Hamilton Middle School

This school is absolutely horrible. I went here for 6th and 7th grade. I had to move because of the bullying and segregation problems. The principal and teachers stand by and act as if their is nothing wrong with students mentally hurting other students. The 2 years I spent at hamilton were the worst! Not only is the social life at hamilton terrible, but so are the academics. I went from being a straight A student to flunking most of my classes. The teachers barely try. The students are insane. The teachers mainly talk to you for 30 minutes and hand you a test expecting you to ace it. I would definitely not recommend this school to any parents.

My child started attending Hamilton this year and has went completely downhill. He went from being a normal every day child to a child that I am struggling on a day to day basis to figure out how to deal with properly. His academic work has suffered, his attitude is horrible, and there are other troubling signs. I have two other children that would be entering Hamilton over the next few years and I will not be letting them go to this school. The teachers seem unable to control their classroom. Saying things like "I've got a lot of talkers in this class and it gets out of control sometimes." The entire staff seems to be at their whits ends in trying to function on a day to day basis. I quite honestly believe that this school has aided in my child becoming a worse student and individual, not a better one.
—Submitted by a parent

Think twice about sending your child to this school! I have an average child, and it's Horrible! Some teachers are ok,,but several need to move on. Hamilton need fresh new teachers to make learning positive.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is awesome!!!! this school teaches you a lot and the teachers are very nice and caring. I have been in this school for 4 months and i think its an excellent middle school. This doesn't mean that i haven't had problems at this school though, i have been in some problems with some of the kids, but the security of the school will fix it in no time. I also think that it is a very organized school. The IPM kids are in the middle of the building and the tap kids are in the bottom so the kids can be separated which is a good thing because the TAP kids don't really like the IPM kids for some reason. The principal of the school is really responsible and will take care of the problems.(:
—Submitted by a parent

Unless your child is in the gifted program, do not send your child here!! Don't make them go through what those kids go through on a daily basis unless the parents buy their education. The principal can NOT be reached, administrators pass the buck and nothing is ever their job. My children were bullied by students AND several teachers and nothing was done despite repeated phone calls to the leadership in this building! The teachers have no desire to inspire or motivate, often calling the kids in the TAP program lazy or stupid! You can't get a call back or return email from anyone in this building unless you show up in the office! It's the most frustrating thing to communicate eith this team and the most disgusting example of educational leadership I have ever witnessed! There is not a chance on Gods green earth I will put my kids back in that school! I will take extraordinary measures to keep my kids out of there.
—Submitted by a parent

Unless your child is in the IPM program, you will both dislike this school. My son transferred in from out of state, we were never even told about IPM, now his grades have dropped, he has seen things in the hallways no child should see, and the teachers treat him like he is a " problem child" just for being in TAP, and as one of the only white kids in TAP, he feels alone. Yes some of the TAP kids are obnoxious but not all of them, but try telling that to the teachers. We are pulling him out and not looking back. Good luck if your child is normal and not in the gifted program, which is where all the other white kids are. Sounds like 1960's Mississippi to me.
—Submitted by a parent

Beside the IPM and TAP issue, which I'm glad most people realize what is going on at this school, I believe there's segregation between the IPM program. My best friend and I have many friends in TAP, most of them from elementary school, but not a lot in our own program. We felt that since we hung out with TAP kids whenever we had the chance to be with them, other IPM students thought that we had the stereotypical TAP traits, which were unintelligent, poor, and didn't care about our education (which is the opposite of many students in TAP actually. Most are quite smart). We were and still are extremely shy around crowds so we didn't want to be open. This lead to us, and some other students with the same problem, being the outcasts of the core. I assumed the teachers realized this, and acted as if we were less intelligent than the other students too, despite the grades we got. My other problem is, you have to be either popular or extremely (un)intelligent to get a teacher's attention. I remember, while I was there, my teacher never learned my name till the end of the the year, despite the times I've participated in class.HMS is a large school, but that was ridiculous.Worst school.

After being away from this school for two years and finally getting my head around what was really going on here, I have decided that I wish I had filed a formal complaint against this principal. Shocking and embarrassing, the worst year of our lives. She even had separate dances and drinking fountains. Shame on Hamilton and DPS!
—Submitted by a parent

I go to Hamilton and I have not been very pleased with it. The teachers in the IPM program are good, but the principal is not. She doesn't listen to suggestions and doesn't know kids unless they're unusually good or bad. Furthermore, there is a ton of segregation between TAP and IPM. IPM (which I am in) gets all the attention, and TAP falls by the wayside. Also, there are stereotypes that "IPMers have no life" and "TAP is not smart." This, and the fact that the two cores are kept as far from each other as possible, causes almost no interaction between them, which only serves to increase the stereotypes.I have found that the classes are not challenging at all, and with minimal amounts of homework. Whoever said that we get four hours of homework each night is completely wrong. The most homework I've ever gotten in my three years here is 3 hours working the night before a history assignment was due. The teachers move fairly slowly, because they have to keep up with the unmotivated kids, which IPM is full of (contrary to popular belief) which serves to make motivated kids incredibly bored and staring at the clock. Hamilton needs to start living up to its reputation or it'll lose it.

