Welcome!  Barnhart School is fully accredited by the National and California Associations of Independent Schools (NAIS and CAIS).  As a kindergarten through 8th grade school, we have a strong 9-year partnership with our parents.  We prepare our students for the transition into the area’s top high schools and ultimately for success in college and in life. This year we celebrate 50 years of providing excellence in education for the young people entrusted to us.  We intend to continue our legacy that education is a fully comprehensive human experience.  We are also moving forward to develop and distinguish ourselves in new ways that will guarantee that EVERY student receives a stellar educational experience with us.

 

This year we offer new and exciting changes to our program. 

 

  • Spanish is now offered in ALL grades
  • We are continuing to develop a stronger early literacy program with the use of leveled books, improved assessments, guided reading, and differentiated instruction 
  • A new Student Success Team (SST) is being developed, and all students who are in need of special support of any type will be considered for added resources
  • We are launching a Kindergarten through 8th grade Writers’ Workshop curriculum based on 25 years of research and the work of Dr. Lucy Calkins at Columbia University
  • We are offering a new before and after care program, Bobcat Adventures
  • We are using SMARTBoards and document cameras in several classrooms
  • and more to come…..

 

At Barnhart, the beauty is in the balance.  Our mission is to provide an atmosphere where ALL students flourish in academics, arts, and attitude.  We promote living healthy, physically and emotionally fit lives.

In developing mind, body and spirit, our vision continues with a refreshed perspective – Intelligence, Integrity, and Involvement are key words that best describe our vision and focus. 

 

Intelligence includes not only challenging academics, but also emotional maturity, wisdom gained from experience, and the capacity to bring multiple perspectives and styles of thinking to create and inspire the future.  Intelligence allows us to “read between the lines” and utilize all of the venues of the arts, sciences, and technology to gain an ever deeper understanding of what it takes to have a meaningful, happy life.

 

Integrity is the moral compass that enables us to use our intelligence in productive and caring ways.  Integrity is that quality that reflects goodness, empathy, and a genuine concern for others.  At Barnhart, through Chapel and in everything we do, we strive to model honesty, courage, perseverance, and the investment of healthy, life- giving relationships with peers and adults.  Our Virtues program explicitly teaches key attributes and encourages students to practice these attributes in all areas of their lives.

 

Involvement promotes the belief that the world is bigger than just our own concerns and desires, in a society that continuously tempts us to be self absorbed.   We partner with our parents to instill in our students that it is our duty and privilege to give back to the world in which we live.  As children grow, it is important that we involve them in active service and community.  As they are developmentally ready, we want them to be responsible citizens engaged in making meaning of the world and enthusiastically contributing to its continuous improvement.  We want students to leave us being curious, confident, and hopeful about a future that is as yet, unknown.

 

Every effective leader seeks a high-performing team that is focused on a purposeful, compelling mission.  I am blessed to work with deeply devoted professionals who love children and are individually and collectively dedicated to the success of our students.  We hope you will consider the tremendous value of a Barnhart education as the best investment you can make for your child.  Come help us be part of an engaging and vibrant future. 

 

 

Warmly,

 

Joanne Testacross

Head of School