Montera Middle School

I'm the parent of a Montera 6th grader and am excited about the huge after school program grant award that Montera just received! I think its a five year grant beginning next year. And there was a great article on Montera's Restorative Justice Program in the May 29, 2013 East Bay Express. This school is great but not without challenges. Its' in all our best interest, as parents and community members, to support our Oakland public schools and make them excellent.
—Submitted by a parent

Nice PR blast by the Montera PTO. While I agree with much of what these posters say: great teachers, active parent community and a real effort to provide a positive learning environment for Montera kids; I am bothered by the dismissive tone about bullying. It's easy to say that it's exaggerated when it isn't happening to your kid, or your child's small circle of friends. Stealing and harassment have been constant for many kids at Montera and while the administration does try to address the problem, the lack of resources that have impacted all OUSD schools, not just Montera, makes it a challenge to get on top of it. It's often the PTO parents who don't want to hear about the bullying because they don't want the negative label on the school. There are a lot of great things about Montera, but it's not for everyone. Those kids who are harassed and bullied should feel supported by the community not brushed under the carpet for the sake of school's reputation.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a son in 6th grade at Montera and I been very happy with the teachers, administration & the parents. Montera does an excellent job of communicating school news & initiatives to keep us all on the same page. This is OUSD so not without its challenges and issues -but welcome to the real world! This is a worthwhile place to put our best efforts & it will only improve further. My son has not experienced any negativity at Montera. Parents I've polled here & at other middle schools, the bullying, theft and issues of that nature are the same here as anywhere -they are not gross and frequent, but of course you need to be mindful of your belongings just as you would anywhere. The teachers do a great job of providing a safe space in their classrooms and creating community. The PTO is an amazing group of dedicated and hardworking (smart!) parents that are making great things happen. The diverse body of students working & learning together is a wonderful gift to our community & a positive real world experience for our children. The extra-curricular offerings at Montera are wonderful and well-run. I look forward to seeing what more they bring with the newly awarded after-school grant!
—Submitted by a parent

I have two children at Montera, one about to graduate, and we have been very happy with the school. There are many great teachers who are working incredibly hard to provide an excellent education. A new leadership team was put in place this year, new principal and assistant principals, and they seem to have a great vision for the school. The principal has already started some important work on closing the achievement gap and focusing on our African-American young men. Talk about violence, theft, and bad behavior are very exaggerated in my experience. There are certainly some kids with behavior issues but the administration does a great job of dealing with it and they are adding new programs every year (including a great restorative justice program this year.) We also just got the news that Montera has received a large grant to expand after-school programs. There is also a great parent community that works hard to support the school. For my kids experiencing the diversity that Montera offers has been a great bonus and one that I think will really benefit them as they go forward. I am very happy to have my children there.
—Submitted by a parent

Three of my children have either gone through or are still at Montera so I definitely speak from experience. I can honestly say that despite a few bumps along the way (it is a big public school after all), they have had really positive times there, both educationally and socially. Thanks to some inspired teachers, my older son went from someone who liked math to someone who loves it. My younger kids have been turned onto science and history (they even had a discussion last weekend about Pericles I kid you not), have made new friends, and are leaning about how to live and thrive in a diverse community. Another reviewer mentioned the early lunch time. Yep, 6th graders eat at 10:50, which took getting used to, for sure. They eat early so that each grade can have its own lunch period, which has made lunch time(s) quieter and calmer this year. This was our new principal's brainchild. The administration is also introducing new electives next year like Leadership and Man Up. That said, Montera's not perfect. Some kids can be disruptive and there has been theft. Still and all, my kids are happy here. For me, that's what matters most.
—Submitted by a parent

If you are a parent considering this school for your child I would strongly recommend you find a better school. We are really dissatisfied with the school. As other parents have noted, bullying is a problem and theft of student property is unbelievably high. There is a lack of GATE programing and extracurriculars for all students. Principal leadership is ineffectual. Throughout the year we have increasingly felt that this is not a school we feel safe to send our child. There are good teachers here, but behavior problems with students really distract from learning.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has really gone downhill fast in the last few years. I would not recommend anyone send their child here when there are way better middle schools.
—Submitted by a parent

It's a great feeling to know that you can have confidence in your local, public school these days. In addition to having many excellent teachers, a strong administration and academics, there is also a lot of parent involvement - which is critical to the success of any school. It is also reason #1 why most private schools REQUIRE parent participation. I'm happy to say that none of my children feel unsafe there. They have a large social group that is getting larger. They have definitely witnessed poor behavior on the part of fellow students but we generally discuss it as well as the ramifications of poor choices for those students. We also talk about what they can do to feel empowered when someone is behaving badly. There have been a couple of times in the last few years, when I felt the need to make calls to the school to discuss an issue that one of my children has brought up. The issues were handled professionally and quickly. Lastly, my kids went to an elementary school that was fairly homogeneous so it is a definite plus that Montera seems to represent all of Oakland, both in economic and ethnic diversity. I would definitely recommend this school to other families.
—Submitted by a parent

