BASIS Peoria

"I have never been more impressed with a school in my entire life. This is my fourth year here and I am going strong. My tip for people investigating the school: don’t take this the wrong way, but Basis is not concerned with how gifted your child is. If you are focused and ready to learn, you are a perfect applicant. Our brand new school is spectacular! Be ready for a HUGE challenge, but I hope to see you next year!"

"As a current basis student, I am unhappy with the quality of this school. I have been at this school for three years and now I know how the system works. Starting out in my 1st year at Basis, I was pleasantly pleased at basis. Mr.Hackundy did a fantastic job at managing the school and keeping everything in motion. By the time Mr. Allen became head of school, things went downhill. In my 7th grade year at basis, I was starting to feel insecure at basis. I'll have to admit, basis is the best school for academics, but the worst in everything else. Basis barely offers any clubs and only allows you to take one elective for the entire school year. What about art? PE? Band? Us students have to sacrifice something we love in order to pursue something we may not be interested in. And for 6-8th grade, all those rigorous science classes result in absolutely NO high school credit. The school is also an uncomfortable environment for students.The school takes drastic punishments for something as simple as having the dean see your phone exposed in your locker. That student will know have to sweep the whole school for an hour in order to get his/her's phone back. My 7th and 8th grade years at basis was when everything went badly for me. There is a particular teacher, one who I will not mention his/hers name, who ruined my career at basis. This teacher is undedicated to her job. He/she takes over a month to grade tests and doesn't provide enough information for students to succeed in her class. Because of this teacher I failed the "comprehensive exam" for that particular class. In case you were wondering the comprehensive exam (comp) is a test at the end of the year in each subject for 6-8th graders. This test is worth 50% of your final grade at the end of the year in that class. As I failed one (the class I was talking about above) I had to undergo a summer program to retake the test. Because I failed the exam, I did not do anything over my entire summer break other than studying and taking tutoring sessions. I am disgusted by this policy and am not the only one that went trough the same thing as me. My grade in chemistry was above a 70% and I still lost my summer break because I failed one test out the many in the school year. And I will tell you no other school in the country has this same system. I have encountered teachers through my 7th and 8th grade year in basis who did nothing but let me down. My math teacher in 8th grade is always unhappy and constantly insults the whole class. He offers student supports where he is moody and snaps at you when you have a question for him. I have to study independently for math as he is not a reliable source for me. He does not even try to help when students do not understand a concept. Basis hired a math teacher in 7th grade who made me behind math leading up to present day. This school calls it self "tuition free" but they constantly urge parents to donate to the school. They ask for a damning $1500 dollars from each family attending basis. My mother feels pressured by this and it makes me sick. About that teacher I mentioned earlier, one of my friends got in trouble for speaking up to Mr Allen and ended up in trouble while the issue was never resolved. All in all, my experience at basis was terrible. Your student will see for themselves by the time they reach 8th grade. But I am happy to announce that I will not be attending basis next year. I hope this helps anyone deciding whether or not they're going/leaving basis."

"We have a 5th and a 8th grader at Basis Peoria, and they both love it. My children are doing really well in academics and are involved in several after school activities. All the teachers and faculty are highly qualified and are doing an amazing job!"

"I have a 7th grader at Basis Peoria and he loves it! He is the type of person that has always shown his love for learning and thrives in this environment. He had it tough the first half of last year because he started as a 6th grader and had to catch up. But after Christmas break, the Basis way just "clicked" and he has done great. He made 90's club again, and he has hardly any homework because he manages his time well and gets it done at school. Another Basis taught benefit....time management! This year, I had a 5th grader start. He is not one to love academics, at least that was how he was at his old school. At Basis his effort is amazing. He has test anxiety and one of his teachers called me personally to express concern because his test scores were sub-par, but homework and class work were excellent. We set an appointment and met with 3 of the deans and they truly cared. Ms. Shtull even interviewed all of my sons' teachers and I was amazed at how well she knew my son. She offered him a permanent pass to see her whenever he felt overwhelmed or anxious. They are working with him to diminish test anxiety and help him succeed at Basis. 1st grading period just ended and my son had an 89%!!!! After the way he performed at his district school, I was going to be happy with a 70% average. At his old school, he would turn in assignments a month late (one day late unacceptable at Basis) and he just floated through the school year. I think his actions reflected the leadership of his teacher, she didn't care, he didn't care. Not at Basis. I have seen a complete turn around in my son. He takes pride in his work, loves his teachers and loves the actual curriculum. Yes, the homework load is tough right now. Some days we do 2-3 hours, but he still has time for extra-curriculars. And it will progressively be less homework time as he adjusts. He had to "catch up" in traditional math. He was drawing boxes for division that he learned at his old school. It is already getting better, and I know that magic moment is coming after break where it will just "click" for him, like it did for his brother. Basis is nothing short of amazing. The dedication of the staff and teachers, in addition to an awesome curriculum, and a vast amount of extra-curricular activities makes this one awesome school. This is one happy mama!!"

"If you are looking for a school that will challenge your children with the best academics in AZ, then this is the place. The teachers and staff teach with passion in each subject. They start you kids off in the 5th Grade learning Latin, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Classics and so much more. The staff there is awesome. My only complaint is that the schedule is a but disorganized and teachers are often teaching is different classrooms and times depending on the day of the week."