Centennial Campus Middle School

Don't go to this school if your children are active and like athletics because CCMS lacks any type of athletics. The principal feels that children shouldn't be judged on their capabilities and they should all be treated equally and so that's why she doesn't allow sports. That is a bunch of you know what.
—Submitted by a teacher

CCMS is a great school with qualified and caring teachers. Our son who is now a 9th grader was given an amazing level of support and encouragement to excel despite his learning disabilities. Because of the support he received, he was able to maintain A/B honor roll during all but two quarters during his 3 years at Centennial and earned a President's Award. Thank you CCMS!
—Submitted by a parent

WOW! When I first read the reviews for this school I was very worried about enrolling my 7th grader at Centennial when we moved to Raleigh. Either only parents with bad experiences have posted or things have changed dramatically at this school. My childs teachers were very responsive to any questions I had when the school year started. Teachers post everything on their website and have always responded quickly to my emails. My child has been very moody this year, hormone overload similar to my 10th graders time in middle school. The teachers seem to be well aware of typical middle schoolers and have been very supportive. I am very happy with the school, the technology they have, and the supportive teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

After reading the previous reviews I see NOTHING has changed with this school. The teachers and administration still exhibit a lack of communication with parents. Teachers and administartion don't return phone call, or emails in a timely manner sometimes never. This is unacceptable! For these reasons and all the other MANY reason listed in other parent reviews we've decided to take our child out this school. if you want parent involvement don't come here. Fair warning
—Submitted by a parent

My child is a rising 8th grader and we should have pulled him out after 6th grade. The majority of the teachers at CCMS are rude, and I agree with 4/10/2011 post. There needs to be a change from the top to the bottom. They should be required to apply for their jobs - weed the bullies out.
—Submitted by a parent

I agreed with the 4/10/2011 parents review. We are also disappointed with the school. It's a very nice school and have a great potential but falls short. Needs a lot of improvement and Leadership. They have some teachers that is very good and some that can care less. Oh well we just decided to pull out our kid and move to our base school.
—Submitted by a parent

We have been extremely dissapointed this year. Please read all the parent reviews, and I have to say we have experienced the same. This school has great potential, however, it falls well short of that potential. It is difficult to communicate with teachers as they do not often respond to emails or phone calls, but refer you to the website. Often the website is not up to date to know what assignments are due. The positive behavior support is a joke at best as the school does not follow this philosphy and can be quite punitive. I have to say I concur to most of the recent parent reviews on here and we are looking for a better school elsewhere!
—Submitted by a parent

CCMS is an excellent school that truly celebrates the way a middle school student learns. WE have an incredible staff that works very hard to ensure that students become active leaders and learners! If you walk our halls it is inviting and clean and students feel safe. Our Positive Behavior Intervention and Support program has had an EXEMPLAR state ranking for the last 2 years! Our students connect core and elective curriculumns to ensure the best learning for our students! teachers believe student learning comes first -so if you just show up to talk to a teacher you may be asked to make an appointment if they are in a class-- student knowledge comes first!. Our intramural program provides opportunities to any student that wants to participate. If you are looking for a great school , this is it! I have taught in several middle schools for more than 15 years and I can say this is the best.
—Submitted by a teacher

We could not, in good conscience, send our child back to this school for his 8th grade year. Because of the university affiliation, we expected a dynamic and creative educational experience for him. We got the opposite. In our opinion, this is not the school it was just a few years ago and the reviews here seem to support that notion. We found it to be very punitive and generally lacking in any sort of creative approaches to teaching. Parental involvement was generally discouraged. This is very different from our experience with the 5 other Wake County schools our children have attended over the years. Our son went from A-B honor roll to barely passing. He went from gifted in math to not passing the math EOGs in one year. We have since enrolled him in another school where he seems to be recovering from this experience.
—Submitted by a parent

We concur with the last two reviews. The school has not met expectations. The leadership appears lacking, almost ambivalent and uninvolved.
—Submitted by a parent

