Bellows Free Academy High School

I miss all my old class mates

As with any school, the student involvement is directly related to parent involvement. St. Albans is in a current state of flux - and will be until parents become involved in their children's education. The students are bright, funny and articulate. The students work well together and suport eachother- very little bullying by comparison to other schools, teacher are, for the most part, passionate about their subject matter and their students. I have had more than 10 consecutive years of student attendance at this school and can say the issue is the change in how children are raised. My children are proud to be BFA students and have embraced their education because of their experience here.

I used to be proud to send my kids here, however, new administration has led to a number of changes I don't agree with. First, BFA counts on a large portion of Georgia students for the tuition money. This year, a number of incoming freshmen decided to enroll at South Burlington and Essex. Given that, the school board are now in a panic on how to fill the gaps. My kids have had teachers announce any classroom funding was yanked. I've had to pay for things like foreign language tests & workbooks. At least one of the art teachers is apparently being canned, which made my youngest reconsider as art is her passion. More concerning is that I hear they're dropping all accelerated classes, they'll be grouped together with slower learners until they qualify for AP classes. Mid-terms and finals were eliminated after teaching plans for the year were created. Many teachers are venting in their classrooms. Unhappy teachers make it very hard for students to keep up any sense of morale. Even the start time on certain days are changing; parents will have to go to work late some mornings to accommodate the shift. I question if this year's change in leadership was really the best for BFA.

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