Pau Wa Lu Middle School

A student teacher was brought into my child s 9th grade math class second semester and as a result my child as well as many others suffered because of her inability to explain the math in a way that could be understood. I have nothing against student teachers; however more than ten complaints to the counseling staff by above average students, and concerned parents including myself did not raise much of a concern to Keith Lewis, the principal. The kids were reaching out to the staff for help, not for the intention of getting the student teacher kicked out of the classroom. What troubles me is that after the principal came into the class room and reviewed the teaching ethic of this student teacher, he proceeded to interpret the frustration of the students toward the student teacher as some sort of high disrespect instead of plainly seeing that the students were frustrated because they could not understand what she was teaching. In addition he did not provide a solution or a way to get extra help; so as a result the kids were left stranded, and frustrated as well as feeling they had nobody to turn to. I mention again that this was a GROUP of students spread across MORE THAN ONE CLASS.
—Submitted by a parent

The school provides the opportunity to participate in yearbook some years as a class and some years as a club. This limits the opportunity for all students to participate. In addition the teacher lacks organizational skills, which tells me she has no clear understanding of how to run the class. If this teacher were at fault for pages not getting submitted on time, she does not take responsibility for it and ruins the hard work of deserving students for the sake of a budget. Also if there is a tight deadline the teacher will put false headings, quotes and captions on pages without the permission of the student working on that specific page or without the permission of the child/staff member in the photo/on the page. Another alarming detail about the yearbook class is that 7th graders do not get an equal share of pictures and pages due to the upper grade levels ruling the majority of the yearbook class. I believe that the yearbook is a reflection on the student s lives throughout their time at school, and to disrespect them in so many ways is outrageous.
—Submitted by a parent

The Principal Keith Lewis does try, but lacks any leadership quality. This reflects in the staff and over quality of the teaching staff to be true professionals. The teaching staff does have a few wild cards in there. There are teachers that use foul language with the students and a few may be bipolar or just have a many "bad days". A few bad apples in the staff, however there are ones that try and do their best. There is excessive bullying and though the hand book states there is zero tolerance this school DOES NOT have a grasp or have it under control.
—Submitted by a parent

The admin staff seems to really care about the kids, and there is open communication with the entire staff.
—Submitted by a parent

Because they have an excellent staff who really care about the students
—Submitted by a parent

They have such a diverse population that cultural differences work hand in hand.
—Submitted by a parent