Barnesville School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really wanted to like this school, but it’s rare that you get such a unanimous and consistent level of concern around a school (even on a board like DCUM, which likes to be negative about schools). It really gives us a lot of reason to just avoid this place.

My DC went to Barnesville before this head of school.

It was going downhill then and got continuously worse over time.

The current head of school has zero qualifications. The previous one was ineffectual at best. Completely into his own thoughts had no clue what to do.
The current second in command was a gym teacher, not a professional admin.
No counseling for students
Admitted students that had no business being there.

Families have left and they could barely field classes before the Pandemic because of horrible administrative decisons.

Academics subpar at best.

Barnesvile once upon a time was a great school to give confidence and learning to kids that has been long gone.

[Anonymous]

how many board members have left and pulled their kids out? ask them that. and ask them why they have so many parent board members anyway

[Anonymous]

It’s really a shame because upper MoCo could use a K-8 that’s secular and is at a more affordable price point. Right now the only one I know of is Seneca and it’s a K-5, which isn’t as attractive for people who want an option they can stick with through 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

I toured that school a few years ago. I found it very strange indeed as children were wandering aimlessly all over the school, clearly not accounted for. There seemed to be no structure and seemed to be free-range learning. We do not condone that kind of schooling. Also, it was in the middle of nowhere and I did not think that it was safe, especially since the adults seemed not to be in charge of anything and had a very lackadaisical attitude towards learning in general. yeah. Hard pass! We went with one of those public schools foe the destitute of Clarksburg and my child was in the GT classes and will now be at Poolesville SMACS this coming school year so it worked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moco publics are for the poor and destitute. Barnesville is paradise compared to those hellholes.

LOL. Barnesville parts fools and thir money.

Horrifying Mcps parts fools and their children.

If you live in the area, Monocacy Elementary is just down the road and it truly is a good public school and would probably be a better option than Barnesville. It is K-5 and only has one class per grade.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02652.pdf

[Anonymous]

Lol “out of whack” is an understatement. This school is a dumpster fire. One commenter noted how many board members have removed their children or won’t even enroll them to begin with. It’s an open secret that the Head is running the school into the ground, and most of the people on the Board are selected to be yes men; anyone who says “no” or “I have questions” is immediately bullied and ostracized by the Head and her crew. The only option is to leave as fast as possible

[Anonymous]

I’m a former employee and brought multiple instances of racism, etc. to the head of school and she did nothing about it except HO and HUM. Pitiful.

This school is not safe for Black families, mixed/biracial families, Asian families, Latino families, or families with LGBTQ members.

Oh. And if your kid has any mental health issues, expect them to be seated in the principal’s office for 2-3 hours of the day without your knowledge. This place breaks kids and breaks parents. Also. Teachers violate HIPPA regularly as “gossip” and to defend their classroom’s low scores, etc.

I feel bad for the families spending money at this place and for the employees who truly care under leadership who is failing upward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a former employee and brought multiple instances of racism, etc. to the head of school and she did nothing about it except HO and HUM. Pitiful.

This school is not safe for Black families, mixed/biracial families, Asian families, Latino families, or families with LGBTQ members.

Oh. And if your kid has any mental health issues, expect them to be seated in the principal’s office for 2-3 hours of the day without your knowledge. This place breaks kids and breaks parents. Also. Teachers violate HIPPA regularly as “gossip” and to defend their classroom’s low scores, etc.

I feel bad for the families spending money at this place and for the employees who truly care under leadership who is failing upward.

It’s HIPAA and it doesn’t apply to schools. If you were a school employee you would know this.

[Anonymous]

Isn't the Chair gone now? Maybe the new Board Chair will clean things up a bit. I truly hope so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moco publics are for the poor and destitute. Barnesville is paradise compared to those hellholes.

LOL. Barnesville parts fools and thir money.

Horrifying Mcps parts fools and their children.

If you live in the area, Monocacy Elementary is just down the road and it truly is a good public school and would probably be a better option than Barnesville. It is K-5 and only has one class per grade.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02652.pdf

Most of upper Montgomery schools are horrible. Publics are for the poor, overwhelmed or confused families these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s really a shame because upper MoCo could use a K-8 that’s secular and is at a more affordable price point. Right now the only one I know of is Seneca and it’s a K-5, which isn’t as attractive for people who want an option they can stick with through 8th grade.

Seneca is adding 6th grade next year. I wonder if they will continue to expand beyond that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s really a shame because upper MoCo could use a K-8 that’s secular and is at a more affordable price point. Right now the only one I know of is Seneca and it’s a K-5, which isn’t as attractive for people who want an option they can stick with through 8th grade.

Seneca is adding 6th grade next year. I wonder if they will continue to expand beyond that?

This is great news!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't the Chair gone now? Maybe the new Board Chair will clean things up a bit. I truly hope so.

Hopefully, new board members will listen to parent concerns. It feels like we have been shouting from the rooftops for a while, but no one listens. The retiring board chair is very close with the HOS and defaults to her every time. Im hoping that a new chair will distance him/herself from the HOS and be open to the parent perspective. Unfortunately, it is too late for us as we have signed with another school. I'm just hoping they can turn things around for future families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s really a shame because upper MoCo could use a K-8 that’s secular and is at a more affordable price point. Right now the only one I know of is Seneca and it’s a K-5, which isn’t as attractive for people who want an option they can stick with through 8th grade.

Seneca is adding 6th grade next year. I wonder if they will continue to expand beyond that?

Good for them! They used to be PK-6 (was it even 8?) back in the day but due to enrollment had to drop grades. I do hope they expand with the class of rising 6th graders. What is the point of only going up to 6th grade when you will just have to change for the final 2 years of middle school anyway?