Washington Middle School

I am so pleased with Washington Middle School. The Staff is what makes the school. My daughter started very close to the end of year, but the whole school INCLUDING students made her feel so comfortable she fit right in. The teachers are all very interested in the students well being from personal to academics. My daughter loves this middle school. I also like the dress code. I also notice even though its a high student volume THE STAFF has an excellent hold of keeping students flowing and getting them to class. I VERY PLEASED with this school. One other thing its the parent involvement that helps this school run well. Washington Middle School is a great school for your middle school aged student to get started for High School.
--Submitted by a parent

This is my daughter's first year here and LOVES it! The teachers and staff have been very involved in supporting the kids to do their best. They are very proacitve in recognizing when the kids make good decisions and rewarding that. Just a note home means a lot to them. The teachers are very respectful, except for a couple that work together. One has been there over 25 years and... well, it's time to retire! They all have email addresses that parents can use to contact them. Some even offered their home and cell #'s. One of their math teachers is there everyday after school until 5pm, just to help anyone who needs it. The dances are like parties for all. You do not need to go as a couple. There is rock climbing, music, games, jump house obstical courses & food. Real fun! They're sports program is awesome too. A++
--Submitted by a parent

I am a teacher at this school. Our scores are rising, we have dedicated and passionate leadership, committed and knowledgeable faculty, a hard working staff, and a supportive parents network. WMS = We Mean Success
--Submitted by a teacher

Washington Middel School is the best middel school in all of Salinas , but not there dress code black and white was so 2000 now it should be colors.Kids should wear what ever they want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--Submitted by a parent

I rate this school below average due to the administrations lack of student support. The adminstrators, the Principal and Vice Principal, are more concerned with disciplining these students than making sure these teachers are doing everything they possibly can to help students pass the Standardized Test that are taken yearly. WMS has fallen below standards for the past four years. There are great teachers at this school I will say that; but there are others that are obviously only there for a paycheck and the power trip. .
--Submitted by a parent

OK, so you've probably heard some WMS horror stories,right? Well as a currant 8th grader at WMS, I'm here to straighten that all out! The first concern may be how they handle students who are struggling that was addressed in the Oct. post. Weekly progress reports are (to my knowledge) non-existant. Maybe you get those if your child is really struggling(same with scheduled conferences)? But I know that some teachers like the 7th grade social studies teacher Dr. Geary does that.
--Submitted by a student

I have had one child in this school and attempted to work with the school to help my child through this difficult transition to middle school. However, after 1.5 years my wife and I decided to pull him out of this school and home school him. This was a last resort after numerous attempts to meet with teachers and having only 50% of them show up for scheduled conferences. It would have helped a lot to have the teachers at least have email contact but even this was not available. The only thing that was suggested to us was weekly progress reports that let us know how our student did for the week and this didn't work at all. I am very pro public school but this experience could not have been worse.
--Submitted by a parent

I wish I had not sent my children to this school. WMS did not have a good handle on inter-student meanness. My children were in GATE. Too many of the GATE teachers appeared to think that gifted students needed to be punished by extra, meaningless work. When you compare WMS to the other middle schools in the district on free and reduced lunch and test scores, it is clear that the other staffs work harder.
--Submitted by a parent

The quality of the academic programs at wahington middle school is very good. There are classes offered in music, art, and woodshop that can be 'chosen' by the students and their parents as an elective class. Try outs are done for those students interested in being chosen as one of the team members for various sports. I am a little disappointed in the p.E. Classes. There doesn't seem to be regular, ongoing daily exercises or sports. They are sort of 'hit and miss'. Another concern of mine is the time it takes for each student to get his/her lunch. There must be a quicker way for each student to get their lunch. The way it is now, they have almost no time to eat it. Being an involved parent, myself, I have seen very few parents attend vaious workshops that have been offered by the school. Overall, it's a great school.
--Submitted by a parent