Feedback on Barrett?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Barrett has been wonderful for our K - although there are some K teachers noticeably better. With that, love the assistant principal, she is a true gem! We love the diversity as well. This is from a parent place that the best way to have an honest dialogue with our kids about race, ethnicity, and class is for exposure to those differences. I am sure this will offend many a liberati on here, but I love that my child describes friends as having black hair when they are african american, not that they have dark skin. There was a picture sent where my child was with three friends and not one was the same race/ethnicity. DC also seems to be learning a lot. The school does have a positive discipline program, panda paws and seems to really be a good tool for the teachers. In short, really positive experience.

How is your child doing academically?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:You should only go to a choice school if you are interested in the choice that school offers. There will be information sessions coming up usually in February and March where you can learn more about those schools (and neighborhood schools too.) I don’t have kids at Barrett but I’ve heard generally good things but it is diverse and many in DCUMland run from that.

And you should also only accept a seat in a choice school if you intend to stay. Don't take it away from someone who may want or need it more and plans to be here, please.
Your child's K-2 experience will be very good at Barrett. It's kindergarten...

I'm legit confused. If all APS elementary schools are good...why would one "need" a choice school more than another? I want to set my child up for success and give her the best too. Early education is often the most important time.

They’re all “good” but they don’t all cater to the same audience. Your kid will be fine at Barrett, but the class isn’t going to be going at the same pace as one at Jamestown or Discovery. The curriculum is the same but the pace and depth of instruction is not. You don’t teach a class of English learners the same way you would teach a class of UMC/rich kids who all went to preschool.

Playing devil's advocate here and out of a genuine interest to understand given this is not an area of expertise - if a class goes at a slower pace, aren't they automatically behind and not covering as much material? So come third/fourth/fifth grade a kid from Barrett - low income or not - wouldn't have learned the same material, at an appropriate pace, as peers from another higher income public school?

Feels like conflicting opinions on here - which I know is normal - with some saying its ALL the same for the first several years and others acknowledging it's really not, but that essentially "dont worry she'll be OK".

As a parent of 2 who went through a high FRL elementary and compared notes with a lot of friends at other schools, including those who moved away during elementary to other elementary schools in Arlington: you will cover the material. The material covered will include all the same standards and basics needed for the tests and moving on. You won't have as many interesting projects and fancy school events and school plays or musicals. You won't have as many after-school enrichment programs sponsored by the PTA. Class won't feel as fast-paced and may be less engaging. But it's just kindergarten and a few years of early elementary; and even if you stayed through 5th grade, your kid will be well-prepared for middle school and not behind classmates from other schools. Advocate for your kids if you think they aren't getting what they need - don't let them get overlooked if they're not at the bottom and not identified "gifted." Otherwise, chill out. Other than learning Spanish in an immersion program, there is little difference at the K-2 level across schools.

Thank you! Ugh, I hadn't even thought about this whole "gifted" status - now I need to google that

Don't stress over it. Just communicate with the teachers and go from there. "Gifted" identification really doesn't mean much instruction-wise, especially that early on. And it means nothing in "art." We're high school now; but I believe APS has implemented programs at the high FRL elementaries to increase its identification of gifted students because they want to identify more gifted English language learners. I'd recommend compiling questions for the parent teacher conferences - you can ask how your child's skills compare to the typical classmate/age group; ask if there's anything your child particularly stands out in - if yes, ask if it's worth evaluating for gifted identification. One of my kids' kindergarten teacher volunteered that they should be evaluated during kindergarten for math; but I wouldn't typically expect a lot of that at that age. And ultimately, the math evened out in later elementary grades. It's more helpful for class placements going into middle school.

In all honesty, I've been pretty active in APS since my kids started 10 years ago and I've never heard any complaints about Barrett. They used to have a cool science program with NASA. I don't know if that's still a thing.

My advice is to stick with Barrett, be involved, and use the time there to learn about your kid and their strengths and weaknesses and learning preferences. Then you'll be well-informed as you enroll them in their next school when you move.

Good luck!

Just want to say thank you for this very helpful note! I'm sorry that parts of this thread turned into conversations about race and being "color blind", but appreciate the insightful and otherwise useful info!

[Anonymous]

You already received several responses from Barrett parents but I just wanted to chime in that our kids went to Barrett (awhile ago, they are now 16 and 12) and we LOVED the school. In fact, we moved to a different house that was in Ashlawn district and we chose to keep both kids at Barrett. The after school program is great and I believe the same person is still running it that ran it when my kids were little. Barrett is a NASA Explorer school so there is a focus on space and the kids also had opportunities to meet astronauts. The gifted program was also great when we were there and so was the after school enrichment programs (an additional cost on top of Extended Day). Our kids have fond memories of their time at Barrett and have a lot of friends from elementary school - even the one in high school now. Also, as many people pointed out, our kids did Girls and Boy Scouts and played soccer with kids from Barrett and it was easy to do playdates with kids in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

My older child is at Barrett now and I will have a K next year too. We love it - a really great atmosphere. The neighborhood has a small footprint is mostly a walk-in school with the school in the center so we feel like we’re always seeing families we know around. Parents are all really friendly

[Anonymous]

We're a Barrett kindergarten family this year and are very happy. Our kid loves it and is thriving in all the ways you want a kindergartener to thrive. I won't repeat what other parents have said about the warm, welcoming community though that's been our experience as well.

From a Covid perspective, Barrett has experienced some of the same challenges as any school in the county/country - some teacher turnover and shuffling, a sub shortage and kids with social-emotional issues after virtual learning. From the perspective of a new family to the school, it can be hard to feel fully engaged because the in-person events and volunteer opportunities are few (but do exist). I believe that relative to other Arlington schools Barrett has had fewer covid cases, probably in part due to the smaller class sizes and very high vaccine and mask compliance. My kid has had no exposure notifications. Kids eat outside all the time.

We have a new, Harvard-educated principal that is energetic and kind but could probably be more proactive in communication with parents, IMO. The families in our kindergarten class are overwhelming engaged and positive, even if we only know each other via the internet.

On the Title 1 stuff, I don't know how the Barrett PTA war chest compares to Nottingham's but can confirm we still have the NASA Discovery lab (my kid is obsessed), which seems pretty special. The community is very generous and the toy and coat drives sell out so fast I can't even open the Amazon wishlist.

If you do stay in the neighborhood and want your kid in tight with the rest of the neighborhood kids, Barrett seems to have a big advantage over the option schools. The diversity of the school is also amazing, my kid has friends I would never be able to introduce them to within my own network/neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had two kids at Barrett and our experience was positive. Run a search on DCUM as this school has been discussed many times. The community is very warm and welcoming and especially if you will only be attending for a few years you will want to feel welcome. Also if you’re in the building I’m thinking of you can’t bear the convenience especially if your child wants to do after school activities, playmates, or if you do extended day.

I swear I've tried this but it doesn't pull up any! Anyway - thank you for sharing! And, yes, the convenience is unbeatable.

Very strange. You’re right - search doesn’t yield the many threads I’ve seen. There are a couple under Schools General but not as I remember seeing. Jeff/admin? Very curious about this.