St. Barnabas Elementary School

3980 Marron Avenue

Long Beach, CA 90807

14 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on January 17, 2020

We are still at the school and my kids are thriving academically, socially and spiritually. I don't think all schools are perfect but you need to evaluate whether it works for your kids and family. It has worked well for my children, especially my high functioning child.
Submitted by parent on March 30, 2019

We’ve had two kids there. The oldest has been accepted into her top choice High School which is a highly competitive magnet program for STEM. Our youngest is doing great as well. Outside of academics they have great friends and engaging enrichment opportunities, such as a wonderful school play and multiple sports, both of which accommodate any interested student.
Submitted by student on September 28, 2017

Feminist teachers, males here are hated and treated as garbage, please don't send ANYONE here.
Submitted by other on May 28, 2017

SBS has caring teachers, a strong curriculum, a principal who works hard to better the school, sports, Spanish and music classes, and a good after-school programs. On the flip side, there are kids who are "favorites" and consistently get chosen for school opportunities (so if this is not your kid, he or she should stop trying), and parent cliques based on ethnicity or income. Additionally, the administration is weak on discipline.
Submitted by parent on February 27, 2017

St. Barnabas has been an excellent fit for our girls. The school has a great balance between strong academics and a great community. As a small school that goes from Preschool to 8th grade the staff really have an opportunity to get to know each child and understand where they excel, and where they need extra encouragement. St. Barnabas is also making great strides with leveraging technology. The school is incorporating Google Classroom and on-line text books for the older students and the system for sharing information with parents is great, making it easy to see grades and assignments.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2016

St. Barnabas is the best choice I have ever made for my boys! The school has a family feel to it. The staff is wonderful and really do care about the kids! The principal is enthusiastic, dedicated and always has time for you! All in all, it is a wonderful school!
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2016

My daughters LOVE St. Barnabas School and all that it offers them. We are so happy they will be students there for 9 years and are grateful for the wonderful foundation they provide.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2016

Great school and faith oriented. One of my kids graduated from this school and had a wonderful experience. My other kid is still attending and feels happy to be surrounded of good friends. The teachers are great and dedicated. The principal does an amazing job.
Submitted by parent on June 27, 2014

Excellent school and well worth it!! Three of my four children graduated St. Barnabas School with one more child still there. If parents care about their kids, then this school fosters that environment. If you do your research you will find that the tuition is comparable to many other Catholic Schools in the area.The service hours are very reasonable with several options on how to fulfill just 30 hours during the entire school year. Since this school is a non-profit there are community building events that raise the funds to offset costs. My children have been involved in the sports programs, altar serving, lectoring at mass, dance, drama, BeeNetwork News, and the Jr High Academic Decathlon in Los Angeles in which we competed one year against 100 Catholic schools and Placed 1st in Science, 6th in Literature, 10th in Religion! Many of these students have gone on to St. John Bosco, St. Josephs, Loyola, Rosary, St. Anthony, Mater Dei,CAMS, and Poly Pace/CIC, just to name a few. The academic excellence along with the meaningful spiritual education at St. Barnabas School is a testament to the wonderful teachers and staff lead by a dynamic principal who inspires us all! Thank you!!
Submitted by parent on June 25, 2014

This school is not worth it.The required service hours have separate activities you must work or else u pay.The overpriced Barnafest & the Overly priced auction/dinner/play which is the Spring event.Academically,I do not think this school is worth the money & the extra hours of hard work you are going to give.Because the teachers are not going to get out of their way &out of their job descriptions to help those students who are having a hard time,it will not happen unless you pay them.Academic competitions and their graduates acceptance to good highschool programs will prove this point.Facilitywise,their library was operated by a volunteer parent who came regularly every week,whose child has already graduated.so, they have no librarian who is there on a weekly basis.The computer room relies also on volunteer parents.Safety wise,I have realised that this school relies heavily on parents who have the time to watch these kids.This school seemed to be a never ending fundraising.The PTA is there to shoulder the school & the parish burden &push/encourage the parents to give, give, &give some more.This school charges so much more than other Catholic schools,&I find that it is NOTworth it.
Submitted by parent on June 14, 2013

Excellent school, both of my daughters are currently attending (one in 4th grade and my youngest in the new transitional Kinder program). The faculty are caring and dedicated and has a strong parent involvement and community. Academically, they challenge your child to learn more than what textbooks now days teach you, i also like how they integrated the Meet The Master Artist program and their music program teaching students a variety of artist/musicians from Michael Jackson, Queen, The Beatles to Mozart to name of few. It's a small school with a strong family feeling and would highly recommend this school if you are looking for an alternative to public schools.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2013

Fantastic school! Teachers are truly genuine and care very deeply about your child, both academically and socially. It has been a great fit for both of my children. Teachers are able to teach to the various needs of the class. Highly supportive staff and administration. Your needs and concerns will be addressed immediately. They have a computer lab that the students use more than 2x a week, a library, an art program, p.e weekly and music in the classroom. Small school with a wonderful family feeling!
Submitted by parent on May 10, 2013

St. Barnabas has been a great fit for my kids and for our family as a whole. The combined focus on academic performance and social development has had a very positive impact on my kids (who are in Kindergarten and 2nd Grade). We've also found a community of caring and involved parents who really go the extra mile to help out the school. One of the things that is surprising for such a small school is that there are so many enrichment activities. In addition to dance, sports and boy/girl scouts, there is also a robotics club, Academic Decathlon, a school 'news' show that is produced internally and after school Spanish classes. If you are looking for an alternative to the local public schools it is well worth looking at St. Barnabas.
Submitted by other on August 21, 2012

I attended St. Barnabas from 2003-2006 for junior high. It is a great school and the perfect environment for a new student to be in, I had just moved to Long Beach in 6th grade and with in my first few weeks at St. Barnabas I made life long friends. The teachers were excellent! They really payed attention to the things I excelled and struggled with. The only improvement 9and they may have changed this already) that I could recommend is altering their uniform policy. They used to make us buy our uniforms form Normans, Normas is not only exspensive, but it's material is very uncomfortable. Most schools that require a uniform dont care where you buy the uniform from, as long as it has the school logo on it and are the right colors. Other than that I would recommend St. Barnabas to anyone new to the Long Beach area with a 5th-8th grader.