BASIS Tucson Primary

3825 East 2nd Street

School District

Basis Charter Schools INC. (6361)
Grade

K-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

charter

School Map for Basis Charter Schools INC. (6361)

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on December 29, 2024

If your student is special education, this school is a joke. My IEP student went to the school with services, they saw to it that he got the services he was allotted but when the time came to update his goals, they instead removed the IEP with the promise of resources in place that never happened. They are great at making academics so rigorous, students who fail feel like they are not worthy and look at school as an impossible task. Homework is extensive and takes 2-3 hours at least. My kids would come home from school exhausted and would pass out trying to finish homework. Fundraising efforts are invasive, year round, and are incentivized in the classrooms for example, the most student participation gets a pizza party, the most donations gets a movie party, etc. Field trips are $35/ per and are not eligible for financial aid so I’d you have multiple kids it can become quite expensive. One year I had one student take 4 field trips and one was at the same time as his other 2 siblings so that was $105 just in one weeks time. Total for the year was $280 (4 trips for one, 2 for 2 other students). Clubs are $150 and are only 6-8 weeks at a time. Recesses are very short (15-20 mins) and lunch (20 mins) is never enough time for my kids to get a good amount of food to feel fulfilled. They also offer a “hot lunch” program that’s fully funded by parents and amounts to about $6-$8 daily. If you cannot pay, packed lunch is the only other option. There have been some really great teachers, but equally as many if not more that are just awful. One teacher ripped up my students art project he was making for his brother just because he kept getting up to talk to a friend during the 30 minutes roundup time before dismissal. Trying to transition out of BASIS has been heartbreaking as every outlet brags about all that BASIS has to offer but it comes with a heavy price tag. I wish I would of known before hand as having to undo the anxiety and stress my children have around academics has been very difficult. My youngest has no experience with BASIS and does not have any of the same issues as the ones who did.
Submitted by parent on February 26, 2024

My son started in kinder and all the staff and academics were amazing.
Submitted by parent on January 30, 2023

I highly recommend this school if you plan to be involved in your child's education. The teachers have a excellent way of communicating with the parents about their child's assignments and progress during class. You would have to be asleep to not know what is happening with your child's learning. My experience with the other children and their parents has been nothing but positive. They all seemed kind and genuinely concerned with their child's education. The ones that aren't concerned don't stick around. This isn't a day care , parents need to be continually engaged in their child's education. This school will challenge your child and that's the way it should be. I was fortunate to receive an excellent private education growing up which my parents had to sacrifice to provide me. This school is better than my private education and is basically free. They do an excellent job keeping the children engaged and school spirit high. As a parent, I couldn't be happier.
Submitted by parent on January 12, 2023

We just started at BTP in August and so far, we couldn't be happier with the school. Our daughter is on Kindergarten. She has homework every night; we knew she would have homework every night before enrolling her. The nightly math homework takes less than 10 minutes to complete. The once per week reading/writing homework takes a bit longer, but can be completed over the course of the week. My daughter's teachers are fantastic. When we have reached out, the teacher responds quickly. Homework is communicated through a communication journal which is used for by all kids in every grade at BTP. Also, homework assignments for all grades are sent via email daily. Our daughter is happy and learns so much. She is in full day kinder, so she also gets to take mandarin, drama, and music. This is a great school!
Submitted by parent on March 10, 2022

If you want your child to experience a work like environment K-12 this is the perfect school for you. I do not recommend Basis Tucson Primary to anyone.
Submitted by parent on March 26, 2021

Kindergarten has been a nightmare! Teacher does not relay when student's assignments are due, very harsh and this is kindergarten the amount of stress is insane. They will retain a kindergarten , multiple parents have their students retained (it's pretty normal) . Would not even think about sending my son with autism there because of how independent they require each student to be and my son's psychiatrist for the autism evaluation actually was a former Basis employee and said do not even think about! Also, I have gotten numerous druggies coming up to me while dropping my child off the location is sketchy!RUN!
Submitted by parent on June 21, 2017

This school overall was amazing in academics, but when it came down to my oldest being bullied and all staff involved brushed it off and my other child has a learning disability and they told me that they were monitoring him and accommodating him when they weren't. They "tested" him for his learning disability but did not test for the actual disability just his intelligence. So we left and have been much happier. I had really high hopes for this school and we have many friends who are still very happy with it. I hope things have changed since we have left.
Submitted by parent on April 13, 2017

