Portola Middle School

Both my daughter and my son studied under Dr. Boucher. If it were not for him neither of my children would have been enrolled at Portola. I don't think parents realize the opportunity their children are given with this teacher. He is there before school, after school, and on weekends! Some parents don't want their child to have to work so hard or get homework on the first day of school. But hang in there parents! And watch how amazing it is to see your child transform into an intellectual. Pretty soon you will need a dictionary to look up some of the words that come up in conversation over dinner.) So don't give up, get involved, and insure that your child reaches his/ her full potential.
--Submitted by a parent

The school has one superstar teacher who does his job better than anyone I have ever seen do their job--Dr. Boucher If you have a chance to get your child to learn Language Arts, reading, and history from him, do it! You will be amazed at how much your child will learn in the two years with him! The rest of the staff is quite good, but many of the kids outside of the great honors department that they have do not seem to want to learn. I fault parent involvement. The administration is reasonably good. Again, what stands out is one teacher and the honors department that he leads.
--Submitted by a parent

We brought our GATE daughter there from the GATE magnet school to study with Dr. Boucher, and we could not be more pleased! My daughter has spend one year learning from him, three periods a day. And she will learn from him next year in 8th grade. To us, getting our child to study with a professor like this is beyond great. And if that is not enough, the man is absolutely devoted to teaching and the kids he teaches! Oh, and the rest of the GATE staff is very good. We are more than pleased!
--Submitted by a parent

i am a sixth grader at portola and i think it is a wonderful school some of the teachers are Ms Armenta,Mr. Arn,Mr. Barron,Mrs.Moore,Ms.Anderson,and Mr Heslip if you dont want to go here you miss out on an great opportunity
--Submitted by a student

best teachers at Portola: Mr. Barron Mr. Woods Dr. Boucher and the great AVID teacher, Mrs. Moore i give this school 5 stars. WHY THESE TEACHERS ARE GREAT: Mr.Barron- gives lots of Cornell notes everyday but it helps me(the students) study and learn everything they are supposed to learn Mr. Woods-fun and exactly like Mr. Barron Dr. Boucher-an indescribable teacher, but i'll try, he makes you read every night from 30-55 pages, make you write and shows you how to write, his main goal is to teach his students how to read, right, and think, will make time for you no matter what (if you need help and you want to learn) best rule,'Work or die' Mrs.Moore-fun, gets us AVID students ready and teaches us what we need to have and know to be ready for college, gives time for the students to cooperate and work together, '2 heads are better than one' Portola Middle is a great school. (:
--Submitted by a student

We went there expressively to have our GATE son study under Dr. Boucher. A year later, our child is writing at a level we thought not possible. He is also has more enthusiasm about learning than we could have hoped for. I cannot recommend this teacher highly enough! And I could not be more thankful!
--Submitted by a parent

Only a few good teachers. Dr.Boucher, Ms. Ito, Mr. Lorbeer, and Ms. Monroe, are worth mentioning
--Submitted by a parent

I am a student at portola Im in eight grade n I give the school a five starz!!!
--Submitted by a student

2007-2008 was the first year at Portola. I felt it was unsafe and the Managerial staff was only interested when it got ugly and that was only for a little while. Some of the teachers offered after school help but it doesn't help when you are not there!!! I think there needs to be some serious upgrade in the principal and her staff in the office helping the teaching staff and making sure the kids get the help they need and are safe to and from school. There is a lot of work to be done in that school and the parents need to kick in and help out as well. It will only work if we all work together. If you don't care about your kids....who else will !!! Come on parents show your kids you care. It's also a great way to bond with your children!
--Submitted by a parent

This has got to be the worst school ever. But there is one upside to it. Dr. Boucher. He is the best teacher you could ask for.
--Submitted by a parent