John Burroughs Middle School

My experience here was really cool. I could have rated it a 5 but some staff and teachers are lazy, inconsiderate, and haven't teached us anything. In fact Mr.Edelman was so lazy, ex. he moved project dates, lost hw and projects, forget things, and just doesn't do his job well. Although most of the staff is awesome and the principle does his job well. The campus made me feel safe and a majority of teachers gave me a good education. Love JB.

Yes, this is school administration is very unprofessional and the teachers don't care about the students. Magnet coordinator MS. BEVERLY PEARSON is worse person & Mr. Rodriguez is worse teacher.
—Submitted by a parent

I recently visited JB for coffee with the principal. I stayed a little over to speak with parents and administrators.The one thing I noticed more than anything was that the safety officer and an older lady with security shirt sat at lunch tables for at least 2 hours straight, on their phones, with no regard to the loitering students, hiding under their noses.I asked about this behavior and was told this was common practice and the principal and safety officer are friends. The plant manager is overworked. The man is amazing. I saw him fast walking from 8:00a till the time I left which was around 10a. It was him who opened the gate for me to leave as the safety officer was too busy socializing on his phone. On the same visit, LAPD was interviewing a parent in said safety officers office, and to my amazement was a HUGE, brand new, flat panel TV propped on a bookcase in his office.My child says teachers have no supplies yet the safety officer has a T.V. in his office?The principal must have taken a public relations course because his answers are always open ended. Nothing is ever concrete. "we're looking into it." type of answers. Be weary. API is not the end all be all in choosing JB.
—Submitted by a parent

As an 8 th grade student I have to say this school is horrible. I was in orchestra but left cause of the harrassment my teacher gave me. He was rude to me and always gave additude, The pricipal didnt seem tol care at all Anyways because of this teacher some students want to leave the school.

As a 7th grade magnet student here, I am having some great time. If I was to compare from 6th to 7th, I would say I gained like 50 more friends and the're all awesome. The best thing of this school is the Leadership class. The candidates have to say speeches and then there are elections. As the current 7th grade secretary, I won't just say the good things of this school. Yes, this school has nice teachers who are very fun (like the only 7th grade magnet science teacher), but there is too much of popularity at this school. Basically you can't do anything good here, other than being a smart kid, with out popularity. But even sometimes the smart kids who are very lonely, get bullied and then they start to do bad. To say the truth, I would say that this bullying thing has decreased over the two years I have been here so far. The new system of the bully box in the website has made it safer. But still there is some space to improve.I would recommend this school to the parents who are looking for a good school, but here is a recommendation: DON'T SEND YOUR CHILD TO THIS SCHOOL IF THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH POPULARITY. SEND THEM TO THIS SCHOOL ONLY IF THEY KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH IT!

My son is in the gifted magnet and I think it has been a great experience. He is now in the 8th grade and it has been the best year for him. While we all want to believe that our child is the most special little thing that the world has come to know, the truth is that many of the kids in Gifted Magnet (and SAS) are special, once you understand that, things will go smoother for everyone. Many parents make too many comparisons between the kids, when they're all bright, they all got there through test scores, achievements or intelligence evaluations. The school offers various programs and the competitiveness amongst students is healthy. Many kids motivate one another to do well. It's amazing that my child looks forward to going to school and he motivates others as well. Now the reason for 4 stars instead of 5. I agree that favoritism plays out and this has left a bad taste in my mouth. This statement goes for administration and teachers. They are also pretty good at covering up their behinds, when needed. They might think they're slick but they're not. BUT on a positive note, *overall*, I'm pleased with the school because most of the teachers are challenging and and my kids loves it.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm not sure how much this school changed over the past few years but my experience has not been a spectacular one. Racism and favoritism are prevalent. Does your child get straight As in this middle school? That's probably because this particular middle school hands out As like they hand out tissues. They are probably not learning anything. Does your kid get at Cs? Well, you have a problem child that doesn't even bother to put his/her name on a single piece of paper. When the little middle school students move onto high school, they will face academic hardships. It's really not surprising. It's a low budget school with hardships on its own. I'm not generalizing. Some teachers put in their best effort. However, as time progresses, they tend to give up. Is it the limited budget? Or the careless students? Careless staffs?

