I want to start this with my BIGGEST issue I had at this school. I was hit by a teacher. Marie Juergens, who STILL teaches spanish here. In my 7th grade here in 2016, she saw me texting on my phone under the table (I was texting my mom saying I felt depressed that day, something I struggled with a lot at the time), which was not allowed. She came over to me and instead of telling me to put my phone away, she came up behind me and hit me multiple times on the back of my neck. She had a closed fist, she wasn't slapping me. I was not close with this teacher and I always behaved in this class- not like that matters either way. YOU SHOULD NEVER PUT YOUR HANDS ON ANYONE, especially a MINOR. I started to cry because I was overwhelmed and embarrassed that my entire class saw me get hit and that I was hit in the first place. I put my head down on the desk, she walked away, and I texted my mom what happened. She told the class as I was crying "is she seriously crying?" My mom called the school immediately, a staff member came to get me from class. I talked to the principal, they said they were sorry that ever happened, and they said they would talk to her. She was out of class for a few days with a substitute. The next time I saw her, she told the class "I have to treat you guys nicer now, since SOMEONE (looks over at me) got me in trouble." She was never fired. I had to continue to be in her class for the rest of the year. This is absolutely abhorrent behavior from her, the principal, and the staff. I would rather be understaffed in Spanish teachers than have a teacher stay in their job who has hit a child. They saw me cry, they saw me extremely upset, and my mom was there to report it with me. NOTHING. HAPPENED. Do not take your kid here. They do it care about abuse towards their students.
The rest of this review covers teachers and how they treat students, my experience with not getting help when I was undiagnosed with ADHD and treated badly for my symptoms that were clearly signs of ADHD, and teachers poor teaching methods.
* Not being treated with empathy while struggling with ADHD symptoms:
I was often labeled as a kid that didn't pay attention and got bad feedback on my progress reports from this. I felt like the staff at the school did not properly support me and just focused on punishing students rather than finding the root cause. Turns out, all of my issues were signs of ADHD--something I wasn't diagnosed with until I was 18. Had a teacher or staff member sat with me and tried to understand why I would talk in class, had a lack of motivation at times, and had a hard time with traditional studying methods, it would have saved me and I could have had disability accommodations that I now receive while in college. Instead, they treated me like a bad kid.
My science teacher, Kimberly Frank, stopped her lecture to tell the entire class that I was annoying. This sounds made up because of how inappropriate that is, but it's true. The entire class was talking to their partners, but she singled me out many times like this. Staff need to be better trained and to treat ALL students with respect. It's absurd. In my 8th grade, I had to get hospitalized due to depression that was caused from how I was being treated at this school. I missed one of my Spanish exams and instead of being allowed to retake the exam, I was given an F and it dropped my grade from a B to a D. This is forever on my transcript. The school could care less about mental illnesses students struggle with, which they knew I had. One of the counselors there even asked one of my classmates if "I was still suicidal" which is a major violation of my personal information and privacy. That should be discussed between me and my parents. Absolutely INSANE.
* Bullying and racism on campus: I experienced a lot of drama and bullying on campus--things staff were aware of. There was antisemitism, racism against people of color, and other forms of discrimination. I also had peers of mine get in trouble, if they were caught, for sending naked photos to other students. Things staff did not care to look into, despite it being illegal for minors to distribute that information.
* Teachers not being good at teaching:
My teachers, mainly math and science, were not good at their jobs. The way that they taught was not engaging at all. Just sitting and writing things down and having students copy it. That's what I experienced. No engaging questions to the class or walking around to see how students are doing. When students didn't understand teachers seemed upset rather than actually try to help them figure out what they are struggling on and showing them other methods to learn (which is what they are taught to do. There is not one single method to learn something). The worst teachers i've ever had throughout my entire school experience of 15+ years was at Standley Middle school.
Do not take your kid here. Just take them literally anywhere else. read more