Great Bridge Middle School

We recently moved to Chesapeake and enrolled our children in GBMS. We having be very happy with the the caring teachers. Both our children have throuoghly enjoyed their transition to GBMS after coming from a very small overseas school. The academics are solid, the teachers are diligent and we were blown away by the number of organized clubs and sports that we have not observed at other schools. Their athletic program is also amazing. We moved to the area primarily based on the reviews we read on this site and we have not been disppointed!
--Submitted by a parent

I think this school takes things to far. My child is new and has always loved school. That is just not the case anymore. They don't even allow the kids to sit freely at lunch, assigned seating for lunch and the bus. They treat them like prisioners, they are kids please lighten up a little.
--Submitted by a parent

The sixth grade counselor and teachers were very very good! The seventh grade conselor and teachers were awesome, the best.The school nurse is GREAT! But Grade 8 staff needs a major overhaul. The teachers are not good - they do little actual teaching - more what I would expect of an inner city school - unfriendly and demanding. If you talk go talk to the guidance counselor you will get a condesending smile and she will do nothing to support or help your student. She is definately there for the paycheck and nothing else. I believe that such attitudes come from the top down, so while I have had no interaction with the grade 8 principal - it must be his leadership that promotes such attitudes in the 8th grade staff.
--Submitted by a parent

This is a great school! Academics are challenging, but just enough to keep a student interested in learning (if they are interested at all). There are of course the "mean kids" who always try to pick on someone, but the staff is there to stop it before it gets out of hand. The other activities in the school (sports, theatre, etc.) are really fun and the teachers who run them are very kind. On my 7th grade year they didn't have theatre club and i was disappointed that no one stepped up to be the director. i will be moving to the Va Beach district for a school more involved in the arts. I will definately miss GBMS! Go Wildcats!

Great school to have your children in iam a very proud parent of this school and every staff member they really teach your children what they will need to be succesful in middle school and high school
--Submitted by a parent

I've had two children go through GBMS and agree with the other statements about kids who need extra help. The teachers are not sympathetic at all, and many are brisk and unfriendly towards the kids. One of my kids is average, the other is special needs, and both received little attention beyond a 'figure it out yourself' attitude from the teachers. We've had much better experiences at the intermediate and high schools.
--Submitted by a parent

I agree completely with the last commentary posted 12/29/08. Great Bridge Middle is not very child friendly and quiet frankly antagonistic if the child is not able to meet their academic standards. Maybe too focused on the SOL's and not on the children who truely need their help!
--Submitted by a parent

If you have a child that excels on their own, they will do fine. If your child needs extra support, you will have to find it elsewhere. I had 2 children go through 6-8 grade who excelled on their own and did great. My other child that needs more hands on guidance struggles, with very little support from teachers.
--Submitted by a parent

This is an awesone school. I can't believe how great their SOL scores are. They have a lot of oppertunities for your students to catch up and they have a lot of fun fundraisers. The teachers are awesome and they couldn't do a better job teaching the students what they need to know gor the SOL's!
--Submitted by a student

This school has some really good teachers, learning standards, and so many events that us students can participate and just show who we are and what we can really do!
--Submitted by a student