Barnwell Elementary School

The teachers and staff are great! Academics are great, school environment and culture are great, and the children love this school. Our son has just finished 5th grade at Hillside after starting there in Kindergarten. He was not the easiest of students. He has mild autism, which they recognized and found appropriate ways to help us, without ever blaming or shaming us. When he was younger, he could get overwhelmed easily and had poor emotional regulation, which could seem scary at times, and yet they never overreacted. They always responded in compassionate ways that took into account the needs of our son balanced with the needs of the other children. As our son related, he knew he was "well-known, and not always for the right reasons." All the while, the teachers and administration communicated well with us as and developed strategies to help our son. They always shared what they thought best and listened to our feedback. We never had to ask them to do more, and in fact, suggested several times that they could reduce the level of extra support they were willingly offering.Early on, I was a bit taken aback at an event where the principal greeted our son by name, until I noticed he was greeting *all* the children by their names! Last week, all of his teachers celebrated his growth during his time there. I was teary-eyed all through the promotion ceremony. We knew before kindergarten that our son would be a handful, and were turned down for admission by several private schools that we thought might be better-suited for him. I am so glad that we ended up at Hillside - I cannot image that any school would have done better.This is an excellent school that cares deeply for the students who attend there. Highly recommend.

Reading was a major issue with our child at Simpson. We kept telling the school there was a reading issue and even asked about dyslexia. Gaslit for years. She was finally diagnosed with dyslexia and we got her help. We’ve heard from other parents as well that Simspon will let the kids slide by for years before providing intervention. Personally have been lied to by admin officials. Never get the full story or answers to our questions from admin. Most of the the teachers though we have loved.

I left Wesleyan after my Freshman year, why? My experience was terrible. I went there for 11 years and not once did I feel like there was any concern for me or anyone’s mental and physical wellbeing and health. All this school truly cares for is their reputation and nothing else. It’s horrible to see that what i thought was a top school in georgia be the worst experience in my life. Even after me leaving, my sister (who’s still there) is a senior, and she does dance like 24/7 it’s everything to her. Wesleyan told her that she needed a required PE credit, in which would be fulfilled if they would just sign her off since she dances all the time, but no, they forced her to start taking strength class instead. Another thing is that my sister has a condition where if she works her body like that in which for strength, her spine can make it hard to breathe for her. My mom has been trying very hard to fight against this but no matter what Wesleyan doesn’t care for her, just their reputation.