520 WEST
Bainbridge, GA

As an educator at Bainbridge High, I would like to say that there are a lot of safety issues at our school. There are some of us who help students who are bullied, but for the most part, our bullying issue is being swept under the rug by our administration. When kids have their backs against a wall, so to speak, and finally stand up for themselves they are usually punished as well - even though they had already reported the other student's behavior (and nothing had been done). Many times teachers have been put into dangerous situations where administrators or the resource officers were not able to be reached and a student was out of control - on a campus where there is a head principal and five other administrators, not to mention two officers, this is uncalled for. There is no effective communication between the administration and teachers, and typically students know about issues before the teachers do.

I went there as a child and I am glad my children also attend this school. They are focused on the children's education!

We moved from out of state and I’ve never experienced anything as bad as Jones Wheat Elementary. My sweet little first grader’s teacher would yell at the kids daily. When my daughter brought this to my attention I thought she was exaggerating. But midway through the year my daughter started showing signs of being scared and anxious of school in a way I’d never seen. At a conference the teacher admitted to raising her voice regularly. She explained to me that the school was understaffed with too many kids who don’t get their needs met at home. The teacher also brought up race. I was shocked. Shocked that an adult would actually admit to a parent that she yells at 6 year old regularly and that she brought race into the discussion. When I brought my concerns to the principal multiple times nothing was done. I became desperate and reached out to other parents. Other parents who had the same experiences. I couldn’t believe it. One mom even considered trying to get the news involved. Within a 1.5 year daughter went from being a bright, confident, creative little girl to a scared girl with no confidence in a year. The damage was so bad my daughter was scared to go to school the following year even though we had moved her to an entirely new school far away. Trying to undo the damage that School caused my daughter was the most emotionally taxing thing I have done as a mom. Now this review could be seen as “just a bad teacher” thing. However, we moved during her kindergarten year and he first teacher was also lacking in many shocking ways. Discipline is withholding recess from anxious, roundly kids which obviously makes the kids have even more difficult times because they can’t get their energy out. Office staff seemed to be annoyed most days. And… it is just not a place I could recommend to send a child.