At A Glance About BASIS Independent

Year Established: Fall 2014Location: San Jose, California Type of School: Private, CO-EDWebsite: www.basisindependentsiliconvalley.comCampus Size: Urban Total Enrollment: 804Grade: 5-12 Grades for International Students: 8-10

Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:25Average Class Size: 25International Students Ratio: N/A

Teachers with Advanced Degree: 70% AP Classes: 19 Average SAT Score: 2008 College Matriculation: See Below

Accreditation: AdvancEd, NCA CASIReligious Affiliation: No Uniform Requirement: NoneAdmission: Interview + Admissions Exam

BASIS.ed schools began as a visionary venture in 1998 when Dr. Michael and Olga Block, world-class academics in the field of economics, developed an academic program that combined the rigors of Asian and European schooling with the American system’s emphasis on creativity and originality.

What began as a single campus in Tucson has grown to become a unique, high-achieving, and unprecedented network of schools -four independent schools (located in Brooklyn, McLean, and two locations in Silicon Valley), an international school in Shenzhen, China, and 18 charter schools across the United States.

The mission of BASIS Independent Schools is to raise the standards of student learning to the highest international levels. Each BASIS.ed-managed school believes in Education Redefined, a statement that rests on three pillars:

• A curriculum educating students to the highest international standards. Subject Expert Teachers who are knowledgeable and passionate, and believe that with the right support and encouragement, any child can excel.A joyful learning culture, where hard work is celebrated and intellectual pursuits result in extraordinary outcomes.

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About San Jose

BASIS.ed Curriculum Philosophy

San Jose is a large city surround-ed by rolling hills in Silicon Valley, a major technology hub in Califor-nia's Bay Area. The downtown historic district is known for its architectural landmarks, from the 1883 Italianate-style Oddfellows building to Spanish Colonial Revival structures. The downtown area is also home to the Tech Museum of Innovation, devoted to the exploration of science and technology.

BASIS Independent Silicon Valley prepares students to fully participate in the dynamic, exciting and unpredictable world of the 21st Century. Students who earn a BASIS.ed diploma grow in our classrooms to love learning and the pursuit of deeper understanding. They experience the delight of mastering fields of complex knowledge and of developing the habits of disciplined, critical inquiry. Above all they have the best possible educational foundation to be independent and resourceful problem solvers and to face future challenges. It is their choice what career opportunities they pursue and intellectual decisions they make in the future. It is our job to fully prepare them to succeed in those choices. We Believe:- Children can achieve more than we have commonly been told. With hard work, dedication and the support of teachers and parents, 3rd graders can think critically, 6th graders can learn Physics, and High School students can read Critical Theory and Philosophy.- Instructional time is precious. Every minute of every class should be filled.- Mastering the basics is the precondition for going beyond them. Students learn to listen for the music of Shakespeare's iambic pentameter and to decipher the crucial details in an historical primary source, but they must also be able to parse the grammar of a sentence and craft concise and persuasive prose. - Homework, as long as it is an extension of what is being learned in the classroom, is valuable. Practice helps students achieve mastery. - High-stakes, summative tests that assess content mastery and learning skills (BASIS.ed Comprehensive Exams and the College Board Advanced Placement Exams for example) are foundational for learning. - The evaluation of teacher performance must be based both on classroom instruction and on student learning results on high-stakes assessments.

Highlights: Success Across the Nation

BASIS.ed students are positioned at the very top in the world in critical thinking and problem solving in math, reading, and science. Our graduates take an average of 9 AP courses prior to graduation, starting as early as 9th grade.

The Washington Post — America’s Most Challenging High Schools2016 - #1 BASIS Oro Valley, #2 BASIS Flagstaff,#4 BASIS Tucson North 2015 - #1 BASIS Oro Valley, #2 BASIS Chandler, #6 BASIS Tucson North2014 - #10 BASIS Tucson North2013 - Top-Performing Schools with Elite Students: BASIS Scottsdale and BASIS Tucson North2012 - #1 BASIS Tucson, #5 BASIS Scottsdale2011 - #4 BASIS Tucson

U.S. News & World Report — Best High Schools Rankings2016 - #2 BASIS Scottsdale, #3 BASIS Tucson North, #6 BASIS Oro Valley, Bronze Medal - BASIS Chandler2015 - #2 BASIS Scottsdale, Bronze Medal - BASIS Oro Valley and BASIS Tucson North 2014 - #2 BASIS Scottsdale, #5 BASIS Tucson North2013 - #2 BASIS Tucson, #5 BASIS Scottsdale 2012 - #6 BASIS Tucson

Curriculum

BASIS Organizational Skills for Success - B.O.S.S.

Subject Areas:English, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Foreign Language, Math/Algebra/Geometry, Physics, World History,Government & Politics and electives

Honors Courses:English Language, English Literature, Biology, Chemistry, Physics

AP Courses:U.S Government, Physics I/II, English Language and Composition, Biology, Chemistry, World History, US History, Art, Art History, Comparative Government, Computer Science, Economics, Environmental Science, Human Geography, Music Theory, Physics C, Psychology, Statistics

BASIS Independent Silicon Valley runs an annual program to help students ease their transition into the new school year. This program is known as BASIS Organizational Skills for Success (B.O.S.S.). The B.O.S.S. program attempts to help students to regain confidence and become excited to learn for the new year. On the academic side, B.O.S.S. works on the organization skills of the student by training them in some of the basic skills needed to be successful in all of their academic classes. Some examples of skills that B.O.S.S. covers include note taking, materials organization, classroom expectations, and locker use. For the social aspect of school, B.O.S.S. tries to introduce students to a variety of individuals that they will encounter throughout their school year including their head of school, administration and staff, teachers, and most impor-tantly their peers. Through a series of icebreakers and classes, we will offer the opportunity for students to interact with and connect with individuals that will help shape their coming new year.

