Seneca Academy has gone out of business and will be closing its school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Posters on this thread asked for opinions on Barnesville. There are many better schools to pay for. Green Acres comes to mind. Norwood and many Catholic Schools."

I'm the PP who was asking for opinions about Barnesville. We would look more closely at Norwood and Green Acres, but they are expensive. I suppose you get what you pay for in many cases, though?

Yes, the costs for Norwood or Green Acres will be way more. Barnesville is not in the same league academically or in terms of a student needing any extra help or any learning disabilities. Students from the other schools after 8th grade go off to significantly better High Schools over all and are well prepared for MCPS. In other words the transition to a MCPS high school is pretty seem less academically.

Do you get what you pay for at those that is a hard question. They are excellent schools, but like any other school they need to be a good fit for your child and nothing is perfect. At more than $35,000 a year for many families these schools need to be an environment that's way better. Our DC was getting lost in an amazing public school, for us it was a game changer.

Some people want private school for prestige, some have poor public schools, some kids need smaller class sizes or a change of venue to succeed. There are so many reasons why people choose a school, no one knows your child better than you.

If Barnesville is more of a financial fit for your family, my suggestion is to ask as many people as possible their experiences. Look on reddit and any other reviews, yelp etc. Take it all with a grain of salt and decide if you want to try for a year.

If you do decide to try it, keep an eye on where your child will be headed from there. Then make sure to keep up the academics with some tutors so they can succeed easily after leaving Barnesville. We did that as did some other families. With tutoring you would still come out ahead over paying $35,000 or more per year for the other schools. Just a thought.

Good luck in your search.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Posters on this thread asked for opinions on Barnesville. There are many better schools to pay for. Green Acres comes to mind. Norwood and many Catholic Schools."

I'm the PP who was asking for opinions about Barnesville. We would look more closely at Norwood and Green Acres, but they are expensive. I suppose you get what you pay for in many cases, though?

Yes, the costs for Norwood or Green Acres will be way more. Barnesville is not in the same league academically or in terms of a student needing any extra help or any learning disabilities. Students from the other schools after 8th grade go off to significantly better High Schools over all and are well prepared for MCPS. In other words the transition to a MCPS high school is pretty seem less academically.

Do you get what you pay for at those that is a hard question. They are excellent schools, but like any other school they need to be a good fit for your child and nothing is perfect. At more than $35,000 a year for many families these schools need to be an environment that's way better. Our DC was getting lost in an amazing public school, for us it was a game changer.

Some people want private school for prestige, some have poor public schools, some kids need smaller class sizes or a change of venue to succeed. There are so many reasons why people choose a school, no one knows your child better than you.

If Barnesville is more of a financial fit for your family, my suggestion is to ask as many people as possible their experiences. Look on reddit and any other reviews, yelp etc. Take it all with a grain of salt and decide if you want to try for a year.

If you do decide to try it, keep an eye on where your child will be headed from there. Then make sure to keep up the academics with some tutors so they can succeed easily after leaving Barnesville. We did that as did some other families. With tutoring you would still come out ahead over paying $35,000 or more per year for the other schools. Just a thought.

Good luck in your search.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful advice!

[Anonymous]

I agree with that! Do not, under any circumstances, send a kid who has issues like ADHD or learning challenges to Barnesville. They will tell you they can handle it, but they can't. They won't follow their own version of a 504 plan, and they don't have to. You have no recourse against a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not go public? Much better education and free.

You’re kidding? MCPS and FCPS are dumpster fires

They are not, but even if they were, they are 10x better than Seneca.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not go public? Much better education and free.

You’re kidding? MCPS and FCPS are dumpster fires

They are not, but even if they were, they are 10x better than Seneca.

Evidence, beyond the financial issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with that! Do not, under any circumstances, send a kid who has issues like ADHD or learning challenges to Barnesville. They will tell you they can handle it, but they can't. They won't follow their own version of a 504 plan, and they don't have to. You have no recourse against a private school.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not go public? Much better education and free.

You’re kidding? MCPS and FCPS are dumpster fires

They are not, but even if they were, they are 10x better than Seneca.

Evidence, beyond the financial issues?

They aren’t. The IB primary years program is an incredible curriculum, I wish they’d do this in all public schools.

[Anonymous]

Well, the Seneca parents have raised almost $85,000 in less than three days. I personally think that's incredible. It's not like folks who go there are super-rich.

Fingers crossed....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, the Seneca parents have raised almost $85,000 in less than three days. I personally think that's incredible. It's not like folks who go there are super-rich.

Fingers crossed....

Fingers crossed too.

I toured Seneca for kindergarten for my now 8th grader. I realized I did not want a school that small for her but knew people who went there and really enjoyed it. I hope you are able to save your school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, the Seneca parents have raised almost $85,000 in less than three days. I personally think that's incredible. It's not like folks who go there are super-rich.

Fingers crossed....

It's a lot, but it's nowhere near enough to restore financial soundness. Schools don't run on caring or enthusiasm. They run on money.

[Anonymous]

I have a legitimate question: What did the virus have to do with the position that they are in?

According to their website, all tuition was due by February, the month before the school shut-downs were announced. Therefore, there should not have been any lost revenue this year. In addition, the assistant teachers, apparently, were furloughed, so their payroll expense should have decreased. Also, as a small business they should be eligible for some of the county/state/Federal grants.

According to the Fox story it is hurting due to the virus, but, as stated, I just don't understand how the virus contributed to their financial distress.

[Anonymous]

Imagine if these Seneca parents had instead donated money to people suffering from Covid 19.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Imagine if these Seneca parents had instead donated money to people suffering from Covid 19.

NP. You are a horrible person to guilt trip those people trying to save their school.

Why do you do anything for yourself when you should be giving everything to those less fortunate? Is that your ridiculous argument, PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a legitimate question: What did the virus have to do with the position that they are in?

According to their website, all tuition was due by February, the month before the school shut-downs were announced. Therefore, there should not have been any lost revenue this year. In addition, the assistant teachers, apparently, were furloughed, so their payroll expense should have decreased. Also, as a small business they should be eligible for some of the county/state/Federal grants.

According to the Fox story it is hurting due to the virus, but, as stated, I just don't understand how the virus contributed to their financial distress.

They were having problems before the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a legitimate question: What did the virus have to do with the position that they are in?

According to their website, all tuition was due by February, the month before the school shut-downs were announced. Therefore, there should not have been any lost revenue this year. In addition, the assistant teachers, apparently, were furloughed, so their payroll expense should have decreased. Also, as a small business they should be eligible for some of the county/state/Federal grants.

According to the Fox story it is hurting due to the virus, but, as stated, I just don't understand how the virus contributed to their financial distress.

Most parents pay monthly and they continue to enroll throughout the summer. Most smaller outer suburb schools do this. It’s not like Sidwell or something.

They would have made it without declining enrollment. And COVID hurt enrollment numbers and fundraising opportunities. It made several families pull out next year and then tuition didn’t cover costs.

Not saying they weren’t hurting before, but they were running.

And I’m not saying people expect it to be the same. The board still needs to restructure the budget and that might mean fewer assistant teachers. Or dialing it back to a pre-k through 2 and building it back up later.