My daughter has been at BASIS Tucson since kindergarten, and she absolutely loves it. Her happiness and enthusiasm for learning is really all the proof I need that we made the right choice, but her academic and social growth have both been wonderful as well. The diverse student community is a great fit for her, her teachers have all been engaged and supportive, and the workload is age-appropriate. Most nights she comes home having already done most of her homework, and has only a few minutes of work at most to complete on her own time. The main reason I was attracted to BASIS was that I wanted her in a school culture that celebrates education and love of learning. Our experience has been exactly what I hoped for.
Submitted by parent on March 26, 2016

My daughter is in 4th grade and started going to Basis in 2nd grade. Her teachers have, for the most part, been amazing. And the ones who haven't, have left. This year has been the best so far. My daughter has a desire to do well and now completes her homework (mostly at school during study hall) on her own with very little parental involvement. She is very proud of the level of math she is learning and realizes it's ahead of most kids her age. She has time for extracurricular activities such as Drama and Scouts. We heard so many conflicting "stories" out there but we couldn't be happier that we decided to just try Basis. She's very much looking forward to going to BTN next year. At home, we never pressure her on grades and she's consistently an A student. Basis isn't for everyone but for us it's far exceeded our expectations.
Submitted by parent on August 18, 2015

Our children have been attending BASIS Tucson since kindergarten and 2nd grade. They are now in 2nd and 4th grade, respectively. The teachers have been great. My eldest has gone to student hours for extra help and it's made a big difference when she was struggling to understand certain concepts. The school does not permit in-classroom parent volunteers, but I've found that this works well for my kids because there are fewer distractions from people walking in & out of the room all the time. BASIS Tucson provides a very supportive learning environment. They've taught my kids how to take more responsibility in their own learning & education, how to speak up when they need help, how to organize their cubbies, lockers, binders, etc. In order for a student to be successful at BASIS, though, he/she does need a supportive learning environment at home. So if you want your kid to be able to do homework with the TV on or music playing, that might not work so well. You, the parent, need to take the initiative to contact the teachers if you are concerned about your student's grade in a particular subject. In my experience, I've found the teachers to be very open & helpful whenever I've spoken with them. I have heard parents complain about how their kid got a bad grade in a certain subject, but the parent never brought the concerns to the school and the student never asked for help or went to student hours. Don't blame the school when the school has resources to assist but you never took advantage of them.Some parents have complained about the strict tardiness policy for the older grade levels. Yes, the expectation is that you're on time and in your seat ready to learn when the class period starts. This means that you have to get your kid to school early so he/she has time to put stuff in his/her locker & get to class. If you are late every single day, then maybe you should reassess the amount of time you allot in the morning to get to school. Don't get mad at the school because of your consistently poor planning.My 4th grader is able to get most of her homework completed at school and in Late Bird, so when we arrive home, she has maybe at most 30 minutes of work left to do. The school also offers a BOSS camp to help prepare them to transition to a locker, no LET (Learning Expert Teacher). That was a huge help for our child.
Submitted by student on April 11, 2015

Many parents have sent their kids to this school thinking that it will make their kids extremely intelligent just because they are at the school. That is not how it works. You need to work hard and do the assignments in order to succeed here. Almost all kids have the possibility to succeed here, but kids that don't try aren't the kind of people that will be able to get good grades at BASIS. All teachers, even P.E., art, and music teachers have times after school when students can comes to receive extra help. Students that actively seek extra help are the kind of students that will succeed here, not people that do not try. I have enjoyed my experience here and I will continue to go to BASIS, because I know that if I try to work hard, study, and do assignments, BASIS can be a great opportunity for me.
Submitted by parent on April 06, 2015

We LOVE BAsis! Our daughter is in Kinder and thoroughly enjoys it. We love her teachers and so far their curriculum. The ONLY thing I don't love about Basis Tucson, hence the 4 instead of 5 stars is the constant emails we get about donating money. I realize the charter school needs more monies, but it becomes quite annoying to get bombarded with these emails when we've already donated supplies and other things and volunteered time, which many times cannot really be broken down to how much financial value it is, but that's the only negative we have so far.
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2014