The Senior Year

The Senior Research Project: BASIS.ed Senior Projects are one of the most unique aspects of the BASIS.ed curriculum. Senior Projects offer an opportunity for our high-performing students to demonstrate the knowledge and research skills they have developed over their journey at BASIS, in a subject area about which they are passion-ate. Students who successfully complete a Senior Project earn a distinction of High Honors on their diploma.

BASIS students team up with corporations, entrepreneurs, agencies, and researchers on the cutting-edge across myriad fields nationally and internationally. But this is not just an internship, because BASIS students bring an exceptional level of expertise and fresh eyes to the entities they support. The internship or study program can be located anywhere in the United States or around the world, and should be related to the course of study that the student intends to pursue following high school graduation. It is the Senior Projects program at BASIS that sets students apart to the most prestigious universities in the world, and differentiates them from other students their age.

BASIS.ed Senior Project titles have been included:- "Star Ages, Hertzserung-Russell Diagram and Astrophysics"- "Pictures of the Mind: The Development of Alzheimer's"- "An Analysis of Offshoring on the Global Market"- "Maximizing Efficiency of Volumetric Segmentation Methods"

Sample Capstone Courses:*

*Courses listed are examples of offerings at select BASIS.ed-managed schools. Exact offerings at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley are subject to demand and enrollment.

Social Sciences•20th Century World History•Critical Theory & Culture Studies•Chinese History•Chinese History & Culture•Spanish Culture & Enrichment•Spanish Culture & Literature•Capstone European History•Economic Theory•History Capstone: Plagues & Peoples•History of Food•The Late Roman Republic•Sport: A Microcosm of History•Democracy & Imperialism in the Ancient Mediterranean World•The Ancient Greeks•Constitutional Law

English•Literary Theory•Poetic Pathologies•Historical Fiction•Post-Colonial Literature•Introduction to Linguistics

Science•Macro Biology•Organic Chemistry•Inorganic Chemistry•Catalase•Zoology•Astronomy•Astrophysics•Modern Physics•Applied Physics•Anatomy & Physiology

Science•Marine Biology•From Molecular Biology to Cancer•Brain, Behavior, & Experience

Math•Game Theory•Number Theory•Linear Algebra•Number Theory & Discrete Math•Proof Techniques & Graph Theory•History and Philosophy of Mathematics•Quantitative Analysis•Differential Equations•Multivariate Calculus & Linear Algebra•Category Theory•Complex Analysis•History of Math

Math•Vector Calculus•Multivariable Calculus

Students say...

Sports

“I like the fact that I'm competing against the 'me' rather than the people around me because I'm trying to be a better person--not a better rival." Student, Class of 2017

"There is so much opportunity in this school; clubs, electives, school events, teamwork, and spirit are all great things I see every day." Student, Class of 2020

Badminton, Basketball, Golf, Fencing, Soccer, Squash, Tennis, Volleyball, Golf, Swimming, Cricket

Clubs

MATRICULATION

BASIS Independent Silicon Valley's first graduating class is the Class of 2017.

Basis.ed graduates from other network schools have attended:•Amherst College •Boston College •Boston University •Bowdoin College •Brandeis University•Brown University •Bucknell University •California Institute of Technology •Carnegie Mellon University •College of William and Mary •Columbia University •Cornell University •Dartmouth College•Davidson College •Duke University•Emory University

•Harvard University •Johns Hopkins University •Massachusetts Institute of Technology •Middlebury College •New York University •Northeastern University •Northwestern University •Pennsylvania State University •Pomona College •Princeton University•Rice University •Skidmore College •Stanford University •Trinity University•Tufts University •University of California - Berkeley

•University of Chicago •University of Florida •University of Miami •University of Michigan •University of Notre Dame •University of Pennsylvania •University of Southern California •University of Virginia •University of Washington •Vanderbilt University •Washington and Lee University •Washington University in St. Louis •Wellesley College •Wesleyan University •Yale University

•National Scripps Spelling Bee •Indian Classical Music Club •Korean Language and Culture Club •American Mathematics Competitions•International Mathematical Olympiad* •Science Fair Club •Robotics and Electronic Club •National Junior Honors Society •National Geographic Geography Bee

(These clubs may be subject to change based on annual participation)

•Book Club•WordWright•Math Counts•Science Bowl•Art Club•Dance Club •Improv Club •Pops Choir •Thespian Club •History Bee •Mock Trial•Science Olympiad•DECA•Leadership

•Scholastic Art and Writing,•Yearbook, •Technology Club, •Model United Nations, •International Club, • National Honors Society•American Red Cross, •Community Service, •Mandarin Club,•Running Club•Speech & Debate•Car Club•Chess Club •Journalism and Literary Magazine