Gaspar De Portola Middle School

I am an alumini of Gaspar De Portola Middle School and i loved my time there. it had many good teachers who advise you when you need help. There were many good art, educational and physical programs there. it is a very good school and i recommend everyone who are thinking of sending there children there to stop thinking and send them there.

I am currently an 8th grader in the highly gifted magnet. I love this school and the quality education I recieve from it. It's safe and the school grounds are clean. I have faced no bullying problems, but I suppose some people on this site are much too sensitive when it comes to that. My only problem is the non-magnet kids who don't care at all about school or their future and act openly about it. I'm disappointed that money is going to fund these kids rather than us magnet students who work so avidly.

I am currently an 8th grader in the magnet program and I think the relations between those not is weak, even hostile. The magnet program I actually like a lot and I think it gives gifted a chance to know other gifted kids and compare themselves. The kids outside of magnet have very low expectations set by the teachers and I really dislike that part. Although, I do not believe this is the teachers' faults. The quality of magnet students over the three years I have been here has dropped to nearly the same level as honors students. The magnet program is also falling apart due to low funding. Compared to other schools, Portola no longer can compete in competitions such as Mathcounts where Portola used to be one of the best. Overall, I think that kids are just getting less intelligent every year and the funding gets cut too resulting in a drop in quality of the school itself. The magnet program was a good idea but I do not think it will be able to sustain itself much longer. Still, I think it is an average school because despite all of the happenings, the CST test scores show that the school is still above average. The environment isn't the best but the kids still end up learning.

PORTOLA HAS A GREAT AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM CALLED YS PLUS. THE COACHES HERE ARE CARING, HELPFUL, AND VERY TALENTED. THE DANCE AND SPORTS TEAMS HAVE ALWAYS PLACED IN EVERY TOURNAMENT AND COMPETITION SINCE THE PROGRAM STARTED IN 2009. THE SAD PART IS THAT THEY GET NO HELP, NO RECOGNITION FROM TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE STAFF, ETC. ALL THEIR SUCCESS HAS BEEN SOLELY BASED ON THE STUDENTS AND YS PLUS STAFF. I GIVE THE AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM 5 STARS!! THE SCHOOL OVERALL 2 STARS FOR THE REASONS AS FOLLOWS; ADMINISTRATION IS AT TIMES UNHELPFUL AND OFFICE STAFF IS LAZY. PORTOLA HAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL AT BEING A GREAT SCHOOL.

I'm an 8th grade student and I do NOT like this school. I guess I'm being a little picky, since I just moved from Texas, and the schools over there are above and beyond.... First of all, I joined Advance, and the classes still seem the same as regular classes did in Texas. They are unorganized!! No one got their schedule until the first day of school, which I thought was unreasonable. Lines at lunch are also very long, because there are not enough staff, (or are just too old to listen), and lots of kids do not even get to eat. They also do not allow kids to eat in class if they don't eat any lunch. Also, they don't have AC, only fans --__-- I was dying in class. Yeah, so right now, I'm looking for a new school to transfer to.

We are both the awful and great school in the reviews below. I'm sure I've been both in different parent's views. I'll say this about our parrents - some are wonderful and work hard at their job - too many are demanding and ridiculous in what they expect from school, too many are too lazy to do the hard job of holding their child accountable. I've been teaching since the late 70s. Kids still love my class. But the quality of kid and parent I receive gets worse and worse very year.
--Submitted by a teacher

And don't forget the teachers who bully and harass any children with disabilities... who are DRIVEN from the school. One magnet history teacher is a MAJOR problem and deserves to be fired for bullying children. The curriculum is okay, very bland (other than science, which is hands-on, and music) but teachers are arrogant and dismissive and Principal is nowhere to be seen... who is running this place? Oh yeah, the people who have tenure and don't care or have to work to retain their jobs. No caring, nurturing environment here!
--Submitted by a parent

If your child is in the highly gifted here they are fine (unless they are bullied). However the average students are thrown in with the far below basic students and they do not stand a chance at learning. The admin is not at all concerned with the bullying and itis the victims who are made to suffer by staying in the school or finding a new school. There are teachers who put their noisy students outside of the classroom, but then they are outside and disrupt many classrooms. The administration here has no discipline of any kind.
--Submitted by a parent

Portola is possibly the finest inner city school south of Ventura Boulevard. Getting to your locker in Raymond Hall can be at times challenging, between the pushing, shoving, and the occasional punch up. Once in a while you may see a denizen of the school arms cuffed behind their back being led to Ms. Edward's office. On a positive note, the diversity of the student population makes this an interesting and real world environment where individuals can learn from each other and also learn to cope with the stresses of life that will one day face us all. The teachers are good, however the most challenging aspect is the class size (this doesn't include the 80 kids in my PE class.) If we could afford smaller classes like private schools, obviously this would be a major educational benefit. -ninja (submitted by 7th grade student)

it is awesome and awesome and awesome and awesome and awesome and awesome and it is awesome and awesome