It isn't the worst middle school in Oakland but the budget cuts are so obviously having an effect on this school. This is our child's first year at the school and it has been unorganized and chaotic. Perhaps because there is a new principal? My daughter had to deal with older bullies quite a bit in the first two weeks. Good luck getting into extracurricular like volleyball when 80 some girls go out and 20 are picked. The same goes for techbridge, but worse! I don't understand why there isn't a homeroom so there is one teacher the child can touch base with. The 6th graders eat lunch just after 10 a.m.! On a positive note, so far a few of the teachers have impressed me. Overall I can't wait to find a new school. What a mess.
—Submitted by a parent

There are good things about Montera. And as one parent stated the true test of a school is how prepared students are for the next level of education. In classes that are divided by ability (math, English) students in the top classes behave for the most part. However, there are far too many students who use cell phones in class, fight, wear their pants so that you are always looking at their underwear. These are the same students who often do little to no work and complain about the school. I gave the school such a low rating because there is not enough foreign language offered. And if you are in the band or orchestra, you will not get to take a foreign langage at all. Also, there is a lot of theft at the school. Students steal from other students, from the school and from teachers. The thieves brag about what they do but because no one actually saw them take the things they are not caught. Even when we engraved our children's names on their Ipods they were taken. We got our son's iPad back using the locator device and confronted the student and his grandmother directly because the school would not help.
—Submitted by a parent

A mostly awesome group of teachers and administrators, but as others have mentioned, the undesirable behavior of too many of the students ruin the experience for those that actually want to be there to learn. It's ashame.
—Submitted by a parent

i really wish i went to Montera. Ive always wanted to go there but my MEAN mom put me in Bret Harte(not that it's a bad school).And to this day i still want to go to Montera because it probably beats Bret Harte anyday.

alright so i went there for 3 years and it was the worst place i have ever went to school. like people are trying to so that it has academic challenges and honestly that is only if your kid isn't the smartest like to be real i took 2 math classes everyday and i failed and the fights were outrageous and the PE program is like sketchy because like i was this dude break his arm because he fell running on the track which Im the rain is really muddy and uneven. the teachers are really bad although i must say the vice principle is awesome the principle like says these things and they sound promising but he doesn't follow up on his promises

My kids enjoyed their years at Montera and they had mostly great teachers. In my opinion, the real test of a school is how well a student is prepared for the next level, in this case high school. Montera kids get into the highly sought after academies at Oakland Tech, and all the kids I know in my daughter's year got into their first choice of private high school. The math dept. is great -- my daughter and her friends were way ahead of their their friends who came from private schools, which gave them a distinct advantage when being placed in high math and science classes. Student behavior on the part of some kids could be improved and the Montera admin. does its very best. The problem here is lazy, uninvolved parents, but I witnessed this in elementary school too. My kids were well prepared socially and academically.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is the best place to send your kid if you want them to learn. The school has the best principal and vice principal in Oakland. They have great teachers who are really focused on helping your kid learn. I am a sixth grader and i go to Montera and I love it. They have an amazing security guard who keeps the school in order. The P.E program is amazing and really gets you more interested in sports. But do enroll fast because Montera is one popular school !

Until Montera decides to not allow horribly behaved children to disrupt the learning of children who want to learn, I can't recommend this school to my friends. They pass the kids to the next grade even if they have an F average so the kids don't feel they need to do any work and can cause trouble. My daughter has seen a lot of fights. There are too many students in most of her classrooms and the work is way too easy. There doesn't seem to be an differentiation for GATE students, although they say there is.
—Submitted by a parent

Great School, good electives. Yes enroll but do it early before spots run out!
—Submitted by a student

This middle school is part of the problem plagued school district, OUSD. There are many things that could be improved upon. The PE staff needs to deal with the students a lot better and not belittle students for their skill or lack of in PE. I heard about a lot of fights and have witnessed some of the students on public transportation. I wasn't impressed at all. The counselors and some of the administrators won't return a call until you send them many alarming emails!
—Submitted by a parent

In my 7th year here, I switched schools. I really missed out on spending the rest of middle school at Montera. I loved the P.E program and the teachers are wonderful. They were always ready to help struggling students and encouraged us to ask questions. The students there can be a little rough sometimes but mostly it's full of good kids.

I think that montera can be just as bad as any other middle school.I dont even want to go there because i think that montera can have as many fights as any other school.And just because they break up fights at that school doesnt mean theres any fights.
—Submitted by a student