Barnhart School

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.

Barnhart is a great little school. The children are bright and friendly; the parents are involved and committed; and the teachers are supportive and dynamic. It also provides a great education for the price. Best of all, my child loves it here!

I have a child in the Middle School (we went to another school for elementary). My child is absolutely delighted with Barnhart. It is a very welcoming environment with great families. The Middle School teachers are engaging and challenging. I feel that my child is getting a good education in a supportive environment. There are not a lot of sports offered at Barnhart, but the education is quite good.

The board of trustees has their own agenda. They constantly get in the way of managing the school. The school enrollment has declined 33% over the last four years.