Wilmette Junior High School

My family recently moved to Wilmette from Skokie and my younger sister started 7th grade here. The first few weeks it was a bit rocky socially but after that she had tons of friends and liked it much better than her old school. The curriculum is much more advanced and some of the things she is learning I wasn't taught until my junior year of high school (investments and stock market operations for example.) The teachers teach the kids the basics but then expect the students to use that to teach themselves the more advanced topics on their own, which results in me having to tutor her a lot as she isn't much of a book learner. Class offerings are broad, such as Photography, Mathematics in Economics, and 2D/3D Art. She gets about 2-3 hours of homework a night, compared to the 30 mins to an hour she used to get.

With the exception of a few, all of the teachers are bad and very unenthusiastic. The administration will not take responsibility for anything that goes wrong, and the sports selections are unfair and biased.
—Submitted by a student

This is a very good school. These reviews here are pretty old and lots has changed. The teachers care about the kids and are responsive to academic and social needs. The music program is great and even though my kid is kind of a band nerd, we've had a great experience at a time when lots of kids struggle.
—Submitted by a parent

While academic offerings may look good. Watchout. the teachers are not committed to delivering anything more than the basics. The algebra program for 7th grade is a poorly coordinated program which falls to the High School curriculum. The High School and the Middle School are different school districts. The Middle school has no control over what is taught by High School Teachers in the Middle School building. The High school teachers expect High School performance form 7th graders. The kids in this class are very motivated but struggle to keep up with a High School expectation. This system is not working for the students. The Middle School has no control over the situation. The High School doesn't care. Steer clear of this school it is not what it appears.
—Submitted by a parent

The school has an elite attitude from just inside the front door to the teachers lounge. There is no electronic grade book like K-12 Planet.com where parents can see grades on all homework, quizes and tests. When you email teachers not all emails get through or work properly. When there are issues about missing work or late assignments teachers don't want to send an email to help correct the behavior - 'Check in once every few weeks' is the answer. I guess in a 9 week grading period they don't want to be bothered too often. When parents ask for teachers meetings it takes weeks to schedule. Proactive communication from teachers is non existant.
—Submitted by a parent

Lots of opportunities for the kid who is looking for them. Shy kids may find themselves overwhelmed.
—Submitted by a parent

I am currently a student at WJHS, and I feel that our school could be a lot better. Some of the teachers that I had in seventh grade were great, but this year, in eighth grade, I am in team AA and this means I only have two teachers as opposed to 5. I strongly dislike both of them. One picks favorites and ignores the students that she dislikes, and the other doesn't know anything about the 3 subjects she teaches! Everyone is constantly correcting her and in Social Studies, she has to look simple things up all the time! Furthermore, I believe that WJHS spends way too much money on computers -- we get new ones each year! We could be using our money for better purposes. Finally, our school thinks that everyone bullies and teases each other all the time. In my 1 1/2 years at this school, I have never witnessed any bullying or teasing. (Sometimes I hear friends teasing each other jokingly, and a teacher yelling at them, and the students look at each other thinking, 'what is that teacher's problem?' WHJS coul improve!
—Submitted by a student