Duluth Middle School

My son went to this school for 3 years and he has never been in trouble. He gets in trouble for something that was not as bad as what other kids have been doing all year. Its not sitting good with me. He did is punishment why punish him more by missing his fun day at school. This is a sad way to remember a school that you been going to for 3 years. I am sadden for these students who are good an try. This school need to redo there school rules because i am not the only parent who feels this way and i find it wrong and unfair.
—Submitted by a parent

I have been at DMS for two years now, and it is one of my favorite schools ever. The teachers are nice, administrators keep the school controlled, and the school overall is wonderful. Great for anyone looking to have fun while learning.

I say this school is really nice. Just average. Some teachers are mindless, but I know many teachers that are fun! And some of you people are wrong. Bullying is the #1 thing that our school HATES. I've seen repeated amounts of videos about bullying. They CARE for the children. The health classes are great also. If you have a problem, the school counselor is there for you. The principal is great. Some teachers are superb! And yes, lunches taste have gone somewhat downhill in the beginning of 2013. I am a student. Some students are mean.But the drama has gone a bit down. I was an outcast before, but many friends came to me after a year or so. Just couldn't find people with my interests. I rarely see my friends since they are in probe. They are really working hard for their education. I just find my friends so amazing. But we have an annual events, like walk - n - talks, socials, movie events. I

My child went to DMS for three years and we were happy there. I was really surprised to read the other opinion about bullies. One of the things we liked so much about DMS is that so many of the students, even the non-PROBE students, are academically ambitious. My own child was not in PROBE. He had told me that the bullies there were looked down upon by the general population and that they became the outcasts. But that was a couple of years ago. I do know that it's the only middle school which feeds into Duluth High School, and DHS was just rated, by U.S. Magazine, to be the #1 public school in Gwinnett County and the 4th ranking public high school in the state of Georgia. So that tells you something. My child went to DMS on a permissive transfer. We drove him 20+ minutes one way to school, and back again. It was worth it because I wanted him to be in an environment where the students value learning. Now I'm proud to say that he's a student at DHS where, again, the students are college-minded kids interested in making wise choices for themselves. BTW, To other GA parents, GA has laws against bullying. If your child is being bullied, you have a legal recourse.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm currently a student at Duluth Middle and will be studying there for another year. Our school may not be the best ranked in academics, but it's not that bad and overall, I feel pretty safe in this school. Teachers- Well, it depends what teachers you have. Like students, different teachers will have different ranges of knowledge however, in the probe program, personally, I feel like the teachers absolutely know what they're doing and have the ability to be able to explain everything well. Also, the teachers in our school teach in their own unique ways making it so that students will actually remember what is taught to them. Behavior/Discipline- Well, obviously, in any school, there will be kids that misbehave and kids that are very well behaved. In our school, I think the biggest problem in behavior of students is the respect for others. They will sometimes make rude comments. Fortunately, most teachers are able to handle these children and teach them to behave better in the future. To sum up, I think Duluth Middle School is not a bad school, and whether you do well depends on yourself. I think kids will like going here.

The problems at DMS start with the students and are not corrected by the teachers or administration. My child is a student who has been bullied. It was reported, and what did the administration do? Ask my child what he/she did to provoke the bullying. Bullying is such a problem at this school that I know of 3 students (mine included) that won't be returning, choosing to be home schooled or taking courses online instead! Wake up DMS! Bullying is a serious problem which this school's teachers and administration continue to ignore. Please, be proactive - do something to protect our children. They have the right to feel safe at school!
—Submitted by a parent

I am an 8th grade student, and I have been going to duluth for a year and a half. I have read alot of the reviews and i believe that most of them are untrue. The PROBE courses are amazing and i love all of them. It is true that alot of the teachers are requiring the students to self teach, but all that really means is that the teachers are MAKING thhe student read their textbook at home instead of school. Then the next day the teachers go over the chapter that was assigned and asks the stu/dents if they have any questions. In all honestly the sports teams here are terrible, but this is school, where you learn. If someone wanted to play a sport they could always go to a club, which is usuually cheaper than school sports anyways. We don't get to choose our classes, but no one ever seems to mind it much. The lunches used to be decent, but they have gone downhill this year. Cursing isn't only done by students here, but it can be found everywhere. We are teenagers and I can promise you that foul language can be found in every middle school.I absolutely love going to DMS and I think your kid(s) will too.