Although they pride themselves on their reputation, the staff is rude, lazy,apathetic, unqualified and indifferent. They are big on rules, but not on anything else. The staff sneaks to their cars to use their cell phones. I can't stand this school and it is a far cry from what it once was. Too bad.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school, great staff! My experience with JB is that it is an excellent school with a very caring staff. I am amazed at the extra curricular activities the school is able to offer in lieu of the dismal budget that all schools need to contend with. I had one child attend as part of the Magnet program and another child is currently attending the regular program. Both children received the same high level of instruction and more importantly support. Like every other school in the district; it is over crowded but the staff at JB do not use that as an excuse to let children fall through the cracks. Keep up the great work!
—Submitted by a parent

The school is being run on favoritism. They have unqualified and inexperienced staff in positions they shouldn't hold. For example, Special Ed. Coordinator, does not have the credential necessary to hold an out of classroom position yet holds it. School safety officer and campus aides do absolutely nothing all day other than fraternize amongst each other in what appears to be a day long lunch for them. I am glad my child is leaving as it is apparent that children with special needs are some kind of dark secret to the administration at JB.

Terrible School, tons of racism and fights. Staff are uncaring and lazy, and do not help students. If you must send your kid here sign them up for the Magnet program, if not, avoid at all costs

I am currently an 8th grader at this school, and I've really enjoyed my few years here! I've made lots of new friends, since there are over 2000 different students here! There are rarely any kinds of fights here, and the campus is pretty neat and clean. I've been in the SAS program ever since 6th grade, and I really like it! Some of the teachers here, however, don't teach properly, either because they can't handle the big classes or because they are too lazy. Overall, I'm really glad to be in this school!!

This school was a great school when I attended here and my siblings also excelled but sadly all good things come to an end. I enrolled my daughter at this school due to my fond memories and sibling encouragement. I regret my choice. I have paid private lesson in music for my daughter since she was 4 in the violin at Colburn. Last year she auditioned and requested orchestra with excitement that was short lived. Her teacher informed her that she was too young to join the senior orchestra and that he didn't care if she could play better than half of the class. He advised my daughter to help him teach and administer to the students with less experience. I spoke to this teacher and even offered a recommendation letter from her private violin teacher and he just ignored me and said that i can't always change things. He is the teacher and the school follows his decisions good or bad. I then spoke to my child's counselor and requested a transfer of class with no success. Within that year my child and other parents and students were informing me of bad language the teacher used with the students and his yelling. This teacher was fired but re hired due to lack of music teachers. Bad......
—Submitted by a parent

This is a REALLY good school. Most of the teachers are up to scratch, and it has a safe environment. Speaking as a student I can say that I've never seen a serious case of bullying at the school, and I have it was stamped out quickly. The drama program there is especially professional.

My Son enjoys this school. He is a magnet student, doing exceedingly well. I am happy I selected this school as his middle school. I really pray his 7th and 8th grade years are as successfull or even grander than his 6th grade year. As a 6th grader, he shared with me how much he adored and learned much from his magnet teachers. He is looking forward to his remaining years there...:) Go BEARS!!! :)
—Submitted by a parent

This is really a great school. Not only is it located in a safe area, but it has great academics, especially with the science teachers.

"Tell me who you hang out with and I will tell you who you are." Words uttered often by my parents and now that I have two teenagers one that is attending J.B. I often utter those same words as often as I can. Fortunately my children and their friends choose friends based on character rather than by their physical appearance. This review seems to show the individual's bias towards different ethinicities and only a person with the same mentality would agree. My daughter is in the magnet program and is concurrently enrolled at a Community College where she also holds a 4.0. Not bragging, just making a point. Because of J.B. my daughter is one of the few seventh grade females at a public school who has flown a Cesna. Perhaps what this writer is looking for is a narrow minded private school. Thanks J.B. for the quality education.
—Submitted by a parent

This school's pretty good. The only problem is that most kids are in magnet and some of them really don't belong there. At least 5 or 6 in all of my classes have an F U U on their report cards. And they never get kicked out of the magnet program!

John Burroughs Middle School is one of the top middle school's in the district. We just came in second in the Academic Decathalon behind Paul Revere. We offer outstanding electives such as drama, which staged a professional-level production of "Guys and Dolls" this spring. Both of my daughters came with me to the evening performance and loved it. I am so proud of my hard-working, hands-on experiment loving students. My fellow teachers are great at collaborating and working together to support the students. Our new principal is fantastic, and we all look forward to an even more rigorous program under his leadership. With more than 2000 students be sure to approach us if you need help so you don't feel overlooked. We are here for our students and parents.
—Submitted by a teacher

This school prepares you to be racist and depressed. Not only that, this school is corrupt. While uniform is mandatory, one student's father donated a huge sums of money to this school. JB allowed this student to violate the uniform code; wearing jeans and t-shirts. What kind of lesson does that teach to other children? Gang fights are no big news.This school is mostly composed of minorities: Black, Hispanic, and Korean. You stick with your own kind in this school. You do not see any interracial friendship but only hostility. Most children are coming from lower class and no wonder where they get their manners from. Most teachers loses desire to teach in such violent and overcrowded classrooms. This school makes your child lose utter innocence. If you want your child to join a gang, do drugs, or confused in highschool, THIS IS THE RIGHT SCHOOL!