CCMMS does have excellent technology offerings, however, our 3-year experience has gone from amazing to unfortunate. It quickly became clear Centennial wanted no interaction with parents. When they say 'Leadership Academy', they mean your childs education is the sole responsibility of the child. Teachers rarely respond to e-mails, meetings with staff were met with resistance, and there is no way to follow the curriculum since the 'blackboard / span' information is either not updated or incorrect. Our child went from AG in 6th and 7th grade to barely passing in 8th. He is ill-prepared for high school because he is not self-motivated. We, as parents, are unable to help him since we do not know what is being taught. In 3 years, he has had no more than 2 hours of homework total. There are excellent programs offered, but your child determines their participation and you may never know it exists.
—Submitted by a parent

Centennial has been a tremendous disappointment this year. The teachers are either very good or are quite the opposite. This year's team of teachers for our child has been extremely difficult to communicate with and have demonstrated no commitment to the success of the students. We do not recommend Centennial unless you can be assured that your child will be assigned to a caring and competent team of teachers. Good luck - it is hit or miss. We really missed the mark this year!
—Submitted by a parent

Centennial is a community of caring teachers, staff, parents and students who have a sincere purpose for growth...in learning, in citizenship, in stewardship, and in finding a place to become a responsible, contributing member of society.
—Submitted by a parent

I have to say that Centennial campus does not get a high rating as a school community in my book. My son went there as a 6th grader, and we left after one year. The facility is beautiful, the technology superb. But the school is like a fortress. Parents are not allowed beyond the office to see teachers without an appointment. Communication is by e-mail and phone only -- and since teachers respond or don't at their choosing -- our family found this and ineffective way to partner with teachers. The philosophy seems to be, 'Your child is in middle school. thanks for bringing him; we'll take it from here.' Coming from a very collaborative elementary school where parent involvement was encouraged, Centennial just wasn't the place for us. Also, the principal that year was young and inexperienced. It was clear that the teachers run the school.
—Submitted by a parent

I have to say that the last 3 years at ccms have been absolutley the best. I love it and i disagree with the bad rating below-dont listen to it!!! I love my school and thanks to a generous donation from SAS we have have amazing technology. No, we dont have any after school sports or a band but most of the teachers are really nice. They get to know YOU as a student/parent and YOU as an indivudual there to learn student or not! Kids get really close and the friendships last! And you really know and understand that you are apart of the family!
—Submitted by a student

I am a teacher with 11 years experience in various states and in Wake County. I began mid-year and must say that this is the BEST school that I have taught in. I teach 8th grade and the technology is impressive. There are mounted projectors and a laptop cart for each classroom. I able to integrate technology into the curriculum easily which motivates my students and expands the possibilities. The students and teachers on my team are wonderful. Positive vibes all around. I enjoy being here and have no complaints. We collaborate with NC State and bring in college students and instructors to facilitate learning. This is a model magnet school and quite impressive. I recommend all parents come and see what it has to offer. I hope to continue teaching here next year and would love for my son to be able to attend Centennial in two years.
—Submitted by a teacher

CCMS is the best and we beat all other middle schools out there. Technology IS awesome, we all get laptops and have some really unique technology other schools would only dream of having. I would say that we are like, AWESOME.
—Submitted by a student

I think ccms does not do a good job with technology there is not a networked printer in each room. Most of the teacher are nice. They do not have very good technology classes. They say a hard drive stores 80 gigabits that is not true. Solid works is not taught the way I would like to learn it (I learn a very unique way) There is not enough physical activity. Thats Centennial Middle School.
—Submitted by a student

This is a good school. The teachers are nice, but some of them are not very good. There are not many parent teacher conferences.
—Submitted by a student

This is a great school that focuses on education for all students and nothing else. They belive in no child being left behind. This school touches every childs life every day in a special way. I learn something mew everyday in class.
—Submitted by Jason Cooper