy. Some argue that BASIS focuses too much on standardized testing.[14] Critics also point out that BASIS's performance in national ranking systems like the U.S. News & World Report is largely a function of BASIS's singular focus on mandatory AP testing, as these ranking systems give great weight to the percentage of students at a school that take AP tests.[15] Critics also take issue with BASIS's attrition rates (senior classes are typically a third to a quarter of the size of the fifth grade class) and argue that BASIS achieves good test scores in part by weeding out underperforming students.[16][17][18] In 2013, the D.C. Charter School Board rejected a request from BASIS DC to expand, citing concerns about the high number of students who had withdrawn from the school since it opened.[19]

In Arizona BASIS has used state law restricting a city's ability to regulate their activities to steam roller community opposition to unrealistic traffic plans and to build schools with inadequate parking that force parents to use neighborhood streets to avoid lengthy pick up and drop off waits.

Locations

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Arizona

Phoenix area

  • BASIS Chandler
  • BASIS Peoria
  • BASIS Phoenix
  • BASIS Phoenix Central
  • BASIS Scottsdale
  • BASIS Ahwatukee
  • BASIS Mesa
  • BASIS Goodyear

Tucson area

  • BASIS Tucson K-6
  • BASIS Tucson North 5-12
  • BASIS Oro Valley 5-12
  • BASIS Oro Valley Primary K-4

Northern Arizona

  • BASIS Flagstaff
  • BASIS Prescott

Texas

  • BASIS San Antonio Medical Center
  • BASIS San Antonio North Central

Washington, D.C.

  • BASIS Washington, D.C.

Independent Schools

International Schools

  • BASIS International Shenzhen, in Shenzhen, China

References

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External links

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