Frank Black Middle School

FBMS is a great middle school with a wide variety of athletic programs, excellent academics including a Vanguard program and strong and developing programs in the Arts. It provides a excellent, well-rounded education for kids on a spacious and recently upgraded campus.
--Submitted by a parent

An amazing transformation is underway at Frank Black Middle School. There is good leadership from the principal and assistant principals. The faculty is talented and dedicated. There has been outstanding progress regarding discipline issues. The school has some great assets and physical renovations are starting. Community support is growing dramatically. Improvement at the school is accelerating at an exceptional rate.

school year 2010-2011 off to a great start. teachers are happy with their class sizes and have the support of principal and office staff. Principal encourage parents to attend school conferences and school events. Lots of new events this year with teachers and parents.
--Submitted by a parent

Wonderful start for this year 2009-2010. Looking forward to being more involved for the next two years.
--Submitted by a parent

Black MIddle School has been on the right track for the last few years. They have been steadily improving and I have been impressed with this year especially. The discipline level of the school has seen the most growth, and I am confident that the students are learning every day.
--Submitted by a parent

There has been a big improvement in behavior at this school this year. The hallways are now clear and orderly, and the classrooms look like good learning environments. The 6th graders are in an academy setting.

The lack of discipline on campus has destroyed the learning environment. Hallways are chaotic and loud. Currently, this school is simply not a good place for good education.
--Submitted by a teacher

My child is zoned for this school and like so many other parents in my neighborhood who also have children zoned for Black Middle, we would rather die than expose our children to this toxic mess they actually have the gall to call a school. What are they teaching there? Nothing apparently. No foreign language, except Spanish--most middle schools offer at least French or German. No honor classes, no advanced math, nothing. What I see everyday are wild kids streaming out of that school and running through the neighborhood like banshees, destroying yards, calling out ugly names, and showing no respect for anything. What happened to citzenship and responsibility?
--Submitted by a parent

I am a new teacher at Black Middle School, and the problem in the past began when there were teachers at the school who could not relate to the minority population, those who barely cared, or had little clue on how to discipline these type of students. My classroom is organized, fun, thought-provoking, and forward-thinking. Fights everyday? No. Not at all. My classroom is clean (no grafitti, plus I clean it once a month), I update all of my wall decor constantly, and students' learning follows the mandated hands-on, active learning that our society calls for now-a-days. There are many new teachers at Black Middle School this year, including a new and brilliant principal, who are young, vibrant, and are personally knowledgeable of the environment our students experience everyday.
--Submitted by Math Teacher, a teacher

I personally hold this school responsible for my son's current distaste for school. Once a gifted student, Black Middle School teachers and administrators killed any desire to learn. He felt unsafe while at school due to gang activity that is basically ignored. The teachers spend their time screaming at the kids instead of teaching them. The only good program is the Kickstart Karate Program. There is NO parental involvement at all. Bottom line, dangerous, uncaring teachers, administrators and parents. Do your child a favor and run away as fast as you can.
--Submitted by a parent