Bethlehem Elementary

We have been extremely disappointed with this school and feel like our children have wasted an entire year of their education. Our family came from an excellent elementary school in eastern NC and have been shocked by the drastic difference in the quality of education. This school is filled with closed minded locals who can't see anything beyond what they have always done. They are not welcoming and are rude to new people at the school. The children have only a small chance to talk at the end of lunch. It is almost eerie to walk into a cafeteria filled with small children and hear silence. The kids have to walk laps at recess because there is nothing for the kids to play on or with. The office staff is very frustrating. When you go to check your child out of school, they question why you are taking them out. It is my right as a parent to check my child out of school for whatever reason. I should not have to justify my reason to a school secretary. One of our children has a wasp allergy, if the assistant is taking the class outside, she makes our daughter stay inside. She is not comfortable carrying and administering an EpiPen. We are not okay with our child not being allowed outside with her class. Overall, the school is disorganized, filled with unhappy teachers and a principal who lets the PTO and local cliques control the school. We are not returning to this school next year.

My boys have excelled in their education at BES. The teachers are down to earth and really love the students. I feel good about sending my boys to school. I will soon have 3 at BES!

Really sad how the administration and PTO at the school are handled. They are so many willing parents wanting to help but they are not allowed in the clique. The school has wonderful teachers but the administration and PTO are sorely lacking!!

I completely agree with the parent from the February 6, 2013 post. Outsiders are not welcomed with opened arms or even a fake smile. It's not just at school either, but its even worse if they try to play a sport for the county. My child played baseball 1 season & because he had never played before he was treated differently & my husband and I were treated like we had the plague. As far as the teachers go, all my children have had wonderful teachers, have exceeded grade expectations and love school. Favoritism is shown to students with personal connections to staff members, however if you stand your ground & make yourself known they eventually get their heads out of there single minded ways and listen. The principal is wonderful, we all adore her, although she tends to seem too bogged down and busy to have time to listen to problems or complaints. All in all it's a GREAT school unfortunately its some of the people in the community that tend to ruin it for others. Its a shame that in this day in age people are still so close minded.

I'm not sure where some of these posts went to school, but Bethlehem Elementry is in my opinion- "the worst school choice in the area". We have two children both of which attended this school. To say that it was difficult is an understatement. While both of my kids managed to maintain A or AB averages, they struggled with the politics of being in a community that seems to exclude new people. This community is filled with people who have grown up together since childhood and remained here to raise their families and so on. We moved here when our children were young from just a few counties away. Immediately we learned that most people here avoid new faces. There is no "hospitality" anywhere that I can find. Teachers seem to treat some students completly different because they knew their parents in High School or played Little League together. When we have had issues with other students, they have fallen on deaf ears. The Superientendant automatically takes the word of the Principal- who takes the word of thge teacher- who takes the word of which ever student she knows personally. If you arent in their "network or click" your time at this school will probably be a disaster.