Barnhart Elementary School

We’ve been a loyal Barnhart family since Kindergarten — our son is currently in fifth grade — looking to continue into middle school and through eighth grade. We’re very pleased with Barnhart’s mission, values, and overall quality. It’s also a bargain compared to other peer schools. We’ve seen our son and his friends grow and mature into wonderful young people, learning academic subjects, participating in a rich arts program and focusing on virtues and values. He’s enjoying the outdoor program, the experiential science curriculum, and developing as a writer through writer’s workshop.
I’m surprised by the two reviews complaining about the school and I suspect that there is another side to the story in both instances. I suppose it’s easy to complain anonymously on Unilocal!While it is true that there have been leadership changes, I think they have been positive, reflecting a desire to grow.
We’ve noticed that Barnhart has been steadily growing and improving over the years, and like all schools it has had growing pains, but we are satisfied and most importantly, we believe the school is committed to improving in every area. Most importantly, we have had many interactions with teachers and staff that reflect a sincere commitment to meet every child’s unique needs and gifts with an individually-​tailored program.
I would encourage anyone looking to place their child in a nurturing, values-​oriented school that provides a wide array of academic, arts, and enrichment experiences for a price that cannot be beat.

We enrolled our son at Barnhart years ago as a Kindergardener, then our daughter 2 years later. We loved the school; the families, the students, the teachers and the staff. We were thrilled to be part of the community; that was until after the 2011 – 2012 school year. The wonderful Head of School, Joe Harper, was fired, along with many other incredible administrative staff like Carol Reiter, the librarian Mrs. Yao and many others who made Barnhart what it was. In their place, enter Ethan Williamson, a man brought in to «transform» the school… and «transform» he did… Williamson co-​authored a 5-​year «strategic plan» intended to market Barnhart and enforced a strict «communications policy» which prohibits virtually any speech he doesn’t approve of. Violation of this carries the punishment of «separation from the community.» I guess the Barnhart Board thinks this will help improve enrollment?! No thanks. We spoke up against Williamson’s attempts to enforce a draconian policy for caring for our diabetic daughter who had been a member of the Barnhart community for years. The result? Immediate expulsion! No, I am not kidding. Williamson didn’t like our «tone, tenor or word choice» and threw our innocent kids out of the school. Needless to say, we do not recommend Barnhart School.