NEWSLETTERS & JOURNALS
The Education Innovator #11
Volume III

March 21, 2005 • Number 11
BASIS School Provides an Academic Base in the Liberal Arts
Somewhere near the Sonoran Desert, fifth grade students are studying philosophy. Seventh grade students are fine-tuning their skills in algebra, and students from multiple grade levels are staging their own opera. In Tucson, Arizona, 300 middle and high school students are challenged daily by the liberal arts curriculum provided by BASIS School, Inc.

BASIS is the charter school brainchild of a husband and wife team, Olga and Michael Block, both economists. The pair founded the school in order to provide students with a modern liberal arts education, which would ultimately prepare students for college. The curriculum includes a broad range of subjects, and students are encouraged to make connections across academic disciplines. The BASIS School was designed to combine the best in European and American education traditions: the academic rigor of the European system with the creativity, problem solving, and sense of community of the American system.

The school was chartered in 1998 and serves fifth through twelfth grade students in a small environment. One of the unique aspects of BASIS is that students who would traditionally attend a separate middle school are joined with students at the high school level in one building. Students in both the middle and high school sections of BASIS are immersed in various subjects, which include mathematics, science, literature, history, art, and foreign language. The BASIS curriculum is aligned with Arizona State Standards and exceeds those standards in many areas. Students are required to take specific classes at particular grade levels. For example, sixth graders study Latin to prepare for learning scientific terms and romance languages. All seventh graders are required to take algebra, which prepares them to move on to calculus in later high school courses.

The school emphasizes Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and 12 out of the 30 high school classes qualify as AP. The course load is designed so that students earn enough credits to graduate after the eleventh grade. If students choose to stay at the school during their senior year, which most do, they may take more advanced level studies and participate in a unique off-campus research project during their second semester. All BASIS teachers are required to participate in Advanced Placement training provided by the College Board.

At the end of each year, all students engage in two weeks of project-based learning. The projects enable students to connect the skills and concepts they learn throughout the school year. Mastery of these skills and concepts is demonstrated outside the confines of a pencil-and-paper test. For example, students traveled to Mexico as part of a marine biology project, where their application of history, language, and culture was combined with the study of science in nature.

Students learn early in their BASIS experience that they need to take responsibility for their education. The school's strict promotion policy allows for no exceptions. Each year, students must participate in comprehensive exams in the core subjects of English, mathematics, science, and social studies. Students must pass these tests with a score above 60 percent in order to be promoted to the next grade level. If students fail to meet the minimum score requirement, they must retake, and successfully pass, the exam before the next academic year or return to the same grade level.

Preliminary exams in January help shape the comprehensive tests at the end of the year. These exams also help teachers and administrators make decisions about how to serve the students with tutoring and other supports. At the end of the school year, all faculty and staff attend a two-day retreat where they review the students' performance on the comprehensive exams. The next year's courses are modified based on the analysis of the exam scores.

When the school staff notice that a student is struggling academically, they provide extra help until the student can meet the school's performance standards. BASIS teachers are required to stay after school two days a week, with one day devoted to coaching students and the other to conducting parent conferences. Many teachers opt to spend more than two days after school, to help students succeed in their classes. Teachers can continue helping the students in four-week summer school classes as well.

Both the students and the school administration view each teacher as a master of his or her subject area. Ten of the 19 faculty members have master's degrees and two have doctorates. To improve their instruction, teachers regularly observe each other's classrooms. The school director also drops in to observe teachers. After formal observations, the director evaluates teachers based on the level of students' engagement in the classroom, students' performance on tests, and the teachers' participation in curriculum-related activities such as science fairs, writing contests, or math competitions. Parents are also encouraged to provide feedback regarding their children's teachers.

At BASIS, parents are part of many aspects of the school culture. Before a student enrolls, at least one parent or guardian must come to the school for an interview with the school director. Parents are informed of the school's high expectations for students, challenging coursework, and its communication policy. Parents must regularly correspond with teachers via their children's Communication Journals. These journals are a way for parents to keep an open dialogue with teachers, and a way for students to record their homework, project assignments, and important announcements.

The Tucson school has been so successful that its founders opened a second school in Arizona: BASIS Scottsdale. BASIS Tucson's success shows in the students' standardized test scores. In 2003, BASIS was the only school in the state whose students' median scores were above the 90th percentile on the Stanford 9 math exam at all grade levels. Last year, 100 percent of BASIS eighth and tenth graders met or exceeded the state's reading standards on Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS), a test that measures how well Arizona students are mastering skills specific to each grade level.

The school in Tucson has been accredited by the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE), an accrediting agency that recognizes charter schools of high distinction. This month, BASIS Tucson also was granted college preparatory accreditation by the selective North Central Association (NCA). The BASIS School is one of the charter schools featured in OII's book, Innovations in Education: Successful Charter Schools.

Resources:
BASIS School
The Advanced Placement Program
Innovations in Education: Successful Charter Schools
Note: The program at BASIS School is innovative, but does not necessarily have evidence of general effectiveness from a rigorous evaluation. The success of the program may not be replicable, depending on unique conditions in differing locations.