Pricey private K-12 school. Haves and have-lesses.*** Very bizarre stratification and a really strange range of teachers from top-notch excellent to worst of the worst. I attended this school in the 1980s, long before Yelp, but I still have some trauma/scarring from it, and I think that the administration needs to pay attention to things that it absolutely ignored back then. Rumor has it now that it doesn't, still, which is not atypical of education, but if admin can read this and do better, it should. Major emotional scarring can arise from attending school here as it was in the '80s. Best teachers: Mrs. Teal, Mr. Gratwick, the two French teachers and one French/Latin (Mrs. Mensch (sp?), art teachers Bay and Rosser. Worst teachers: Mr. Eldridge, Mrs. Teller, DiMaria/DeMarea (?), and Ms. McFadden, who was more into breeding dogs for a living than teaching 5th grade.* Questionable: Eisen (English), Harper (math), the creepy young science teacher Scott something.** The music teacher was good, but I was still a Jew who had to sing Christmas songs year after year. *Eldridge was a social climber who was more interested in hobnobbing with rich people than he was children's educations and yet somehow was middle school principal. When I was nearsighted and couldn't see the chalkboard he called me an airhead in front of other kids. Never considered that I literally couldn't see the board, and at age 10, I didn't know either! Dog breeder McFadden, same. Not attuned enough to think about eyesight as factor. DeMarea (?) was the crappy English teacher for 7th and 8th who said, "You want to start a new thought? Start a new paragraph." I learned everything I know today about writing from the public high school I attended with better teachers when I left Barstow. **Eisen was brilliant and a great teacher, and I learned a ton from her, but her disciplinarian ways were intense, and she literally taped some kids' mouths shut. They were terrible pompous kids who technically deserved it, but even for the '80s this was draconian. Mr. Harper was a great math teacher, but I was gifted in math, and because I picked up algebra, etc. from self-teaching and never had to "study" (who needs to study algebra? you get it or you don't; you solve for x) he told all the other kids, in front of me, that I was lying when I said I didn't study. WTAF? Not that it would have been okay if he told them behind my back. But REALLY?! Algebra is formulas. You don't need to "study" algebra. Once you click the formulas you're done. 20+ years later when I was taking the GRE, I had to re-teach myself algebra, and I did. It's not a daily-study memorization thing. Telling other kids I'm lying because I "get" math is NOT OKAY. ***Haves lived in Mission Hills in mansions, some with indoor pools. Have-lesses were me: I had everything any kid needs and wants--my own room, things I wanted for my bday gifts, never was hungry. We took vacations and had material things. But we were very much "wrong tracks" because we weren't society and didn't jet off to ski resorts and spas and Europe and live in mansions. Mr. Eldridge really catered to only the "haves" in an obvious way. As diversity and inclusion become fashionable topics of the day--too little, too late--I think it's important to note my experiences here, and I wish I had sooner. I'll forever be grateful to my parents that they gave me a choice about high school, and I was able to attend public school for "free" rather than the $5k annual tuition at the time for Barstow. Was public school perfect? Of course not, but for the thousands of dollars difference it was a no-brainer. And overall, the quality of teachers and administrators was actually better at public school. If parents are considering sending kids here, please observe very carefully and ask a lot of questions. If you're on the KS side, chances are still quite good that public school is better when weighing money, diversity, and quality of instruction/admin. Missouri? Possibly even the same. read more

I think what I like most about Barstow, having attended small schools nearly my entire educational career, is its size. The students there are going to have grades with 30-50 kids, tops. One of the last junior classes I worked with had 40 students. As you are going to find at most elite private schools, there are a ton of students who love to learn and are dedicated to hard work. It doesn't hurt that it's a beautiful campus, conveniently located, with a good deal of tradition. Scott Hill, head counselor here, also happens to be awesome. read more

Barstow is the oldest private school west of Mississippi. It's being around since 1884. It started as a women's school, and later became a school for everyone. Former Mayor Sly James sent his kids to Barstow before. Current KC Mayor Quinton Lucas is an alum. Innovation: The headmaster at Barstow is a brilliant, innovative leader. Barstow is opening up its second campus with ambitious goals to turn it into one of the country's foremost STEAM and innovation campus. Barstow has international campuses in Asia that provide additional revenue stream. Barstow also has some amazing online programs that are in collaboration with 100 other schools in the world. Curriculum: English/Social Studies: Barstow is one and half to two years ahead of Blue Valley curriculum. I have actually compare the reading lists from Barstow to Blue Valley and other private schools. The book list at Barstow is the most multi-dimensional and diverse. At KU, it's a well known fact that Barstow students need to correct other students' papers in a group project. Math: Barstow's math curriculum is one year ahead of Blue Valley's curriculum. Math is very strong at Barstow. Barstow students tend to win many of the regional, state, and some national math competitions from elementary school to high school in Missouri. Science: We are not a family of doctors. I hear from doctors' families complaining about our science. My kids have been happy with science at Barstow. My sense is that the science is not bad, but just not as amazing as other academic areas. If science is so bad, then why would many of the top doctors in KC send their kids here? STEAM: Barstow STEAM classes and robotics team are very strong starting in middle school and all the way to high school. Robotics team won an impressive 3rd place in the national robotics competition last year. It's a major force in high school. There's also STEAM curriculum in elementary school. It's stronger than other elementary schools in the area, but I would like to see more. AP Computer is offered this year for the first time. It's the first school to offer that course in the area. Debate/Speech: Barstow, Pembroke, and Blue Valley North are all strong in debate. Barstow is the leader in debate. The students travel everywhere to compete. It's a heavy load for the students but they always come home with amazing results. Barstow is strong in speech. Broadcasting: Barstow has a professional broadcasting studio that no one else has (thanks to a generous donation by a Barstow family). Students produce, create, record TV shows for the school community almost on a daily basis. Film-making is strong here. Art: Huge selection of electives are offered in middle school and high school in art. Theatre: Barstow has an excellent theatre program and produces several big shows a year. The shows are excellent but do require long hours of rehearsal. Volunteerism: Strong volunteerism culture at Barstow. Kids are taught not to be selfish. Several Congressional Award Gold and Silver winners every year. We have the most out of all KS and MO schools. Test Prep: Barstow doesn't push the kids on test prep or applying to Ivy schools like Pembroke does. Test prep is stronger at Pembroke and Blue Valley, and minimal at Barstow. Teachers: We have been here for three years. We never had a bad teacher at Barstow. Do we have average teachers? Yes, we had one average teacher in all of middle school, and one average teacher in high school so far but everyone else has been excellent to amazing. 5th grade team is also strong at Barstow. My kids didn't get educated earlier so I can't say about the teachers for the younger grades. However, from time to time, if we do get a bad teacher, that teacher is out after one year. The parents tend to revolt and that teacher is gone right away. Final thought: I am grateful that my kids found a school that offers amazing education and teach them how to be wonderful and useful human beings in the society! read more

Our 2nd grade son attended the summer session at Barstow and we found the experience to be very positive. Small groups with an educational or sports focus and lots of time for fun. read more