Shaker Heights Middle School

My daughter had a fabulous experience at Shaker Middle School. She is currently a freshman at Shaker Heights High School. Academically and socially, the middle school prepared her well for high school. She went from being rather shy and quiet in 6th grade to blossoming and thriving socially at the middle school. She participated in field hockey, lacrosse, swim team, flute choir, band and science olympiad. The classes at the middle school are quite rigorous- she earned Spanish 1 and Algebra 1 high school credits while at the middle school.
—Submitted by a parent

My 8th grader is having a great experience at Shaker Middle School. Her teachers really seem to understand what kids need at this difficult age. They are truly compassionate, have a good sense of humor, and find ways to keep the students engaged by meeting them at their level, while challenging them to do their best work. My daughter has really enjoyed the band program, loves studying Latin, and has taken advantage of a lot of after school clubs - swimming (even though not a serious swimmer), Power of the Pen (creative writing), Flute choir, Latin club, and the fall play. There seems to be no limit to the amount of interest things the kids can do, and they are all encouraged to try something new.
—Submitted by a parent

I am currently a 7th Grader at this school and this is the worst year i've had.......There have been so many fights and arguements and all they do is suspend the students, they need to EXPELL the students....And when there is a fight all the teachers do is get the sercurity guard......The kids are so mean....I probley have the best teachers in this school right now because they actually care about me getting out of this grade and passing the OAAs and yet the students here are disrepectful to these teachers i have. Other than that the Music Program is very excellent......and they give us very good study habits and work but the students are just........Terrible they make the scores go down thats why were not in the top ten anymore shaker has lost its motivation......Shaker can become the golden school again if they make the effort to try. I'm not trying to Bash Shaker....I love my City but....it's just falling apart now to me.

Great bands and music, good extra-cirricula activities yet still a middle school with hormone-challenged students. Instruction options are excellent if you can keep your child engaged and focused. I wish the office was a little more welcoming to parents and more responsive. Some great teachers who really engage students.
—Submitted by a parent

Amazing! the music department is incredible. They play high school level songs in the band. I highly recommend it!
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers are dedicated and truly interested in the students. They are there for the students and keep the parents involved as much as they can.

the Shaker Middle School is a great place for this age. They are given a lot of responsibilities and also a lot of freedoms. They are well prepared for high school.
—Submitted by a parent

I am currently an eighth grader at the middle school and i am dissatisfied with my time spent here. The teachers stray off topic alot and aren't very creative or dedicated in their approach to teaching ; rather choosing to have us read a textbook and learn material ourselves. There are fights and problems all the time but the discipline is definitely there, so thats a plus in some ways, but punishments for rule beaks can often be over the top or plain inconsistent. While in the school, i feel a general attititude of little motivation.The new 'sweep' program, where if you're late to class you're stopped in the hallway and have to write a letter home explaining to your parents why you were late, just takes even more time from class and is a waste of paper. In all, the middle school is very weak compared to shaker's standards.
—Submitted by a student

i have enjoyed the Shaker middle School, but it is very challenging and there could be more one-on-one sturent teacher help.
—Submitted by a student

This is just an update to my recent review I understand why people believe that discipline is good but it hinders the overall environment, there are desks at the corner of every hallway with administrators, and on top of that their huge intrusive security cameras at every corner and hallway. Keep in mind the people writing reviews have only seen a singled sided view of shaker, because they live in the 'Shaker bubble'! I went to a different middle school in Illinois before this and it was way better than this. Although I have to say from what I can tell this year out of the High School and elementary school's from younger brothers it seems that the district is a very strong and academic district. The weak link is the middle school!
—Submitted by a student

I really like my school. I'm a 7th grader and it's a great enviroment. It's very diverse and organized. The discipline is good when it comes to presenting ourselves and thery've gotten tougher on us this year. The halls and school is sometimes too loud but overall it's a great learning enviroment,it's the best school, with the best teachers, and the best students
—Submitted by a student

My 8th grade daughter has had a fantastic experience at Shaker Middle School. The academics are outstanding, the sports & music opportunities are also wonderful. The principal is responsive. We have had as positive a middle school experience as one could expect.
—Submitted by a parent