BASIS-a good fit for me?

After hearing for years that the U.S. is so far behind China and India (and the rest of the world) in education, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the number one school in the world (as thought by some) is right here in the U.S. Even more surprising was the fact that this particular school was a charter school right here in Arizona, where we have one of the worst educational climates in the U.S. The BASIS charter school is an intense program, and I was very impressed with their ability to lead their students to such high achievements.

As a student, I feel like BASIS would have been an extreme challenge for me. I was like the students in the video, always at the top of my class. However, in high school I didn't even take a Calculus class, and I never took Physics or Anatomy. In addition, my high school was a small town school, and we didn't even have the opportunity to take AP courses. I feel like although I would have been challenged at this school, I would have rose to the challenge and been successful. I firmly believe in the power of surrounding yourself with high-achieving people (part of the reason that TFA has benefited me so much), so I know that even though I would have struggled in some classes at this school, I would have been successful.

I would love to send my children to a school like BASIS someday. This school is the wave of the future, and should be looked to as a model of education in the United States. The U.S. education system needs an overhaul, and schools like BASIS who simply increase the rigor and set extremely high expectations have the right idea in how to achieve this.