Bierbaum Elementary School

1) To the parent who said that the PTO needs to get a clue, you are dead wrong. The PTO does a great job at supporting the school without being overly pushy about the fundraisers. With a school of 600+ kids (and probably less than 5% of parents get involved in PTO), you can only do so much. 2) For the people complaining about class size - the MO state requirement is 25, and my daughter has never come close (20 - 22 for K-2). The state requirement changes for 4-5, which is why those classes are larger. 3) The teachers and staff really care about the students, both their book learning and their character learning. When we run into them outside of school, they always stop and talk to my daughter and any principal who can remember the names of 600+ kids is cool. They've won over my husband, who attended private schools growing up. 4) Full day kindergarten will be free starting in 2013-14, and even if it cost, it's worth the money (especially if you are a two-parent working family). The kids who were in half day kindergarten had a hard time adapting to the amount of classroom time in 1st grade. We love Bierbaum and are proud to say that our daughter attends school here.
—Submitted by a parent

In response to the post about paying for kindergarten, you are dead wrong about it not being worth it. I do in-home child care and have some kiddos that go half day, so I opted to pay for my daughter to go full day. If you put what she learned up against what the half day kids learned you would see a day and night difference. The full day children have more time to work on the skills they will need to be successful. How much can these half day kids learn in 3 hrs? They alternate between recess, art, gym, and music each day so they only get roughly two hours of instruction. However I do feel $250 a month is excessive for a district that had a rather large surplus last year. Especially when they milk parents for ever possible penny they can. The PTO desperately needs a clue. Other then that it is a wonderful school and it is in your child's best interest to attend the full day kindergarten. I felt my daughters education was worth it.
—Submitted by a parent

We are new there this year and they have imbraced us making my daughter feel so good about herself and school. This is a GreatSchool.
—Submitted by a parent

I know some of the other reviews have stated that there were 'too many children' and that the class sizes were too large, but my experience has been quite the opposite. My daughter (in first grade) has only 19 children total in her class. That's perfect, if you ask me!
—Submitted by a parent

There are too many students. Needs more teacher assistance because one teacher can not help each student especially with kindergarters!
—Submitted by a parent

Socially this school is good, but educationally it is lacking. To many students, and not enough teachers. I know that this page says 20 students per teacher, but both my boy s classes have 26 students with one teacher. The school has a half day kindergarten; with the option to pay for full day (full day includes one extra recess, lunch, and music, not worth the amount they charge, if you ask me).
—Submitted by a parent

I have one child in third grade, and three others who have gone on to high school and college. Bierbaum prepared them well. The teachers are excellent, the discipline is fair, and there are plenty of kids so that everyone can find a friend. Yes, it is a huge school, although the class sizes are no larger than the Catholic schools in the area. We feel that Bierbaum has greatly enriched our children's lives, and is an asset to our community.
—Submitted by a parent

I have one child that has left Bierbaum and three others that remain there. My experience with this school has been great. I think it's a great school and all of my children are excelling.
—Submitted by Lisa Lawrence, a parent

Entirely too many children and class sizes are ridiculous. 26 children with one teacher, no aid, in a Kindergarten class is just not conducive to learning.
—Submitted by a parent

Not enough teachers per students... especially in the lower grades...when kids learn basics of reading, writing and math.
—Submitted by a parent