Bowen Primary Academy

This school was recently (2024/2025) the only school in manatee county to improve two grades to a B grade school (that’s 8/10 rating).

I just wanted to take a moment to express how truly grateful I am for Mrs. Marello and Mrs. Kelly. They are both such a valuable part of the school, and their kindness, patience, and dedication do not go unnoticed.Mrs. Marello has created such a positive and caring environment for her students. As a parent, it means so much to know my son is with a teacher who continues to support and encourage him unconditionally, even on the occasional bad day. No child is perfect every single day, but what matters most is having a teacher who sees the good in them, helps guide them, and never gives up on them. Allen has had far more good days than bad ones this school year, and I truly believe that is because of the patience, empathy, and encouragement she gives her students daily.She teaches with understanding instead of simply punishment, and that makes such a difference in a child’s confidence and growth. You can tell she genuinely cares about her students and wants them to succeed not only academically, but emotionally as well.Mrs. Kelly in the front office is also absolutely wonderful. She is always kind, welcoming, and helpful. Having someone with such warmth and professionalism at the front office of the school creates such a positive atmosphere for both parents and students.Thank you everyone for everything you do for these children and for making families feel supported and cared for. Teachers and staff like you are truly what make a school special.

BCS is no longer the quaint private school it once was. A year or two ago, they hired new administration, board members and now principals, which has turned this quaint private school into a public functioning school. This has become very disappointing to most all parents, staff and kids. BCS now requires security checks which includes dog sniffing backpacks, lockers & constant drills. If you receive any type of funding or grants towards their almost $20k annual tuition, BCS will target those families either by stating you do not participate enough in church and/or your child's absences is an issue so they can terminate enrollment. Personally, I've dealt with both accusations this past year, even though my child has been attending BCS over 5 years. We've never had so many problems and issues with BCS before until their new hires joined. I truly hope and pray this new administration & members change back to how BCS once was. If not, I'm seriously considering homeschooling.

Admin is cold and uncaring…PreK teachers are downright mean and act they don’t like children. Admin pretends they care but they don’t take action to fix complaints.

My daughter went here and she despised it. She was getting suicidal thoughts just because of stress? Another thing is she didn’t feel welcome as they don’t support there students like LGBTQ+ if you want to go here fine. But from my daughter’s experience. Don’t.

I am a current student at this school and have been for about 3 years. As a senior, I cannot say how excited I am to leave. This school should take the word "Christian" out of its name. The students that go here are very rude, hostile, and overall discriminatory against anyone who doesn't fit their standards. People get bullied out of this school all the time and it's horrible to see them experience "Christianity" this way. Most of the kids at this school don't take anything seriously. Kids carry drugs around the school and the principal doesn't care. I have seen drugs be thrown across the Chapel when we're supposed to be learning about God. This school also teaches that Jesus "breaks your legs," if you keep falling into sin which is just traumatizing to picture. This school also has a very expensive tuition, just to be taught the same things at a public school and be around the same kids, which I'd say are even worse than a public school. Overall, I would not and could not recommend this school to anyone trying to help their child grow morally and spiritually.