I think that your opinion of Duluth Middle really depends on which classes you re in.. If you are in PROBE, it is generally a good school. Not the best, but its not too bad. I m in PROBE classes and it s pretty challenging at times (I m in 7th grade). What I don t always like is that in PROBE, the students usually have to learn on their own instead of the teacher teaching it. For example, we have hw on a completely new topic and then we review it in class. I don t really like that. The regular classes are HORRIBLE. Trust me, if you re a regular student you do NOT want to go here. In this case, it is a very bad school. The teachers don t even care if kids curse. Also the school is EXTREMELY cheap and the lunches are horrible. In general, if you are not in PROBE classes DMS isn t a good school for you. The basketball team is bad, and so is the lacrosse team. The cross-country team is just for fun. sports are not worth it here. Once again, its only mediocre IF YOU ARE IN PROBE.

I'm an 8th grader here at this school and being here for for almost 3 months now I can honestly say that the students here are mean and they cuss and are very innapropiate my old school was better and really wish I could go back to my old school.

I think some people rate this school just for its reputation. sure we won Academic Bowl and all that stuff, thats good, but it has nothing to do with the rest of the school. like the students that are in Reg Ed...and the teachers who dont actually teach; ex. my math teacher. she just tell us what to do and we fill out blanks in this note-taking guide. but she never actually TEACHES. its usually the case where we have to self-learn or get some help from our friends. and the students behavior is atrocious. they cuss and get into fights and ignore the teachers instructions. they disrupt the classroom and attract attention to themselves. i'd say, all in all, this school isnt the best it could be.
—Submitted by a student

I am a student of Duluth Middle School, an 8th grader this year. From my experience, I feel like the academics are challenging and the teachers do their jobs well and interactively with the students. Many students do well at this school and enjoy it. Our principal and A.P.'s strongly encourage working to the best of our abilities, and support the students in their efforts.
—Submitted by a student

This has got to be the worst school ever! Most of the reviews say this is a great school since it got so many awards, but here's what really happens. When all those officials come around the school acts like and angel. When those officials leave they let kids cuss. Sometimes you walk in the hall and someone cusses and it's obvious who did it and there are teachers around. Those teachers don't do anything. They just look at the person and then look away. They also hate making trouble for themselves. In my class there's a boy who cusses, walks around during class, and just disrupts the class, but the teacher doesn't do anything, infact sometimes he looks at the boy and laughs! When my mom sent the teacher a note all the teacher said was I talked to the administrater and your daughter can switch to another class. What kind of a teacher says that?! If you have any other alternative to this school, take the other school instead! Don't ruin you child's life!

My son started his 8th grade in this school late. We relocated from another state. He was an A+ student, however, that all changed here. The teachers specially one is always picking on him. They need to worry about teaching the student and taking the time for them instead of just complaining.
—Submitted by a parent

DMS lately has me shaking and scratching my head. I have 2 children that go here 7th & 8th. My 7th grader is one who has to work hard to make A's & B's. And even though he has A, B, and a C they wanted a conference to tell him and I that he should be an straight A student. Never will happen never has since he's been in school. My other 8th grader is like a mini genius he is the straight A student but since he can just ace the quizzes and test he only does those. He's gotten D's & F's I requested a conference but it seems they forgot about it. Now, he is signed up for an Honors class at Duluth High. I feel like they focus on the national testing system way too much and not they quality of the actual class.
—Submitted by a parent

I believe that DMS is a great school, but some of the teachers don't care about the students and take out some anger on them, we also don't get to choose some of the lasses we take. For instance, connections, for this time period we get to choose to be in a fine arts class but that's it. I, and other students currently attending DMS, think that this does not give us much freedom.
—Submitted by a student

DMS probe program is top notch. The school's academic bowl teams continue to win state championships. The quality of the teachers is amazing and the communication with the parents is pretty good.
—Submitted by a parent

its a good school but its too strict and some teachers tend to be unfair take it from a student in 7th grade who went this past year!
—Submitted by a student

Duluth is a wonderful school. My son has nothing but positive things to say about the school and it's enviroment.
—Submitted by a parent

As a parent of a child in this school, my expectations were a little higher before entering into middle school, I don't like the fact that 6th graders have very limited participation in clubs and sports, the silent transition is kind of excessive, the ambient is more of a jail than a school, my child complaints constantly about the food in the cafeteria, and the ones that get the better education are the kids in Probe, which I consider put everybody else that is not in the program in disadvantage. They have a dress code, that in my opinion is not as strictly enforced as the silent transition.
—Submitted by a parent

DMS has it great qualities, if you are a straight A or average student with or without a few behaviors issues. If your child has a ADHD with some behavior issues, that are a little more challeging than others, some teachers care and some don't have the time to try to care. They focus on getting you out and lableling you as a behavior child, than trying to make sure you are passing your academics. So if your child has any kind of issues please stay involved with the teachers to make sure you are getting fair services. Because all they care about is there schools reputation.
—Submitted by a parent