Portola Junior High School

Our child is a 7th grader at Portola, and we couldn't be happier! Many of the 6th graders from our neighborhood elementary school chose to attend Portola this year, rather than opting for a very expensive private school. And we are so happy they did! The campus is WONDERFUL this year, the principal is SUPERB, and the community could not be more supportive. The students are great--we have not had any bullying, fights, drugs, or any of the negative middle school behaviors that sometimes interfere with learning. We hope that many more local families choose to attend Portola!
--Submitted by a parent

Does anyone know of any famous people that went to Portola Jr High? Thank you, Gary

Portola has great kids who are eager to learn. We are on a temporary campus now due to earthquake problems . Portola needs a boost !
--Submitted by a parent

I am so delighted in how the effects of Parent participation have changed the energy of this school year. My hopes are that the teachers will be able to focus on our children without the worries of the economy. Portola is now a safer school with the help of Portola Parents. Our Principal is very much supportive and supported.
--Submitted by a parent

My son is much happier on the new campus. The old building was hard to navigate and it was somewhat difficult to supervise the students. So far, I like all his teachers and he has made a lot of new friends since starting here in 7th grade. The school staff and parents are very down-to-earth and seem to care about the school and the community. Moving to the temp. campus was a very good thing for this school and some of the new teachers are great. My biggest concern: large class sizes but that's true of most public schools now.
--Submitted by a parent

The only saving grace that this school has is the band teacher. My son excelled in her class and is now an aspiring jazz musician. Aside from that his 6th grade teacher was always way too busy for him and he slowly slipped between the cracks after having been a GATE student at Madera. She didn't seem to care how deeply this affected his self-esteem or his quality of work. The kids are very rough and use terrible language around the school yard without much supervision. My son had his lunch stolen and thrown around a few times, he had drinks thrown at him, ketchup packets sprayed on his clothes, was pushed around and threatened almost daily. He was too embarrassed to tell me these things were going on until the last 2 months. I regret letting him go to school there.
--Submitted by a parent

Portola is a much calmer and safer environment this year compared to the last 2 years when my older child went through. The kids really love it, and band, drama and leadership are wonderful opportunities for them to develop. There is much more parent involvement, and it shows. If parents can stay involved and help maintain positive contacts with faculty and administration, this school can continue to grow into a real asset, especially when the new building opens. The biggest negative is consistency in teaching: they have lost some good teachers. They still have some great ones, but some of them not so much... True everywhere I guess. Great after school program.
--Submitted by a parent

I am impressed by the quality of teaching. In world history, the teacher brings in guest speakers and they have started a debate team. In drafting, my kid was inspired to design/build his own projects at home. The science teacher took every student who won a first place ribbon for their science project to the Exploratorium. When I have gone to school concerts, I'm amazed by how well the students play. There is a math club that meets weekly and the students compete in match competitions. Parent community has been very active--buying supplies for the staff, recruiting parents to supervise during lunch, bringing in rec staff for special activities, and they do a monthly lunch for the entire staff. Kids will be moving out of the old building into portables down the hill which will be better. Bottom line: my kid is making lots of friends and is happy here.
--Submitted by a parent

It's a very poor school.The site supervisors are never around when there's a problem.They'll come after the fight.I would not recommened this school for anyone.It's not a good place to learn.It's very weak.
--Submitted by a parent

I'm a mother of an 8th grader at Portola and while this is our first year at this school, I'm pleasantly surprised with how well it's going so far. I'm excited to see all the parent support and the PTSA is wonderful, very involved. My daughter is taking drama and just loves it already. I'm looking forward to the afterschool program and many other activities planned for the year. Parent support is key to sucess!
--Submitted by a parent