John R. Kernodle Junior Middle School

My child had a terrible 6th grade year but good 7th and 8th grade years. I agree that many of the teachers are negative, unhappy, and seem to not really want to be there. I think it filters down from principal and front office staff. But there are some great ones as well. I'm shocked a principal with such terrible grammar was selected and a top educator at a middle school. It does not represent well at all. Overall not a bad school but I think some faculty changes are in order to get a better attitude throughout the school.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is a student here. We moved to this district because Kernodle is ranked in the top 100 middle schools in the US. This school has been responsive to my son's individual needs and he is excelling there.
—Submitted by a parent

Kernodle is a very mediocre school masquerading as above average. Teachers are indifferent and grumpy, the assignments are formula-driven, the principal nearly completely absent - the secretaries run things. Teachers are overworked and underpaid, and they give busywork, give lots of zeroes (they often lose work that's been turned in) and yell in an effort to appear rigorous. They seem to get very little support from the front office. The kids are extremely clique-y and exclusive, and everyone pretends not to notice. Its high academic scores are mostly possible because this school draws from an upper-class demographic to start with. When my child got to high school, the difference in the amount of attention and genuine warmth at the school as compared to Kernodle nearly blew us away - and that's at a high school of more than 1,500 students. KMS's buildings are new and clean, and the kids are rich. Those are its only advantages.
—Submitted by a parent

Our son has excelled at Kernodle and is in the 7th grade. He is in advanced classes and all o fhis teachers have been encouraging and have pushed him to excel. The teachers have been great at communicating with parents as they send home weekly updates on assignments to keep us aware of the responsiblities that our children have. Our son is challenged everyday by the curriculum and that is exactly what we want. Wonderful school!
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers are the strength of this school. My son was challenged and received a good education.
—Submitted by a parent

Principal and Teachers do not talk to the parents and have little involvement with the students which I find surprising given the number of students. The attitude is not to bother them, they have enough to do.

My grandson attended Kernodle for one year. He is a smart child and the adults in his life work hard to provide enrichment along with clear boundaries and limits. This school was awful--he became so depressed he started talking about suicide. As an example, he asked questions in class to better understand her lectures.. She threw a pad of sticky notes on his desk and told him to write his questions down. and not to ask any more questions. Later he saw her throw his questions away without looking at them. When his Mother tried to problemsolve with the teacher and principal their only solution was to medicate my grandson. This year we moved him to a private school which is a challenge for the family to pay for. He is now happy and well adjusted again as well as excited about learning again it's a sacrifice we will make.

Principal is inadequate and ineffective. Teachers focus on the wrong things and do not value diversity or critical thinking skills.
—Submitted by a parent

I went to kernodle for my 7th and 8th grade year, and i have to say it is a great school ( or at least was when i went there). I could compare kernodle to southeast middle, and northwest middle, and kernodle is a great environment. I currently attend Northwest high, and everyone from kernodle actually kew everyone. Students who attended NW can't say that. I loved Kernodle. The teachers there are great and it was a very good environment. There's a reason it was the best in the county.

Kernodle gives a lot of homework, but It has great teachers and its a great learning environment!!
—Submitted by a student

i am a student at kernodle it is a very friendly school. you learn a lot in a relaxed atmosphere.
—Submitted by a student

I went to Kernodle for two years, 6th and 7th grade, and let me tell you it was the worst experience in my life. The teachers do not discipline the students and there is nothing done about bullying. The students are very crude and disrupt the classes very much. I hated it here. It's an awful school.
—Submitted by a student

My son went to Kernodle and loved it. It was challenging and fun at the same time. He was engaged and felt the teachers cared for him. The teachers are strict and that is fine because real learning is taking place. I am so excited my daughter will start here next fall.
—Submitted by a parent

The best school i have ever been in. The greatest atmosphere of any of the schools i have ever been to. The teachers are great too.
—Submitted by a student

this is the best school in the world i love it this is the best year i have had.
—Submitted by a student

Kernodle is safe, clean and my kids get above average prep for HS. The teachers are very strict but always willing to tutor before or after school if a child needs extra help. The sports programs are top notch...Go Cougars!!
—Submitted by a parent

Kernodle is a very good school. The teachers are great and the teachers do discipline their students, but dont go over board with punishments.I love kernodle.
—Submitted by a student

My child does not like Kernodle. The teachers do not discipline the misbehaving children enough, and some of the teachers leave it up to the students to tell the disrupting classmates to stop. She has not enjoyed her year at Kernodle. We don't know why it is a School to Watch.
—Submitted by a parent

My son went to Kernodle Middle School for the year of 2004-2005. We found the school to be excellent in nearly every way. Our son is a special needs child, but we want to mainstream him and the school was wonderful in finding ways to work with us. We found the level of parental involvement was exceptional. The teachers kept us very informed and we never had any surprises. The school is laid out in a way that keeps grades apart from each other most of the time. I was thoroughly satisfied with the school, teachers, and the administration.
—Submitted by a parent

This is one of the best middle schools you will find in North Carolina, the classes are safe, well prepared, and run drills regularly, learning takes place in unorthodox ways as well as reading out of a book, and behavior troubles are rare, very rare
—Submitted by a former student