I was nervous about moving my daughter to Basis but I'm SO glad we did! My daughter started Basis last year for 1st grade and loves it! The school does a great job balancing academics and time to play and be a kid. (this was my biggest concern) She did have homework most nights but it wasn't overwhelming. (maybe 20 minutes) This year they have added an engineering class. My daughter is super excited for 2nd grade and so are we!
Submitted by parent on June 06, 2014

I have two children that went to BASIS. My experience with BASIS was not pleasant at all. I did not feel the teachers knew how to "teach", they may have been subject matter experts in their field, but they were not gifted teachers. I feel BASIS robs children of their childhood, they do not exercise regularly, there is no nutritious lunches served, and most of the students are socially awkward and are not well adjusted to socially navigate their way in the real world. BASIS concentrates solely on building their reputation, which means test scores. If you don't want your kid to become purely a test-taker then you should go somewhere else. If you don't want your kid to become a one-dimensional conformist who does nothing but homework and is stressed to the point of needing a therapist by the 10th grade, then don't go to BASIS. I simply do not understand how on earth this school could be rated as one of the top schools. As a parent you will have NO input at BASIS. There is no system setup so you can monitor your child's progress. If you love your child, don't do it, you have been warned! Work to make your local school better.
Submitted by parent on June 02, 2014

The faculty and administrators at BASIS Tucson need to complete a course of their own that helps them understand the nuanced and complex nature of what it means "To Teach" and what is means "To Learn". At this time, they seem to adhere to methods and pedagogy common over a century ago, albeit more technological advances.
Submitted by other on February 09, 2014

I went to basis from 5-8 grade. It was a great experience with lots of fun in 5th, 6th, and 7th. However, 8th grade was very difficult. I had poor grades, Little to no social life, and I absolutely hated it. On top of everything, I was not able to get into the high school I wanted to go to (university high school or UHS). My personal recommendation to parents and students is to move schools before 8th grade. I wish that someone would have given me this advice. Overall, basis is a great school but 8th grade is very intense.
Submitted by parent on January 05, 2014

The post on May 3, 2012 is precisely why Arizona is scoring 48 to 50 in the nation. BASIS is one of the best Charter schools in Arizona, and of course takes pride in ranking and tests score like all other great schools. What school or PARENT wouldn't. My younger children have attended and will attend BASIS, and have learned to critically think, appreciate diversity of our global community, and DO say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. Above all, they are really gaining knowledge and not just getting a free ride for attendance and learning the material on the AIMS test. I totally agree that UHS is a terrific school, but the high school also condones self-expression without bias. If all the districts in Tucson and other cities in Arizona were like UHS, perhaps there would not be as many Charter schools to resent.
Submitted by parent on January 02, 2014

I am so glad that they decided to add k-4 to the grades taught here. They have a wonderful set up for how the kids are taught. The teachers are all very encouraging and enthusiastic about the children and their education. My son is in 1st grade and a very smart child. He excelled at this school. It's great to see a school that pushes kids to reach their potential and expects 100% parent involvement along the way. We are very sorry that we had to move and are trying everything we can to get back just for this school. Nothing else even comes close to what this school has to offer.
Submitted by parent on November 05, 2013

I know many students that entered Basis in 5th grade at an excellent academic level. They played basketball, piano, did swimming too. By 7th and 8th grade these students stopped all extracurricular activities and if they didn't have to repeat the grade or left Basis already, struggled to keep their grades afloat. Basis manages to bring bright, enthusiastic kids to their knees. I am a pushy parent that knows what a good education is all about and does not shy away from challenges. Teachers do what they are dictated to do and don't last more than a couple of years in that environment. They are pressured into conducting student hours during which they simply teach to the test. There is no other way a young child can learn the vast and difficult material designed for a completely different age group. In the end parents will realize that the time and effort they put into this does not return the much expected good education. I am happy the system works for some, but that is just 1-2 kids out of a classroom, who will do very well in any other school anyway.
Submitted by parent on October 30, 2013

BASIS is a boot camp on steroids for school. Its hard core and its not for everyone, nothing wrong with that, you have decide what learning looks like to you and the big picture. The school has great components to it and has their noses up in the air because of their test scores. Having high academics is one thing, being able to apply and survive in the real world is another....there is a high attrition rate here and burn out factor. Its a great place for some kids!