Polo Park Middle School

This school is on the same par as you would find in an inner city. The teachers don't teach. The children don't learn. My son did get a perfect score on the FCAT's in consecutive years, but it had nothing to do with Polo Park.
—Submitted by a parent

I would advise parents to avoid sending their children to this school if at all possible. The administrative personnel are non-responsive to children and parents alike. They do not return calls. If you want your child/children to be in a good learning environment, this is the last place you want to send them.
—Submitted by a parent

The academic programs at Polo Park prepare students for high school. Extra Curricular programs go begging for staff sponsorship with the exception of chorus, sports, and cheerleading. My children love to go to school. Behavioral issues are generally mild and delt with fairly. As is true with all Palm Beach County Schools, the enrollment is large (1600+) but they are ahead of the curve in limiting class sizes to well below 25 in most cases.
—Submitted by a parent

My son attended Polo Park for grades 6-8 and graduated to high school two years ago. He was required to take a remedial math course to improve his FCAT score, which I thought was a great idea. Unfortunately, there was no classroom for the class and they had to meet in a large storage closet inside another classroom. The Intensive Math teacher showed Disney videos 2-3 days per week (for the entire class) instead of using the time to teach the students math. When I questioned the teacher about this policy, I was told that he normally rewarded the students with a movie every other day if they worked hard in class. My son entered high school very unprepared for Algebra I or any FCAT improvement. Luckily, some excellent math teachers in high school have made up for what was seriously lacking in this math program at Polo Park.
—Submitted by a parent

Polo Park is the best school my daughter has gone to! She is in the gifted program and she has the best teachers! She has so many friends and loves it! Its just a wonderful school!
—Submitted by a parent

Polo Park is a great school with a lot of hard working teachers. There are a lot of extracurricular activities available to students. Pass program for students who are struggling.
—Submitted by a teacher

I spent three years at Polo parka and I have no complaints. The staff is awesome and the envirmento is safe,caring and set for laerning.
—Submitted by Fawn Musser, a former student

Communication between school administrators and parents is sorely lacking. The expectation that 11-year-olds be responsible for all communication to and from school is naive. Contacting teachers is very diffucult. Few use the Edline system. The school's web site has not been updated since May 2003.
—Submitted by a parent

Polo Park is a very well organized school with wonderful teachers. I was there for 3 years & we had the best time we could possibly have as teenagers. There are multiple fights but they are dealed with quickly & the fights arent talked about too much which keeps all of us focused for our classes & learning enviroment. The schools activites are great for learning but, also fun which is why we are always excited to enter each class. There are lots of sports to choose from at Polo Park which keeps alot of us young ones out of trouble so I would definately recommend this school too many friends & as well as their parents. The prinicple Mrs.Gregory is great! Ive known her for 9 years and everyone of her students have grown to love her her like we love our parents!
—Submitted by Petrina Closi, a former student

This school is like a zoo. I work for a large fortune 500 company and have not experienced the politcs or red-tape as I did while my son attended this school. Fighting is everywhere, if your child is assaulted and he/she fights back forget they will be suspended. Who can learn under these conditions!
—Submitted by a former student

polo park is one of the best middle schools around.The principal is wonerful and runs a tight ship, as well as being fair.I would highly recomend this school.
—Submitted by a parent

I have to agree with the other parent. My son was there and always talking about fights and the trouble. The teachers are great but cant do much becuase of overcrowding. If your kid is a special needs, the wonderful ESE team will take more then one school year to handle the problem if they do it at all. But they are so nice at pacifying you. They will sooner send your child off to another school then admit they couldnt or wouldnt help, or didnt have the man power to help.
—Submitted by a parent