The Hartsbrook School

193 Bay Road

Hadley, MA 01035

13 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on November 18, 2023

While my family has had a very positive experience with the school's pedagogy, we were told explicitly by Lindsay Hunter, the head of administration, that our financial aid needs were a burden for the school. I truly feel that any efforts at inclusivity and equity are disingenuous and that the school actively and intentionally upholds its whiteness and privilege despite its rhetoric stating otherwise. Any language suggesting efforts at inclusivity is a mere DEI costume designed to comfort the wealthy but without any impact on those who would benefit from such policies. Ultimately I decided that my childrens' exposure to screens and worksheets in public school would likely be far less damaging than the institutional elitism with which we were met at Hartsbrook.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2023

Love the Hartsbrook School and the community of families, faculty, and staff! Our kids (middle school and high school) love school. One of them works with a learning difference and would have been tracked for special ed in different school. Here, he was given the support, time, and space he needed to develop, and his love of learning and self-esteem were never compromised.
Submitted by parent on October 16, 2023

I am an alum and now have two children at Hartsbrook. Like any school, the fit varies with each child, but we've been very happy here.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2023

Our family (2 boys) has been at the Hartsbrook School for 8 years. This school is amazing. The teachers and faculty really strive to challenge their students and provide them with meaningful work. I love that they learn languages from first grade, they have multiple opportunities for music, art, movement and free play without sacrificing the rigors of academic work. The school is on a working farm and land stewardship plays an integral part of the curriculum. The school works to create a community that centers the students. When I have issues that I felt needed to be addressed I felt I was heard and steps were taken by the school to address my concerns. I feel lucky to have found this school and community.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2023

Our family has three children and we have been at the Hartsbrook School for 20 years. The community and education is beautiful. What is most important to me is the constant striving to provide an education based on love and hands on learning. This school continuously asks the hard questions including “ how can we be better”? I feel the education is dynamic and living and an antidote to many of our world’s problems. And my children feel joy every day which is a good thing.
Submitted by parent on September 15, 2022

I would caution anyone looking at this school. The current administration lacks leadership, which, in turn creates an unsafe environment for its students. Our child was bullied not only by classmates, but also by his teacher. The administration knowing the situation did not move efficiently to address the situation and even left the teacher in the classroom.
Submitted by parent on February 04, 2021

When we moved to this area, we researched a ton of schools and ended up interviewing at two. As we walked away from the interview at The Hartsbrook School, we knew the other place didn't have a chance -- this community, this campus, and this faculty are world-class. We've been at the school for 2 years since then and are still amazed at how heart-felt, deliberate, and masterful the staff and faculty are in their approach to administering and teaching these children. Our boys have a relationship with the land, with themselves, and with their peers unlike anything we've ever seen. We're delighted, and highly recommend this school at all levels of the curriculum.
Submitted by parent on August 20, 2017

We feel at home in a school with an engaged parent body that surrounds the school with heart and strength. The academic challenges of the curriculum are considerable. The kids have to produce a body of work by the time they complete elementary or high school. They draw, paint, create beautiful handcrafted items, they sing, perform, play instruments as well as learn math, language arts, foreign languages and PE. Agricultural arts are taught throughout the school year with everyone sharing in farm chores before and after school. Waldorf schools are not for everyone, but if any of this description resonates, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Submitted by student on April 14, 2015

I've gone to Hartsbrook all my life (currently in the tenth grade). I briefly dabbled with the idea of trying out another school when the time came for the great middle shcool to high school switch, but ultimately decided to stay, for many reasons. It's a great community, and a great learning environment; teachers are extremely thoughtful, caring, and helpful, peers are considerate, accepting, and generally a bunch of passionate, hard-working, talented, intelligent, creative, and unique individuals. There are no cliques or bullies. Students help eachother out, both with school-related and personal problems, and almost everyone is friends with everyone else. Classes are small, but close. My own class refers to itself as "an extremely loving platonic polyamorous relationship." The learning material is also extremely varied, and interesting. We have many different art classes (inc. painting, sculpture, pencil drawings etc.), music classes (inc. a cappella, jazz band, strings), math classes, gardening and agriculture, sports (inc. soccer, basketball and ultimate), history, sciences, politics, etc. All students also perform in at least one play/musical each year.
Submitted by parent on May 28, 2014

Hartsbrook has served my family very well. Both my children went from first to twelve grade and are now in great colleges during extremely well and they are both planning to go to grad school. A love of learning, an understanding of friendship and community and an appreciation of life were instilled in my children at Hartsbrook and I could not be more grateful.
Submitted by parent on May 03, 2014

My son is learning what he needs to not only go on to study in college, he is learning all those something's could be. I really like that the teachers see him for him and he knows that . I love the farm , the arts , the way they have fun learning things they need to learn. I love that his school does not rush kids into adulthood . We love it here.
Submitted by parent on January 11, 2013

Teachers don't have to teach to the test, so they can teach to the students, and they teach using great works, not curricula watered down by state committee. Our daughter is thriving here like nowhere else.
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2012

The school develops an understanding of nature,a set of practical skills (not computer skills, but rather physically interacting with people and things), a sense of the connection between lessons learned in grade 1 and those learned in grade 8, a respect for people and ideas, and an aesthetic sensibility even in the mundane. Interested in how to prepare children to be in the "Creative Class" or adopt Daniel Pink's "Whole New Mind"? This is the kind of education they need. Music, foreign language, agriculture, knitting, drawing, movement, etc, is integrated into the teaching of history, math, sciences, etc. And, for the most part, the faculty is amazing.