Barrie Montessori

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any thoughts, advice, experiences to share about this school? New mom, 3 yo DS. Clueless. Just doing my research hopefully amongst peers who have insight outside of the website jargon.

[Anonymous]

A friend who teaches there told me that, compared with other area private schools she's taught at, Barrie kids are not very disciplined or ambitious. She has been rather underwhelmed. She says she's struck by the number of times they forget to do their homework, and by the frequency and number of kids who receive very low grades.

[Anonymous]

Oh my, that doesn't sound too great. Thanks for the insight, very helpful indeed. Could this be any more difficult, finding a good school in the burbs? Don't suppose she mentioned which schools she would recommend in her experience/tenure? That info. would be really great. Insider's peek...you don't get that on a website!

[Anonymous]

My Barrie teacher friend told me the school is great for kids who want a very laid-back, unstructured, informal learning experience. The kids call the teachers by their first names, and (this is in the high school grades) seem to think there is nothing wrong with asking teachers very personal questions. My teacher friend said about half her class (again, this is at the high-school level) are gettings Ds & Fs. This is very different from the previous school where she taught (and used many of the same teaching materials & tests). The previous school was one of the private religiously-affiliated schools in the area.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the friend has an axe to grind. I know nothing about the school, but just went on their website and the list of college acceptances seem fine and impressive to me. Probably not fair or accurate to report that half the class is getting Ds and Fs. Maybe it's in gym or in astro phsyics.

http://www.barrie.org/academics/college/list.html

We should all do a better job of not spreading gossip/rumors and sharing real information.

[Anonymous]

Furthermore the school requires WPPSI testing for 3-year olds. They are probably not picking through the lot for kids who seem to lack ambition or discipline. Maybe the kids receive low grades because the standards are very high there more so that the private religiously-affiliated school in the area. Hard to believe but it's possible.