My DCs attended Barrie and I regret our decision. The grade sizes are too small and as a result, my DCs did not mature appropriately. They were sort of stuck at the level of the other kid of the same sex in their class. They caught up but it was a mistake on my part to not realize the importance of class/grade size

We looked at it but ultimately decided it was too small for 9th. Note that the pool is only for summer camps; they told us it was closed September-May.

Anonymous wrote:They’re getting a lot of SFFS families, that improved enrollment. But check 990 because it is struggling.

Really? Their middle and upper school enrollment are still far below SSFS for the upcoming year.

Anonymous wrote:My thought is that they do have some really interesting electives, but their humanities curriculum, as a whole, is embarrassing.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Cb0F5LUhhMONPhLuDO98AlyHcQ7K2cMbw8yIk8dwss/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.cr04lsft7zm2

Why is it embarrassing?

My thought is that they do have some really interesting electives, but their humanities curriculum, as a whole, is embarrassing.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_Cb0F5LUhhMONPhLuDO98AlyHcQ7K2cMbw8yIk8dwss/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.cr04lsft7zm2

Our DC will be starting 9th grade at Barrie School this fall, after we decided not to attend SSFS. The school was very welcoming, has a lot to offer academically and we felt it was a good landing spot after all the stress of the SSFS closure/re-open (we were a newly admitted SSFS family and still have a bit of PTSD about how everything went down).

We are a bit worried about class size being small, but DC had a good shadow day and said the kids were welcoming. As for financials, yes, small private schools like Barrie are going to face headwinds. We decided we have to accept that risk, whether we want to or not.

They’re getting a lot of SFFS families, that improved enrollment. But check 990 because it is struggling.

They are seriously struggling with enrollment. I worry about that....

How is their collge acceptance? I could not see recent years list

Yes, the most recent senior class has 22 kids only.

We were looking for a school that was not a pressure cooker and enjoyed touring Barrie. Our kid ultimately decided the class size was a little too small and was worried about finding a group to fit in with.

No it is not however it is a good school.

No, it’s not a top private school, but it’s a good school. That’s a secret DCUM doesn’t like to admit: almost all the area private schools are good schools. You want to find the right fit for your kid. Barrie has a strong reputation as a school that isn’t the stress-filled grindstone of the top tier schools.

No, but that’s exactly why people like it. Avoiding the pressure cooker schools

We just moved to DC area and looking into Barrie for 6th grade. Any thoughts please? They havea. Beautiful campus with multiple pools. Is it considered one of the top schools, compared to Sidwell, GDS, Maret, Bullis?