Howard L Goff School

Amazing teachers. Amazing programs. The staff at this school try their hardest and take time out of their days to help their students succeed.

First off the Goff Gone Green group won $10,000 for ther efforts to make the school even more green than it already is with its solar panel and great recycling programs.Goff is a great school with great teachers. The only bad thing is the terrible sports teams East Greenbush has year after year. Miss. Webster is a great science teacher and diserves to stay at Goff for a long time.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a student at Goff Middle school. It is my last year here, and i am not satisfied with my learning experience. The teachers here are boring, though there are a few exceptions. I previously attended Menands Elementary School and although the population was less than one third of what Goff is, the teachers there were more focoused on the enjoyment, interaction, and education of the students. Ive been at Goff since the 6th grade, and ever since then ive realized the amount of boredom there is here. Every single one of my friends agrees that they would pay attention in class more if it was more exciting; therefore they would get better grades. The teachers blame the poor grades we recieve on us, though they do not realize that it is in fact them.
--Submitted by a student

i was a student there, im now going into high school but i remember alot of really fun times at goff! the teachers are nice, the classes are good, and the field trips for natures classroom (6th grade), philidalphia (7th grade) and washington d.c. (8th grade) were just plain awesome!
--Submitted by a student

This school is great for working with children. They focus on academics first and encourage sports and/or art programs to keep children interested. I am very happy with the teachers I have been involved with.
--Submitted by a parent

After reading the previous comments I needed to respond. I have a friend who has a child with special needs & the Goff staff & administration, along with the District PPS has gone above and beyond to see that his child got the support he needed. I have spoken to other parents who feel the same. Hooray Goff..Keep up the good work.

After 3 years of tireless attempts to get my struggling, often failing, child help, I've come to realize this is not of importance in Goff Middle School .As for the issue of parent participation, I have had very negative experiences. This school never admits its something they're not doing, rather they try to convince you it's your fault or the fault of your child. Even though an evaluation was done on my child to assess needs, this school did everything they could to make sure no help was given! (ie:Informal testing=no responsibility for the school). Anyone who has had the displeasure of having their child evaluated in Goff will understand the difference between 'formal' and 'informal'testing. Informal is given when a child tests with the need for help, but the school does not want to give extra help! That sums up the philosophy of Goff Middle School. In the event they put the students needs first, then perhaps our children will have a happier experience.
--Submitted by a parent

Goff has the potential to become an outstanding school, with a 100% change in administration recently. There are some wonderful and caring staff and administration. Parent participation is at an all time high, despite some adversity in this area. Unfortunately, there are many faculty with serious attitude problems, and they tend to drag the others down, creating morale problems and an overall negative atmosphere. There are too many who harshly criticize and even ridicule colleagues and parents for trying new things to make the school a better place. This issue of attitude and providing a safe, nurturing learning environment is the key to student success. Goff is at a turning point.
--Submitted by a parent

To give you an idea of how we feel about Goff, we plan on moving just to get out of this school district. If you have a child with a learning disability they will get no structured help for the 3 years they are there. I would not recommend this district to my worst enemy!
--Submitted by a parent