My love affair with BASIS Curriculum Schools began in 2013, when I helped open the first BASIS charter school in Texas. From day one, I knew that BASIS Curriculum Schools were a different kind of school. The bar was set high. Kids would email me at 6:30 am on Saturday mornings asking me how they could raise their grades from 96 to 100. Gym teachers discussed Victorian literature on lunch breaks. It felt more like college than your average public school. Everyone demanded more of themselves. It was a wonderful place to teach, and I’m proud to say that BASIS San Antonio Shavano Campus is currently ranked as one of the top 60 schools in the nation by US News & World Report.
Taking My Career Abroad
My second BASIS Curriculum Schools stint came in 2018, when I was invited to join the international school faculty in Shenzhen, China. I was aware of BASIS International School Shenzhen much earlier than most; several of its original faculty members were recruited from my BASIS Charter campus in San Antonio, Texas. I remember attending a presentation about China from a BASIS Curriculum Schools teacher who returned to tell us about her experiences there. It seemed very exotic at the time!
So, when the opportunity came up to travel overseas to teach, I jumped at the chance. Once again, the tight school community, driven students, and international flavor of the school felt more like an American university than a K-12 institution.
The Pull to Return
In 2022, I left China and returned to my old public middle school in Santa Fe, New Mexico to teach Orchestra and Choir. I still had my WeChat account, and I kept up with my BASIS International School Shenzhen students, wrote letters of reference to get them into college, etc.
But then in 2023, the moment was right to come back home to China. I craved the BASIS International Schools life. Most of all, I sorely missed the students.
More Than a Curriculum
For me, BASIS Curriculum Schools isn’t some formulaic curriculum. It’s an ideal. A community of intelligent people joining up to set high standards and push themselves as far as they can, and then some. You see it on campus at BASIS International School Shenzhen everywhere, from the carefully groomed gardens to the most demanding AP classes. Over the course of my career, I’ve taught Kindergarten through doctoral students, in every type of school setting. BASIS International Schools is a special place to be a teacher. Didactic transformation is possible every morning in front of the bathroom mirror.
Watching the sun set over Nanshan Mountain, I can’t wait to see what we’ll achieve tomorrow…
Brian Delay
Music Teacher
BASIS International School Shenzhen
Visit our careers website for more information about teaching with BASIS International & Bilingual Schools, whether you are beginning your journey abroad or returning for a new chapter.
