Hill Valley

St. Barnabas is a wonderful school. Because we are a stewardship based parish, every parishioner -- not just parents of students at the school has a vested interest in the quality of education the school offers. Teachers (who are woefully underpaid) go out of their way to go above and beyond for their students. As a whole, the teachers are passionate about their faith, the education of the students, and the overall well-being of every student. Involvement opportunities abound for parents and students alike, and the school and parish community is a family. It sounds extremely cliche; however, it is true. There is a sport for everyone, and if your student is more academically inclined, there are so many clubs and extra-curricular activities for them to participate in. The music department offers theater opportunities every year which churn out amazing productions in a short amount of time. The value and importance of service to others is stressed routinely and annual service projects benefit numerous organizations throughout the city. STEM has become an important focus and once a month the entire school participates in a STEM centered project. The faith aspect of the school can be witnessed at the all-school mass every Wednesday morning. There is something special about it that words cannot succinctly describe -- one must simply experience it. St. Barnabas expects a lot of its students and has high standards, and the kids rise to the challenge. The school is routinely one of the highest scoring schools in the district. One thing I would like to see improved is a stronger emphasis on discipline. When kids get in trouble, they are given a "check." After so many checks received there is sometimes imposed discipline, and sometimes it effects their grade. However, it seems that the same kids are always the one who are distracting for the reason the kids are there and I would like to see more strict discipline imposed, if only as a deterrent to others. Overall, this school has exceeded our expectations above and beyond what we'd imagined. St. Barnabas is a faith-based, academically focused school that prepares its kids exceptionally well for high school.

The most legalistic, prideful school I’ve ever seen. There are teachers who believe for girls it is a sin to wear anything other than a skirt. If the teachers or students don’t like the preacher that the school has during chapel, they can stand up and walk out of the service in the middle of it. Those teachers who disagree with other churches can and HAVE called out other churches’ “sinful” ways during class time. Mind you, there were students in the school and class that went to that church that was called out. This school is ran by a bunch of old guys in the church who have never met an actual student once. The rules are extremely strict but at the same time, they choose when to follow their own rules. There is supposedly a “zero tolerance” bullying policy to where a student gets AT LEAST suspended if they are caught bullying but it’s false. If you are being verbally or even physically harmed, the high school principal will just warn the bully. What a slap into the face for the victim!! The school hires and keeps elderly/no longer qualified teachers because they can’t find anyone who wants to teach at the school. This leads to an extremely difficult to understand class. The high school hallways are like an underground tunnel (literally). The high school is under the church and the school is accepting too many students for such an extremely small capacity. Between classes, you are standing shoulder to shoulder, barely moving in the hallways which leads to a lot of late students. But instead of fixing this issue, the school went into debt for a mediocre lunch room. Collard shirts that need to be tucked in to uniform pants with a belt is the dress code for guys and any tshirt or crew neck that doesn’t have a big worldly logo on it with a plaid uniform skirt is the dress code for girls. Students and parents literally have to sign a “contract” with the school saying you won’t participate in “worldly” activities inside or OUTSIDE of the school. This school tries to control your entire life by saying what you can or cannot do wether you are on school property or not. There is no wheelchair accessibility for the high school so good luck if you need that. The school lunches are expensive, underserved, and low quality. A “full” lunch is $4.50 and they serve you the same amount of food as they would to the kindergarteners and the lunch ladies get mad and refuse you if you ask for a little bit more food. Don’t waste your time here.