BASIS Charter Schools is a network of tuition-free charter schools in the United States, with schools located primarily in Arizona, where it was founded in 1998. Their schools use a liberal arts curriculum with emphasis on STEM and Advanced Placement courses and exams. BASIS Schools are a non-profit and are taxpayer-funded, though are managed by the for-profit BASIS Educational Group. The schools have continually topped U.S. national school rankings put out by The Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report, though they have also received criticism, most notably regarding their financial transparency and student attrition rates.
History
The first BASIS charter school was founded in Tucson in 1998 by Michael Block, Ph.D. and Olga Block, Ph.D. with the goal of educating 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. 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. In 2014, BASIS opened in Prescott, AZ. In 2015, BASIS opened its 16th Arizona school in Goodyear, AZ.
BASIS was featured in the documentary film 2 Million Minutes: A 21st Century Solution, which examined differences between the curriculum of charter schools in comparison with that of conventional public schools. In response to the documentary, Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton visited BASIS' campus to deliver speeches on the importance of education in America.
National Rankings
U.S. News & World Report - Best High School Rankings
The Washington Post - America's Most Challenging High Schools
BASIS Charter School locations
There are currently manages 21 tuition-free public charter schools across Arizona, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
Arizona
- BASIS Ahwatukee
- BASIS Chandler
- BASIS Chandler Primary North
- BASIS Chandler Primary South
- BASIS Flagstaff
- BASIS Goodyear
- BASIS Mesa
- BASIS Oro Valley
- BASIS Oro Valley Primary
- BASIS Peoria
- BASIS Peoria Primary
- BASIS Phoenix
- BASIS Phoenix Central
- BASIS Phoenix South Primary
- BASIS Prescott
- BASIS Scottsdale
- BASIS Scottsdale Primary
- BASIS Tucson North
- BASIS Tucson Primary
Texas
- BASIS San Antonio North Central
- BASIS San Antonio Medical Center
Washington, D.C.
- BASIS Washington, D.C.
School Accreditation
AdvancED is the parent organization for the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). NCA, CASI, and SACS CASI are accreditation divisions of AdvancED. Dedicated to advancing excellence in education worldwide, AdvancED provides accreditation, research, and professional services to 27,000 public and private schools and 4,500 school districts in 30 states and 65 countries.
AdvancED
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. Another investigative article in 2010 questioned the founders' salary compared to the teachers and other public school administrators.
Other critics take issue with BASIS's accelerated curriculum and general educational philosophy. Some argue that BASIS focuses too much on standardized testing. 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. 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. 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.
References
External links
- Official website of BASIS Charter Schools
