Our city has an opportunity to open a school here that will empower our children to compete with the best students in the world. The Committee to Bring a BASIS School to DC submitted an application to the DC Public Charter School Board on February 1, 2011 to open BASIS DC starting with grades five through eight in the fall of 2012.

BASIS Schools consistently rate among the top 10 in the US by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. Craig Barrett, former CEO of Intel, is so convinced of their model of success, that he became the chairman of their board. Bob Compton, the great venture capitalist was so moved by his visit to BASIS Schools that he produced, "2 Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution," a groundbreaking documentary that asks the question, "Why can't every city have a BASIS school?"

In 1998, BASIS Schools opened its first campus in Tucson, Arizona. Co-founders Michael and Olga Block aimed to create a college preparatory school that would educate American students at the same level as their international peers in top performing countries such as Finland, Canada, and Japan.

The guiding philosophy was simple: implement a rigorous liberal arts curriculum, hold students and teachers accountable for results, and recruit and retain teachers who are knowledgeable in their discipline and effective at communicating difficult concepts in an understandable way.

Within just ten years, the school topped national rankings, earning the number one spot on Newsweek’s list of America’s Best High Schools and was named a gold medal school by U.S. News & World Report. Following the success of the flagship campus, BASIS Tucson, BASIS Schools opened a second school in Scottsdale, AZ.

BASIS Scottsdale opened for Middle School grades in 2003 and high school grades in the 2007. The school earned recognition as Arizona’s Top High School for Overall Academic Performance in BusinessWeek by 2009. In 2010, BASIS Schools opened its third campus in Oro Valley, AZ.

BASIS plans to open schools in Chandler, Peoria, and Flagstaff in 2011 and is submitting an application to the DC Public School Charter Board on February 1, 2011 to bring this successful model to the District of Columbia in the fall of 2012.

Let’s shine a national spotlight on BASIS DC and demonstrate that our children can learn at the levels of their international peers if they are just given the same chances and tools to succeed. We can build one city and surpass racial and economic divides if we give all DC children the opportunity to have a world-class education. Tell the DC Public Charter School Board that you want to open a BASIS DC here for your child, grandchild, or friend’s child or grandchild.

Sign the petition below, "Like" our Facebook page to keep abreast of the latest developments, and please forward to your friends and neighbors who you know would support this cause.