Laurin Middle School

My husband went here as a kid and now our own kids are going. We ask for a boundary exception to be able to go here and drive 13 minutes. My daughter transitioned from a hybrid school to here in 2nd grade and my son started kindergarten here. It’s been the best experience and environment for my kids and for me as a parent. The staff is incredible. I cried at kindergarten orientation hearing the principal talk about his love for the kids. BGPS levies always fail and sometimes I wish we lived in a different district that was more supported by the community but this school keeps our hope alive. If we ever got denied the boundary exception I’d be devastated. Glenwood is the best.

My child attended Plesant Valley Primary and Plesant Valley Middle School from K-8. The staff and administrators care about students. The campus isn't the latest and greatest, but the teachers are fantastic. There is an active PTA where you can get plugged into your child's learning environment, and it's a wonderful community. The shared campus made the transition from 4th to 5th grade unique. The students grow up together. I could not have been more pleased with my child's learning experience.

This school district does not give full attention to students as individuals. Low income is very apparent from the menu to the large classroom settings. Too many students per class.

Wonderful elementary school!The school has a very kind and supportive staff. The teachers are professional, caring, and truly invested in the children’s education. I would also like to thank the school bus driver for being responsible and friendly.My son really loves this school and is happy to go there every day. Thanks to the teachers and the learning environment, he has made great progress in English and gained strong knowledge and confidence.We are very satisfied with this school and highly recommend it to other families.

This is a lovely community with some truly wonderful, committed teachers. It's a nice collection of families from all over the area, many of whom are fairly engaged in the life of the school. We enjoyed our relationships with both teachers and other families, and we appreciated the small class sizes and extensive outdoor programming. Unfortunately, the head of school is not a good fit and has directly or indirectly precipitated the departure of nearly half the current families. She is conflict avoidant, defensive, and too fearful about how she is perceived to engage honestly with the community. As I write this review mid-summer, the school has made several significant staffing changes that it has not yet communicated to families, including the dismissal of a popular, family-centered administrator and two beloved teachers. The administration is deliberately deceitful, and the board is too small to be effective and too inexperienced to recognize that the school is in significant peril and may not survive. Gardner could and should be great, but it will require new leadership before it can realize its potential. Buyer beware!!

Our child is thriving spiritually, emotionally, developmentally, socially & academically in this safe, loving, kind, Christ centered environment.