Harbour Pointe Middle School

I attended Harbour Pointe from 2003 until 2006. My time at the school was marred by academic struggles during my first year and bullying throughout all three years, but both were addressed fairly well by the school administration. The principal's administration was fairly good at the time, with the principals and vice principals changing frequently, but I saw them very little and they were extremely unhelpful when I attempted to address the theft of some of my possessions (phone, etc) through them on several occasions. The teaching staff was very diverse in their effectiveness, with some being completely ineffective, discouraging, and hurtful and others being some of the best teachers I've ever had. The academic programs were appropriately challenging, but only became diversified around 8th grade. I will say, however, that the "IB program" at this school is a complete joke. I quite literally completed and filed 10 hours of community service at this school, nothing more, and recieved two years of IB credit. I was in for a bit of a rude shock when I entered high school, but overall, I'd rate my time at Harbour Pointe as beneficial to my learning experience.

I am a parent of two former HP students and currently teach high school out of state. The last critic's "sub-par" comment is overly harsh and misguided. Both my daughters went on from HP to succeed in advanced placement courses at Kamiak High School. Today my oldest is a straight A, third year, pre-law major at American University. In addition to students' ability to take advantage of HP's standard IB program, HP has an impressive music and theater arts program. My youngest daughter is currently auditioning for conservatories and colleges throughout the country. Also, as teachers go, there are some real gems on the HP staff who I've observed in action and aspired to model. Finally, my husband and I attribute each of our girls' current success, in part, to the outstanding curriculum, teaching, nurturing and support they received during their three years at Harbour Pointe Middle School.
—Submitted by a parent

Sub-par in my opinion. Also, most of the reviews are quite old and I feel that it is over-hyped due to the IB program, which is joke. It is not a true IB program, as I found out when my youngest went to Edmonds-Woodway to their IB program. HP in NO way prepared him for the work, discussion, and rigor a true IB program requires.
—Submitted by a parent

whats an IB program? Please explain. Have you spoken to the principal about this problem?
—Submitted by a parent

This school is above average because,the teachers here are helpful and nice. the students try hard to get good grades & get exceptionally great WASL scores.
—Submitted by a student

I've been going to Harbour Pointe Middle School for two years, and it has been a very enjoyable experience! Although I agree with the others that they seriously need to reconsider the quality of their foods (all the oily fat and grease = Bleck!) I mean, NO ONE likes eating food that's literally dripping in grease, like their pizzas. However, I do enjoy the methods of teaching that some teachers use. I've only heard about very few teachers that are mean, or ignorant towards their students. One thing that irks me too is their bathrooms. Bathrooms bathrooms bathrooms. I know that janitors do a daily cleaning routine, but in the girls' bathroom, there's one stall that sort of broke so no one uses it, and sometimes it can smell. Bad. Even with disinfectants, it smells horrible at times. But all in all, it is a great school [I think] :]
—Submitted by a student

HPMS is a wonderful school. Everything is superior and even with only being a student for one year, I already know I will enjoy the rest of my 2 years. There is a major downfall though. The food is horrible, and consists of high fat foods. Some teachers are a bit too moody, always being happy one day, then just a grouch the next. (I would like to see the teachers not just be teachers, but friends. Since we see them mostly everyday). Also, whenever something (socialy) happens, they always send you to the counslers. Its always the counslers, and it does get a bit irritating. Mrs.Cannon is a good principal, very calm, but I dont exactly see her participate in things, wheres Mr.Sackett does. Mr.Sackett is a great vice principal, but he does get too involved with me and my fellow peers social involvements. Overall, HPMS is a awesome expirience!
—Submitted by a student

The school is awesome! The school lunch is not! My daughter refuses to eat it. I would think they could work on improving that.
—Submitted by a parent

i love this excellent school!! Keep Soarin' HAWKS!!!
—Submitted by a parent

Harbour Point School is a wonderful school, kids like hp very much, but they needs to improve the quality of food by using less amount of oils, cook it fresh and add fresh vegetables and fruits. My kids don't like the smell of food.The second very important thing is that school has a web site so we can check the grades and assignments but they took too long to update so we can't ask our kids to improve there grades because its too late. Some teachers very rude they need to change their behaviour because it effects kids and their confidence.
—Submitted by a parent

HP middle school is an excellent school, but the only thing we did not like is grading the assignments and post them on the web takes long and some times they misplace them then kids get frustrated because they returned it on time and did not get Credit for that.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter just completed three years at this school. Over all, I found that her educational needs were more than met. She consistently tested high on national exams and maintained high grades. While I think the entire district is ideologically too far to the right, this viewpoint does reflect the values of the more visible half of the community. Realistically, I think the only person who could have affected change was the principal. That complaint, however, is more than outweighed by the school's academic excellence. By and large, it was worth driving more than hour to work to know the kid is received the best education available. KM
—Submitted by a parent

I am a student at Kamiak High School. I went to Harbor Pointe 6-8 grade. It is the newest middle school in the school district, and with it comes lots of excellent teachers, several extracurricular activities, and is overall an amazing middle school.
—Submitted by Katie, a former student

I am in choir at HP, and Mrs. Livingston is probably one of the best teachers i've ever had. I am impressed with the level of school spirit. There are also amazing sports teams and students with outstanding athletic ability. This school is just plain amazing. Overall this is a great school.
—Submitted by Sarah k, a student

My 2 Daughters came from a school in South Puyallup in the Bethel district,this is a huge change in school for my oldest,she has more confidence,she recieved lots of good grades that she did not get at her prior school,she loves to socialize with a group of girls she met right off the top, she had only 1 friend at her old school,the school does many nice things for the kids and when the kids show respect the teachers let the kids know how much they are appreciated at least my daughter was...I highly recomend this school and the district to anyone that wants there child to succeed,we purchased a home here just because of the schools, I have never had teachers call me for different things to make sure my kids are ok and if they needed extra help with work or school issues I was informed asap!
—Submitted by a teacher

One of the best schools in washington.
—Submitted by a former student

My son attended Harbour Pointe Middle School all three years. For his first 2 years the schooling seemed to be going well, however I have noticed that the principal has a huge lack of involvment. It seems as though the vice principal should be wearing the pants. It's also quite honestly hard for parents to get involved and for students to get close to staff, when they constantly change their principals and vice principals. Over all the learning enviroment is fair and the schooling is decent.
—Submitted by Daphnie Orlando, a parent

I think HPMS is the best school you could find. It's pathetic how some people only gave one or two stars. I think they are some mean students pretending to be parents and writing all bad things about the school. My daughter told me that the food is delicious, she enjoys being in the school's band, and the school is so clean. I recommend this school!
—Submitted by Daniel Jang, a parent

I am extremely please with Harbour Pointe Middle School. My daughter was a mediocre student with a sad attendence record until she entered Harbour Pointe. She is now a straight A student and has a perfect attendence record. I am very impressed with the teaching staff and thank them for affording my child such a fine education. I have very few negative thoughts about this school. I feel that there should be more homework - my daughter never has more than 20 minutes a day, if any. And I disagree with many of thier disciplinary tactics. My daughter doesn't get into trouble, but the staff seems to favor punishing an entire class as a consequence of one child's misdeeds. In summary, I am impressed with the overall quality of Harbour Pointe Middle School.
—Submitted by a parent

Using the website to follow up on your childs progress is not as efficient as presented by the school. Not all teachers are consistent and the information is not updated. If you are going to offer and promote this to parents there should be a strict expectation for the teachers to make sure it is current for each student and each class.
—Submitted by a parent