Beacon Plan in Casteel by Starlight
Bethlehem, GA 30620

My son will not be attending this school next year. The fact that grown adults can’t even move through a school drop off line conducive nor do they know how to use a four-way stop effectively. This has caused my son as well as as many other students to be late because parents aren’t paying attention to how fast the cars are moving in the line. Then you have people coming from every which way trying to get to the line itself. It took at least two weeks this school year to figure out a better way to get these kids dropped off just for the original plan to be back in effect and now parents are being penalized because it’s taking too long to get the kids into the school and if indeed the kids are late, it takes an extra 5 to 8 minutes just to get to the front office to check them in. This has been a hindrance we will definitely not be attending next year. Whoever thought it was a great idea to put three schools plus a senior citizen home on the same road must be full of rubbish I hope and pray that the staff in and other employees of barrel County would have some grace for these kids and try and see how idiotic it is just to get to this dang school on Time never again

Very amazing community!! Love the staff and programs that are offered!!

I am extremely concerned about the safety, fairness, and overall effectiveness of this school’s administrative process. On Thursday August 18th, I contacted the school’s guidance counselor to report that my daughter was being bullied by another student. I requested that both students be spoken to so the matter could be resolved appropriately. I was informed that the other student was not present that Thursday. However, she was present on Friday and the following Monday, yet no one at the school made any effort to speak to either of student together to address the issue. When I asked the principal why this was not done, I was told that there were “other issues that needed all hands on deck.”Because the school failed to address the situation, matters escalated. That Monday, my daughter asked the other student on the bus why she had been talking about her, and this led to a physical altercation. My daughter was then suspended from school for a week. The principal immediately attempted to send her to alternative school—despite this being her first fight ever. I could not help but feel that my daughter was unfairly judged and treated more harshly, especially as an African American student, with no consideration for other disciplinary options such as ISS or additional counseling. I also informed the principal that my daughter has a 504 Plan. She responded by saying I had never shared that information—despite the fact that it is clearly documented in her records, and despite the school having contacted me in May regarding her 504 accommodations and class placements. This shows a clear lack of awareness and follow-through from the school regarding my child’s documented needs. Their oversight resulted in a manifestation hearing, where it was determined that the fight was, in fact, connected to her disability. This further proves that the school failed to properly support her before the situation escalated.Additionally, after her suspension, the School Resource Officer filed a juvenile court referral for the fight, forcing my daughter into the court system for a situation that began with her being bullied and was made worse by the school’s inaction.