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March 2023 by Rich M.
My son started this year as a Freshman (9th grade). We had read all the reviews before applying and like other people here have mentioned, we had some concerns about the administration but consistently heard the teachers and eduction was excellent. 6 months in and our son is very happy. He's got great teachers, his advisor knows and understand him. He's on the golf team and involved in many after school activities. There's also a good community of parents. I've gotten to know the new Head of School, Christie Moncharmont. She's laser focused on improving communication with parents and working with the teachers and staff to ensure that Bentley is a great place to teach. One thing that really stood out to us when my son was applying to Bentley - it was the only independent school in the East Bay that specifically said that they were focused on a having "happy" students with a reasonable balance of school work, extracurriculars, and downtime.. We are so glad we made the decision for Bentley.
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January 2021 by Simone R.
My daughter has been attending Bentley upper school for a couple of years. These are the main issues:- Terrible high level school leaders/administration. Just look on Glassdoor and you can see for yourself. I have zero idea why the school board has allowed this to go on so long. - High teacher turnover due to above. The GREAT teachers leave (because they don't need to take such poor treatment). I am not sure if they try to retain these wonderful teachers - but the definitely don't do enough to keep them. We are then left with the bad teachers- until they eventually get fired (which usually takes too long)- They have terrible internet at the high school. During remote (covid period) this is ridiculous. They always say they will fix - but it never has gotten better. There is no excuse for this! We pay a ton of money - how come you can't get good internet?- Not enough AP classes for the high school. This leaves kids as not competitive when comparing to kids from other schools for college admission.To be clear, they do occasionally have some wonder staff, teachers and college counselors. The issue is that all the great ones often leave.To all the great teachers who have stayed: THANK YOU! We all appreciate you and our kids appreciate and love you!!
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December 2017 by Dave Hummel
Really was transformational for my son. He was able to take risks academically, socially, and on the playing fields and courts without judgement, given supportive culture. I attribute his time there developing (including character) to his success in college and now the private sector
