Mountainside Middle School

WARNING! DO NOT SEND YOU CHILD HERE! IT IS A TERRIBLE SCHOOL! My child is in eighth grade here at Mountainside Middle School and I must say, the school is not the same as these reviews show. First of all, the administrative staff is TERRIBLE! My child is constantly being pulled into the office for "drama" as she calls it. The counselors here do not keep the things our students tell them between them, but instead they tend to share all of it with the other groups of students that see them. Also, they are extremely difficult to work with, and do not give enough attention to actual serious bullying that is going on at the school. They ignore it almost entirely, and only focus on the "girl drama" as I said before. The principal is also very hard to work with, although he is being sent to Mohave (a very poor school) to "help out." Throughout my years I have come to discover that this is what they do to the staff that aren't doing very well at their jobs. Furthermore, the vice-principal is also equally as bad. The overall communication in this school is poor, and the administrative staff are the worst I have ever had to come into contact with. This school is by far the worst in the area!
--Submitted by a parent

MMS is a FANTASTIC school!! It is very well rounded in sports, art, electives, and music. Although I do recommend not taking Spanish 1 for the 8th graders. This is because it doesn't count as a high school credit and is a very hard course. Besides that, all the teachers at MMS are FANTASTIC and are extreamly dedicated to their jobs. I wouldn't send my kids anywhere else.
--Submitted by a parent

The teachers are excellent and work extremely hard to make the classes interesting,challenging and fun
--Submitted by a parent

We have a son in 7th grade at MMS and think the school is excellent. Several of his teachers over the past 2 years have had a terrific impact on him -- igniting his interest in their subject matter, recognizing various qualities in him as an individual, and inspiring him to achieve his best, both academically and personally. We are very impressed with the principal (he is terrific!), the administration and, of course, many of the teachers. I'd like to see a foreign language requirement (as opposed to an elective, which the student may or may not get to take), but that is probably a district and not a school issue. Overall, our family is very pleased with this school, and look forward to another year here.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is awesome and this school is very well rounded in sports, acedemics, and music. This school is so creative and teaches the mind of the youth.
--Submitted by a parent

Mountainside is one of the best schools. The teachers are A+. They are very committed to excellence. The kids have a vast array of extracurricular activities. The parents are very involved and seem to be teaching their kids good moral values.
--Submitted by a parent

A+ Best all around middle school in the valley
--Submitted by a parent

This was my child's first year at Mountainside and will be the last. We were very disappointed in the quality of teaching and leadership. Too much emphasis on busywork, not enough on actual learning, and there is a real problem with what the leadership has termed 'mean girls' on campus, which unfortunately has not been resolved; as noted in an earlier post by another parent, discipline is weak, and perhaps this has distracted from a focus on quality academics.
--Submitted by a parent

After the change in the administration, the improvement in MMS is obvious. Good quality teacher, but they can send more homework and extra projects. Parental involvement is a plus. We need more hi-tech oriented classes and to allow 6th. graders to participate in sports (they feel left out). A- school.
--Submitted by a parent

I have been at this school for a very long time, lots of kids coming through. The staff goes above and beyond, the great outweigh the average here. The principal enjoys this age of kids, hard to find. The discipline is weak, that could use some tweaking but it is not unjust or unkind...just ineffective. The Parent involvement and communication was good previously, not getting much home this year though. Agree about the technology, our kids have better technology at home and at the libraries. Not the schools fault. The District is weak and non-engaged with the schools or community, but Mountainside seems to fill in where they fail.
--Submitted by a parent