Our Mission
Our mission is to educate students to the highest international levels with a spiraling liberal arts and sciences curriculum benchmarked to the best education systems in the world.
Our advanced curriculum prepares students with the content knowledge, critical thinking, and self-advocacy skills needed to be successful throughout their education and well beyond.
Our passionate, expert teachers are unwavering in their belief that with hard work, the right support, encouragement, and inspiration, any child can excel.
We are committed to a joyful learning culture where hard work is celebrated and intellectual pursuits result in extraordinary outcomes.
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy drives the scope and sequence of the BASIS Curriculum. Our perspective is evergreen and does not give in to the pressure of the latest education trends; we’re proud to be both unabashedly forward-thinking and unapologetically old fashioned in our approach.
We focus on what works and what is proven when it comes to preparing students today for what is to come tomorrow.
Today, we can no longer conceive of opportunity for the next generation as confined to a city, a state, or even a nation. We commit to teaching our students to the highest global standards so that they can succeed in the best universities in the world and compete in a global professional marketplace.
Founded by two economists, our schools have been committed, from our earliest days, to the smart, network-wide use of student performance data. We hold ourselves accountable to use the insights this data provides to sustain and improve learning outcomes for our students.
Our path of study is connected from the student’s academic start in our Early Learning Program to the student’s finish with Senior Projects. Our curriculum is carefully calibrated so that in every discipline and at every grade level, students are appropriately challenged and excited by their learning, and each year builds as a preparation for the challenges to come.
We teach our students to achieve mastery of the foundational academic disciplines and competencies, for it is that mastery which will empower their future lives and careers. In our classrooms, bolstered by the unwavering support of the faculty, students will face demanding challenges and celebrate extraordinary victories as they learn and uphold excellence.
Our use of technology in education is highly focused: we use technology to help solve problems of scale, to help create the connective tissue that joins a network of schools into an integrated system with data-driven quality control and the sharing of best practices. We use it to ensure that curricular decisions and innovations are driven by our own teachers, not a top-down centralized bureaucracy. We believe technological competency is a skill necessary to thrive in our modern academic, professional, and personal lives.
While technology is one of many tools available to teachers to engage and inspire students to take ownership of their learning experience, devices cannot replace the dynamic, co-creative classroom interaction between teacher and student. Trust and respect between teacher and student is the essential ingredient in academic success.
In our schools, diverse perspectives are challenged and tested in an environment of informed thought and collegiality. Students must be prepared to navigate the uncertainty of the 21st century landscape with a profound humility. By engaging with a variety of global perspectives, our students are empowered to make their own decisions about how they will navigate their world. Conflict and struggle are vital components in the maturation of our students and the evolution of their most deeply held convictions.
Our Community Values
Welcome to BASIS Independent Bothell, home of the Orcas!
In our founding year, we developed a set of values that encapsulate both our local community and the legacy of academic excellence of BASIS Curriculum Schools. Students and teachers alike feel a sense of ownership and onus to hold themselves and each other to orienting behavior around the concept of CORAL:
At our school, learning is a joyful experience, and we want students to have the curiosity to learn more about the world around them. Asking “why?” and “how?” are fundamental to a BASIS Independent Bothell classroom from Kindergarten through Grade 12. Furthermore, our students take risks in the classroom in their pursuit of learning and unlocking their potential. It is through this questioning and risk-taking that our students are able to reach their full potential. It also means remaining curious, even if we have setbacks in our learning journey.
Our faculty and staff collaborate to create environments that encourage our students’ curiosity as well, ensuring that they feel safe enough to try new things in class, discover their world, and ask those difficult questions.
At our school, we want students to be dedicated, independent scholars with the breadth of skills necessary to succeed in any academic pursuit. Ownership has numerous meanings for our Orcas. First, it means owning one’s own learning: developing independence and autonomy in learning; mastering executive functioning skills and developing a work ethic; and persevering even when something feels hard to do. Our Communication Journal is symbolic of Ownership. However, it also means owning who we are as individuals: being ourselves; recognizing and regulating our emotions; taking accountability for what we do; and believing in our ability to grow. Lastly, it is the fact we all share ownership in making BASIS Independent Bothell a welcoming place to learn and grow together.
Respect is foundational for our Orca community. Students respect the learning journeys of all of their peers by valuing their ideas and contributions, having empathy for them, celebrating their achievements, and showing kindness to everyone in the community no matter what their heritage and background may be. Education is not a zero-sum game, and the respect our students have for each other allows them to share in the success of their classmates. Furthermore, teachers and staff respect the growing intellect of students by providing them the high standards, support, and encouragement to soar.
BASIS Independent Bothell Orcas develop keen critical thinking skills, and advocacy is the ability to apply those skills to become thoughtful, active citizens who help their community, help their classmates, and help themselves. We are able to admit when we don’t know something and advocate for ourselves to learn more; we are able to stand up for each other when we are in need; and we trust in each other to help. Our educators advocate for the development of our students by understanding each of them as learners and helping them rise to the occasion both through our rigorous curriculum and collaboration with families.
The loyalty Orcas have to each other allows them to collaborate and create together. At our school, we understand that by being loyal to our classmates and raising them up, we raise ourselves up as well. Our loyalty to each other makes all of us excited to walk through our school’s doors, as we know we are walking into a place where we feel we belong and are supported every day. We make bonds that last beyond our school walls and school day. Lastly, our school is a community where everyone – students, educators, and families – feel they can make a contribution to continually make it better.
