Award-Winning, K-12, Tuition-Free, Public Charter School Debuts in Benbrook

×

Expand

This nationally ranked charter school network possesses some unique elements that really stand out in the education system.

The network of BASIS Charter Schools has the winning formula when it comes to nurturing and encouraging success. This nationally recognized K-12 tuition-free public charter school network with 37 campuses nationwide prepares students starting in kindergarten - and continuing through middle and high school - to adapt to the world around them through introducing concepts at an early age. This high-level academic approach has proven to be successful for developing young minds. BASIS Benbrook is opening this August and has a few openings for grades K-5 for the 2022-23 school year. Attend an information session for prospective parents! 

At BASIS Benbrook, your child will not just learn; they will become a subject master. The network’s educators say that they have discovered, over many years of educating students at an elevated level, that when children are given the chance to excel in a subject, they tend to rise to the occasion. Phil Handler, the network’s Vice President of Communications, shares a little more about the proven successful structure at BASIS.

During the nine years Handler has been at BASIS, he has witnessed significant growth. “We have 37 schools – when I started there were six,” Handler says. He attributes the rapid increase in locations to the incredible successes BASIS has had these last 24 years since its founding in 1998. After a quarter of a century, their curriculum is down to a science, as is the network’s ability to find incredible teachers who know how to both support and challenge their students. High-level academics means challenging kids a little bit sooner than they might be used to being challenged. “Instead of starting biology and chemistry and physics in ninth or tenth or 11th grade – why can’t a sixth grader?” Handler says. “With excellent teachers in the classroom, we have found that a sixth grader can! And that translates across grade levels, and across subjects.” 

BASIS is the top-performing district in Austin, and the top-performing district in San Antonio. Recently, the network also enjoyed incredible success in U.S. News & World Report’s annual high school rankings, with nine of the top 13 charter schools in the United States. “Our only current high school in Texas, BASIS San Antonio – Shavano, is ranked the eighth school in the state of Texas,” Handler said. “We believe the Benbrook campus will be ranked that impressively. Frankly, it is an expectation that all our campuses educate students in consistently high standards, network-wide.”  

×

1 of 2

Expand

BASIS has had incredible success these last 24 years since its founding in 1998.

×

2 of 2

Expand

BASIS feeds into the natural curiosity and creativity of children, starting at a young age, through their tried-and-true BASIS Charter School Curriculum.

Prev

Next

This nationally ranked charter school network possesses some unique elements that really stand out in the education system. One of the key differences is the teachers. As you know, educators can make or break a child’s learning and school experience. The teachers at BASIS aren’t just there to facilitate learning or provide knowledge – they are there to provide students with the skillset to crave knowledge and understand how to learn.  Another unique BASIS feature is that for K-3 students, there are two teachers in the classroom all day, every day. These teachers have different roles, though with one common goal when it comes to educating students. First, Subject Expert Teachers teach a specific subject, and they are experts in their chosen fields. Students move from class to class, just like middle school and high school students do. In addition, students also have what BASIS calls a Learning Expert Teacher, who is an expert in elementary education, and who stays with their students all day, attending each class to ensure students understand those concepts.

“Build a classroom experience…where you encourage asking questions,” Handler says.  It’s important that students feel safe to inquire and ask questions when they are challenged. “They want to learn this stuff. They are insanely curious,” Handler says. Being a father of two BASIS students himself, he has seen his own children thrive in the BASIS approach. “BASIS is the place where students are encouraged to find the subjects they love, and to dive deep.”   That is why BASIS doesn’t shy away from incorporating new subjects and materials. BASIS feeds into the natural curiosity and creativity of children, starting at a young age, through their tried-and-true BASIS Charter School Curriculum. The future – your child’s future – will be here before you know it.

BASIS proudly stands behind their excellent student outcomes and the stats that back it up. “100% of our students that have wanted to go to college – have,” Handler says. It all starts with a solid foundation. That’s why a BASIS Kindergarten experience is critical in preparation for their ongoing development - and fostering their ongoing curiosity.    BASIS high schoolers take four years of foreign language and honors courses to add to their transcript, as well as at least six Advanced Placement courses.

In their senior year, students can choose from the many offered capstone classes, along with their one-on-one college counseling course, and elective courses in the subjects they’ve either grown to love, or always wanted to try. They can also choose to do a Senior Project – in which they produce a thesis and perform the research to study that thesis off-site at a business, corporation, university lab, or government office. See if BASIS Benbrook campus is the right choice for your child. You can apply here.  

Choose from one of the opportunities below to learn more about BASIS Benbrook: 

To learn more, attend the June 23 Hard Hat Campus Tour. Register for the tour here. 

Attend a virtual info session for prospective parents on June 29 at 6pm.

Come to Coffee Talk! You can meet with BASIS Benbrook school leader, Lisa Foreman, on July 7 at Black Rifle Coffee in Benbrook.