Public | 6-8 | 570 students |
Community Rating
Based on 27 ratings
Community Rating by Year
- Teacher quality
- Principal leadership
- Parent involvement
The Community Rating is the school’s average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.
West Jefferson Middle has undergone a significant change in leadership, the effectiveness of which is still undetermined. The Elementary and High Schools that it is sandwiched between are excellent, making the expectations of parents very high to start with. Many of the community organizations in a "rebuilding" phase as well; PTA, CDM etc. As is probably true of all schools the staff cover the entire continuum from fantastic to marginal. The Special Ed staff is very lacking and in need of turnover. As with any school, parental advocacy is critical to ensuring your child's needs are addressed. The good news is that current leadership is responsive to input. Definitely a school on an upward trend.
I am giving school 4 out of five stars. As far as public middle schools go, this is one that stands above the rest. Not only do teachers genuinely care about the academic and emotional well-being of every student, tWJMS also has a great electives program that is designed to get kids excited about High School and possible career options. Keep in mind that the middle years are arguably the toughest on kids. WJMS has peer mentoring, and help for many kids after school. My kids went to WJMS, and my youngest just finished the 8th grade. My only criticism is that there are kids who hold classes hostage. they constantly interrupt their teachers, and are discipline problems (bullying, skipping class/school), almost every hour of every day. The rest of the kids miss out on the quality education they deserve, and WJMS can not meet the academic and emotional needs of troubled kids. These kids are socially promoted, and the administration is convinced that recommending an alternative school for them is "giving up" on those kids. I disagree, as my kids missed out on countless hours of lessons, labs, and other learning experiences due to their learning environment being disrupted a lot!
We took our son out of this school - actually, he begged us to get him out of there - the staff is very rude and condencending to their students - our son is an A, B Student - and the type of person that holds the doors open for others -- naturally polite and has a great demenor -- this is a terrible school
If it were possible to give a school ZERO stars, I would. This school claims they are anti bullying etc., however the bullying that occurs is not only between students, but also occurs when teachers bully students. The principal lets the teachers do anything they want, and there are no consequences when a teacher treats a student unfairly. I would love to speak to the person who wrote the last review as her description of the teachers being full of their own self importance makes me think our kids had the same teacher. My child is now withdrawn from the school......GOOD RIDDANCE. If you are considering enrolling your student at this school, save yourself and your child a lot of heartache and DO NOT DO IT!!!
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Community ratings and reviews do not represent the views of GreatSchools nor does GreatSchools check their accuracy or verify the reviewers' identities. Use your discretion when evaluating these reviews.
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