Cross Timbers Middle School

Cross Timbers is a great place to be. The teachers are warm and take a true interest in students and the administration is tremendously supportive. As far as earlier comments, the school itself has no control over the curriculum as it is a district wide adoption and while bullying may happen, if teachers are notified, it is immediately handled--bullying happens everywhere, but at Cross Timbers the teachers try hard to keep it to a minimum. If students hide bullying from the school--the school cannot help. Cross Timbers is a place I am proud to work and send my kids. --An educator
--Submitted by a teacher

Cross Timbers Middle School is a great school with wonderful students, parents, and teachers. The level of commitment is far reaching, with a high majority of the top twenty students at nearby Grapevine High School coming from Cross Timbers. The staff works 24/7 to insure the success of students, and the leadership is very caring.
--Submitted by a parent

Extremely proud to teach at Cross Timbers! GCISD and the community have been very supportive by passing the Bond package allowing us to incorporate more technology and relate the curriculum to real world applications. Our student body is diverse, brilliant, and loving. I am excited for my own children to attend and also be involved in the extra curricular activities offered. They will be challenged and molded into wonderful young adults.
--Submitted by a teacher

The quality of CTMS has declined severely since the last review were written. 7 & 8 grade teachers do not grade papers. The curriculum for GT program is a joke. There is a lot of bullying and vulgar behavior that is tolerated by by some the the teachers in their classrooms. My husband and I had been very disappointed in this school district and glad our kids are going to a private school. GCISD has become a dog and pony show, with no real value system.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is not one I would recomend. being a student there I fully understand the difficulties an unathletic student may have. The athletics department has just as much focus on it then the educational one, and bullying takes place frequently.

This is a great school. I attended Fall 1999 to Spring 2002. Almost every boy played football in 7th grade, and not being able to play any sports in 6th grade was annoying. Definitely avoid regular classes as the students just don't care and it is extremely difficult to learn in a regular class. The Pre-AP kids are much more focused and encourage others to learn with them.

Being a former student at Cross Timbers, I fully understand what it feels like to experience life at CTMS. Academics are overall satisfactory. Athletics are taken way too seriously, and this does not help the students at CTMS who don't feel like they have a place in the school socially. If you want you or your child to 'belong', attend a school of unity and of a 'home environment', this is most certainly not the place for that. Cliques, gossip, and rumors are abundant and get out of hand significantly.

I love this school! I am a student who started in '06 and they make learning everything really a fun experience and when you do good on something they give you a lot of positive reinforcement that makes you want to keep working hard. And all the extra curricular activities are a lot of fun and give you a lot to do. In my point of view, I wouldn't want to go anywhere else.
--Submitted by a student

I agree with the two other entering 6th grade parents comments; communication between the parents & the schools needs to be improved, and organized parent teacher conferences & updates need to happen. Parents who 'try to talk to the teachers enough' get a mixed response, depending on the teacher. Dunn (Science) and Botterman (Math) are two of the top teachers my kids have ever had -- exceptional, truly going the extra mile and providing a great example for adolescents at a crucial age.
--Submitted by a parent

A look at the test scores for CTMS in comparison to all middle schools in GCISD reveals that CTMS exceeds all in test scores when only identical student populations are taken into account. The only reason other middle schools in GCISD have higher ratings overall is that they do not have any diversity. CTMS has higher commended scores than all and comparable scores in all categories despite having the most diverse student population (see TEA website). CTMS also has won the UIL sweepstakes for all GCISD and oher area districts every year of its existence. The teachers are exceptional overall. I agree with earlier postings about the 6th grade being a huge transition, but I do not believe these parents tried to talk to the teachers enough. If they had they would have gotten help. As for team time, all teachers want it too, but the district eliminated it in 2002.
--Submitted by a teacher