BASIS Independent Manhattan Lower School

Basis Independent Manhattan used to be the best kept secret in Manhattan but I think the secret is out. We found out about Basis because my husband works in tech and all our friends and colleagues in Silicon Valley send their children to Basis schools out there. We were very excited to find out Basis Independent Manhattan opened in NYC 9 years ago. Basis has an internationally recognized curriculum and their graduates are consistently admitted to top universities. Over half of all Basis Independent Manhattan graduates are admitted to a top 25 school! It is by far the most academic school in the city. The best part is it offers amazing academics and opportunities without the snobbery of other Manhattan private schools, just nice, smart kids and families. The teachers and staff are simply wonderful. The administration is supportive, friendly, fun and extremely competent. The teachers are kind, caring and passionate. You can tell they all want to be there and love what they do. The social emotional support the students receive is also unparalleled. The curriculum is challenging and yet my daughter is excited to go to school everyday, I'm not sure how they do it. She is constantly sharing interesting things she's learned in school with us. She truly loves this school and is thriving in every way. In the elementary school they have learning expert teachers and subject expert teachers. The subject expert teachers are the teachers who teach all the subjects, math, english, history science, languages, engineering, gym, music, drama,etc. Each subject expert teacher has a masters degree in the subject they teach. Learning expert teachers stay with their class as they move to each of their subject classes. They provide social and emotional support and additional learning support as needed. Parents can set up parent teacher conferences with any teacher at any time. They just select an open time on the teacher's calendar. Teachers reach out to parents immediately if students are struggling in any way. They also hold student hours for students who need/want extra help and support in a subject. On the contrary if a student is really excelling they will provide them more challenging work. They will also have your child skip a grade if they feel it's the right decision. Students receive report cards about once a month. Elementary students have a communications journal they complete each day. It's a calendar where they can keep track of what they're working on and what's coming up. Teachers and parents can also write notes to each other in the journal. Nothing slips through the cracks at this school. All elementary students go outside multiple times a day and have gym every day. They also have a lot of fun, lots of interactive learning, special parties celebrating achievements, fun days with bounce houses, field day, field trips, time in central park,school wide community events, dances etc. No other school prepares them for middle school and high school quite like Basis. The middle school program is one the most comprehensive and advanced middle school programs in the city. They have excellent extra curricular activities and sports teams/options. The high school program is consistently recognized as one of the best in the country. Basis high school students are required to take AP courses and graduate with college credits. They are also offered a wide variety of elections and leave completely prepared for college. The Basis middle school and high school utilize the facilities at Chelsea Piers for their sports programs which is amazing. We are very happy with this school and its diverse community. I don't think anyone will receive a better education at the old, possibly better known, other private Manhattan schools. My daughter attended a NYC public school and a different private school before making the switch to Basis. We can really see the difference in academics. Our daughter told us this is the first school she's gone to where there are no mean kids. We are grateful to have found this school.