First of all, the school is completely divided between the regular classes and the IPM program. Most of the attention is focused on the IPM program and that attention is not even good. The student body is constantly made to feel unworthy and "bad" especially by one of the vice principals. Teacher and course quality is so-so because,with the exception of some, the teachers are awful. Now, I know the music program at Hamilton was outstanding mainly because of the terrific music teacher. However, this outstanding music teacher has since retired and the school chose an unfit person to take his place. The new teacher routinely puts us down and makes us students feel awful about our playing ability.These actions caused a huge percentage of music students to drop out of his class. He has turned what was arguably the best music program of any DPS middle school into at best an okay music program at best. This schools only bright spots seem to be the sports program and even that has holes (holes meaning some sports are plain awful). This school may seem great on the outside with the magnet program but going through it made me see how terrible this school really is.

I am deeply concerned about the segregation between the high-performing and TAP (traditional program) students. There is a wide gap--an embarrassing gap, between the performance of these two groups. Although there are some outstanding teachers in this school, teachers clearly differentiate between groups. I feel it. My student feels it. And I would imagine the TAP students feel it too. Overall, this divide is not good for our kids--both the achieving and underachieving and I believe it is wrong for our schools, wrong for our kids and wrong for our society. It is wrong to support some kids at the expense of the other kids. I hope others will stand up and speak up about this segregation which is right here in our back yard.
—Submitted by a parent

After "shadowing" at several DPS middle schools, I was incredibly impressed with Hamilton. As a parent, I knew my child would have a quality education, especially because of the International Preparatory Magnate program. We are fortunate to have such a fine caliber of a school in our city. The teachers are unparalleled. Hamilton lays the foundation of important study habits, along with organizational skills that will stay with the student throughout his education. In my opinion, Hamilton affords our children with an education equal to that of a private school, only at taxpayers cost! Our family loves Hamilton.
—Submitted by a parent

My son graduated from Hamilton and is now a freshman at the United States Air Force Academy. This is not an easy school to get into and he did have to report where he went to middle school. He had friends in all areas of the school, Magnet, TAPS etc. My daughter is now a 6th grader at Hamilton and loves it as well. The Teachers, Principal and Vice Principal are outstanding. There could always be more parent participation but that is not for lack of trying on the schools part. Get involved and make difference in your child's life.
—Submitted by a parent

Hamilton is a phenomenal middle school! My 7th grader recently came to me and said, "Mom, I'm so happy!" That's almost unheard of for a middle schooler! Danny feels cared about at Hamilton. The kids treat each other with respect. They feel connected to the adults in the building. And he is getting a great education! My older son also got so much out of his time at Hamilton. He learned to manage his time so well that he is now able to juggle IB classes at GW, swim team and being a very committed thespian! Thanks, Hamilton!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter is a 6th grader at Hamilton and loves it. She enjoys her classes and the teachers have been great. The principal is fantastic, really cares about the kids and it shows in the performance of the school. I'm happy that I have a happy middle-schooler - a rare thing!
—Submitted by a parent

I am a proud parent of an 8th grader right now at Hamilton. My daughter loves her time so far. In 7th grade I really saw her come into her own. She had five amazing IPM teachers. Whenever she came home from school she always was full of stories of the engaging activities in Mr. Bailey's classroom and the humor and kindness of Ms. Cole. She was speaking French to me at dinner after just two weeks from Ms. Barber's instruction, solving difficult and high-school level problems from Ms. Kyker and really getting some hands-on lab based science instruction. I will say that I especially thought that Ms. Cole was amazing for my daughter. She really encouraged them to think for themselves. My daughter actually really enjoyed history, a subject I always hated! She also is really enjoying her 8th grade history teacher too, Mr. Wilhelm. Love the teachers here!
—Submitted by a parent

They say things start at the top. Well, Hamilton's principal, Reina Gutierrez, is a most amazing person and principal. She is level headed, strict yet compassionate. Her dedication is easily apparent even to students who must know she cares! She runs a tight ship but she also knows most of the students by name if not by face.
—Submitted by a parent

the school has grown an assisted my child in developing into a great person, I know he will take what he has learned there and apply it in his own life
—Submitted by a parent

The student body of Hamilton Middle School is divided both racially and demographically . Administration does nothing to create a sense of community among different groups other than the glorification of sports. There are some wonderful teachers and some weak ones, but the overall tone of the school comes from the top down, creating a punitive, distrusting environment. The IB program gets the attention, while the general student body is treated as second-class by the administration, which is mirrored in the attitudes of the students. Homework is often given for homework's sake and all too often consists of worksheets. Class size is large and the teachers convey the feeling of being over-worked.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm a parent of a student at Hamilton Middle School in 7th grade and the teachers for 7th grade are wonderful. The teacher that stands out the most is the Language Arts teacher, Mr. Bailey. Whenever I asked him who his favorite teacher was he always said that it was Mr. Bailey. I also thought the other teachers were good too. Mrs. Barber, the spanish and french teacher was very good, by the first month my son could tell me complete sentences in spanish. Ms. Kyker is the math teacher and she is a very exciting teacher and explains everything very well. Also Ms. Cole is a very teacher and she explains everything in great detail. The teachers there are some of the reasons that I loved Hamilton. Go Huskies!
—Submitted by a parent