Sophia Hollander of The Wall Street Journal offers the most sharply observed article to date on Brooklyn’s new BASIS school, opening this September: New Basis School Arrives in Brooklyn, Loudly
Hollander elucidates what’s special about BASIS: focus on STEM education, an early and broad science curriculum, and Mandarin in the early years. She also points out that while the school offers rigor, it may be too rigorous: some parents at the school’s Arizona branches have pulled their children out. Co-founder Michael Block’s comments that he thinks recess is frivolous after 4th grade will surely turn many parents off.
Hollander writes:
While Basis helps meet Brooklyn’s growing private-school demand, there is a question in people’s minds, said New York school-admissions consultant Emily Glickman: “How can this be good if it costs $20,000?”
I do think some people are concerned about the lower price tag, on the flip side, many parents will be thrilled by it. Catholic schools run by the Archdiocese traditionally cost much less than independent private schools: many parents eagerly sign up their children for those schools. The $20,000 price tag is right in the middle between public (free) and most independents (about $40K). This could be a sweet spot for Brooklyn parents, searching for a good school in a borough with a shortage of desirable public and private options.