BASIS Charter Schools Sweep Top Five Spots in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report Rankings

The seven BASIS Curriculum Schools eligible for the numeric rankings are #1 BASIS Scottsdale, #2 BASIS Chandler, #3 BASIS Oro Valley, #4 BASIS Tucson North, #5 BASIS Flagstaff, #8 BASIS Peoria, and #14 BASIS Phoenix.

This is the second consecutive year that BASIS Scottsdale has earned the ranking of #1 high school in the U.S., following three straight years as #2 in the nation.

"Our network continues to grow – continues to deliver our program to more students in more schools – while maintaining the high standards for which we're well known," said Michael Block, the network's co-founder. "And yet, rigorous assessment like the U.S. News rankings keep proving, year after year, that our network is unmatched in American education."

"This is about the students," added co-founder Olga Block. "The rankings are a symbol of the bigger picture – a fantastic symbol -- but not the bottom line.

"Let's remember: inside these highly-ranked schools are thousands of students who study the BASIS Curriculum and learn from BASIS teachers. The rankings are awesome, but the education is what benefits each student's life! Learning is the entire point of what we do."

This is the first year that BASIS Flagstaff and BASIS Phoenix are eligible, giving BASIS Charter Schools a total of seven campuses eligible for numeric rankings. (These same seven BASIS campuses are also eligible for rankings by The Washington Post, which are expected to be published later in May.)

"What started as a dream of Michael and Olga Block some twenty years ago has become an amazing success story," said Dr. Craig Barrett, Chairman of BASIS Charter Schools, Inc. "We owe much to the BASIS founders and the hard work of all involved.

"We are so proud of all of the accomplishments of our students, administrators, teachers, and parents – including having the top five ranked public schools in the country. It is an affirmation of their hard work and the success of the BASIS model."

Last year, the BASIS Curriculum Schools network had five schools eligible for the U.S. News numeric rankings, and had the top three schools in the U.S., four of the top five, and five of the top seven.

"We're always gratified by rankings like this; it never gets old," said BASIS.ed CEO Peter Bezanson. "But these, in 2018, are beyond expectation, an extraordinary achievement for public charter schools. Every student, every teacher, every parent, and every staff-member -- not just at the ranked schools, but across our network -- should feel quite proud, deservingly proud. It validates what we have dedicated our professional lives to do."

"The stark reality is that the BASIS model works, and has for twenty years. We do more with less, and students in cities with a BASIS school are the beneficiaries," Dr. Barrett added.

Of note:

• This is the ten-year anniversary of BASIS Tucson North's first U.S. News ranking; it was #16 in the U.S. in 2008. Last year, it was #2, and it was #3 in 2016. BASIS Tucson North is the network's first school, founded in 1998.
• U.S. News and World Report also ranks the top charter schools in the United States. BASIS Curriculum Schools were the top five charter schools and #7 and #8 in the nation.
• Five BASIS Curriculum Schools are in the top thirty STEM schools in the U.S. according to the U.S. News STEM school rankings: #2 STEM school BASIS Scottsdale, #14 STEM school BASIS Chandler, #15 STEM school BASIS Oro Valley, # 23 STEM school BASIS Tucson North, and #28 STEM school BASIS Peoria.
• The seven ranked BASIS charter schools are the top seven schools in the state of Arizona, per the U.S. News state-by-state rankings.
• This is the tenth set of high school rankings that U.S. News & World Report has published. They remain a highly-regarded assessment of how American schools compare to other schools statewide and nationally, as well as how well these schools prepare students for college, utilizing what the publication calls its "College Readiness Index." You can see the U.S. News methodology for determining the rankings, here.

About BASIS Curriculum Schools
The BASIS Curriculum Schools network is among the best in the world, serving students from Preschool through Grade 12. The BASIS Curriculum – founded in 1998, and cultivating excellence every year since -- educates students at the highest international levels, preparing them to be participants, not spectators, in the 21^st-century global workforce of commerce and innovation. In the 2017-18 academic year, there are twenty-four operating public charter schools in Arizona, Texas, and Washington, D.C., five independent schools in California, New York, and Virginia, and two international schools in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, China. For more information, please visit basised.com, vectors.basised.com, or basisschools.org.

SOURCE BASIS Curriculum Schools

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